LibArts vs. Ivy League

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

<p>I was recently accepted at my top two choices for college, both Swarthmore and Brown. </p>

<p>Unfortunate, only in the fact that now I have to decide which one to go to.
Swat gave me an incredible amount of money (~$11,000 and loans taken care of–Swarthmore Scholar).
Brown gave me a not so incredible amount (~$6000+loans).</p>

<p>Brown was my dream school (EDed there) until I was deferred. Lost hope a tiny bit, and Swat became top on the list. Now that I’m in at both, I’m totally confused on which one to attend.</p>

<p>Any insight?</p>

2

<p>What do you potentially want to study? </p>

<p>How do you feel about Swat's reputation for being academically intense? </p>

<p>Any extracurriculars you're particularly interested in?</p>

<p>Is money a big deal, or just another factor?</p>

3

<p>hey debra....i totally found you.</p>

4

<p>I'm kind of on the fence with a similar decision:</p>

<p>Brown vs. Pomona</p>

<p>Brown gave me a great aid package, and Pomona gave me a great one as well. I'm just worried about the weather in the Northeast...California sounds very tempting. I live in the Pacific Northwest and the constant rain and overcast sky really gets to me, since I get depressed easily.</p>

5

<p>BabyB,</p>

<p>I wrote you on the Swat website.</p>

6

<p>I wound up deciding between the exact two schools, and eventually wound up deciding on Brown. They both are great, but they're definitely very different. Academic quality is amazing at both institutions, but in my opinion, students are definitely more relaxed and less stressed at Brown. Ultimately that was one of the things that made me choose Brown, because I didn't want to have to deal with crazy stress for another four years. That and the open curriculum were essentially the deciding factors for me.</p>

7

<p>lewisloftus: I live in CA and I've visited Pomona. Although the weather is great and stuff, it SMELLS over there (at least when I visited). Pomona is in cow town which is why the wind carries the smell over. However besides that fact, it's still a great school. :D</p>

8

<p>bookfreak - cow town? Are you serious?
OK, Claremont kids, what is he talking about? We've been out to Claremont many times and never smelled anything unusual.
Did I miss something? Claremont is not exactly rural.</p>

<p>Those of you making a choice like this should ask why you chose to apply to an LAC in the first place. What is it about the environment that you like?
Have you changed? Do you think you'd like a larger university at this point?
With Swat, this would be a big factor. With Pomona, not so much, because the consortium is about the size of a Brown - midsized university.
Do you want an intimate setting taught by Profs with most people knowing who you are, or would you prefer a larger setting. Both are great choices - it's a matter of what where you think you'll thrive.</p>

9

<p>Yeah. I think it's better to ask the kids who go there but during my visit the smell wasnt...pleasant, but I heard that the smell isn't there all the time.</p>

10

<p>Brown kind of IS a small(ish) LAC. Go with the money!!!</p>

11

<p>Compared to big fat research universities like Harvard, Columbia, and Penn, Brown is liberal art-esque. I'd say go with Brown.</p>

<p>Then you can wear pretentious shirts that say IVY LEAGUE like this</p>

<p><a href="http://www.ivysport.com/product-product_id/1503/category_id/103%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ivysport.com/product-product_id/1503/category_id/103&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>It's something to be proud of for life.</p>

12

<p>Haha... that's really funny. Or you could forget about Ivy League solidarity and wear this one:
<a href="http://bookstore.brown.edu/Campus_Shop/Catalog/?product=61%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://bookstore.brown.edu/Campus_Shop/Catalog/?product=61&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Oh... hrmph... the image is broken... well, it says "HARVARD" in big letters with the Harvard seal... then, smaller, "because not everybody can get into Brown." Stupid, yes, and I wouldn't wear it. But it's funny that it exists.</p>

13

<p>I am a huge fan of Brown, but no loans is pretty sweet...</p>