Neuroscience--Columbia or Brown

<p>How do the two programs compare?
Thanks</p>

<p>There's no yes or no answer to these questions. Call them comparable and go to Columbia. Ignoring this impossible question, as you have to, I think Columbia wins in other respects.</p>

<p>Brown's program:
<a href="http://neuroscience.brown.edu/undergrad.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://neuroscience.brown.edu/undergrad.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Columbia's program:
<a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/pages/undergrad/cur/majors/neuro.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/pages/undergrad/cur/majors/neuro.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>From what I can tell, Brown places more emphasis on neurobiology, whereas Columbia splits evenly between the psychological and biological aspects of neuroscience. Both programs seem great, so you can't go wrong with either.</p>

<p>These are the graduate rankings of each school:
<a href="http://www.ruf.rice.edu/%7Epomeran/nrcrankings.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~pomeran/nrcrankings.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I wonder if things have changed much today.</p>

<p>The sense that I get is that Columbia is more esteemed, especially if you are interested in clinical neuroscience/medical school.</p>

<p>I am a doing a concentration in Neuroscience at Brown and its facilities and the program overall are generally top notch. The program itself is very undergrad focused and there are lots of resources. I think, among the Ivies, Dartmouth is the only other Ivy with so much support behind Neuroscience.</p>

<p>As for Columbia being more esteemed, that is total ****. Brown’s grad placement is top-notch and at the Ivy level its all about MCAT, GPA, and time put into a thesis or research and recs. Most of the majors I know who are all going to medical school from Brown are attending the best med schools in the country.</p>

<p>I knew I was pre-med before I started college, and I actually chose Brown over Columbia (I was deferred then rejected by my ED school Dartmouth). I realized it probably wasn’t going to make much of a difference overall which Ivy I went to, but I liked Brown’s campus and social community. Its all about where you see yourself. I’ve never looked back, Brown is awesome.</p>

<p>Columbia is a top 5-10 school for the field of Neuroscience & Behavior. </p>

<p>There are no undergraduate specific rankings for the major or field but here are the US News Graduate Rankings: [Best</a> Neuroscience and Neurobiology Programs | Top Science Schools | US News Best Graduate Schools](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/neurosciences-rankings]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/neurosciences-rankings). </p>

<p>While it’s a graduate ranking, the same faculty teach and mentor undergraduates. </p>

<p>Eric Kandel and Richard Axel, CC’67, two major leaders in the field and both Nobel laureates, are on faculty. As is Oliver Sacks, the famous author and neurologist. While they have primary appointments at the Medical Center, they are University Professors (and University Artist in the case of Sacks) meaning they can teach across disciplines and schools at the university. All three have had undergraduates in their labs.</p>

<p>As for pre-med results, here is data from the sample year 2008:</p>

<p>In 2008, Columbia undergraduates matriculated at Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons (14), The Albert Einstein College of Medicine (8), Harvard Medical School (8), Yale Medical School (8), and Cornell’s Weill Medical College (5). These are just the top 5 feeders from that year. Students who choose to apply to medicine and law schools work with the Office of Pre-professional Advising throughout the application process.</p>

<p>Beautifulday,</p>

<p>If you look at placement results at any top law, business, or medical school you’ll see a trend - Brown and Columbia (and Dartmouth, Penn) place at about the same levels. You’ll see similar stats from all of these places. Graduate major rankings usually aren’t relevant to med or graduate school placement.</p>