Brown vs. Dartmouth or Pomona

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

<p>After cutting my list from nine down to three schools, this is what I’m looking at:</p>

<p>**- Brown University, RI

  • Dartmouth College, NH
  • Pomona College, CA**</p>

<p>None of them gave me any money.</p>

<p>I am female and attend a public high school in Texas with roughly 4,000 students…</p>

<p>Prospective areas of study in alphabetical order:<a href=“always%20subject%20to%20change”>/u</a>

  • Astronomy/Astrophysics
  • Biophysics/Computational Biology (something more than regular bio)
  • Engineering (Although… if I was dead set on engineering I would probably put Harvey Mudd back on the list; they gave me a $10k scholarship per year)
  • Foreign Language (I am leaning towards Chinese, Japanese or French perhaps as a minor)
  • Modern Culture and Media at Brown looks interesting
  • Neuroscience
  • Public Policy/Public Health (probably as a minor)
  • Studio Art</p>

<p>I would also like to study abroad either in Europe, Australia, or Asia (thinking about Hong Kong, Japan, or Singapore? Actually I’m open to anywhere).</p>

<p>And I have fuzzy plans for going pre-med…</p>

<p>Brown PRO’s:

  • Freedom of the new open curriculum. As I was applying to colleges (and thus answering questions like “Describe your passion for learning,” etc.) I realized that there was so much knowledge out there anxiously waiting to be contemplated, analyzed, and absorbed. Consequently, Brown’s philosophy is really attractive to me as it breeds intellectual exploration and seems to promote creativity.
  • Speaking of creativity, Providence is supposedly a great artsy small town/city. The people seem to give off this vibe as well - correct me if I’m wrong. Providence/Brown’s campus is also good looking when it’s sunny.
  • Location/proximity. It’s only an hour away from Boston and only a few from New York, both of which are cities where I have friends and family.
  • The opportunity to take classes at RISD is a major major plus for me, and this chance would be really hard to pass up.
  • Overall I guess the people were friendly and accepting (with exceptions to a few comments I received for asking questions on this forum; however CC admittedly has its own subculture).
  • Advising is supposed to be really good. It’s there if you look for it.
  • After making this list, I guess I can’t go into too much depth about the opportunities at Brown. I sort of just assumed they were there, and were good?</p>

<p>Brown CON’s:

  • Housing and food? Mediocre/subpar from my experience. I stayed in Keeney, ate at Faunce and the Creperie on Thayer Street. I’ve read not-so-flattering reviews about Sharpe Refectory.
  • Some intro classes can get really big…
  • I think Brown only offers four Astronomy classes, and they are all intro-level.
  • The weather? Although the winter in Providence should not be as harsh as in Hanover, it is a lot longer and colder than in Texas. Does it rain a lot? I need sunshine - I think it really does affect my overall mood. Seasonal affective disorder.
  • Brown may be slightly more impersonal than the other two because of its relatively larger size.
  • I heard that the student body was prone to form cliques due to the extreme and vast spectrum of the people who go there.
    - Question: What are Brown’s strongest undergraduate programs? How do my prospective major choices measure up?</p>

<p>Dartmouth PRO’s:

  • As far as academics go… Great engineering school, great studio art resources, looks like it has a strong neuroscience and astronomy major. Pretty much I think they are strong in everything I currently think I would major in. This will probably change though, as most people’s majors do. The distributive requirements at Dartmouth also do not seem to be “limiting” (which would otherwise defeat the purpose of what I liked about Brown)
  • Alumni network seems to be extra strong and helps out a lot. Same with school spirit. It’s insanely intense, from what I saw at Dimensions.
  • Students were always out on the green, hanging out and being social. (This may have been because it was the first time it was actually green, as opposed to white with snow, in a long time)
  • The campus was beautiful when I visited. I can’t say that it would be like that all the time, though, and even the people there commented that it was an anomaly that it should be sunny and relatively warm in the middle of April.
  • The freshman dorm I stayed in was new and comfortable.
  • Great food, and there is a farmer’s market nearby.
  • Skiing.</p>

<p>Dartmouth CON’s:

  • Greek scene, partying, and drinking is not really my thing. People say that there is no pressure to drink even at the frat parties, but I don’t know how comfortable I would be just even being around so much alcohol. My idea of wind-down time would be like… reading a book, going to poetry reading at the coffee house (an event that was scheduled for Dimensions at the same time as a sorority ice cream social), playing Pictionary, a friendly game of ping pong or Ultimate frisbee, listening to classical music or random intellectual discussions… baking, movie nights, watching the stars. Good sober fun.
  • It seems like everyone played varsity sports in high school and are really active in sports and physical activity there. Don’t take this the wrong way though - I’m all for healthy exercise and avoiding the freshman 15 - but it feels like this is conducive to a prevalent “jock mentality” on campus.
  • "Secret societies" seem to be an excuse for elitism.
  • The winter. Sometimes at home I can barely get up in the morning, and it only gets down to about 30-40 F here. If the extremelycoldomg winter at Dartmouth really lasts from November to April, I’d be pretty screwed.
  • It’s in the middle of nowhere. Hanover, although cute, seems too quiet/unlively. And it is really far from other places, no joke. People say, oh, it’s not that bad, but when you think about how you could have been in Boston by now, you might change your mind… Then again there is always **lots to do on campus<a href=“this%20is%20a%20pro”>/B</a>. Just thought maybe I’d miss out on my favorite bands touring, or cool events that happen only in urban areas.</p>

<p>Pomona PRO’s:

  • Who can say no to California weather? Also, Pomona has Ski-Beach Day.
  • Very big, good biology department. (Stronger than Harvey Mudd - they focus more on Physics/Math/Engineering)
  • Known for strong foreign languages, and study abroad to go along with it.
  • My tour guide said that the Neuroscience department is small, but has a lot of money (so more money per student). I also met a neuroscience professor, took her class, and she seemed very vibrant, helpful, and loved her job.
  • Senior studio art majors get their own private studio space?
  • **Location **is good. Proximity to Los Angeles (cool stuff happens all the time, like band tours for example) and only a few hours from the Bay Area. Lots of businesses in the area = jobs.
  • I believe they are great at placement in graduate school or medical school. This is only helpful if I actually do continue my education, which of course is not set in stone at the moment. In any case, graduate school (and med school I guess) admissions know Pomona.
  • This is a real LAC: advising that’s really on the ball, close professor relationships and small seminar-like classes. I sat in on classes at all three schools. Pomona’s were the smallest and had the most intimate atmosphere. The other two have a “LAC feel” which I’m sure is just as good but not the real thing, you know?
  • “Dorms Like Palaces” lol… and firsthand student testimonials that they are really happy there/the happiest students. (Although I believe Brown also ranks for Happiest Students somewhere. And Dartmouth. Hm ok.)
  • They have good food too, including Snack.
  • Out of the three, I think Pomona has the best-looking campus.</p>

<p>Pomona CON’s:

  • Nobody has heard of Pomona. Including employers? This I actually don’t know much about. But name recognition plays a part… Pomona is a little more obscure than the other two which happen to be Ivy League schools. When my friends hear which schools I am deciding among, Pomona turns their face into a ? with wrinkles in the forehead. Then again this isn’t too important, just funny.
  • Unfortunately, Engineering would not be a practical option here at all. If I were to choose Engineering and California, I might as well enroll at Harvey Mudd (and pay less!)
  • Small alumni network, because it is a newer school and it does not graduate as many people each year. When compared to the other two, this aspect may hurt a little.
  • **Small size **of the actual school, in terms of population. It’s less than half the size of my high school. Despite it being in the Consortium, I heard that there is not as much interaction with the other colleges as they play it up to be. I also heard that in terms of academics, students from the other schools are more likely to take classes at Pomona than the other way around. This, they say, is due to the fact that Pomona is the largest of the 5 C’s. In a nutshell, I’m afraid of feeling claustrophobic. This information came from current students, and I’m wondering to what extent are the rumors true?
  • Pomona doesn’t get the whole week off for Thanksgiving :stuck_out_tongue: Yeah, I did a lot of detail-oriented research.</p>

<p>I’ve been losing sleep over this decision for days, and the clock is ticking like a time bomb. Insight/helpful suggestions please?</p>

2

<p>Call me biased, but I think that Brown is for you. The first four things you listed as benefits of Dartmouth are benefits of Brown (though the beauty and Green stuff was a bit hard since it was nasty on ADOCH, but gorgeous the next day). Our Alumni Network has recently broken all kinds of Brown fund raising records and we're now up to 1billion dollars over the last 2 or 3 years raised. Brown students have a huge sense of camaraderie because of our unique program of study and the very self-motivated paths of study that often follow all kinds of convoluted paths. We love our school and love to connect with other Brown students and find out where their education took them. It's drastically different for everyone and exciting. I already addressed the particular strengths of neuroscience. Our physics department has 25 professors, but they're only between 5 and 15 concentrators each year so you'll get PLENTY of personal attention in that department, though I'm not sure about Astronomy endeavors in particular, you will be able to easily do research right when you get here in astronomy and that is truly invaluable compared to class work. The actual concentration in Astronomy is an independent concentration meaning that there is a good amount of independent study one on one with the professors here who specialize in astronomy.</p>

<p>However, if you're interested in the geological aspects of astronomy, our Geo department has a very strong segment/focus on the extraterrestrial and many of them, though they're trained in geology, are actually working on astro-chemistry/geology, etc, and their are even several former NASA scientists and members that are regularly on Discovery specials, etc.</p>

<p>Though there is plenty of drinking at Brown, because the campus life is more fragmented and has more independent things going on there is far less of a unified, "This is the party to go to and get drunk!" thing at Brown compared to Dartmouth. A lot of that has to do with Brown's location in Providence (as well as being 45 mins from Boston) compared to Hanover-- there's always a lot going on here.</p>

<p>I don't know, maybe it's because these are some of the things I considered that led me directly to Brown, but Brown seems to be the place to be.</p>

3

<p>I feel like Pomona or Brown would be for you. You want somewhere lively and fun, not Hanover. I'd actually say Pomona seems like your best bet - strong alumni network, strong name recognition where it matters, great academics...the weather seems important to you, as does the location, and I don't think you need to have concerns about feeling claustrophobic, with the multitude of other schools near by. Based on what you said, I'd go with Pomona, followed by Brown, then Dartmouth.</p>

4

<p>come to brown! we have a LOT of similar interests and attitudes we should be friends! :) </p>

<p>about Pomona, i spent my high school years in la, and to be perfectly honest, its not that exciting. downtown is generally deserted at night and full of businessmen during the day. if you want to find something to do, you usually have to go to santa monica or hollywood, which means several hours and several near-death experiences on the 405. as far as name recognition goes, darmouth and brown can definitely do more for you.</p>

5

<p>I mean, at least in regard to your concern on class size, Since you will be picking all of your classes you have some flexibility in that regard. Still, be aware that Brown does not offer minors.</p>

6

<p>Why do you need a minor to pursue a second area of study that you love? Also keep in mind that most minors are useless when it comes to grad school admissions or job applications. Most people have told me that you should minor in something for you and only if you love the subject.</p>

<p>My friend goes to Pomona and she almost never makes it to LA. The traffic is terrible as is the bus system. And I would say she drinks a fair amount so it's not like Dartmouth has a monopoly on that.</p>