How is the social life at Brown? Are people generally nice or does it feel like high school? What is the dating scene like there? How prominent are sports teams in the social scene? Is the culture clique-y? How difficult is it to succeed at Williams? Are class sizes small?
What is the general vibe/what is your feeling about the school?
I am looking forward to applying to this fantastic school
Thank you so much for the feedback!!! All is appreciated
lol
I’ve been here about three weeks, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but:
It’s a very social school. There are a lot of parties, which as a non-partier, I find kind of annoying, but if that’s your thing you’ll probably like it. There are other options, though; reslife (I think) sponsors a Free Food Friday event, where they provide pizza and board games. It’s nice. And, obviously, people just hang out in their dorm rooms or go out to the movies or things like that.
People are nice. Truth be told, I’ve found it very hard to make friends, but there are personal reasons behind that. In general, I don’t think people have trouble. It isn’t cliquey in the stereotypical, “high school” sense.
The sports teams aren’t really prominent, I guess. I’ve heard of postgame parties, but those aren’t a major thing. The first football game was yesterday, and I know some people went, but a lot didn’t. I guess I’d say that sports are there if you want them, but you won’t feel isolated if you’re not into them.
(I assume you mean Brown, not Williams :P) How hard is it to succeed? That’s a loaded question, and one that I’m probably not eligible to answer in my first semester. But I’ll take a stab at it anyway. Compared to other schools, I think it’s easier to succeed. Obviously, you still have to work hard, and you can’t slack off. But the fact that you can take any course S/NC makes a huge difference. And you literally can’t fail a class. The lowest you can get on your transcript is a C. If you get below that, it just doesn’t show up in your records. At all. You can still fall into poor academic standing if you don’t pass enough classes, though. But there isn’t the grade deflation or hyper- competitive atmosphere that you find in other schools.
Class size? Depends. Intro courses are large lectures that typically have smaller-group labs or sections. I’ve heard that STEM classes tend to be bigger, though I can’t verify that. I’m in a large course, a medium-sized English one (around 30 people) and two small ones (10 people or under).
General vibe? I don’t know. I think in general, Brown is a school that its students love. Most of the people I run into seem to be thriving. You’ll hear often that we’re the happiest Ivy, and that seems to be something people really embrace and live by. That being said, I’ve found it kind of hard to adjust. I’ve continuously felt that I would be much happier in a different environment. This might not be something to take seriously – I’m three weeks in; it’s probably normal to feel this way. But I mean, ask me how I feel during the second semester.
Hope that helped. Good luck with your application.
@SpringAwake15 has some good points. I loved Brown and most people I know were very happy there.
“How is the social life at Brown? Are people generally nice or does it feel like high school? What is the dating scene like there? How prominent are sports teams in the social scene? Is the culture clique-y? How difficult is it to succeed at [Brown]? Are class sizes small?”
I am not a recent grad, so take this for what it’s worth. People are generally very nice. The Greek scene is not dominant but it is there (more frats than sororities). Parties are generally inclusive. Not sure if one can generalize about the dating scene (e.g., vs. hookup scene). I knew many people with boyfriends/girlfriends at Brown. Sports teams do not dominate the social scene, though when I was there some frats aligned with various sports teams had parties and I am sure some students focused on those parties. Not sure what the definition of “succeed” is, but the grading was fair – not overly harsh but not overly easy. Most people probably got Bs and As, some Cs. The S/NC option is nice too. Class sizes are varied as @SpringAwake15 noted.
“What is the general vibe/what is your feeling about the school?”
Very positive. Students are happy and it is not cut-throat. Students generally do not discuss their grades. When I was there, the campus was quite liberal and there were a lot of protests and activists. Probably about the same now.
Also, Providence is a nice city, especially now. Plus for those who want to get away, Boston is less than an hour away and there is frequent bus service.
Great social scene–most people find their niche. You have to seek it out though.
Pretty much impossible to fail a class unless you don’t put in the effort–most professors in my experience try to de-emphasize grades and want to just let us learn, to be honest (a huge part of Brown philosophy).