<p>I have the above ^^^ conundrum. Plus Georgetown and UVA (Echols). I’m really having an issue as I had only a first choice (Yale - rejected) and never took the time to establish a second choice. I want to major in Physics/Philosophy (which I know Brown has a program for), but I have family in Philadelphia, and Chicago just seems amazing. I have yet to visit any of the schools but I really don’t want to go traipsing around America until I’ve narrowed it to two. I was wondering if any current Brown students could enlighten me on their experience and how they perceive it would compare to these other institutions. Thanks so much for anything you can tell me.</p>
<p>there are probably 10 threads comparing Brown to Penn and UC if you search the Brown forum with the search button above.</p>
<p>congrats! of those schools, brown was the hardest to get into by a considerable margin - but now that you’re in, that point may be moot.</p>
<p>i think the biggest differences are probably cultural. penn tends to be much more pre-professional (the opposite of physics and philosophy) than either brown or chicago.</p>
<p>chicago tends to be one of the more conservative schools among the elites, has a reputation of being “where fun goes to die”. by contrast brown is more progressive, and is consistently ranked as having the happiest students in the nation by the princeton review. chicago also has a strongly enforced core curriculum, whereas brown promotes an open curriculum and academic autonomy.</p>
<p>my bias is brown but it’s all about personal fit :)</p>
<p>Not a brown student but hear its great. saw a book that rated Brown top 5 in ‘student happiness’ when compared to many other colleges. not the greatest city, but great school.</p>
<p>I honestly think the PR happiness rating is a joke of a ranking. “How happy are you?” “Ummm. 4?” Hmm…not too scientific. Not that it doesn’t point a certain direction as far as general happiness but dividing it into a ranking seems silly. Providence is great, but not everyone shares the same feeling of what a great place is… so visit first.</p>
<p>A friend of mine went from Brown to Chicago as a transfer and, he found UChi to be conservative, chilly and, sober by contrast</p>