<p>Hi, everyone. I got accepted to both Brown and Cornell and am having a hard time deciding between the two. They both gave me about the same financial aid offer, although at Cornell I was accepted for the Hunter R. Rawling III research program and rejected at Brown for PLME, which I wanted to be apart of. Right now I am sort of leaning towards Cornell, but still haven't visited either. I will be visiting within the next few weeks. If you could give me your thoughts on the two in comparison academic/social wise, or anything else it will be much appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>I can kind of speak to this because I spent a few weeks at brown over the summer, and a week during the school year. Brown and Cornell both have amazing reputations. I will let others discuss their comparison academically. I have more expertise on the social aspects of both schools, especially brown.</p>
<p>Let me start off by saying that Brown is not for everyone. The school is absolutely gorgeous (I think the prettiest school in the country). Thayer St is fabulous (check out the Creperie), and everyone is brilliant and passionate. Everyone at brown has their “cause” or “passion” because Brown actively looks to admit unique and interesting students. Because of this, most students have very strong personalities. One of the reasons I chose to apply ED to Cornell rather than Brown (i was between the two) was because while I was at Brown, I didn’t feel like I fit in with those types of people. I am a little more softspoken than many of the brown students I met (not just summer@brown kids, real students), and to be brutally honest I felt like Brown students are very impressed with themselves. (sure, they have a right to be!) Obviously, not all students at Brown are like this, I am just speaking to my experience. You have to feel like you belong somewhere, and I did not feel like I belonged at Brown.
That being said, the parties at brown are… strange. It is not your typical college frat party you would find at Cornell. There are the typical apartment parties, which many upperclassmen go to. There are also random parties in dorm lounges and stuff, for example, in November, my friend went to a party where a guy in a mexican sombrero was drinking sangria discussing a book he was reading in class. It definitely is not your typical college experience. Brown has an intellectual vibe that is unmatched. It was too much for me to handle, but if that is your thing, go for it.
Lastly, my favorite thing about Brown is the diversity. On my floor, every race and religion, and many international countries were represented. I absolutely loved this. What I didn’t love, and let me preempt this by saying I am liberal, was the lack of diversity in politics. Pretty much, everyone is liberal. I maybe met 3 people who were conservative. At first it is nice, you think wow everyone agrees with me. Then after a few days you realize your thoughts aren’t being challenged and therefore you can’t grow (in the political sciences sense). It just isn’t the real world. I felt like brown was a bubble of everyone having their cause and saving the world (which is great!) but once you get out of that bubble you are in for a rude awakening…WOW THAT WAS LONG!</p>
<p>Okay, Cornell. I think Cornell is the whole package. Academically it has a ton of resources, unparalleled job placement, world class professors, etc. It also had the exact program that I wanted (ILR). Socially, it is more of a typical college experience that I had always imagined. That is not to say it is better or worse than Brown. It was just fit me better. I loved the freshman housing area, and I love the fact that all freshman are housed in the same area. I think it builds a sense of community. Brown houses freshman in two different areas, one is better than the other. If you can request, try to stay away from dorms near the VDUB (cafeteria) I also wanted to join a sorority and Cornell has a thriving greek life. (Brown has sororities and frats but greek life is not looked at in a very positive way, some don’t want greek life and like this about brown!) </p>
<p>SORRY THIS WAS SO LONG! I think it comes down to which one you feel is a better fit when you visit. Both are excellent schools. If you choose Cornell, I will be joining you in 2012 
(guaranteed transfer) Congratulations on your acceptances. If you have any more questions about my experience at Brown just message me!</p>
<p>Thanks for posting this. No worries for it being long. A short answer probably wouldn’t have helped at all.</p>
<p>Does anyone else want to give their perspective?</p>
<p>Cornell, in my opinion, has a better international reputation and possibly more prestige, as well as a greater variety of course offerings.
Brown is also prestigious (maybe not as much as cornell) but Brown has no requirements (except the major), you can take everything without a grade, I don’t think they issue or report gpas, and the atmosphere is very laid back. You can take most any class you want and not have to worry about a grade.
Cornell is much more intense, but also has much more variety in terms of students, sports, ecs, courses, etc. But unlike Brown, Cornell does have core requirements, which I think are required for each of the colleges, although there may be some differences. At Brown, aside form the major, you can basically take any class you want and can elect to take it without a grade. Whether that is a good idea is questionable. Also, the location is different. Brown is near a somewhat significant city, with transportation and much more shopping, while Cornell is up in the mountains, kind of removed from everything except the city of Ithaca, which is rather small but charming and a great college town. Cornell’s location is one of the things I like about the school, as well as the large amount of courses and different colleges. Given that Brown is so hard to get into these days, like 1/2 the acceptance rate of cornell, it is a hot school, maybe because of Watson and some other celebrities that are supposed to attend. But Cornell is more renowned and highly regarded (my opinion) with some excellent graduate programs. The choice is a personal one. Most people would pick Brown over Cornell, but that does not mean it is the right decision fro you. You need to pick the school that works for you. If you don’t like competition and like being able to take many or all classes without a grade, and want to probably wind up with higher grades because you will only take a grade in the classes you know you will do well in, then definitely go to Brown. Being able to pick the classes that you want a grade in is a nice option. If you like the different course offerings and location of Cornell, then go to Cornell.
Also, Cornell is much bigger in the frat scene.
Don’t get caught up in ratings or anything like that.
You will see kids who go to cornell find surveys that rank cornell high up and kids that go to Brown or somewhere else that rank their school high up. Rankings do matter, but it is more important that you pick a place that will get you to your end goal.<br>
Good luck.</p>