<p>Seems this specific comparison is missing from the index of "Carleton vs. " thread, above. But that may be what my son is choosing between. He is a strong student across the boards (4.0, National Merit Scholar, e.g.), with a passion for theater, English, creative writing (including comedy and plays), humor, possibly music (a capella, composition). He is very creative, somewhat distractible, hates pretentiousness, initially held back. He has grown up in the midwest and gone through school without breaking much of a sweat. Brown's financial aid offer is significantly better than Carleton's and includes no loans, at least for the first year when his brother will also be in college. (Note: husband believes that fact will not change.) He would likely graduate Carleton with some debt.</p>
<p>I know Carleton becomes the happy home of some who do not get accepted to Brown. But did anyone here choose Carleton over Brown? If so, what are your thoughts about that now?</p>
<p>And what are people's thoughts about this choice generally?</p>
<p>And now let me throw in the fact that older brother will be a senior at Brown (very accomplished, but also very different interests) when younger one is a freshman. Does that change what you have to say? I am especially interested in hearing from any younger sibings out there, or parents of two or more with widsom to share.</p>
<p>Your son sounds like a perfect fit for Carleton.</p>
<p>“hates pretentiousness” is almost almost a credo to live by here.</p>
<p>If he turns down Brown, he’d be in good company on campus.</p>
<p>You’ve followed one son through Brown and I’m sure know it well. It has great things to offer but structure and strong guidance are not on that list. Don’t know if I’d recommend it to someone “somewhat distractible.”</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of someone offered stronger FA by Brown than Carleton and am somewhat surprised. Carleton tends to be very generous with packages. I’d suggest you speak with the FA office and present the 2 offers - you never know :).</p>
<p>That being said, money really changes things. If your son could be equally happy at both schools, Brown might be the right choice. You can’t go wrong either way–he has two fantastic options.</p>
<p>My son chose Carleton over brown a year ago. Financial aid from Carleton was a bit better, though not enough to be the deciding factor. His reasons for choosing Carleton were pretty subjective - just liked the kids and campus more, didn’t much care for providence. After almost a year, he still loves Carleton and finds the academics extremely challenging and at times a bit stressful. Not likely that kid cam get thru Carleton without breaking a sweat. Contests on having two great choices!</p>
<p>Brown is big enough that the presence of an older brother shouldn’t be a factor, unless your student feels strongly that he wants to blaze his own path.</p>
<p>My D chose Barnard over Brown, and my S chose Williams over Brown. We all like Brown a lot, but the schools they chose had an edge for them. </p>
<p>D would have done well at Brown, but S, who is also distractible, needed more structure, or at least thought he did.</p>
<p>However, unless your S feels strongly, it might not be worth the debt unless you all decide he can’t do well at Brown or is not inspired by it.</p>
<p>First of all, congratulations to your son for getting into two great schools! I ultimately didn’t apply to Brown, so I can’t speak from firsthand experience. That being said - it sounds like your son would fit in well at Carleton. “Unpretentious” and “creative” are two words that I would definitely use to describe a lot of Carleton students (although there will be many students at both schools who do and don’t fit the profile). Carleton academics are challenging, and there are many National Merit Scholars here - in fact, I think that Carleton has the most National Merit FInalists/Scholars out of any school, if I’m remembering correctly.</p>
<p>However, there are other factors to consider. Brown’s environment will most likely be a little bit “preppier,” with more of an East Coast feel, but the students (from my somewhat limited experience) are generally more relaxed and open than at some of the other East Coast schools. The academics will be challenging at both schools, and the theatre scene at Brown is strong (although it’s pretty good here too - and a capella is very popular). </p>
<p>The financial aid complicates the issue further. I love my school, and have intense pride in Carleton. If your son really wants to go here, I would suggest you call the Financial Aid office and try to bargain with them (Note: I know several people here who actually did this). However, if it’s going to be a significant amount of debt that your son graduates with, he may want to reconsider. He would get a great education in both places, but if he wants to go to graduate school and is evenly divided between both schools, then I’d recommend picking the more financially feasible option. Unless, of course, he really loves Carleton.</p>
<p>If your son is as successful and cheerful as it sounds, he will do well wherever he goes. Best of luck with the decision!</p>
<p>From my experience, Carleton and Brown are similar in many ways. The nice thing about Brown is that it is a little more known than Carleton. If you have no other way to decide, pick the cheaper school.</p>