Brown Vs. Princeton

<p>Hey everyone, I've been accepted to Brown and Princeton. I'm definitely going to be fulfilling the pre-med track, and looking for research and internship opportunities as well as a competitive environment. Pros and cons please, Brown or Princeton?</p>

<p>I like Princeton just because of Location!!</p>

<p>Well, depends on your financial status. If your family makes 45,000 or under definitely Princeton. If not, depends on personal preference, location, opportunities, etc.</p>

<p>Brown would be better for you if you like premed. Princeton doesn't even have a med school, and Brown has an (amazing) one. Even in college, being at Brown will give you a chance to meet professors, potentially take grad-level courses in med or bio, etc...</p>

<p>I'd go with Brown.</p>

<p>Princeton... if you, by a really small chance, end up not doing pre-med, Princeton is a much better choice. I think it will give you better connections and more prestige in the future.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice guys! Right now financially I'm still waiting on Brown, but I also don't want it to be a major part of my decision. Several of my friends have visited Brown and thought that it appeared as more of a "party school". Is there any truth behind their statements?</p>

<p>Brown PLME is pretty awesome from what I hear.</p>

<p>I would have loved to go to Brown PLME, unfortunately I was not accepted to the program... However I was accepted to the undergrad. But the questions still stands... Brown or Princeton?</p>

<p>brown is no more of a party school than princeton, and the financial aid packages will be identical (both schools will match the packages given by other ivies)</p>

<p>both will prepare you very well for medical school, though princeton has a policy that restricts the amount of A's given out (even in non pre-med classes) so you will have to directly compete with the people next to you for each A you earn at princeton.</p>

<p>you should decide based upon what you want to study during your four years of college, how important the open curriculum is to you, etc.</p>

<p>You might want to take a look at this:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/pdfs/wsj_college_092503.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/pdfs/wsj_college_092503.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I happen to like that ranking because it's not arbitrary. It's some very useful information, and just based on that I would pick Princeton.</p>

<p>However, I agree with the above posters that Brown is not a party school, and that Princeton's grading system sucks.</p>

<p>wow I didn't know that about princeton dcircle... does Brown also have a similar grading policy?</p>

<p>brown doesn't--but that being said, pre-med classes are stilled curved at brown. there will be some amount of competition with your classmates no matter where you go. </p>

<p>my experience being a pre-med at brown, however was very benign. everyone was very friendly, willing to help each other out, things were never terribly stressful (particularly compared to what i heard from my friends at other places). i got to know most of the other pre-meds fairly well and they were (almost) all fantastic people. organic chemistry (which is the bane of most pre-meds' existence) is amazing at brown and very well taught. and students from brown place tremendously well in med schools.</p>

<p>^I agree with dcircle, I have heard similar things from people at Brown and Princeton, so it's not just one anecdote.</p>

<p>Since you weren't accepted to PLME, I would go to Princeton. Princeton has more name recognition (not the best reason I know) and strong academics in all subjects. Furthermore, its got sweet eating clubs that'll play a bigger role in your life jr/sr year. However, Brown is also a good choice. Nice pre-med, no core curriculum, and students there are generally happy. (Don't know if this equates to "party school") Also, if you don't like the eating club idea then I'd choose Brown as well. I don't think you can go wrong with these two fantastic choices- however I would choose Princeton.</p>

<p>Whichever one you personally like more.</p>

<p>dcircle: Are you currently still a pre-med at Brown now? Or have you moved on to medical school? </p>

<p>Right now in addition to deciding between Brown and Princeton I'm also considering the HPME program. If you've gone through the med school admission process do you have any opinion on the BS/MD programs?</p>

<p>conflicted, i've moved on to medical school.</p>

<p>bs/md programs vary a lot. my personal opinion is that there is nothing wrong with securing a place in med school, but i don't recommend accelerating your undergrad experience and only taking three years. i think you miss out in a big way if you do this--particularly because the process of becoming a doctor is very one-tracked. from the first day of medical school to the last day of residency (and likely beyond), you have very little control over your time and very limited opportunities to pursue interests outside of medicine.</p>

<p>i believe in the HPME you would have the option of having a full undergraduate experience if you choose. all three places would provide you with a fantastic experience and ample opportunity for success. you should base your decision on what you want to get out of the next four years of your life</p>

<p>turn down princeton??</p>