<p>Annoying question! Is anyone turning down harvard to go to brown (or considering it?) Just curious, thanks.</p>
<p>I didn't apply to Harvard, but I'd definitely turn them down to go to Brown. I would hate it at Harvard.</p>
<p>And there's no such thing as annoying questions, only annoying people. J/K, no offence meant.</p>
<p>haha, none taken</p>
<p>most people admitted to both brown and harvard choose harvard, but about 1 in 5 choose brown--enough that there are usually a handful on every freshman hall and you wouldn't be alone</p>
<p>here is an example of a student who transferred to harvard from brown after her freshman year and then promptly transferred back to brown, deciding she liked brown better
<a href="http://www.browndailyherald.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=df431f9e-4e39-4cf9-9da3-2c01fcb4879c%5B/url%5D">http://www.browndailyherald.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=df431f9e-4e39-4cf9-9da3-2c01fcb4879c</a></p>
<p>Each school has people who love it, and frankly even if you don't "like it" the education provided is top notch at each and will help vault you into your future career. I wouldn't make this a black-white issues as there is gray area on both sides.</p>
<p>I know people here who chose Brown over Harvard.</p>
<p>PLMEs usually choose Brown over Harvard.</p>
<p>i chose harvard over brown (because of $)</p>
<p>If you have to go to both... go to Brown for undergrad and Harvard for grad...</p>
<p>You don't want to be taught by TAs all the time as an undergrad, and Brown's 100% focus on its undergrads definitely won me over. Don't pay attention to the US News rankings - they don't take in account the fact that Brown has a smaller grad school and endowment than other ivies (or other top schools for that matter). It doesn't make it any worse than other schools. And besides, people who have a sense in socialization (and who aren't too nerdy for their own good) would choose Brown over Harvard in a heartbeat. That's just my opinion from my observations.</p>
<p>Haha I know I said this in another post and this is two weeks old but um, Harvard students are NOT taught by TAs all the time. I really want to know where people are getting this? Not trying to be nasty, now I'm genuinely curious since I've seen it a couple of times now by different people...</p>
<p>Explanations please? lol</p>
<p>(and for anyone wondering what the heck I'm doing in the Brown section I'm writing a piece, and the main characters attend Brown, so I'm digging for information =) )</p>
<p>Harvard2007, this is not that representative of the community since most kids who post here are not current students, and even if htey are coming next year, they aren't here yet. If you want, feel free to contact me for any information from a student who's been here a year.</p>
<p>My SN is attached ot my username.</p>
<p>Harvard or Brown? I still haven't made my decision, but I got into both and I'm definitely not going to Harvard (I'm between Amherst and Brown). It's true that there aren't that many TAs (or TFs?) at Harvard, but it seems that you have to be the right kind of person to go there (from what I've seen/heard/read, it seems you have to be tough and super proactive to get what you want... seems like Harvard tends to neglect its undergraduates compared to other schools). I'm not that kind of person, which is why Harvard just wasn't for me. (also, it may come down - for some people - to choosing between Harvard and its reputation and a less prestigious but better-fitting school)</p>
<p>My belief on this subject comes from some students and the data in Larry Summers CUE Report (read it yourself). While it is great that they are taking steps to improve and recognizing the problem...it seems a little lacking at the moment. This is merely an example</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=501352">http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=501352</a>
In a 1999 survey given to graduating seniors, 34 percent of government concentrators said yes to the question of whether they were advised which courses to take. Only 31 percent of economics concentrators said yes to the question of whether their academic interests were discussed. Thus the great talent and promise students bring to the College is squandered. The formal advising system is an evident failure. Isolated geographically and socially from upperclass students, first-years do not have frequent access to informal advising.</p>
<p>Now I'm not saying that this one statistic is the end-all be-all but it does raise questions. USNews about a decade ago also did a survey on teaching quality and Harvard did well, but not as well as one would imagine from the reputation.</p>
<p>Again though, I credit them for trying to work to fix the problem. If the statistics and such have considerably changed please do let me know and I will take note of it.</p>
<p>Harvard2007 -- if you want any more information or details about Brown for your piece, feel free to pm me.</p>
<p>ohh thank you modestmelody and ILoveBrown. I think I will definitely take you up on those offers :D</p>
<p>oh and just to clarify (not that it makes much difference) it's a creative writing piece...not a journalism piece haha. So it's not like the info is gonna end up in a newspaper or anything.</p>
<p>An interesting study ... too bad you can't see the other rankings. It looks like the Harvard result got leaked ... <a href="http://tinyurl.com/6knas%5B/url%5D">http://tinyurl.com/6knas</a></p>
<p>that's for the link DianeR. That sounds pretty accurate lol.</p>
<p>I wish the article would have talked more about student life and how it's lacking on that front. The "too many rules" that they mention I am not familiar with except I do know that at one point parties were from 10pm-1am instead of 2am because the city of Cambridge complained too much. But that was coming from outside of the institution as far as I know. It definitely does lack places to socialize. We have no student center. There is Loker Commons, but that's a joke...no one goes there :| I think the entryway system that most freshman and upperclass dorms have is also a socializer-killer. It's supposed to help foster community within the entryway but it is not conducive to socializing. For anyone wondering what the heck an entry way is, it's kind of difficult to explain but basically dorms are divided up vertically, such that you are cut off from other entryways. You have to leave your entryway (usually by exiting the building) and walk to another entryway. Instead of long hallways, each floor has maybe 3 or 4 suites. So for a 5 floor bldg there might be 20 suites per entryway. Not all dorms are like this but most are, so I can definitely see how that would be a bit detrimental to larger socialization.</p>
<p>I'm choosing Harvard over Brown because of fit + money. I thought Brown would be a better fit (it was my #2 choice for most of the year, behind Yale where I was rejected) but after visiting I realized it actually wasn't.</p>
<p>I had the same initial reaction about fit - harvard felt much more familiar. However, there were so many little factors that affected my feelings about both schools that I didn't rely completely on "fit" when I made my decision. My brain told me to go to Brown (no question) and so that's what I'm doing - although I like Brown a lot emotionally, as well, so I don't feel like I'm taking too big a risk. It was definitely a hard choice, though. And if money were a question, I don't even know what I would have done. Good luck to you! I'm sure you'll love it.</p>