<p>I’ve been looking into Brown alot, and from what I’ve heard it seems like an awesome place. Though there were a couple things I am unsure about.</p>
<p>First of all, the open curriculum. I think this is probably Brown’s biggest draw, and what got me interested in Brown in the first place. However, I also heard that students can get lost in the curriculum and that it’s not for everyone. I myself, don’t know what I want to major in and if you were to ask what kind of courses I’m interested in taking in college, I’d tell you I have no idea. So how much guidance does Brown provide in helping you choose your classes? Do you need to be the independant type that should know what he’s looking for? Are the advisors helpful and intimate in helping guide you through the curriculum?</p>
<p>Although I don’t know what I want to major in, I see myself eventually ending up in Business. (maybe) How many people are there that go to Brown with the intentions of a business related field? I’ve heard that Brown’s economics department is pretty weak compared to other ivies (and top 20). What other majors are strong at Brown for a potential business career? (except economics)</p>
<p>Also how is the diversity? On CC, it seems like Brown has a very diverse population, but when I talked to some kids who visited Brown, they got the impression that Brown is much more of a homogenous rich-white (not that that’s a bad thing) scene compared to the other ivies?</p>
<p>Also how prevalent is the jock scene on campus? This really will not make much of a difference to me, but I’m still interested. ;)</p>
<p>wow, who said Brown is more homogenous rich-white than OTHER IVIES!?!?!?!?! Brown is definitely the most diverse of the schools I looked at last year, and it still feels that way having beenhere for a year. Things like TWTP, which gives minority students a week before orientation to get to know each other may make it seem not so diverse initially, because many of the minority students (and understandably so) stick together at the beginning of the year since they know each other best.</p>
<p>brown is also one of the top three undergrad feeders to companies such as mckinsey (director is a dedicated brown alum) and goldman sachs (again, the director is a dedicated brown alum)</p>
<p>brown has a unique interdisciplinary concentration for those interested in business called commerce, organizations, and entrepreneurship
<a href="http://coe.brown.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://coe.brown.edu/</a>
of note, in this program are the international summer internships offered to undergrads, 10 of which are in India</p>
<p>Im at brown and definitely plan to end up in a business related field.. Ive taken a few econ courses, and theyve all been really good so far..</p>
<p>Also, Im an international student and its pretty clear that theres a lot of diversity on browns campus.. Quite a few international organisations, etc.. ill agree with i<em>wanna</em>be_brown.. browns probably the most hetrogeneous ivy.. white rich kids? Princeton..</p>
<p>well, there's a valid point here...as one of the old school elite new england ivies (along w/ harvard, yale and dartmouth), brown still has it's fair share of blue-blooded new england WASPs that projects palpably in the university's image and feel</p>
<p>still, brown is a very diverse place (all ivies are...including princeton). the only distinction i'd make between brown and princeton in this regard is that princeton is more institutionally homogeneous (most people are preppy, get really into the "cult" of princeton, etc.) it has less to do with ethnicity</p>
<p>Columbia is way more diverse than Brown -- the Columbia Web site says that the student body includes nearly 40% "students of color," and that is consistent with what I saw when I was on their campus recently. </p>
<p>Cornell is also more diverse than Brown because it offers a lot of preprofessional programs in fields that the other Ivies don't have (such as agriculture and hotel administration) and therefore attracts lots of kids who would never have even considered applying to the other schools in the Ivy League. </p>
<p>But neither of these schools has the open curriculum, and at Columbia at least, sports are a joke.</p>
<p>I think being independent is a big help. Assistance for specific questions is available, but nobody is really telling you what to do.</p>
<p>Hopefully by now you at least know which general academic areas appeal to you and which don't. If you don't know what you want to take, you'll scan the available courses and see what looks interesting. Then you'll research your options by talking to upperclassmen, inquiring about professors, etc, and narrow them down. Maybe you'll over-subscribe-- attend 6 classes for a week or two, deciding which to drop and which to keep. </p>
<p>The thing is, it is okay to blow it. It is okay to take a class and think-- yuck, I hate this; what a mistake. You will re-group. This is learning by doing, and it works. I took a few classes based purely on the title 1st semester freshman year. I never did that again!</p>
<p>I was recently chatting with a USC student, who is at the end of his sophomore year. He was telling me he'd finally finished with his requirements and was now deciding what to major in. Interesting that, at the end of two years of being 'told' what to take, he was in the same position as a pre-frosh at Brown.</p>
<p>At Brown, by the end of sophomore year you could theoretically have sampled 16+ different departments. Hopefully, of the 16, a few would have been really exciting and you'd be on your way.</p>
<p>Re diversity: any school that costs $40K+ is going to have a lot of rich kids.</p>