<p>i’m definitely applying to brown ed. but i’d like to know what other schools are VERY SIMILAR to brown-liberal, unpretentious, passion-inducing , etc, etc. </p>
<p>how are dartmouth and upenn in juxtaposition to brown?</p>
<p>how about the non-ivies? which ones are similar to brown, besides u of rochester?</p>
<p>thanks a bunch, this will help me a lot with my college search, which i seemingly have no skills in.</p>
<p>Woah... you know you're definitely applying ED to Brown, but you haven't finished looking at similar schools and coming up with your list of applications? You yourself even say you're not done "with your college search" and still need help, so how do you know that Brown is the right place to apply ED?</p>
<p>Slow down and figure out what your options are. Put together a great list of schools that fit you, and then decide if you still want to apply early to Brown.</p>
<p>On a side note, to answer your questions more directly... I am not sure that Rochester is particularly similar to Brown. Dartmouth and Penn both have very different atmospheres, as well. Schools which are often considered similar in mood and student body to Brown include Wesleyan, Yale, Stanford, etc.</p>
<p>I never heard the Yale thing, but definitely have heard it with URochester (due to a more open curriculum than most which they falsely say is open).</p>
<p>Something to remember, however, about the openness of curricula (if that is a concern like it was for me), check out AP policies (or IB) and determine how much of that "core" would really be left to you, etc. For instance, some schools I applied to I would have had as many as 70 accepted credits from AP and other things, and therefore, had nothing but a major/concentration left to finish from a graduation standpoint, and would be able to take anything I want with just about complete priority from day one anyway.</p>
<p>Also, what subject area are you looking to study? There are many schools which may have a small, laid back, non-competetive feel that work for some subjects areas and not for others. Are we looking at tech and science schools or more an LAC kind of place?</p>
<p>hey i find vassar very similar to brown. i think they attract the same kind of students. i found some people in the same situation as me when the admission results were out a few months back - painfully and reluctantly giving up vassar to go to brown. it wasnt that bad for me cos i really loved brown alot, but it still stings to give up vassar cos i really liked it very much too.</p>
<p>To me, there's something about Brown that goes beyond the open curriculum, a special feeling that one gets when one is there. I thinok it's a combination of the people there and the general atmosphere of openness that goes beyond the curriculum. So in that sense, there's a lot that goes into the similarity of other schools beyond the simple question of the curriculum.</p>
<p>I've heard the Yale thing a lot, and I think it's probably pretty accurate. Havard is much more competitive, and Columbia is much more cosmopolitan. I don't know about the others. Personally, though, of the colleges I've visited, I can say pretty safely that had I not gone to Brown, I would have been happiest ending up at Northwestern - don't overlook it just because it's not on one of the coasts :-)</p>
<p>Posted this before on Dartmouth vs. Brown, but it might help here.</p>
<p>Other schools I liked similar to Brown (in different ways though) were Yale, Vassar, Stanford, Northwestern, Dartmouth.</p>
<hr>
<p>This is so close to home, so I guess I'll write alot. Dartmouth/ Brown was my choice as well and I ended up choosing Dartmouth but not after some serious thinking. The funny thing is that even after serious contemplation, I literally could not decide and choose Dartmouth basically after a coin flip of sorts lol! During college I visited Brown probably 7-8 weekends, however, so I know it really well. The great news is there is no wrong choice: I loved Dartmouth more than anything, but I am totally convinced I would have loved Brown just as much. These are by far my two of most favorite schools (throw in Stanford as the other).</p>
<p>1) Academic scene
I don't know much about Brown except the obvious lack of a core. Dartmouth's distributives are very broad so honestly to me it was a benefit if anything in that it forced me to take a couple classes (like Acting for my art) that I might otherwise not have taken. Dartmouth is awesome in terms of teaching and professor engagement, and the school is absolutely focused on the undergrad. I was an anthro major and I got $10K for my thesis research and TWO incredibly active thesis advisors. I literally had some classes with less than five people at the upper levels. Dartmouth professors take you to dinner, they encourage you, and they are amazing. I think part of the reason Dartmouth grads do so well at grad school admissions is the fact that they know their professors so well. Frankly its amazing. I am sure Brown's academics are great too, but Dartmouth does have a terrific LAC-like feel. People love to discard the D-plan but I thought it was awesome. Sophomore summer is most students favorite term and getting to go on two-three study abroads is rare. The only downside I have heard is that the science classes are slightly harder since you have less time to absorb and the pace is slightly faster. </p>
<p>2) Campus location and closest city/town location
In my opinion Brown's nearby Thayer Street blows Hanover out of the water. East Providence is hip, cool, and there are alot of great restaurants and it really does cater to students. Providence itself isn't that wonderful, but its awesome in the area where Brown is located. Conversely, Hanover is beautiful but I found the town to be more stodgy and its not catered to students. In terms of the city, Brown wins bigtime.</p>
<p>ON the other hand, Dartmouth's location in the mountains is amazing. The outdoor access is awesome, people ski during the winters on the skiway, jump in the river in summers. To be honest only a select group of students are into the hardcore outdoors. Its the casual outdoor stuff like snowball fights during the winter, riding your bike through the beautiful fall leaves, the swimming in the river during summers, BBQs by houses on the river, the awesome stars when you are out at night, etc, etc. During the summer the campus feels like a magical summer camp, during the winters its charming and warm. </p>
<p>3) Social scene
Brown is very active socially. The dorms restrictions are very lax so first-year parties abound. There are house parties, frat parties, bars, and people even venture downtown to clubs. Its a more cliquey scene, however. Different groups tend to stick together more, so its less community oriented. Its safe to say I think that people walk away with great friends, but it feels more like a University than Dartmouth. </p>
<p>Dartmouth is very community oriented. The Greek scene is huge, but its unlike any other greek scene anywhere. The houses are all open for parties to everyone and there's actually a campus list publishing the big parties that weekend. What usually happens is there will be two-three big dance parties a night plus lots of houses will have smaller groups hanging out. The cool thing is there is usally alot of energy as everyone is going to the same key places or are at least aware of the big parties. Its absolutely open and everyone is absolutely friendly. In addition to the greek scene there is a house party scene, smaller gatherings in dorms, plus niche scenes like the organic farm crowd or the Ledyard Canoe club crowd. The nights are full of activity. Dartmouth's downside is that its jock culture does have power with the frats, places like Chi Heorot, Theta Delt, and Psi U are centered around sports teams and I think this can intimidating. The upside is there is a large social scene outside these places.</p>
<p>I think its safe to say Brown has smaller gatherings for niche groups (although there are big parties!), while Dartmouth has bigger parties that everyone goes to all the time. </p>
<p>4) Campus population
Both are equally diverse, although Dartmouth is conceived as less diverse than Brown the truth is its actually slightly more diverse. But since its smaller the sheer number of members of these groups is smaller so there is less "minority hanging out." In this way its amazing, people interact between groups at Dartmouth amazingly well. Yet I think some minority groups find comfort in sticking together and someone who grew up only hanging out with a particular minority crowd might like Brown more. Also, Brown does "feel" more international in terms of student makeup. </p>
<p>In terms of student politics I would say there is a huge overlap of "liberal" students at both. Dartmouth is more accepting of people with a conservative (libertarian) point of view, but overall I'd say 75-80% of Dartmouth is liberal while 85-90% of Brown is liberal. Frankly its not that large a difference. Basically Brown feels more liberal, although Dartmouth is hardly Notre Dame. </p>
<p>Overall thought the students at Dartmouth overwhelmingly are the playful, fun loving, brilliant type. People tend to play down themselves which is great and refreshing among the Ivies. My experience with Brown students is that they are very similar, and are often laid back. But the students I have known at Brown are a little more "edgy."</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>When visiting (mind you I'm NOT a student at any of these), the schools that reminded me most of Brown were Vassar annd Pomona. I've also heard it compared to Carleton.</p>
<p>people who apply to brown also tend to apply to wesleyan, vassar, connecticut college for the laid back, very liberal, 'save the world' types, plus bright and motivated students</p>
<p>I second Yale and Stanford.</p>
<p>IMO the two closest to Brown are Wesleyan and Vassar. They are similar to Brown on multiple levels. </p>
<p>Vassar has an open curriculum and Wes has extremely low key distribution guidelines that do not HAVE to be followed.</p>
<p>All three have a very happy, vibrant, fun student body, lovely campuses, and an intellectual-yet-laid-back vibe. Healthy balance of quirky, artsy, nerds, preps. None are isolated.</p>
<p>One of the fun things about Brown is "the Green"-- where you run into people, hang out, etc. Both Wes & Vassar have this kind of campus. </p>
<p>I am not as familiar with Amherst but I think it comes close... Stanford too-- but Stanford lacks the intimacy of a centralized campus; it feels absolutely immense.</p>
<p>I'd say Vassar, Wesleyan, and Amherst have the most in common with Brown...they're all quite a bit smaller and not located in cities like Brown is, but Vassar and Amherst both have open curriculums and Wesleyan has a few loose distribution requirements. They also seem to attract the same type of student.
Yale could also be compared to it, but I think it's less laid back, and has a much bigger grad department.</p>
<p>I'd say:</p>
<p>-Carleton
-Wesleyan
-Amherst
-Swarthmore
-Pomona</p>
<p>PS having been an English major at Brown, I am of course aware that I should have said "None <em>is</em> isolated" but it is too late to edit now! ;)</p>
<p>i'm sorry, i guess i exaggerated a bit. of course i have done my research on colleges. I just needed some confirmations.
If you guys knew that I know about these colleges, you wouldn't bother to provide me with as much insight as you would if I were completely ignorant.
and brown is, inarguably, without a doubt, my single NUMBER 1 college. it's always been, ever since i was a little fetus. I know that no other college can compare. :]</p>
<p>eveyrone has been so helpful. </p>
<p>thanks guys! :D</p>
<p>Mom advice:</p>
<p>It's great you love Brown, and I loved it too-- passionately-- but I probably would have been equally happy at Wesleyan or Amherst... truly. (And I suspect I also would have been happy at lots of other schools that are nothing like Brown, just to be off on my own in college!)</p>
<p>If you are "high on life" (a great way to be!) you can love many places; this process is too capricious to make any one school the be-all, end-all.</p>
<p>So great, apply ED to Brown. But now pretend Brown is off the table and focus on finding 5-6 more schools to love.</p>
<p>Yale, Stanford, Pomona, Oberlin, Vassar are a few you might like. I applied there as well as Brown and felt similar vibes from the schools.</p>