<p>What are some other schools that have no core curriculum and/or a similar academic setup as Brown? I need schools with different levels of academic difficulty because I really like Brown but I need some safeties.</p>
<p>Amherst is the only one I know with no core, and that's definitely not a safety.</p>
<p>Academic difficulty and "safety" are not the same thing. ie Univ of Chicago is academically difficult but admit % is higher....easier to gain admission.</p>
<p>URochester has a nearly open curriculum. You take what you want, but you have to have at least three classes in sequence in each of the three major areas of study as they see it. So you choose what you want, but have to pursue some areas in more depth besides your major.</p>
<p>thanks for the replies. I just really like the academic freedom of Brown and want something similar if I can't get in there. For anyone who applied to Brown, what were your safeties?</p>
<p>I also applied to, as safeties-- Case Western, URochester, and Boston University. With my AP credits all of these would have had nearly no requirements after my freshman year when I'm looking to test the water anyway, but that's just my experience (BU I would have had over 70 credits I think).</p>
<p>FWIW, I also got large scholarships from those schools ranging from 10k a year to 19.4k, Case being the largest (and a GREAT school at that).</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence has a lot of freedom and is very big on alternative education. It is on a beautiful campus that is just a half hour outside of NYC, and it would be a good safety. Amherst has no core, but it is just as hard to get into as Brown. Vassar is a great school (pretty similar to Brown and a common school for Brown kids to apply to, and it has a gorgeous campus) that also has virtually no requirements (a language class, a math class, and that's it, and you can fulfill that with AP credit). Vassar is a bit easier than Brown but is still no walk in the park.</p>
<p>thanks, I'll look into these!</p>
<p>Grinnell has no core. It's got a relatively high admit rate and great merit scholarships. Look into it.</p>
<p>Wesleyan also has no Core. It's a very liberal liberal arts college in CT. About 28% admit rate. Ranked 9th on US News 2005 ranking of best liberal arts colleges.</p>
<p>Wesleyan is great (I nearly went there), except it does have distribution requirements. Well, it sort of does and it sort of doesn't. It has a standard 3-3-3 (3 humanities/arts, 3 natural sciences, 3 social sciences) that is "highly recommended." Basically, your advisor will recommend that you fill them, and you can't graduate with honors if you don't fill them, but you CAN graduate if you don't fill them. So, it's basically frowned upon to not fill them but nothing will happen to you if you don't. </p>
<p>What you'll tend to find when you do your search is that very few colleges have cores. Most colleges have distribution requirements, some of which are more specific than others. Are you against distribution requirements? Or just cores? Because if you aren't against dist. req, then a lot of schools will meet your criteria.</p>
<p>I suppose I'm not against distribution requirements as long as those requirements can be met in many different ways. Basically, I want a lot of personal choice when it comes to my education because I want to be able to persue interests outside my major.</p>