<p>After cutting my list from nine down to three schools, this is what I'm looking at:</p>
<p>- Brown University, RI
- Dartmouth College, NH
- Pomona College, CA</p>
<p>None of them gave me any money.</p>
<p>I am an Asian female and attend a public high school in Texas with roughly 4,000 students of mostly white and Hispanic heritage, though most of my friends are Asian (this I would like to change -- high school is too cliquey but I am sure that any college campus will be different from the social hierarchy found in typical American public high schools). Anyway...</p>
<p>Prospective areas of study in alphabetical order:<a href="always%20subject%20to%20change">/u</a>
- Astronomy/Astrophysics
- Biophysics/Computational Biology (something more than regular bio)
- Engineering (Although... if I was dead set on engineering I would probably put Harvey Mudd back on the list; they gave me a $10k scholarship per year)
- Foreign Language (I am leaning towards Chinese, Japanese or French perhaps as a minor)
- Modern Culture and Media at Brown looks interesting
- Neuroscience
- Public Policy/Public Health (probably as a minor)
- Studio Art</p>
<p>I would also like to study abroad either in Europe, Australia, or Asia (thinking about Hong Kong, Japan, or Singapore? Actually I'm open to anywhere).</p>
<p>And I have fuzzy plans for going pre-med...</p>
<p>Brown PRO's:
- Freedom of the new open curriculum. As I was applying to colleges (and thus answering questions like "Describe your passion for learning," etc.) I realized that there was so much knowledge out there anxiously waiting to be contemplated, analyzed, and absorbed. Consequently, Brown's philosophy is really attractive to me as it breeds intellectual exploration and seems to promote creativity.
- Speaking of creativity, Providence is supposedly a great artsy small town/city. The people seem to give off this vibe as well - correct me if I'm wrong. Providence/Brown's campus is also good looking when it's sunny.
- Location/proximity. It's only an hour away from Boston and only a few from New York, both of which are cities where I have friends and family.
- The opportunity to take RISD classes is a major major plus, and this would be really hard to pass up.
- Overall I guess the people were friendly and accepting (with exceptions to a few comments I received for asking questions on CC's Brown forum; however CC adimttedly has its own subculture).
- Advising is supposed to be really good. It's there if you look for it.
- After making this list, I guess I can't go into too much depth about the opportunities at Brown. I sort of just assumed they were there, and were good?</p>
<p>Brown CON's:
- Housing and food? Mediocre/subpar from my experience.
- Some intro classes can get really big...
- I think Brown only offers four Astronomy classes, and they are all intro-level.
- The weather. Although the winter in Providence should not be as harsh as in Hanover, it is a lot longer and colder than in Texas. Does it rain a lot? I need sunshine - I think it really does affect my overall mood. Seasonal affective disorder.
- Brown may be slightly more impersonal than the other two because of its relatively larger size.
- I heard that the student body was prone to form cliques due to the extreme and vast spectrum of the people who go there.
- Question: What are Brown's strongest undergraduate programs? How do my prospective major choices measure up?</p>
<p>Dartmouth PRO's:
- As far as academics go... Great engineering school, great studio art resources, looks like it has a strong neuroscience and astronomy major. Pretty much I think they have great resources in what I'm looking for currently. This will probably change though, as most people's majors do. The distributive requirements at Dartmouth also do not seem to be "limiting" (which would otherwise defeat the purpose of what I liked about Brown)
- Alumni network seems to be extra strong and to help a lot.
- Students were always out on the green, hanging out and being social. (This may have been because it was the first time it was actually green, as opposed to white with snow, in a long time)
- The campus was beautiful when I visited. I can't say that it would be like that all the time, though, and even the people there commented that it was an anomaly that it should be sunny and relatively warm in the middle of April.
- The freshman dorm I stayed in was new and comfortable.
- Great food, and there is a farmer's market nearby.
- Skiing.</p>
<p>Dartmouth CON's:
- Greek scene, partying, and drinking is not really my thing. People say that there is no pressure to drink even at the frat parties, but I don't know how comfortable I would be just even being around so much alcohol. My idea of wind-down time would be like... reading a book, going to poetry reading at the coffee house (an event that was scheduled for Dimensions at the same time as a sorority ice cream social), playing pictionary, a friendly game of ping pong or Ultimate frisbee, listening to classical music or random intellectual discussions... baking, movie nights, watching the stars. Good sober fun.
- It seems like everyone played varsity sports in high school and are really active in sports and physical activity there. Don't take this the wrong way though - I'm all for healthy exercise and avoiding the freshman 15 - but it feels like this is conducive to a prevalent "jock mentality" on campus.
- "Secret societies" seem to be an excuse for elitism.
- The winter. Sometimes at home I can barely get up in the morning, and it only gets down to about 30-40 F here. If the extremelycoldomg winter at Dartmouth really lasts from November to April, I'd be pretty screwed.
- It's in the middle of nowhere. Hanover, although cute, seems too quiet/unlively. And it is really far from other places, no joke. People say, oh, it's not that bad, but when you think about how you could have been in Boston by now, you might change your mind...</p>
<p>Pomona PRO's:
- Who can say no to California weather? Also, Pomona has Ski-Beach Day.
- Very big, good biology department. (Stronger than Harvey Mudd - they focus more on Physics/Math/Engineering)
- Known for strong foreign languages, and study abroad to go along with it.
- My tour guide said that the Neuroscience department is small, but has a lot of money (so more money per student). I also met a neuroscience professor, took her class, and she seemed very vibrant, helpful, and loved her job.
- Senior studio art majors get their own private studio space?
- Location is good. Proximity to Los Angeles (cool stuff happens all the time, like band tours for example) and only a few hours from the Bay Area. Lots of businesses in the area = jobs.
- I believe they are great at placement in graduate school or medical school. This is only helpful if I actually do continue my education, which of course is not set in stone at the moment. In any case, graduate school (and med school I guess) admissions know Pomona.
- This is a real LAC: advising that's really on the ball, close professor relationships and small seminar-like classes. I sat in on classes at all three schools. Pomona's were the smallest and had the most intimate atmosphere. The other two have a "LAC feel" which I'm sure is just as good but not the real thing, you know?
- "Dorms Like Palaces" lol... and firsthand student testimonials that they are really happy there/the happiest students. (Although I believe Brown also ranks for Happiest Students somewhere. Not that I consider rankings with anything more than an itsy bitsy grain of salt.)
- They have good food too, including Snack.
- Out of the three, I think Pomona has the best-looking campus.</p>
<p>Pomona CON's:
- Nobody has heard of Pomona. Including employers? This I actually don't know much about. But name recognition plays a part... Pomona is a little more obscure than the other two which happen to be Ivy League schools. When my friends hear which schools I am deciding among, Pomona turns their face into a *** and ??? wrinkles in the forehead. Then again this isn't important, just funny.
- Unfortunately, Engineering would not be a practical option here at all. If I were to choose Engineering and California, I might as well enroll at Harvey Mudd (and pay less!)
- Small alumni network, because it is a younger school and it does not graduate as many people each year. When compared to the other two, this aspect may hurt a little.
- Small size of the actual school, in terms of population. It's less than half the size of my high school. Despite it being in the Consortium, I heard that there is not as much interaction with the other colleges as they play it up to be. I also heard that in terms of academics, students from the other schools are more likely to take classes at Pomona than the other way around. This, they say, is due to the fact that Pomona is the largest of the 5 C's. In a nutshell, I'm afraid of feeling claustrophobic. This information came from current students, and I'm wondering to what extent are the rumors true?
- Pomona doesn't get the whole week off for Thanksgiving :P Yeah, I did a lot of detail-oriented research.</p>
<p>I've been losing sleep over this decision for days, and the clock is ticking like a time bomb. Insight/helpful suggestions please?</p>