<p>Brown is most decidedly NOT in a ghetto. Yes, the buildings are old (and in some cases, in need of some repairs) but that's because College Hill -- where Brown and RISD (which my son attends) are located -- is a historic district full of Colonial and Victorian homes. It's right next to downtown Providence, the State Capitol, and the beautiful waterfront park. I have visited many times over the past two years and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I was quite surprised by Providence. It's really a funky and artsy little city. But like any city, you need to exercise a little judgment and not wander around by yourself late at night. Brown and RISD offer a SafeRide program after dark to transport students between academic buildings, libraries, and dorms.</p>
<p>Sorry, looking back I see you've already mentioned which schools you've visited. Well, you can get videos of the others ...</p>
<p>Is travel time to and from a concern, or weather? Just a couple other things that are a factor for some students, everything else being equal.</p>
<p>Travel time from DC is of absolutely no importance, as one or more of my parental units (they're getting divorced) may well have moved from here by the time I'm in college. Both my parents are diplomats; the idea of "home" is something very temporary, and the distance from Europe is far enough that distances within the US become more or less irrelevant. I do, however, hate the Mid-Atlantic climate (hot and humid from April to October), and would like to go somewhere if not colder then at least drier.</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you who have vouched for the safety around Brown's campus. Honestly, I've lived in big cities all my life, and that includes Moscow between '90 and '94 (I don't remember much, granted, but a crazed politically motivated arsonist did set our apartment building on fire at one point, and coups against the government were de rigeur)... so that's really not a big concern for me. I'd consider myself fairly "street smart", and it's just not something I worry about.</p>
<p>DianeR, good point about the food. I don't think I could stand eating soggy tofu in wilted vegetable stir-fry for four years (that seems to be standard fare at some establishments), no matter how good the school!</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip about the videotapes, I'll check them out (although, I wonder if they come on DVD? Our VCR broke three years ago and we never bothered to get it replaced...it still sits under the TV collecting dust like some sort of relic from the 80's...).</p>
<p>i wanted to remind you of my suggestions, conn college and vassar, which are hidden on the first page- both seem to fit your personality, typically attract students that dont get into wesleyan or brown, and have yummy and frequent vegan options (im a very picky veggie, and both schools have a wide variety of vegan options always available)
vassar also has weekly vegan cooking seminars, and conn has an entirely vegetarian dining hall.</p>
<p>I'd advise against living in Iowa, against Cornell. I'm a bit biased since I live in Iowa and absolutely despise it. You have to consider that there's absolutely NOTHING to do, the school is impossibly small (about 1500 undergrads), and it's at least a 4 hour drive to any large city, the closest being Minneapolis/St. Paul.</p>
<p>I looked at the collegiatechoice web site. It appears that they will go to DVD for individual schools when they get through their inventory of VHS tapes. The process was to begin last February. I guess you need to ask them what their inventory is for specific places. You also might find a friend with a VCR -- the friend might be interested in the schools too.</p>
<p>Hello,</p>
<p>You mentioned before that you were interested in going into one of the sciences. My opinion comes only from my experience and the thoughts of professors at a small (~6000) liberal arts university (no grad. program in the sciences), so take what I say with that in mind. I think it is better to study science at a college that does not have a graduate program in your field of study, and has a reputable undergraduate program. The adavantage is due mainly to your research projects being between you and a professor rather than being between you and a grad. student or post. doc. You get to learn more because you are the principal investigator on your project. Also the focus of the professors in a primarily undergrad. setting is teaching, where the focus of professors at a program that has graduate students is research.</p>
<p>Cheers</p>