<p>So theres less than a week left and I still cant decide!!!
Duke or Brown?
Im planning on studying the cognitive sciences/neuroscience along with music (I know its not performance at both) and am set on the track to medical school.</p>
<p>I love the weather and research-triangle aspect of Duke as well as the beautiful campus, but I just dont think Ill be comfortable at an athletic-greek school in the South. And it just seems like a less tight-knit "homey" place to me for some reason.
And then theres Brown. I feel like I dont like the physical place as much as I do Duke (i.e. architecture, weather, etc), but I simply think Ill be happier there; the open curriculum is very appealing to me, and the fact that it IS on the east coast (most, if not all, of my friends are headed that way) does help.</p>
<p>I havent visited either so I dont exactly know what the vibe or mood of Duke/Brown are, so this decision is just even harder. In retrospect, I should have visited but then again, there are a lot of things I regret, so, hahha ;P</p>
<p>Im sort of a laid back kind of person involved in both research and music (I play flute and compete on the national level). I want to enjoy my four years in college but still have a legitimate chance at a good medical school. </p>
<p>Ahhhh .so any suggestions?? pleeaasee help?? I shall give you internet coookies ;)</p>
<p>This is an easy one… BROWN! Both are fine instutions, even taking into account what you want to study. I’d definitely go for wherever you think you’ll be happier… After all, you ARE going to spend 4 years of your life there. So, if financial situations are the same for both, I’d choose Brown.</p>
<p>Brown. Neuroscience at Brown is amazing.
The only places I would recommend for your particular area of study OVER Brown would be Harvard, MIT, or Hopkins</p>
<p>Hmmm… pnb2002, honestly, I don’t know why I say that, but from looking at the websites and forming my limited mental images, I see Brown as a happier place. I wish I had a better idea. </p>
<p>Financially, Brown is a couple thousand more, slightly above EFC (Duke was slightly below EFC)…bah. </p>
<p>My parents are primarily worried about Brown having too much of a “liberal arts college” image and are thinking about how it may look if don’t end up in med/grad school . Dunno if that has any validity or not…but ehhh</p>
<p>I don’t really understand what your parents are saying, frankly. They’re both excellent, well-known universities. And the fact that Brown is sometimes seen as more a smaller, more liberal arts-y type school shouldn’t be viewed as a negative.</p>
<p>You’ll get a great education either way. If you honestly can’t visit, I’d suggest finding their respective class of '13 forums on CC or on Facebook and asking questions and trying to get a feel for the sorts of students you’ll be going to school with. Good luck!</p>
<p>^^^ “My parents are primarily worried about Brown having too much of a “liberal arts college” image and are thinking about how it may look if don’t end up in med/grad school.”</p>
<p>What?! First off all, Brown is one of the most selective and prestigious universities in the nation. How would it look on your resume regardless of whatever field you may switch to? Spectacular! And if, in fact, you’re not committed to a single option, a liberal arts curriculum would be the best place to be. I’m going to take a wild guess here - might it be that your parents have immigrated to the U.S. and don’t grasp that more corporate American CEOs come from liberal arts backgrounds than from any particular pre-professional discipline? Also, Brown has, year-in and year-out, one of the highest levels of student satisfaction of any school in the country, including Duke.</p>
<p>Duke has the advantage of also having a top-ten medical school. Duke Med likes to take Duke undergrads, and every year, multiple undergrads stay for med school - something to consider if you’re “on the track to medical school.” Brown and Duke are peer institutions, and you can’t make a bad decision here, but I echo the sentiments about visiting. You may love one and hate the other after setting foot each campus.</p>
<p>Personally, I’d recommend writing each school and requesting a week extension to decide then jump on a plane and visit; worth it if you are gonna spend $200k and four years of your life. Both campuses have a distinct feel, and are significantly different. You’ll know immediately which one feels better. Either college will prepare you well for med school, altho Brown’s grade inflation (mean gpa of 3.6) and liberal pass/fail/drop policy will probably make it easier to earn A’s. </p>
<p>I strongly disagree with those that claim that Brown is a top 5 neuro program. It just ain’t so, unless you are only counting NE schools. Nevertheless, picking an undergrad college bcos it is (supposedly) best in a grad program is rather silly, IMO.</p>
<p>Well, at this point, visiting Duke is pretty much useless since we’re in the midst of finals weeks. The campus will be empty, and the libraries will be packed. You won’t see much. I don’t recommending visiting Duke now. There’s more to Duke than athletics and greek life, but if you really think you would be happier at Brown, go there unless the few thousand dollars/year makes a difference. You’ll pretty much get the same opportunities at either school.</p>
<p>How to get to/from Duke? Fly to RDU airport, a 20 minute ride to campus. The Raleigh/Durham area population is 1.7 million people - the fastest growing metro area in the US (per 2007 stats).</p>
Visit. Don’t judge based on a stereotype. Is Brown full of pot-smoking gay hippies?</p>
<p>
In what alternate reality? Neither USNWR or the NRC rankings put Brown in the top 10. In fact, the NRC places it at an extremely mediocre #52 (Duke is #16).</p>
<p>I agree with bluebayou. College is a big investment and is worth the time and expense of a visit. Would you buy a house without checking it out? Reading posts on CC is like merely listening to a realtor.</p>