Chicago OR Brown?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>So I'm waiting to hear from Brown, but I was accepted to Chicago yesterday. </p>

<p>Yes I'm one of "those" cases. I love Brown--absolutely everything about it. I love it's environment, the students, the happiness, and the list goes on. I recently told some people about my acceptance to Chicago and they were elated and immediately told me I should go to Chicago over Brown. </p>

<p>The thing is--I haven't visited Chicago yet. I can totally see myself liking it too. But I'm afraid, I don't want to give up what might be an amazing experience at Brown, for a very workaholic lifestyle at Chicago. I'm just confused. Does Chicago have anything similar to Brown? Or is the "where fun goes to die" phrase overdone?</p>

<p>Of course, I love Chicago--I mean I applied there. But I always get second doubts about it when I compare the school to Brown. Brown has always been that "it" school and now things have changed.</p>

<p>Yes, I know Brown decisions haven't been released. So sure, there's a possibility I won't even have to consider this situation if I'm rejected from Brown. But in case I am, I'd like to start giving this some thought before hand. </p>

<p>So please, any advice would be lovely!</p>

2

<p>Just chill. Chicago is one of my top three schools, but if I have to make a decision between the three it will come down to financial aid.</p>

<p>And don't worry about it since you haven't gotten all your decisions yet. Enjoy your acceptance, embrace the sun, and do your homework. ;)</p>

3

<p>ilovepeople - it totally depends what you think "work" means. If you feel the majority of reading or problem sets you need to do are just "work" and imply a bit of drudgery, then no, you probably won't like Chicago. On the other hand (I majored in poli sci/history), I really never viewed my readings as work. I was always excited to do the readings required for class, enjoyed the class discussions, and I was one of those nerdy types who met with professors just to talk about the readings. </p>

<p>For me looking back on everything, I really couldn't imagine going anywhere else. Also, it should be noted that the Chicago curriculum is quite customizable - there is actually a lot of flexibility with the electives, what counts as a requirement for your concentration, etc. I will say, Chicago probably has a "grittier" atmosphere than Brown - decidedly less grade inflation, colder (although not snowier) winters, the longer trimester system as opposed to the semester system, and the like. </p>

<p>What I loved about Chicago though, is that I got to study what I enjoyed, and I look back at my graduation from Chicago as a significant accomplishment. Sometimes when I go and look at my books from college, I also feel a little proud - I have read most of the most significant works in, at least, the western canon. There really is something to be said about being an educated citizen, and Chicago facilitates this goal wonderfully. For me, these sorts of goals were important, and I now look back at my time at U of C with considerable nostalgia.</p>

4

<p>Ilovepeople72,</p>

<p>Its hard to imagine two top ranked schools more dissimilar than Brown and Chicago. Brown draws bright, creative kids who are looking for academic freedom to tailor their own education. UChicago is a rigorous and disciplined school that takes it upon itself to educate its equally bright undergraduates on relatively strict academic terms (at least for the first couple of years). </p>

<p>Not to belabor the point, but Brown, to me, seems like an east coast LAC that has grown into a research university while UChicago is more a 19th century German research university that has grown an undergraduate college. The two schools may be outwardly similar, but they come from two very different philosophies.</p>

<p>Btw, there is a huge Brown mafia in film and TV in both NY and LA while there's a relatively high number of Chicago people in law, business and research universities. </p>

<p>The two schools have generally drawn from very different applicant pools and its a bit funny to see you trying to decide between them.</p>

5

<p>Just to add a few more observations that may help you decide:</p>

<p>The Brown people that I've met, gone to school with and worked with, tend to be much more social than the UChicago kids. They are MUCH more hip and in tune with the cultural zeitgeist. They tend to be more physically attractive and outgoing than UChicagoans. That's not to say that UChicago students are anti-social, but they are, on average, much less concerned with social networking, getting high-viz media internships, etc. </p>

<p>Additionally, I believe that UChicago has one of the highest first-in-family-to-attend-college rates of any top private university and this shows in many ways. The cars you see in parking lots are pretty run-down, the vacations during spring break are much more modest and not many kids come from entertainment/world-class-rich backgrounds. What you do get, OTOH, is a very serious undergraduate class that values academics more than just about anything else. </p>

<p>Again, I'm making a gross oversimplification with regards to two enormously varied population groups, but doing so with the aim of helping you come to some decision on this.</p>

6

<p>I don't know if I have anything to add, but I want to reassure you that you're not the only person, or at all strange, for being torn between schools as "dissimilar" as Brown and Chicago. I applied to both, with Chicago as my first choice, and am now happily enrolled at Brown (I was waitlisted at UC, so I never actually had to make the decision, but I certainly thought a lot about the two schools.) </p>

<p>I know what really appealed to me about Chicago was its strong academic culture: the discussion-heavy classes, the people who are enthusiastic about the courses they're taking, the rigorous standards, the accessible profs. What worried me was the fear of being in a really intense academic environment, or one that would not force the non-intellectual side of me to grow. </p>

<p>Re: the academic side of things. The sense I get is that classes at UC are smaller than Brown's. That said, as a freshman I've taken two freshman seminars (despite the lottery system, once the year starts it's kind of open to anyone) with great profs, as well as two other classes around 15. While my others have been lectures, some have had sections (one TA-, one professor-led - but that was just luck of the draw). And I think that by and large, the profs are quite accessible if you want them to be - something I wish I'd been better at first semester. An extreme case is my intro bio class of about 400, where the professor responds quickly to emails, posts on our class discussion board, and encourages students to drop by whenever he's in his office. He even has office hours in the dining hall one day a week.</p>

<p>I'm not sure what it's like in the core, but I do really think that Brown's Open Curriculum allows for some really great classes - both in terms of opportunity to take them, and in terms of who is in them. Coupling the lack of core requirements with our very flexible shopping period and almost semester-long drop deadline, my classes are almost exclusively full of people who want to be there. Everyone I talk to is absolutely in love with at least one or two of their classes, if not more. Typically, this means that they're willing to put in the work for them - which, let's not kid ourselves, can be a lot. With no standard of comparison, I would be skeptical of drawing any general line in terms of the rigor of Brown's vs. Chicago's classes. I know I work hard.</p>

<p>At the same time, I think Brown has an exceptionally laid-back atmosphere. Ultimately, a big factor in my choice was my "gut" reaction, and the feeling I got when I visited Brown last spring is one that really has stuck. People don't seem harried and stressed-out; they're generally friendly and happy as we tell each other how much work we have to do. As someone who could easily end up working constantly, seven days a week, I appreciate that there are plenty of people here to draw me away from that extreme and keep me balanced. And rest assured, if you're drawn by the nerdiness of UC social life (as I was), you can definitely find it here, if it is perhaps a bit less prominent (although I don't know what the reality vs. viewbook is of that in Chicago). </p>

<p>Bottom line: Have I wondered sometimes if I would have been happier at Chicago, had I gotten in? Yes. But am I pretty damn happy now? Absolutely. And do I wonder if I am happier at Brown, if it's ultimately "better" for me/my personal development? That too.</p>

<p>Feel free to contact me with any questions.</p>

7

<p>tk89 and lfsc have both captured the differences well, from different perspectives. </p>

<p>Both Chicago and Brown are great places, but in very different ways. </p>

<p>But don't try to over-analyze this. Go with your gut if you have a choice to make. (A lot of research supports "gut" decision making, which was found to be based on a lot of unquantifiable information, not just a wild guess!)</p>

8

<ol>
<li><p>I actually think of Chicago and Brown as very similar. Chicago students appreciate (and sometimes resent) the Core and its ideals, but I believe a large percentage of Brown students feel approximately the same way, but choose to control themselves the order in which they give themselves a broad liberal arts education. I believe both colleges attract intellectual, life-of-the-mind students who may be a bit less careerist and pre-professional than the equivalent people at, say, Duke or Penn. </p></li>
<li><p>My children, the older one especially, disagree with me about this. My older child believed that she sniffed a strain of anti-intellectualism at Brown, and ambivalence about college, that really turned her off. She had planned to apply there, and didn't. I know that her friends' experience at Brown has deepened rather than erased that belief, but I don't know exactly what's behind that.</p></li>
<li><p>Based on the limited group of students I know at both colleges, the Brown students are NOT more attractive, social, or hip. In fact, if you lined up the Chicago students from my kids' cohort in this area next to their classmates who went to Brown, it might well be the case that every one of the Chicago students is more attractive, more social, and more hip than any of the Brown students (with perhaps one exception each way). There are some dorky (but lovable) people at Brown.</p></li>
</ol>

9

<p>I'd recommend going to Brown. If you actually take my advice and go there then Brown is the right school for you. :)</p>

10

<p>I'm in the same situation as you. Still waiting on Brown, but if I had to make the decision it would be a tough one. I'd probably choose Brown over UChicago because I like the environment better. Although I still feel as if I'd get a better education at UChicago. So who knows. I'll just have to consult a psychic or something.</p>

11

<p>yea, sunshowers. that's the situation i'm in.</p>

<p>i'm definitely going to contact a couple of you after i get my brown decision (assuming i'm admitted, otherwise i wont). </p>

<p>thanks for your insightful comments and understanding.</p>

<p>sure the two schools are different with the core versus the open curriculum, but i think some of the people understood my difficulty when they saw that the type of students at brown and chicago are kind of similar. the students at both of these schools are not as pre-professional, they are quirky, creative, and absolutely value learning for the sake of learning. that's why i love them both.</p>

12

<p>well, here's the low down on how I see the differences between the two student bodies, and this is a big one. Chicago trains you to analyze. It creates an unparalleled environment where you are taught how to step back from the material at hand and weigh, dismember and re-constitute any number of arguments, phenomena, systems, etc. More than anything else, Chicago trains you to observe, analyze and argue. It is a school that is founded on and venerates the near-sacred principle of "theory". </p>

<p>What it doesn't do well is teach you to create art - either in terms of novels, screenplays, films or theater. Sure, Chicago kids can do well after leaving school in any number of artistic fields, but the fact remains that it is not a place that encourages you to express yourself through the arts, plastic or otherwise. </p>

<p>And in my professional opinion, this is where a school like Brown excels. It gives kids an envrionment where creative energies are channeled into readily avialable and productive venues. Again, Brown students have an immense presence in film/TV/theater and this is not by accident. Now, whether what they actually create is any better than what Chicago kids do is another matter, but the emphasis that Chicago places on theory is both a blessing and a curse.</p>

13

<p>Not to refute the arts discussion at all but------- I have been very surprised but my S's in and out of class participation in artistic endeavors. Music and drama, who knew?? His comfort zone would have been 2d and 3d art.</p>

14

<p>it's funny that you guys mentioned that, because it's what i'm a bit worried about. </p>

<p>as much as i love academics, intellectual learning, and non-professionalism, my career goals are in art. i want to go into fields relating to art,non-profits, galleries, and design. i love art (visual arts). i sent in a portfolio with both of my applications. but i wasn't ready to go to art school, since i'm crazy about academics too. i guess i kind of want the best of both worlds which is hard. i want a crazy amazing artist's haven, but also a crazy amazing intellectual's haven.</p>

15

<p>^You might consider contacting some art profs at each school.</p>

16

<p>Funny how the OP expresses exactly how i feel as well</p>

<p>I visited Brown and fell in love with it. I have not yet visited Chicago but just from looking at the brochures they send me, I became enamored with it (also helps that every other day in class i hear that a new famous scientist or philosopher came from there.)</p>

<p>I guess what really links these two schools for me is their creative energy. Even though Chicago seems more rigid than all the other schools of its caliber, it still manages to churn out new ideas in every field. Likewise, Brown seems to be a haven for the creative arts with a liberal philosophy that foments these endeavors.</p>

<p>I was thrilled to be accepted to Chicago and am waiting patiently to hear from Brown.</p>

<p>The Ultimate Irony though is that I will not be able to attend either of these schools. Chicago is relatively stingy on its finaid so I won't be able to afford it. Conversely, even if I do get into Brown, my parents would never allow me to attend it due to their faulty impression that Brown is a place for slacker/hippies who can't get real jobs after the graduate (exception-unless its from the med school program thing). </p>

<p>So yeah..... your not alone in your love for these two paradoxically connected schools</p>

17

<p>Go with your gut, go with Brown</p>

18

<p>tk89</p>

<p>gang or mob would be less offensive than mafia</p>