<p>I am deciding between Brown and Cornell. Could you give me some unbiased advantages and disadvantages of the two schools so that I can make up my mind?
BTW, I am international student and I am planning to major in Biology. Which school has a better department of Biology or Biology engineering? Which school has a strong international students body
Thanks</p>
<p>i have to admit that cornell probably has a slightly better biology department. they have a lot more courses related to biology and life sciences - because cornell is so big. BUT biology at cornell is extremely cutthroat. i have friends who go there and well, they hate it because its so competitive. i dont know about you but i go to a really competitive high school. everyone wants to be better than someone else. believe me, it gets tiring really quick. brown has a really good biology department. its chill and students only compete with themselves. i wouldnt want to spend thousands of dollars for another four years of high school, if you know what i mean. brown is also more diverse, not just ethnically but in all ways. ithaca is just..white, although cornell is pretty diverse i guess. choose brown!</p>
<p>both will prepare you equally well in your field of interest</p>
<p>are you interested in the open curriculum?</p>
<p>~11% of the student body is international at Brown</p>
<p>Brown, for obvious reasons</p>
<p>Cornell, for obvious reasons.</p>
<p>Duh.</p>
<p>I have the same issue. More input!</p>
<p>Even so, Cornell is internationally known as well.</p>
<p>Cornell has the highest suicide rate of all the ivies.... ( I am clearing my throat again..)</p>
<p>Cornell is particularly well-known among professional academics (i.e. profs.) for the physical sciences; engineering; pre-med, etc. I've always thought of Brown as more prominent in political science.; the humanities; etc. As you know, they're both highly regarded schools, so if they both have the major you seek, you are bound to receive a great education at either one.</p>
<p>I've had family members attend Cornell and have done research myself at Brown. I know Cornell's population is diverse from walking the campus many times. I suspect Brown's is, too, but I don't know that for a fact, having spent less time there (and most of that with my nose buried in archival material in the Hay library).</p>
<p>Brown is right in the middle of the city of Providence, RI (which is not huge like NYC, but a fairly good size); Cornell is in the smaller college town of Ithaca, NY with lakes, gorges, and rural areas surrounding it. Ithaca is surprisingly cosmopolitan for its size and location, imo. It's not like other upstate New York towns of its size, that's for sure. Providence is closer in location to other cities like Boston, and it is, of course, on the coast, if that interests you.</p>
<p>I don't know if any of this information helps at all, but good luck in your decision! ;)</p>
<p>dude, brown, seriously. i am kinda offended this question came up in the first place. </p>
<p>brown rocks!</p>
<p>shaqdaddy, everyone is different, that is why the question came up. What may have worked for you will not work for everyone.</p>
<p>Brown is such a better college experience in my opinion. Academically, I'd give it the edge because it isn't doesn't have as much deflation as Cornell plus better undergrad focus.</p>
<p>Goodness, save yourself the stress and go to Brown. You don't want to be up against all those pre-meds doing bio at Cornell, do you?</p>
<p>But if you're trying to land a position at, say, a biotech company after graduation, will they respect a bio degree from Brown, despite the fact that Brown's not necessarily known for strong life sciences? (Sorry if this question comes off as rude or naive or anything).</p>
<p>Missuspeel, I am in a similar situation where I am deciding between Brown and JHU and one of the key problems that is hindering my choice is the fact that Brown is not renowned for life sciences like JHU is. So I took the advice of some people on CC and took a look at classes and labs I would want to participate in at both JHU and Brown. JHU, of course, had some amazing life sciences courses but to my surprise Brown also had so many interesting courses, some of which JHU did not have (ex: Cancer Biology, Experimental Surgery, Drug and Gene Delivery, Tissue Engineering, Neuroscience). Also I checked out Brown's medical research labs and they have so much research spanning disciplines such as cancer, HIV, neuroscience, genomics, etc. </p>
<p>So while Brown might not be known for Life Sciences like Cornell and JHU, it has an amazing program both inside and outside the classroom. But another thing I realized when I was comparing JHU/Cornell and Brown is that we are not going to graduate school, we are going for the next 4 years to get our undergraduate degrees. As an undergraduate you should take a wide range of courses to educate yourself in a variety of subjects, wait until graduate school to focus solely on biology.</p>
<p>So, in my opinion, I think you should choose a school that's not only equipped with a good science program (with classes and labs that you could see yourself participating in) but also a school that provides you with a well-rounded education and an environment where undergraduates are not just a statistic but a priority. You never know, you could end up hating biology and switching into English, so you should find a school that is strong in every subject and also a school that you feel the most comfortable in.</p>
<p>Sorry about the long post, but I've been so torn over JHU vs. Brown and I finally came to a realization that I just needed to express.</p>
<p>That was very mature and well written js416256. FYI though, I think some of those classes you listed at Brown are for grad or med students</p>
<p>...the advantage of brown being that grad and med classes are fair game for undergrads that have taken the introductory classes</p>