<p>So actually, these are just somewhat-arbitrary schools I picked to represent two types of schools: an excellent university, and a slightly less selective but still elite LAC. Some people on these forums are saying it's better to go to Brown for grad/professional placement. But Brown also has this rep for "soft" academics, whereas Bowdoin is supposedly intense and very intimate. Where do you think a students gets the best education? Does it actually matter which type of school you attend if you're interested in grad school or non-profit work for environmental studies?</p>
<p>i'd go with bowdoin, seems like a more intellectual and nurturing climate. brown, however, appears to have a more artistically inclined student body.</p>
<p>yes your undergrad school matters for grad school.</p>
<p>i would pick brown but only cuz i'm more of a university-type than a LAC-type.</p>
<p>it's almost impossible to say which one will give you a better education...the quality of ed varies from student to student, depending on which courses you take, which profs you have, what you do with your summers...basically, the choices YOU make. both schools have amazing professors, but i've spoken to a lot of people at brown who, while they certainly feel they get enough attention and assistance from professors, have admitted that they haven't (or didn't) really get the opportunity to develop close relationships with them. bowdoin alum (and others from similar calibre LACs) on the other hand, have mentioned knowing professors who changed their lives, who took personal interest in their work, and kept in touch even after graduation. if that sort of thing is important to you (like it is to me), you're better off at a school like bowdoin, where excellent academics are executed with a personal touch, that sometimes, make a huge difference. i think at bowdoin, you'd also have more chances to do research with professors than at brown, where grad students get first preference; and you in your first two years at brown, you'll probably have TAs taking many classes, grading all your problem sets etc. however, because brown is a huge university, you'll get a lot more diversity (before someone starts throwing bowdoin's demographics at me, i mean diversity in kinds of people)...you'll meet hippies, to astrophysics nerds, to eclectic art students, to gay activists, to preppies, frat boys, druggies, celeb kids. i'm not saying that you won't meet a lot of interesting people at bowdoin, but lets' face it, brown's size gives it a huge advantage. and the proximity to RISD makes the campus a truly mixed environment. plus, it probably has an advantage in resources, bigger uni, bigger funds. and more famous alumni...if you want to work in non-profit work on the environment, i'm guesing strong contacts/wide network would be very important for you.
ultimately, what's really important is where you would fit in better, and where you would be better able to create opportunities for yourself. and that, my friend, comes down entirely to the PERSON YOU ARE.</p>
<p>I'd go with Brown because its more selective, has a better rep, and the kids are better academically then the ones that go to Bowdoin, and I'd like to be arround driven and smart people (not that kids at Bowdoin aren't).</p>
<p>Any major like sociology and such could be considered 'soft' but at every school majors like math, mathematical econ, engineering, hard science...etc. are difficult</p>