<p>Hey, I am from Albania and I am about to finish my IB at the United World College of the Atlantic. I have been accepted to both Brown and University College of London, and UCL has offered me a full scholarship (which is pretty rare in the UK). Brown has also awarded me full financial aid. I’m planning to study Biological Sciences/ Cell and Molecular Biology. Which one do you think is best? Please help me! Thanks.</p>
<p>They’re so different it’s really a question of what suits you best. Do you plan on living in the US or UK after university? If you don’t plan on staying in the US, UCL is almost undoubtedly more prestigious, and its Biological and Biomedical Sciences departments are outstanding.</p>
<p>Congratulations on receiving a full scholarship from UCL, I didn’t even know they offered them!</p>
<p>I’m a little confused - Brown’s deadline for committing was has passed.</p>
<p>mgcsinc: I have already committed to Brown, but they can’t stop me from not going there in practice…and if i choose ucl i won’t just not show up in august. i will explain them my situation, so that’s not the problem. i have already sorted this out with my school councelor, and i learned about ucl only on monday anyways.
Thank you Dionysus58. What about Brown? Do you have any idea how Biology is at Brown? and also, i already know that i’m going to focus on human reproduction and genetics and UCL has the perfect course for that. do you think brown will allow me to focus on this in my undergrad, or the open curriculum will actually be an obstacle? thanks for the feedback!</p>
<p>Sorry i cant help you with those questions. I’m from the UK and dont know much about individual US universities. If an American doesn’t answer your questions here then ask on the student room forum, if you haven’t already of course. But i imagine the open curriculum will be a nuisance if not an obstacle if you know what you want to do already, especially in the sciences.</p>
<p>I’m curious as to why you’d say it’d be an obstacle if you already know what you’re doing. I came in fairly certain of what I wanted to do and have thus been able to use the Open Curriculum to make every single one of my courses relevant to where I see myself in a few years. Not the standard approach, but no less of a valid one.</p>
<p>The open curriculum is beautiful in the sciences if you already know what you want to do: in computer science, I could potentially have two upper division courses taken care of by the end of my sophomore year, and I came in with absolutely no experience. My friend (who’s a biochem junior) took an upper division chemistry class his sophomore spring. Brown allows you to create a challenging, yet rewarding curriculum if that’s what you want.</p>
<p>Some things to consider more: Brown has a very social atmosphere. Is that something you want? Will UCL provide you with as many opportunities to socialize, to really get to make strong bonds with other people who’ll end up doing amazing things? I don’t know how British universities work, so I’m not entirely sure how the studying mixes with socializing.</p>
<p>I would go for UCL. It’s part of the ‘University of London’ group meaning wherever you go people will know that your degree is very well respected. The majority of people across the globe will have heard of London and UCL. London is a city renowned for its cultural diversity and for being a scientific and financial centre. You would also have a great social life as a UCL student with theatres/cinemas/restaurants on your doorstep and the famous West End a few minutes away. UCL is well known in the UK and abroad as being top-notch for science degrees as well as for economics/business.</p>
<p>I know that academically both universities would be pretty equal. The only thing that attracts me from UCL is the fact that I can go onto exactly what I want to do and also get a Master in 4 years and I can’t do that at Brown.
Coming from a UWC, I have realized how important social life is, so that’s one of the main things that’s holding me back from going to UCL. Also I know that I could spend my study abroad year in the UK if I went to Brown. But which of the two would give me more opportunities after university - postgrad and jobs? Would it be easier to go to the UK with an American degree, or viceversa? Thanks so much guys!</p>
<p>i feel like ucl would be the better choice here. you can get degrees in less years, ucl has an extremely high reputation, and though brown is amazing it’s not as well known or as respected.</p>