Overall Impression of Brown

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

<p>I am considering applying to Brown as a transfer student next year and I was wondering how current students and alumni have felt about their time there. I have a few questions regarding your personal opinions of brown. Feel free to answer any or all of the questions, or come up with some other insight regarding Brown. Thanks!</p>

<p>How good are the classes? How difficult are they? How good are the professors?
I heard a lot of Brown classes are blowoffs. While I’m sure this isn’t true, I was wondering if you thought the science courses offered there would prepare me appropriately for the MCAT (I’m pre-med.)</p>

<p>How is the social life? Is Greek life prominent? Is there a big party scene? How do most students spend their time outside the classroom when not studying? How is the surrounding city?</p>

<p>Finally, would you recommend going to Brown? Why or why not? Feel free to list any pros and cons that might stand out.</p>

<p>You might see this same thread in other forums. This is because I am considering a good number of schools.</p>

<p>Thanks for your time.</p>

2

<p>Hi Peg92,</p>

<p>I’ll try to answer as many of your questions as I can. Obviously, I’m not an expert on anything, just a Brown student who absolutely loves the school.</p>

<p>Classes are generally…college-level? I have no basis for comparison. I went to an academically rigorous independent college-prep high school and graduated in the top of my class, and Brown makes me work. Of course, this all depends on the classes you take. There seem to be very few blow-off classes, in my opinion. Students really take things because they’re interested, not because a class looks like an easy A.</p>

<p>The professors I’ve encountered have been absolutely amazing. I was diagnosed with mono in the middle of last semester and a professor (in a 150 person class) met with me individually to discuss how I could make up work, and let me take the midterm a week late. They really want the best for us. As for MCAT prep, I’m sure you’ll get it. Orgo at Brown’s known as one of the toughest orgo classes at a major university, and there are a lot of pre-meds.</p>

<p>Social life is great. Greek life exists, but it’s not a huge factor in life; if you like it, you can get involved. Many people will end up at the frats on a Saturday night, but there are a lot of other options. Program housing is also great, if you’re interested in that.</p>

<p>I spend a lot of my time out of the classroom hanging out with friends. Sometimes we’ll be doing work together, and sometimes we’ll just be hanging out. Some people get really involved with student activities, clubs and athletics.</p>

<p>Surrounding city: Providence is a cute little city. College Hill, where Brown and RISD are located, is a little more affluent than the rest of the city, and Thayer Street (runs through the edge of Brown campus) is a great student hangout. I love having the opportunities that Providence gives us; last semester, I volunteered at a local middle school with some girls who were behind grade level in math. I have friends who have jobs and internships off-campus.</p>

<p>Clearly, I love Brown and I suggest that everyone consider the school. I realize, however, that it’s not for everyone. Please feel free to reply or PM me with any more questions!</p>

<p>Bruno14</p>

3

<p>Thank you!
Brown sounds like a wonderful place to live and study. I had a secondary objected: despite how shallow it sounds to base it all on one person or a few people, I was also trying to get a feel of how cordial and helpful the students at each school were. I’m happy to say Brown is probably my first or second choice at the moment thanks to you.</p>

4

<p>I transferred in. This is my first semester at Brown, so I’ve been here a little over a month.
For reference, my previous university was the University of California, Irvine.</p>

<p>In terms of class difficulty, I can kind of compare it to my old school, but the thing is, at Brown I am taking a History class, a Math class, and Persian. I never took a Math or History class at UCI so I can’t compare.
What I can say is that I probably wouldn’t have been taught Introductory Calculus by a full professor as I am at Brown, whether at UCI or probably even at a school like Harvard or Stanford. And in my political science/IR classes I took at UCI, we never had to respond to the readings in writing like people have to do for History classes here (as well as political science and philosophy classes).
The Persian class isn’t any harder, just because Persian at most schools seems to be a bit of a joke in that hardly anyone wants to take it so everyone kind of slides by (someone correct me if I am wrong, I might be). There is slightly more homework but I really don’t think it matters.
I know a transfer from UCSB and one from UCSD and they both say the math and science classes at Brown are easier. I believe this reflects the fact that Brown is less competitive.</p>

<p>I really like my Math and History professor. Great guys. </p>

<p>Other people would probably be better on the social life question; Brown seems to have been dormant and somewhat disappointing the past two months. Frat parties are giant lines, I avoid them. Went to a really good house party a couple weeks back. In general, Brown does not compare to a school like UCLA or UCSB in terms of hard parties. Probably doesn’t compare favorably with Stanford or MIT in this regard either, though I don’t really know. If your goal is to just have fun with your friends, you’ll be fine.</p>

<p>Greek life is not prominent. But if you really want to get the most of out Brown’s party life, you should probably join a frat.</p>

<p>Providence is an awesome little city. Haven’t explored Federal Hill yet, or gone around much during the day (except to the mall a couple times) due to the weather, but I love its look and feel. Very obviously a city that has seen better days, but still, I like it a lot. And for me, it qualifies as a big city so that’s a plus. Thayer St is a lot like the area around UC Berkeley, if you’ve ever visited there.</p>

<p>I can’t really recommend whether you should come to Brown because I don’t know you or where you go now. If I had to say there was a word to describe Brown, it’s “chill”, and I know that sounds ■■■■■■■■, but that’s the unifying theme to it, I think; from the classes to the parties, things are pretty relaxed compared to some other places.</p>

<p>What stuff are you interested in aside from your pre-med work?</p>

5

<p>Your view of Brown will change over the course of your time here. Just keep that in mind.</p>

<p>Dormant in the winter, yeah a little. Wait until the trees start flowering and Spring Weekend is in full effect.</p>

6

<p>I’m wearing my Spring Weekend '09 shirt right now!</p>

7

<p>I can’t wait : D</p>

<p>Do a lot of people stay here during Spring Break?</p>

8

<p>I know the crew team does… wooooo!!! hahaha</p>

9

<p>A lot of student seem to stay in the area during Spring Break. Many athletes do because they still have practices and matches, and many people don’t see the point in going home for just one week if they live far. Dorms are open the whole week and many students just take the opportunity to explore Providence and surrounding areas, or take a week off from classes.</p>

10

<p>Pre-med classes prepared me well both for the MCAT and for my classes at my top 20 med school.</p>

<p>In terms of Providence, most kids love Brown so much that you don’t really leave much. I spent a few summers in Providence though which gave me a better appreciation for the place. The city really has a nice charm to it.</p>

<p>As a Greek alumnus, I will concede that if you are not
a) in a greek house
b) friends with someone in a greek house
c) a freshman
you should not go to their BIG open parties because, yes, they are popular and eventually just get over crowded, often to the point where the party is barely enjoyable. A and B don’t have to deal with the lines, and c dont have better places to go. The older kids will hit up thayer street (which is basically the same scene as frat parties but older), house parties, or the GCB (god i miss the GCB).</p>

11

<p>@i<em>wanna</em>be_brown</p>

<p>Which frat were you in? I am currently undergoing pledging.</p>

12

<p>I was also trying to get a feel of how cordial and helpful the students at each school were.</p>

<p>peg92 - something my daughter always remarked upon was the cooperative and collaborative nature of the academic scene, and that spilled over to all aspects of student life. She soured on some grad schools because they didn’t have such a culture and were more insular.</p>

13

<p>what about sororities…does brown have sororities, or is it mostly just frats?</p>

14

<p>Brown has 2 sororities and 2 coed fraternities. There are 6 all male organizations although a couple of them are in hot water and may not be around much longer…</p>

<p>burningham, send me a PM with your house and I’ll tell you mine</p>

15

<p>Burningham and I<em>wanna</em>be_brown, I’m also involved in Greek life at Brown.</p>