<p>I can’t speak to Cornell or, really, even Duke Trinity. DS '13 narrowed his choices last year to Duke Pratt (Chem Eng), Brown or UA full ride and chose Brown. His main concern with Duke was lack of flexibility. There were so many requirements and hoops to jump through that he felt like he would be boxed in to a path or program and have a difficult time changing paths if he changed his mind. He was considering devising his own major, which was “possible” at Duke, but not easy. In the end, he ended up choosing between UA and Brown–his two most flexible options, and chose Brown.</p>
<p>After visiting all of his schools for Admitted Students, DS decided to concentrate in Chem instead of Chem Eng because he has so many interests, and he didn’t want to be boxed into rigid Engineering requirements. Once he got to Brown, he fell in love with the classes and advisors in yet another STEM department and has now switched over to that department. In order to do so, he sent a short email to the Dean of College, asked to have his advisor/department switched, and the change was made immediately. Couldn’t have been easier.</p>
<p>Even as a freshman, most of DSs classes are relatively small. He knows all of his professors and his TAs. This is true to such an extent that he schedules all of his classes late enough that he will be sure to wake up for them, as he fears his absence would be noted if he slept through them. I am always surprised at how quickly his profs and TAs respond to his questions or requests for help with homework or problem sets. He will text me to say that he is completely lost on a problem set or something, then text five minutes later to say that he is on his way to his prof’s office (at his prof’s suggestion) to figure it out. This has happened several times both semesters. Even at Brown, where independence is encouraged at every level, there is support everywhere. In DSs experience thus far, Brown has been a place to explore all of his interests in a friendly, happy, supportive environment.</p>
<p>As for Research and Job Placement, research opportunities are plentiful for undergrads in STEM, at least. I don’t know about other departments. DS has quite a few upperclassman friends from his sport and student government, and they are all heading into jobs or grad school, as far as I know. We also have an odd situation where in our house and the surrounding six houses in our neighborhood, most of the college aged kids have gone to Brown–from 2000 miles away. We just realized this a couple of weeks ago. Weird. Anyway. of those five kids, one graduated from Brown, went to Harvard Grad and is now in his first year as a prof. One graduated last year and is working for a US Congressman. One is graduating this year and is headed to NYC to work. The other two are undergrads.</p>
<p>The grading system is as BrownParent said, with the addition that you can also take classes S/NC, which is basically Pass/Fail. I don’t fully understand the grading system, but there is also an S with Distinction that basically says you took it Pass/Fail and made an A, anyway…or something of the sort. It’s a pretty great system and really encourages kids who are most concerned about GPAs to take risks and explore topics academically that they might not have taken if they feared making a B or C.</p>
<p>I can’t really speak to the differences in academics between your schools, though I don’t believe there are wide chasms between the various top schools. There are wide chasms between the academic environments, in some instances, as in hyper-competitive students in some departments at some schools vs. others. And some schools, like Brown, are very focused on the undergraduate experience while other schools are more focused on their grad schools. But I don’t think there is a huge difference in the quality of instruction between them.</p>
<p>As far as overall campus life, I don’t think it gets much better than Brown. DS is not a partier, but most of his friends are. He is never without anything to do. In fact, everybody seems to end up at Jo’s at some point between 10PM and 2 am almost every night. DS doesn’t want to miss the mass study/homework/social sessions in his dorm floor lounge or at his department building, so he chooses late morning classes so he can stay up later at night. Weekends, there is literally something going on for everyone. DS is in a housing group of six guys going into lottery. Four are partiers. Two are not. They are all close friends and are part of a larger group of 15-20 guys and girls who seem to be together in various combinations almost 24/7, based on FB pics that pop up on DSs page. Honestly, I think that DS would have probably been as happy at UA as he is at Brown, but UA is one of the 20 happiest campuses in the country, too, so…</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision! You have several great choices. And there IS something to be said for graduating from college debt-free, especially if you’re going to med school. However, having watched my son’s first year at Brown fly by, I can’t imagine a happier, easier, more fulfilling experience than his has been at Brown, so far. Hope this helps!</p>