lovesoldbooks, I am not sure how you came to the conclusion that Brown should be ranked “much higher than NU”. How do you figure? Let is say Brown were somehow ranked #6. For Brown to be ranked much higher than Northwestern, Northwestern would have to be ranked out of the top 20. I cannot think of more than a dozen universities that can claim to be better than Northwestern, and that would be stretch. According to the experts, Brown and Northwestern are peers. I suppose it depends on one’s personal preference (academic and non-academic). For some (students seeking a liberal arts education, or who like the ultra liberal vibe or the absence of a core curriculum, or students who wish to live and work in the Northeast after college), Brown is a better option, while for others (Engineering, Economics, Chemistry, Journalism, Music majors, students who just want to be close to a major city or those who wish to live in the Midwest after college), Northwestern makes better sense.