<p>I've been accepted into Brown and University of Virginia and love both after visits. I want to study CS but have other interests. I love the CS department at Brown and thought the decision was final until I went though UVA's brand new CS building and talked to its students.</p>
<p>UVA offered me the Rodman scholars program for its SEAS. It means I live in the nicest dorms, register for classes first, have fewer requirements (which basically matches Brown's open curriculum) and have more access to research. This program is why the choice is difficult. </p>
<p>I love UVA's campus ("grounds" to be proper) more than Brown's and see myself there very well, but Providence too was cool and quirky. I come from a conservative family (don't know where my views are yet) and thought the "hippy liberal" reputation would be bad but I didn't mind it. I also love to party which is why I ruled out Carnegie Mellon (as long as it's balanced, work hard play hard). Both school's seem fantastic and I'm split 50/50 between them.</p>
<p>Money is the same for both schools, so it's not a factor.</p>
<p>I just made this same choice (along with Duke and some other schools) and chose UVa. I can’t really speak to CS, since I’m in A&S, but Echols was a huge draw for UVa. Mostly, though, I could just see myself there much easier than I could anywhere else. Charlottesville and Albemarle County are beautiful, the grounds are gorgeous, and the students seemed a bit more laid back than at other elite schools.</p>
<p>D chose UVA in 2010 over Northwestern and others and has not regretted her decision. She’s in Echols, but to be honest, most Echols/Rodman kids have already completed their GenE requirements through AP, so exemption from core classes isn’t typically a factor unless you come from a hs that didn’t offer a lot of APs. Priority registration as an Echols/Rodman is nice though. Socially, these schools are VERY different. I’d contemplate if you’d prefer a preppy, work hard/play hard, strong Greek influence, tradition-filled environment like UVA or a left-leaning, liberal arts, hippie environment like Brown. Both are great, but both cater to different types of kids.</p>