Brown v. Stanford

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I was recently accepted to Brown and Stanford for undergrad, and I'm having a difficult time choosing. I'll be visiting both of them next week but, until then, I want to figure out which school would make the most sense for me to attend.</p>

<p><em>I'm a multiracial (Native, African, Caucasian) female coming from a low-income background.
*Throughout high school, I've been heavily involved in things regarding music, volunteer service (tutoring, mentoring, et cetera), LGBTQ rights, and reading/writing.
*Naturally, I'm a much stronger humanities student than STEM student (math doesn't come naturally to me), but I want to major in STEM (computer science, physics, chemistry, neuroscience, cognitive science, environmental science... I know the first two are mostly math, but math does make sense to me when used in a scientific context- just not when it's used by itself) because science is my favorite subject (and best after English), and it captures my attention much more easily other subjects do.
*</em>I realize that I'll have to work harder than many to attain a degree in STEM, which is fine with me; however, if I actually can't do it, I'll probably go into something English-related.
*I don't care about being rich; I just want a job post-graduation. I care more about learning and being happy than having a surplus of money; if I did happen to make over >50-60k, I'd donate most of it.</p>

<p>Reasons for Brown over Stanford:</p>

<p><em>Quirky, eccentric, almost-too-progressive/liberal reputation
*</em>More diversity?
<em>I have a lot of interests and like to try/learn about new things, but also get bored easily when I'm not pursuing something that I enjoy, so I'd definitely take advantage of the open curriculum
*</em>Taking classes with people who actually want to be in those classes is extremely important to me, which is another plus for the open curriculum
*Seems to have a stronger focus on undergraduates
*I love Rhode Island, and I wouldn't be 3000 miles away from everything I've ever known (I'm from Connecticut)
*Smaller student body than Stanford
*I want to be happy, and the fact that "everyone" seems to love Brown is one of the main reasons that I originally fell in love with it four years ago. (Not saying that Stanford doesn't have a similar reputation).
*New England weather (I love the rain, snow, et cetera, and don't really like heat)</p>

<p>Reasons for Stanford over Brown:</p>

<p><em>Stanford's FA package is 2x (25k versus 52k total across the 4 years) better than Stanford's. I sent in an appeal to Brown, and am still waiting to hear back.
*Stanford trumps Brown academically in virtually every area
*</em>Computer science/STEM in general... not much else to say for this one</p>

<p>So, basically, Stanford is better for me for the "hard" factors (price, academics), and Brown is better for me for the "soft" factors (fit, atmosphere, location).</p>

<p>Any and all advice is appreciated... thanks for reading my wall of text, haha.</p>

2

<p>I already made some remarks in the Brown forum. Seems like you need to wait to see about the aid. And the visits should help. You seem like Brown is perfect for you.</p>

3

<p>Yes, I read them =) ! </p>

<p>I thought that I might receive more responses here, maybe some advocating for Stanford over Brown.</p>

4

<p>Stanford would be great too, but you already know that. It’s fit. </p>

5

<p>For someone in financial need, money trumps all other factors when you have an opportunity at attending two great schools. Either school will present you with great future opportunities but someone who has a need has a greater stress to take on for 4 years and longer after getting a job.</p>

6

<p>You have to decide if fit is worth the price difference (assuming Brown doesn’t up it’s FA package.) most non-biased observers likely tell you it is not. As they would that Brown isn’t worth 27k over Stanford unless your parents are very wealthy. Ultimately the its one for the family as your parents will be the ones either paying, or responsible for the price difference. </p>

7

<p>this should be a no brainer , especially for someone who is NOT from a wealthy family.
Stanford will give you all the opportunities you could possibly want and cost you FAR less $$.
It will also open far more doors to you in the future, especially if you decide, as so many Stanford UG’s do, to work here in Calif. where jobs are being created every day in STEM based businesses.
Nuff said…</p>

8

<p>BrownorStan, are you trying to convince yourself that Brown is a better fit for you? Many of your reasons for choosing Brown over Stanford don’t make sense. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Brown is not more diverse than Stanford. Both schools are very diverse.</p></li>
<li><p>I have visited both Providence and the Palo Alto area and there is no way any rational person could find Providence more ideal. It is fine if you like to stay close to home, but as far as regions go, Providence/Rhode Island isn’t exactly paradise. </p></li>
<li><p>Stanford may not be as cold as New England, but it is not warm or hot. The average high during the school year is in the mid 60s and the average low is around 50 degrees. In September and October, you may have highs in the 70s, but that’s about as hot as it gets. Most of the time, the temps will fluctuate between 45 and 65 degrees. Also, the Bay Area tends to be relatively cloudy and wet. </p></li>
<li><p>While Brown’s open curriculum allows for a great deal of flexibility, Stanford does not exactly have a rigid core like Chicago or Columbia. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>I appreciate that you like Brown, but it is difficult to justify paying tens of thousands of dollars more for it when you can attend Stanford for less.</p>

9

<p>" The average high during the school year is in the mid 60s and the average low is around 50 degrees. In September and October, you may have highs in the 70s, but that’s about as hot as it gets. Most of the time, the temps will fluctuate between 45 and 65 degrees. Also, the Bay Area tends to be relatively cloudy and wet.In September and October, you may have highs in the 70s, but that’s about as hot as it gets"</p>

<p>Uh, NO, sorry
That is a description of the weather in San Francisco, not Palo Alto, which is 40 miles south of SF and has an entirely different micro climate.
PA gets usually about 10 degrees warmer than SF on any given day, and in the winter it is slightly cooler at night, since it is not surrounded by a body of water, which tends to even out the air temp fluctuations between day and night . And it is much sunnier than SF, since here there are 2 sets of hills to block the fog coming off the ocean, which envelopes many parts of SF for most of the day but normally burns off here around 10:00 AM. </p>

10

<p>Hmm…Interesting choice. Besides the FA $ which others have commented on Brown seems like a better match. At Brown you will have more liberty to design your major than at Stanford.
Within the STEM fields do you see yourself working in tech or like biotech? Obviously Palo Alto is a tech hub, so it helps in that regards.
You should also consider weather. PA is pretty nice year round (you could of laid out to tan today), whereas the East Coast can get pretty nasty.
I would pick Brown personally. </p>

11

<p>Brown increased my aid package. The difference between Stanford and Brown is now less than $10k. At this point, I’m going to visit the two campuses and leave the decision up to fit.</p>

<p>Thank you for all of the input!</p>

12

<p>Great news. Enjoy your visits!</p>

13

<p>I chose Brown!</p>

14

<p>Nothing wrong with Brown and I’m not trying to change your mind, but I’m curious about whether you actually visited Stanford?</p>

15

<p>Yes, I did. I wasn’t even considering Stanford prior to my visit.</p>

16

<p>Then what was the point of the thread? </p>

17

<p>I think very few people would choose Brown over Stanford simply because Stanford is so much harder to get into and it’s considered to be on a higher tier than Brown. Good for you though to see fit over prestige.</p>