Matches and safeties for Brown?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
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<p>Hi. I thought the best place to ask this question would be here. The title is pretty self-explanatory. Do you guys know of any schools like Brown that are easier to get into? Brown’s my first choice (obviously), but I’d love to explore similar options. My basic requirements:</p>

<p>1) Good neuroscience program
2) Strong English and/or creative writing program
3) Strong global affairs / IR program
4) Location in (or proximity to) an interesting city</p>

<p>What I’m looking for most is the social and academic atmosphere of Brown. And this might help also – for current students and alumni, what were your safeties and matches?</p>

<p>Thanks. :]</p>

2

<p>A less selective option is JHU</p>

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<p>JHU as in Johns Hopkins? Isn’t that more competitive than Brown? And it is definitely not a school where you can get shoo-ed in.</p>

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<p>It’s not a shoo-in, but it’s certainly less selective and meets all the above criteria.</p>

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<p>How about Wesleyan?</p>

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<p>JHU is more competitive once in but less selective to GET in</p>

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<p>This isn’t usually suggested to be like Brown, but it fits all 4 of your requirements very well and I thought the students were similar to Brown’s when I visited - Macalester.</p>

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<p>Wesleyan and Vassar are the ones usually mentioned as similar to Brown.
Rochester.</p>

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<p>(OP, just FYI, Brown was my second choice after Wes, and I was also looking for good English, if that gives you a sense of where I’m coming from on this):</p>

<p>I actually think Macalester is a great suggestion – I also think its atmosphere is like Brown, as well as all of the other qualifications. OTOH, I totally disagree on JHU – it meets the “requirements,” but doe sNOT have a similar social atmosphere to Brown. </p>

<p>I agree that Wes and Vassar, as well as Oberlin, are common lesser reach or match schools for Brown applicants, although none of them are in the same kind of nice city (Wes comes the closest, IMO, though Middletown is barely a city). You can get to NYC from Vassar and Wes, though. Rochester is also often paired with Brown, although I didn’t look at it. </p>

<p>Tufts is another one that gets a lot of cross applicants, and has notably great IR (I’m sure it’s good on the others too).</p>

<p>If you’re willing to go to the West coast, Reed’s atmosphere might be too intense (I think of it as more like UChicago than Brown), but it meets the other requirements and has the same liberal/quirky vibe. I really liked Occidental as more of a safety.</p>

<p>As you can probably tell, I was mostly focused on LACs; I’m sure there are more universities that could work out as well.</p>

10

<p>My daughter’s safeties and matches a few years ago: Brandeis, Fordham, American and Univ of Wisconsin/Madison. Tufts has a lot of similarities to Brown, and while it is easier to get into, with an acceptance rate below 30% it’s a reach for almost everyone.</p>

<p>Sarah Lawrence is another to consider. I’ll second Macalester.</p>

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<p>Amherst, perhaps? Less selective then Brown, but still selective nonetheless.</p>

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<p>bleh, Amherst is like, 10% acceptance rate. not much better than Brown. :-/</p>

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<p>Amherst is less selective than Brown? I don’t think so. Equal selectivity, in my opinion. Amherst is considered one of the three best LACs, and these schools are considered on par with Columbia, Penn, Brown and Dartmouth.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the replies, you guys! :]</p>

<p>I’ve actually heard a lot about Macalester that attracts me, but its Minnesota location is sort of a turn-off. Does anybody know anything about St. Paul?</p>

<p>Wesleyan, Reed, and Tufts are pretty reachy, but I’ll look into them. I don’t think JHU has the right kind of social atmosphere – lots of premeds go there, right? ;] But I’ll do some research.</p>

<p>Cool, Rochester and Vassar are already on my list, so it’s good to know I have the right ideas about them. :]</p>

<p>Fordham looks like a good safety, though they don’t seem to have a neuro program. I’ll have to research American and Brandeis.</p>

<p>Macalester, Oxy, Sarah Lawrence, and Oberlin are great ideas. Thanks.</p>

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<p>My son goes to Macalester. When we dropped him off, we walked around the neighborhood. St. Paul is a big city, in fact bigger than Providence. Another parent told us that St. Paul has a lot of cultural activities. There are a lot of theater productions too. I don’t know if many kids leave campus on the weekend. They don’t have to. Macalester is located in a very nice neighborhood in St. Paul. There are many shops and restaurants around the campus. Grand and Snelling Streets reminds me of Thayer Street in Providence. </p>

<p>Brown is a great university, but is a high reach for many. Macalester should be a match or high match for those who can’t get in.</p>

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<p>Having visited both Mac and Brown, I’ll say that I found the locations quite similar. St. Paul is larger, especially when you add Minneapolis to the mix, but the neighborhoods immediately around both schools are very walkable and college-student-friendly; there are plenty of coffee places, restaurants, a pharmacy, etc within walking distance. Both cities are great culturally, and the students I know at both take advantage of the concerts, art museums, etc in the area.</p>

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<p>First, Brown is a reach, and so are a lot of these other schools, so remember that :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Brandeis (match) has a great neuro program but is not much like Brown environmentally. It’s also furiously intense if you are premed. I generally don’t recommend Brandeis </p>

<p>Also furiously intense is JHU (reach). But it rivals Brown for the best neuro program in the country IMHO. I generally don’t recommend JHU. The people there looked so unhappy. </p>

<p>Also look at (matches) Oberlin, Vassar, Weslyan, and Carleton with neuro programs/program options. I had a friend who just graduated from Weslyan this summer, told me a lot about it, and it sounded a whole lot like Brown. And out of curiousity WesKid, what year are you and what do you study?</p>

<p>Swarthmore (reach) and Tufts (match) have biopsychology, similar to neuroscience. Swarthmore is also very intense. Penn (reach) has an interesting biological basis of behavior program, depending on what branch of neuro you are interested in. WUSTL (god-only-knows) has a very interesting psychology-neuroscience-philosophy program, but its environment is much different than Brown. </p>

<p>Stanford (reach) and Yale (reach) have neuroscience options within their biology and psychology departments (moral of the story: do your digging in research to find opportunities!!) Stanford will be very similar in environment (+40 degrees of course), and Yale is similar. Princeton has a neuroscience option (“certificate”), but is extremely different in curriculum (the Junior Papers and Thesis) and preppier. Macalaster (match), like Yale and Stanford, also has a neuroscience option in the Bio department. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. Very much like Brown. </p>

<p>Tulane is a good safety. Very strong neuro, but not an environment like Brown. Rochester is also a good safety. I don’t know much about the environment, but I know a kid who really wanted Brown who is doing very well there. </p>

<p>I hope that disorganized rant was helpful. As always, contact me for help on your app or with any questions.</p>