<p>This isn't a chance thread or anything, I'm just trying to choose between the two as my top choice, or which is the best fit personality-wise. I intend on majoring in Urban Studies, which both schools have fantastic majors in. I love the open curriculum and knowing everything I'm studying will be beneficial for me and get me somewhere, but the city is a bit iffy for me. But my main concern is being intellectually stimulated by people that are very intense, but in a sort of relaxed way and very determined and passionate. Plus, interaction between different races, interracial dating acceptance, plenty of opportunities to learn how to play music, and so much more. Also, plenty of things to do for someone who doesn't drink or smoke. My academic interests are city studies, sociology, Creative Writing, Computer Science, US History, and I also plan on taking up some music lessons or music theory. </p>
<p>I'd say I'm a really intense person, so I'd need to be "grounded" by more relaxed people, and I love discussion-based, small class sizes. I love cycling and trains, so both are a must. Providence has both to a certain extent, but New York is heavy on both. I also like sort of crafting my own structure to know that what I'm taking isn't a waste, but I'm open to things I may not necessarily be interested in as well. Plus many of the classes I intend on taking at Brown would be in the core either way. </p>
<p>So with that said, which is a better fit? I know responses will be a bit biased, but any truly informative advice will be helpful. Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>Are you deciding on which school at which to enroll?</p>
<p>Although I personally found the Core at Columbia endearing, I have a number of friends who similarly describe themselves as “determined” and “passionate” and detest the Core as a meaningless waste of time.</p>
<p>But, the risk of an Open Curriculum lies in too much freedom, a sense of aimlessness. However, you would benefit from the advisors at Brown, and you would be able to engage every single one of the interests you listed without the hindrances of requirements to fulfill.</p>
<p>Brown is more laid back and liberal-minded than Columbia. The latter is much more diverse, ethnically and socioeconomically, but much more competitive too.</p>
<p>And, you’re right. I’m sure about 90 percent of Brown students ultimately fulfill what would have composed a Core by the time they graduate (that’s the percentage at another Open Curriculum school, Amherst).</p>
<p>I’m a really self-guided person so I’d like to try out every single option, but keep in mind my main one (Urban Studies). Unless something else adds up to being amazing.</p>
<p>It’s really between those two, and I’d rather apply ED and truly throw my heart into an application and see how that goes than blindly sending out multiple half-hearted apps, mostly because I can’t imagine how stressful that month will be flipping between both if that happens. Plus, I won’t quite be able to visit them either, though I have been to Providence once and it seemed pretty decent.</p>
<p>“But my main concern is being intellectually stimulated by people that are very intense, but in a sort of relaxed way and very determined and passionate. Plus, interaction between different races, interracial dating acceptance, plenty of opportunities to learn how to play music, and so much more.”</p>
<p>I can see why you’d be attracted to both, but here’s my opinion.</p>
<p>The main differences between the two schools, aside from the Core vs Open Curriculums, are the amount of ethnic diversity and the utilization of being in an urban area. I think that if you’re looking for people who are accepting of different races, sexual orientations, and minorities in general, both schools are good. However, if you really want there to be more racial minorities, period, Columbia has an edge. Also, I get the feeling that while at both students like the fact that they’re in a city, Brown students’ social lives, especially for the first couple of years, are more on-campus than off-. They may work or volunteer or occasionally go out to a restaurant in Providence, but the majority of their time is spent on-campus. At Columbia, perhaps because many students picked it over similar schools simply because it’s in NYC, the city is used very heavily. There are events and clubs and things on-campus, certainly, but weekend nights are more devoted to exploring and partying in the city itself.</p>
<p>Both schools have smart, passionate, dedicated students. I’d say the ones at Columbia are more intense, generally speaking, and more come into college knowing what they want to do both academically and socially, whereas the students at Brown are more laid-back, generally speaking, and many use the lack of a Core to explore many academic interests they’ve had in mind but never gotten to really delve into before.</p>
<p>I generally suggest Brown over Columbia for people who aren’t too happy with the idea of a Core Curriculum and/or don’t really cite living in a big city as one of their main concerns and/or don’t have a specific major in mind where Columbia is undoubtedly stronger than Brown.</p>
<p>I don’t attend either school, but I have many friends who do, so take this all as you will.</p>
<p>From what I read, you seem a bit more like a Brown-type student because you said that you’re self-guided, want a relaxed population due to your intensity, and you sound like you would enjoy the Open Curriculum more than the Core. Best wishes! :)</p>
<p>Descriptions of typical Columbia and Brown University students from The Princeton Review:</p>
<p>Columbia University
““Columbia is a microcosm of New York,” sums up one student. The people here are a “mix of everything.” Columbia’s “very well-rounded” students “are very passionate about their interests.” As one student explains, “You can find conversations about everything from the relationship between gods and mortals in Virgil’s Aeneid to the latest hipster music group.” On campus, you’ll find “a great mix of ethnicities” as well as ample diversity of “religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, national heritage, sexual orientations, political beliefs, and geographic roots.” These “smart, motivated, independent, and intellectually curious” students describe themselves as “hardworking, continuously busy,” and “not very religious.” One student warns, however, that “many students are book smart but not very worldly” and can be “very full of” themselves. Politically, left-liberalism is “raging” on campus, though Columbia is “not as crazy liberal as it used to be.””</p>
<p>Brown University
“It’s a pretty unique crowd here, where “athletes, preps, nerds, and everyone in between come together” because they “love learning for the sake of learning, and love Brown equally as much.” “The ‘mainstream’ is full of people who are atypical in sense of fashion, taste in music, and academic interests,” says a junior. Unsurprisingly, everyone here’s “very smart,” as well as “very quirky and often funny,” and “a great amount are brilliant and passionate about their interests”; “Most have interesting stories to tell.” People here are “curious and open about many things,” which is perhaps why sexual diversity is a “strong theme” among Brown interactions and events. The overall culture “is pretty laid-back and casual” and “most of the students are friendly and mesh well with everyone.””</p>
<p>Why do you need a top choice? They can just both be your top choices.</p>
<p>Curriculum: a lot of high school students are for some reason really bothered about Columbia’s Core and love the idea of Brown’s open curriculum, because everything they’ve taken for the last 12 years of their life has been dictated by their schools. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a Core. A lot of Columbia undergrads don’t like Frontiers of Science, but most undergrads here that I’ve talked to have acknowledged that the Core is essential to broadening their knowledge.</p>
<p>Early Decision is for people who are 100% sure that they want to go to a particular school and are also 100% that they can afford it regardless of what kind of financial aid they want. Since it is obvious you don’t 100% prefer one school above all others, don’t apply to <em>either</em> of them ED. Just apply to both of them Early Action (they both have both), and give yourself the freedom to choose in the spring.</p>
<p>* It’s really between those two, and I’d rather apply ED and truly throw my heart into an application and see how that goes than blindly sending out multiple half-hearted apps, mostly because I can’t imagine how stressful that month will be flipping between both if that happens. Plus, I won’t quite be able to visit them either, though I have been to Providence once and it seemed pretty decent*</p>
<p>College application season is more like a marathon than a short sprint. You should be able to “truly throw your heart” into all of the applications for the top schools that you apply to. Remember, even if you do apply ED to one of the schools, you may not get in. These are schools with acceptance rates of less than 15%. So you will have to apply to other schools too, and you will have to put your all into those applications. What happens if in the fall you find out that you get into Brown but you have to shell out a lot of money to go there, but you could’ve possibly gotten a better financial aid package at Columbia? Or vice versa? And even if you apply EA or RD to both, you may get in to one or neither. Don’t worry about spending that month “flip-flopping” between both just yet.</p>
<p>If you love them both and you can’t decide, just apply to them both Early Action.</p>
<p>I assumed they did since someone earlier in the thread posted that they did, but I checked and neither school has it. They just have regular decision and early decision.</p>
<p>In that case, I revise my statement to say, “Just apply regular decision to both of them and hope for the best.”</p>
<p>What I’m saying is that you don’t <em>have</em> to make college decisions like that. It’s perfectly okay to not have a clear #1 and have two or more schools share that spot. Actually, it may be healthier for you. I had two colleges that I really loved in high school, and in April my decision was mostly based on financial reasons but I would really loved being either place. Rather than agonize, I was just happy I got into both.</p>
<p>If you really, really want an answer you sound like you like the student body, academics, and the vibe of Brown better but just like the location and atmosphere of Columbia. In which case I say, pick Brown. You can always study in New York for your graduate degree or live there with your first job or something, especially with an interest in urban studies. Columbia was my dream school in high school and I really wanted to move back to New York where I grew up, but I knew my parents couldn’t afford, so I went somewhere else for undergrad and now I go to Columbia for grad school (and I’m not paying for it this time, lol.)</p>