Brown vs Berkeley

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
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<p>Hi everyone! I want to do premed and i love both Brown and Berkeley but i am having a hard time deciding which one to attend. I live in California and would get in state for Cal but that would still cost ~13k and Brown is basically the same. I’ve always wanted to go to Cal and didn’t really expect to get into Brown but now that i have the choice, i have no idea what i want to do. Does anyone have any advice/information regarding the pre-med programs at both schools and whether or not one is better than the other? </p>

<p>Also, i know lots of people at Cal and it seems that it has a very lively social scene, and though i’m not going to college just to party i do want to make sure i have a good time, how is Brown in that regard? </p>

<p>Oh and one more thing, is there no inter mural swimming workout at Brown? I tried to look through the website and couldn’t find anything. This obviously isn’t a deal breaker but i was looking forward to daily swim practices at Cal. I’m not good enough to be on a DIV 1 team but i wanted to stay in shape. </p>

<p>Thanks for your time and advice! :)</p>

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<p>I don’t want to hijack this thread, but I am in the same situation, with respect to Engineering :)</p>

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<p>This post was recently bumped on the subject of Brown pre-med, check it out:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1284648-brown-best-place-pre-med.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1284648-brown-best-place-pre-med.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>i have to make a very similar decision as you and after getting into three ivies (including brown) i kind of automatically forgot about berkeley despite getting the regents scholarship. I have lived in CA my whole life and in my opinion i feel like all the students from my school go to UCs exp. Cal. </p>

<p>I also visited UCB and really didnt like the campus and social atmosphere and I know many people who like it and dont and some that regret choosing it over a private school. If you are going into premed I would advice you to choose Brown esp. since you are going to need the smaller class size to get letters of rec. and based on what i am hearing the competition at cal is cut throat.
I also think that if financial aid isnt a problem definately choose the relaxed and happy atmosphere that brown has to offer!!!</p>

<p>i hope i helped and good luck :)</p>

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<p>Berke122: the social scene at Brown is very lively. I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you. Do you have the opportunity to visit for ADOCH?</p>

<p>Also: regarding swimming. I don’t think there’s an intramural swim team currently, but with the new pool that’s just being finished there might be an opportunity to start one! And there are open pool hours, so you will be able to free swim.</p>

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<p>And I think there was/is intramural waterpolo? (coed?)</p>

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<p>Thanks everyone! The more i think about it, the “brown-er” i feel :D</p>

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<p>Scratch that, I’m still undecisive. What do you think really sets Brown apart? </p>

<p>I know i might be wrong but just going through the course catalogs in both schools, Berkeley seems to have more interesting and varied courses in more subjects, more esteemed faculty, etc, and higher ranked programs. For pre-med, is Brown particularly good?</p>

<p>I have no idea what to do, does anyone have more insight?</p>

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<p>I’m not going to google this, but since Berkeley is x-times bigger than Brown, which means it has many many more students, of course it’s going to have more courses. </p>

<p>One question to ask about Berkeley v Brown is whether at Berkeley that esteemed faculty member will ever teach a class, whether you will ever meet that professor. At many large schools, name professors only interact with grad students, or teach one huge class per year. And the rank of programs is often grad programs, not undergrad.</p>

<p>You also need to find out how often those courses are offered (the catalog reflects total class offerings, not what is actually offered each semester), whether there are requirements you have to meet before you can take those classes and if there are size limits to those classes that means you may not get into those classes. Also remember that there is a limit to how many classes you can take in 4 years. Does Berkeley have distribution requirements or required courses? Brown doesn’t, so in the end you might be able to take more classes at Brown than at Berkeley. Also find out how easy it is to do research with profs at Berkeley. I know that at Brown, it is very easy to do that.</p>

<p>Berkeley and Brown are very different places. I don’t know enough about Berkeley, although I have seen it once or twice and read descriptions of it. It’s a HUGE school, and most students after freshman year live off campus. My guess is that Brown will have a greater community feel to it – Berkeley is like a huge metropolitan area, Brown is a small town. </p>

<p>Do you want to stay in California or experience a different part of the country, meet a more diverse group of students? Some people consider college to be more than just classes, but the education you get from the people around you.</p>

<p>The weather will certainly be better in Berkeley, and you won’t have to deal with the hassles and expense of traveling. Go to travelocity and figure out how long it will take you to get to Brown, calculating when you would leave your house and when you would arrive in your dorm at Brown. Do you want to do that several times/year?</p>

<p>You will get an excellent education at both schools. You will learn a lot at both places, I promise you, and be academically challenged and be prepared for med school.</p>