S17 has already been admitted to our flagship and has apps out at a few top 20 schools. He’s fixated with Brown but outside of his crush getting in ED, I don’t get what’s so appealing. We’re middle class in the Midwest with a strong college fund but I question whether the “prestige” of Brown will even be recognized if he returns to the Midwest or heads to California. I don’t think many people here even know it’s an Ivy League college. He’s undecided on major, maybe political science.
If he got in ED with sufficient financial aid, he is committed to attend, right?
Brown is best known for having no general education requirements for non engineering majors.
Brown is very well known and highly respected among academics, graduate and professional schools, recruiters in business/finance, etc. It’s reputation/prestige is very strong on both coasts. It has consistently had one of the strongest, accomplished undergraduate student bodies for decades.
“Worth it” is highly context specific. Brown is pretty generous with financial aid. Depending on circumstances, it may be cheaper than some public school options. Then again, it depends on which public schools you are comparing.
In my opinion, I certainly would NOT pay significantly more or go into significant debt to go to Brown over, say, U Michigan, one of the top 2 publics in the nation, if not the world, in my opinion. If the midwest schools you are considering are Wisconsin or Illinois or Ohio State, I don’t the actual education will be “better” at Brown… and I could see advantages going to these midwest flagships.
There are some very good midwest flagships (UW Madison, U.Michigan come to mind, but there are more). Brown is also very good.
I am highly dubious that the difference between these three schools at least is worth any significant difference in price. I know people who have done very well coming from each of the three. Also, if “political science” is a likely major, then graduate or law school is entirely possible, making tiny differences between undergraduate prestige less important, and saving $$ in the college fund for later relatively more important.
Economics was another interest. Who knows, really, he’s wholly undecided.
Are there any certain companies that LOVE Brown grads? Tech, finance, consulting companies? I assume mostly NE/NYC.
While “many people” may not know much about Brown those who matter do: Hiring managers, grad school adcoms etc. Your neighbors in the Midwest may not know though.
Brown has its own culture. There are several youtube videos available. For some, Brown is too liberal, for others just right.
Open curriculum, lots of pass/fail options, a bit on the artsy side.
Whether or not the name Brown travels well to the Midwest & West is another question, but one can always refer to it as an Ivy League school.
Brown is “all that” and widely known. But it doesn’t matter what other acceptances he has. He is committed because he applied ED and was accepted.
Just a side rant, but is there something in the water this year? There are a flurry of people who seem to have not taken the ED agreement they signed seriously.
The way I read it, the OP’s son did not get into Brown ED; his “crush” did.
Does it seem Brown draws a lot of wealthy boarding and day school students? Any particular reason?
Will D17 have trouble fitting in? I assume those kids all clique up and sort of know each other going in.
Some of the well off boarding school kids who attended Brown seemed to seek relief from the intense academic pressure found at some elite boarding schools.
There will be a huge difference in his experience at Brown vs your state flagship. Its up to you to decide if its worth it since you already have their FA offer.
That’s three people commenting that OP’s son applied ED and already has a financial aid offer. She never said that.
Some older threads on here suggest Brown is sort of run down in spots. Is that accurate or an exaggeration? Is that part of the charm?
I don’t have a handle on construction at Brown, but I know our flagship is in the news constantly for $100m here $200m there sort of new construction and remodels - is that not the case at Brown?
You are concerned about run down facilities at an Ivy? Your criteria for choosing a college are warped.
@midwestsahm : Did your child get in ED? If so, your child must come. If not, you don’t need to worry too much abut it now. No one has a good chance of getting into Brown. It is like worrying about how to spend winning lottery money.
@elena13 yes you are correct, seems like a girlfriend has gotten in ED. Still nothing to worry about unless accepted. He’ll have a month to decide if he is.
I don’t get the idea that at an elite school like Brown, kids will “know each other” and “clique up”. It’s only a couple from any given boarding or private or public school that get into Brown, and it’s not likely they are good friends. For instance, a boarding school like Exeter may get a handful of Brown admits; but Exeter has a large graduating class.
Brown is Ivy League, it is an elite school. It’s known for being a “find yourself” school where you can try classes and drop them easily (check specifics on that). It 's a great school, known nationally but perhaps most in NE, but anyone who hasn’t heard of it doesn’t know much about colleges.
Niche prestige in New England? Thanks for a good laugh.