<p>Ive been accepted to both Penn and brown and i cant decide where to go!! would anyone care to highlight the main pros/cons of each?? thanks!</p>
<p>the majority of students with this choice come to brown
SSRN-A</a> Revealed Preference Ranking of U.S. Colleges and Universities by Christopher Avery, Mark Glickman, Caroline Hoxby, Andrew Metrick</p>
<p>having gone to brown myself, i'm admitted biased. i think the main advantages include the open curriculum and more intimate undergraduate-focussed setting.</p>
<p>The Revealed Preference study was done about 8 years ago, according to this paragraph from the Brown newspaper:</p>
<p>"The study began in the spring of 1999 when Avery asked college counselors throughout the country to help with the survey. In advance of finding out their acceptance status, 3,240 high school students were asked to provide basic data included on the Common Application for the survey. After they were accepted, students also submitted data on the scholarships they were offered, where they were accepted and where they chose to enroll. The researchers then used the data to determine which colleges were preferred most among accepted students."</p>
<p>I'm not sure how valid it would be today, so rather than rely on it in any way, I think that the original poster should look at other factors--Brown has an open curriculum, is located in Providence, has a smaller size, is generally thought to be extremely liberal and not very pre-professional and does not have a thriving fraternity/sorority presence. Penn is larger, has individual schools (such as Wharton and Engineering), is strong in business and is generally thought to be more pre-professional than Brown. It also has a larger endowment (and is spending a lot of money on expanding the campus) and has a strong greek presence. They are both very strong schools with great students and if possible, the OP should visit them before making a decision.</p>
<p>Bears versus Quakers
Hill versus Valley
Dining Hall versus FOOD TRUCKS
'nuff said.</p>
<p>My sister went to Brown and my best friend to Penn. I think the differences in social atmosphere are real -- that is, Brown really is more crunchy and Penn really is more pre-professional and fratty. There's plenty of overlap, and you can't go wrong. I'm more of a Brown girl, myself, but I came very close to going to Penn with my best friend, and I'm certain I would have found a good niche there (as she did).</p>
<p>revealed preference is definitely not the end-all-be-all. it is however, a useful indicator of value with reasonable validity today. just like when choosing between two very good cars or two very good doctors, it is sometimes helpful to see how others choose.</p>
<p>to the point of resources, endowment per student is actually considerably higher at brown than penn</p>
<p>They're both excellent schools and you can't go wrong either way. It's really just a matter of personal preference, so I second midatlmom's recommendation that you spend some serious time visiting both.</p>
<p>But you should be aware that Penn offers a much greater breadth and depth of academic opportunities than Brown, and the school is very serious about its "One University" policy. Under that policy, Penn strongly encourages all of its undergraduates to take courses in more than one of the undergraduate schools, and to pursue broad, interdisciplinary interests. So it's very common for students in the College of Arts and Sciences to take courses in Wharton, or even in the Engineering or Nursing schools. And of course, vice versa. Penn undergrads are also able to take courses in most of Penn's emminent graduate and professional schools. For example, see the large ad on page 13 of today's Daily Pennsylvanian, in which Penn's law school announces numerous courses open to non-law students for the coming semester:</p>
<p>Penn's "One University" policy makes for a unique and diverse academic experience--and a chance to explore far beyond the traditional liberal arts curriculum--unavailable at just about any other school, including Brown.</p>
<p>And I wouldn't put too much stock in that Revealed Preference study. For one thing, the sample data is from 1999, before Penn had spent eleven consecutive years ranked between 4 and 7 by US News, after having been ranked in the teens throughout most of the 1990s. Not that US News is authoritative by any means, but Penn's high ranking throughout the last eleven years has certainly had an effect on its relative appeal to high school seniors, as evidenced by the tremendous improvement in its admissions stats during that time period. Additionally, Penn made numerous MAJOR improvements to its campus, surrounding neighborhood, undergraduate programs, etc. throughout the 1990s and into this decade, which further renders the 1999 relative appraisal of the school to be obsolete.</p>
<p>it's hard to argue that penn offers a greater breadth of course selection than brown. the whole point of coming to brown is the opportunity choose among nearly 3000 courses with complete freedom. albeit, brown does not have a nursing school so if you want to take nursing classes you won't find them. brown does, however, have RISD.</p>
<p>follow what you feel is right for you. brown and penn are considerably competitve schools. they're both willing to mold you to be the best that you can be and going to where you want to go is better than inquiring why didnt i go here or there.just pick what u know works for you the best.</p>
<p>Consider Brown University for undergraduate study, and Penn for graduate school.</p>
<p>If you fall into those who would be influenced by financial aid initiatives, definitely compare the two:</p>
<p>PENN:
Under the new financial-aid initiative, a student from a typical family with income less than $90,000 will no longer pay tuition. A student from a typical family with income less than $40,000 will not be expected to pay tuition, room or board.</p>
<p>BROWN:
Beginning in the fall of 2008, students from families with incomes of less than $100,000 will no longer have loans as part of their financial aid packages, and most parents who earn less than $60,000 will not be expected to make a financial contribution to fund their childs Brown education.</p>
<p>If your family makes 80k/year, forget about Brown. Rather have no tuition than no loans.</p>
<p>After finances, see where you think you'll be happier (example: Penn is more urban and not in Rhode Island)</p>
<p>Cheers!</p>
<p>This is gonna be a fit question. And only a visit can fix that.</p>
<p>But seriously, go to Penn. It's just more fun. And I believe it has a higher % of alumni who donate which indicates more satisfaction (or maybe just more money!)</p>