I’ve never posted before so hope I’m doing it right. My daughter is debating applying ED to either Brown or Northwestern. She doesn’t know what she wants to major in, but she really likes math and physics so will definitely take classes in those areas. She also likes theater (as a minor or extracurricular), political science and Spanish. Any help on which school would be better for her would be appreciated. I know they are both fantastic schools and she will be lucky to attend either one!
Does she have a location preference? Wanting to be near a big city? I don’t know much about Brown, other than reputation, but NU’s quarter system allows for lots of flexibility. Many students have minors and even double minors. The arts scene at NU is fabulous.
Based on the range and diversity of her interests, I think she would like Brown’s notably flexible curriculum.
Is she trying to cut down on applications? I don’t understand why there are so many X versus Y college threads at this stage of the game. In answer to the OP’s question, the campuses couldn’t be more different. One is monolithic and rather austere looking while the other covers a lot of different architectural periods. I would apply to both and let one of them pick you.
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Would need to know more about your daughter, her interests, qualifications, activities & any career goals or plans.
FWIW, Brown offers a more relaxed atmosphere; Northwestern, in my opinion. has a more attractive campus, superior setting & location, but can be a competitive environment.
Students can triple major at Northwestern, or complete one major & two minors, etc. This can be a huge benefit for theatre majors.
It would be helpful to know of any other colleges or universities that she is considering.
Historic Providence versus Lake Michigan in the winter? Really?
Evanston is awesome! I would agree with Publisher that I like the location of NU better.
Yes, Evanston is beautiful & the location on the shore of Lake Michigan is breathtaking–especially when working out in the gym. Offers a clear view of the magnificent downtown Chicago skyline.
With respect to Winter temperatures, both are cold.
Brown’s campus is fine, but some buildings are in need of maintenance & updating.
Since OP’s daughter is already interested in several different areas of study, Northwestern’s relatively loose distribution requirements are hardly onerous.
If anything, Brown is better for people who want to focus exclusively on one particular academic area or to avoid an area of weakness.
Publisher not sure when you were last at Brown, but the buildings on campus looked great this last weekend. Several major renovations recently completed and the dorms in spite of urban myth are in great shape.
Keeney quad offers freshman the privacy of very spacious “split” singles and recently renovated common room plus a gym. I am told it is representative if not slightly inferior to other freshman alternatives.
The city of providence has a vibrant college town vibe with lots of new and interesting cuisine plus the old world charm of Federal Hill and it largely traditional Italian food across 30 resteraunts. Numerous great boutique hotels, rthe “River Fire” events, and the RISDI museum are world class. You are also an hour to Boston.
Most importantly Brown kids tend to be happy, engaged and proactive in their academic pursuits (I am sure NU kids are as well). The open curriculum allows them to choose classes based on interest not obligation. Consequently every student in every class is there because they want to be. The extended shop period and pass fail option allow students to explore and challenge themselves. Students work extremely hard and classes are rigorous but the collaborative atmosphere combined with the open curriculum result in a great experience. The social scene is inclusive with traditional cliche groups almost non existent. Great eduction, facilities, city, reputation, student experience etc…
Probably worth trying to connect with actual current students if possible… good luck.
PS what could be better if not sure about what to major in with an interest in theater than a school with open curriculum that boasts Emma Watson, John Krasinski, Julie Bowen and Daveed Diggs as recent alumni.
“If anything, Brown is better for people who want to focus exclusively on one particular academic area or to avoid an area of weakness.”
While that is certainly possible, our short experience has been exactly the opposite – that the university strongly encourages students to explore new things rather than avoid old ones.
In my (insignificant) opinion, that is how you get accepted there – by showing you are the kind of student that would eat that up.
Both are great schools. Personal preference as to location. Brown’s campus is 146 acres with several beautiful buildings, Northwestern sits on 231 acres on the shores of Lake Michigan with a less cohesive style of buildings. NU is just 30 minutes to downtown Chicago.
Complaints about lack of maintenance & updating at Brown have been widespread for years. Maybe this has been corrected in the last year or two.
No doubt that students are happy at Brown. I think that this is by design as Brown’s academic system reduces pressure & stress. Probably happier since NU seems to be a bit more intense atmosphere.
I recognize that Brown offers a more compact campus in an urban setting which produces a sense of coziness. Northwestern is more spread out & unofficially divided into North & South campuses. But I prefer the Lake Michigan shoreline, the view of downtown Chicago’s skyline, the more spread out campus & the adjacent upscale shopping & dining in Evanston over Brown’s setting. Again, I think that it is a matter of personal preference.
Publisher, I sometimes wonder whether you and I are discussing the same colleges. Northwestern, to me, seems far more monolithic than Brown. From the air, all I can see are flat roofs dating from the 1950s and 60s:
Brown is more about historic preservation which may or may not appeal as much to the present generation as it did to their grand-parent’s:
@circuitrider
Northwestern has been on “the most beautiful campuses” lists more often than Brown. You miss the forest for the trees if you keep googling views of rooftops from the air. You just need to go there and see for yourself how stunningly beautiful NU is when taken as a whole. I went back couple months ago and it’s still gorgeous and super well-kept! You never get tired of the scenic view and it’s not fair to compare when NU is on the Lake with its own beach, lagoon, and the view of Chicago’s skyline! There’s a reason why lakefront properties are often the prime real estate. Your comment about buildings dating from the 1950s and 60s is strange considering that all of the following were built within the last 5 years: the visitor center, music school building, Kellogg building, athletic complex. I visited Brown years ago when I was in HS; other than it being a little hilly and small, I don’t remember anything else. Either my memory is really bad or it’s just not memorable. It’s probably a little bit of both.
https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/features/most-beautiful-college-campuses/
https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2016-01-29/the-20-most-beautiful-college-campuses-in-america
https://www.thebestcolleges.org/rankings/most-beautiful-campuses/
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/the-25-most-beautiful-college-campuses-in-america#
https://www.universitylanguage.com/blog/12/most-beautiful-college-campuses/
https://www.thorntontomasetti.com/projects/northwestern_university_global_hub_kellogg_school_management/
https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/patrick-g-and-shirley-w-ryan-center-for-the-musical-arts
https://www.northwestern.edu/campus-life/visiting-campus/segal-visitors.html
https://www.wsp.com/en-US/insights/northwestern-welcomes-new-athletic-fieldhouse
Out of respect for the other poster’s strong opinion, I googled “most beautiful college campuses in the US” & examined two.
Conde Nast listed the 50 most beautiful campuses; this list included Northwestern University but did not have Brown University ranked among the top 50. Another listed the top 100 most beautiful college campuses in the US; again, Northwestern University was included, but Brown University did not make the list of top 100 most beautiful college campuses.
As I wrote above, this is primarily an issue of personal taste. Personally, I would have included Brown on both lists, as was Northwestern–but the publishers & authors thought that Brown did not make the cut.
P.S. A reasonable argument could be made that Northwestern University’s Chicago campus is even more attractive than the Evanston campus. Certainly Northwestern’s Chicago setting is spectacular as is the Evanston location.
Northwestern appears among the 25 schools in this “most beautiful” list as well: https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/the-25-most-beautiful-college-campuses-in-america.
@roony2 One difference is that ED provides a SIGNIFICANT admissions boost at Northwestern - for the past five years at least 50% of the entering class has been admitted in the ED round. For the last two years the ED acceptance rate was 25%+ as opposed to single digits in the RD round. See the figures in this article:
https://dailynorthwestern.com/2018/01/08/campus/210486/
I’m not sure how significant Brown’s ED admissions boost is, but I imagine that information could be found quickly with a Google search if you want to compare.
If your daughter genuinely can’t determine a favorite at this point, it’s best not to apply ED. Also verify the financials before committing to an ED application.
They are both great mid-sized universities! Best of luck!
2merc81: Thank you for posting the link to the 25 most beautiful college campuses in America website (post #15 above). All 3 of my kid’s universities (from which he earned degrees) are included–yet, kid’s prep boarding school offers the most beautiful campus among the four schools !
Have to agree with @mamaedefamilia - I can’t see how CC can be of any help determining which of two excellent schools would be more attractive to someone who has never set foot on either. FWIW, I never said either Brown or Northwestern was better looking than the other, I simply stated the obvious that they were very different from each other in history, setting and what they were trying to project to the public via their architectural choices. And, Northwestern is the more monolithic of the two. Here is what Thomas Gaines, author of one of the earliest and most frequently cited works on American college campus planning, has to say about Northwestern:
Thomas Gaines, “The Campus as a Work of Art” (Praeger Press; 1991)
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Let’s move on from debating which campus is the most beautiful; I don’t recall the OP listing that as a criterion.