Brown or Wesleyan?

<p>I have visited both schools and know i want to apply ED to one of them...but i don't know which! I am very interested in studying music, especially including many different genres, and both schools look to have great music departments. </p>

<p>I'm curious:
--What is the nature of each school's student driven music scene? I'm looking for an active campus in this regard (student bands, spontaneous jams, lots of creativity all around campus, cross genre collaboration)
--Which school's music major is more flexible, in terms of the individual classes you take (ie not being locked into a specific "track")
--What are some noteworthy differences in vibe/student life?</p>

<p>I am not too concerned at this point with strategy or reputation of school, just trying to find out which would be a better fit for me. Both seem to have great academics (obviously) so that aspect doesn't seem much different, though let me know if that isn't your experience. I am intrigued by Brown's proximity to cities, but wanted to know a little bit more about student life and music scenes at the two schools to help inform my decision. Input appreciated! Thanks.</p>

<p>You really should explore the forums here for those two colleges to see if current or recent students are posting. There have been at least two music double majors posting in Brown forum. I can’t tell you too much about the student music scene at Brown. I only know that there is a lot of music to see. My daughter used to follow a band made of former Brown students. She also interned once at the radio station WBRU and used to be able to go see a lot of bands and spring weekend is famous for name music. The obvious difference is size. Size will make for different experiences and more people to play with, I’d suppose. But Wes is supposed to have a lot of student performance going on.</p>

<p>Wesleyan is an unusual combination of a small, traditional NESCAC college and an arts and music powerhouse. It has spawned all sorts of musical and performance groups from The Highwaymen of the early 1960s (“Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore” was their big hit), to the Blue Man Group to Dar Williams, Le1f, MGMT (“Kids”), Das Racist, Santigold, Bear Hands and other indie bands. It is probably the smallest American college with its own independently recognized music scene. Because of its southern New England location (which it shares with Brown) warm weather lasts through November and arrives relatively early compared to Dartmouth and Williams. This allows Foss Hill, the physical center of the campus and a natural stadium, to host everything from the annual Homecoming football game to Spring Fling. It certainly helps knit this tremendously diverse campus together. It’s also a dramatic vista from which to view commencement excercises, should you be lucky enough to attend Wesleyan.</p>