Princeton or Brown?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
21

<p>My son is currently at Princeton (and my daughter and I also attended the school) and we all loved it. My son is unbelievably happy (and he says his friends love the school as well), involved in a million activities and has loved all his classes. His academic interests are all over the place and he has found that his professors are helpful, available and truly want to help students. Before he got to Princeton, he was concerned about grade deflation, but he never mentions it now. </p>

<p>I can’t speak for Brown, but I truly believe that kids at Princeton receive an extraordinary education, are happy and proud to be at the school (and obviously the extremely high alumni giving rate supports that view) and are no more or less stressed than at other comparable schools.</p>

22

<p>thanks guys. we are in Europe so visiting is not easy during pre final exams time here… this is why I am trying to gather as much info from your or your kids experiences.</p>

23

<p>My son’s best friend went to Harvard, zero grade deflation, she was far more stressed. Despite Princeton’s grade deflation, for both my kids, the close-knit community and the beautiful setting made the experience as comfortable as it was thrilling.</p>

<p>I will add that I did not pressure my children about their college grades. I always told them, in high school I have expectations, once you hit college it’s your life to live as you choose.</p>

24

<p>@yoruyo: If you and/or your son have a Facebook, I can message you the Facebook of a student who is currently attending Brown in order to give you both more insight. He can provide pictures and firsthand commentary of the school’s academics, culture, etc. Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone at Princeton.</p>

25

<p>Thanks OREngineering, very kind of you but its OK - we speak with some of the students.</p>

26

<p>Looks like more misinformation on College Confidential. Brown has the OLDEST engineering in program in the Ivy League – founded in 1847. And last year the engineering division was transformed into a separate engineering school.</p>

27

<p>New gifts: $44M for School of Engineering
New gifts will expand School of Engineering
April 10, 2013 | Contact: Kevin Stacey<br>
Since 1847: Engineering at Brown</p>

<p>PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — New gifts totaling $44 million, announced today, have launched a $160-million campaign for the School of Engineering at Brown University. The gifts will enable the University to move forward with plans to improve and expand facilities and support the growth of the School of Engineering.</p>

<p>The gifts, which have been formally accepted by the Brown Corporation, include lead gifts totaling $35 million from venture capitalist Theresia Gouw, a 1990 Brown graduate and a fellow of the Corporation of Brown University, and from Managing Director of Silver Lake Partners Charles H. Giancarlo, a Brown trustee and 1979 graduate, and Dianne G. Giancarlo. An additional $9 million has been given by donors who wish to remain anonymous. Gouw’s gift honors Barrett Hazeltine, renowned professor of engineering emeritus at Brown, who inspired Gouw while she pursued her bachelor’s degree in engineering.</p>

<p>“These generous donors recognize the crucial role engineering and technology leaders play in addressing global challenges,” said Brown President Christina Paxson. “On behalf of the entire Brown community, I thank them for their enormous generosity and unwavering support of the growth of engineering at Brown.”</p>

<p>The $160-million campaign will enable the University to move forward with plans to improve and expand facilities for the growth of the School of Engineering. Current goals of the campaign include:</p>

<p>construction of new teaching and research facilities adjacent to existing buildings;
creation of a Center for Entrepreneurship;
addition of 15 new faculty for a total of 60;
development of innovative undergraduate and graduate educational programs;
renovation of current classroom and laboratory space
(Read more about University planning for campus development).
“Brown is such a special place that has created wonderful opportunities for so many, including for me. I feel very fortunate to have gone from a first-generation immigrant on financial aid to being in a position to support the school that has been so significant in shaping my life and career,” said Gouw, a managing partner in the venture capital firm Accel Partners. “I am delighted to join with others to support the school’s growth and continued commitment to cultivating creative thinkers and leaders. I am particularly pleased to honor Barrett Hazeltine, who has made an enduring difference in the lives of so many students he has taught, mentored, and inspired over the course of his career.”</p>

<p>Barrett Hazeltine came to Brown in 1959 and has continued to teach classes since moving to emeritus status in 2000. His classes on engineering management and entrepreneurship have long been among the most popular on campus — a prime example of the school’s emphasis on entrepreneurship as a way to bring engineering solutions out of the lab and into people’s lives.</p>

<p>“It’s a great honor to be recognized in Theresia’s gift,” Hazeltine said. “The spirit of entrepreneurship and social action possessed by Brown students is genuinely remarkable. My thanks to Theresia for a gift that will build on this spirit and benefit generations of future students.”</p>

<p>Engineering growth at Brown</p>

<p>From its beginnings in 1847, engineering at Brown has been well integrated into the University’s full range of academic disciplines. In recent decades, Brown has positioned itself as a leader in vital and emerging fields like biomedical engineering, nanotechnology, environmental engineering, and computer vision. Research in those fields strengthens the ties of engineering faculty and students with those in biology, chemistry, physics, geological sciences, computer science, mathematics, and other departments.</p>

28

<p>My son got into Princeton and Brown and chose Princeton. He absolutely loves it there and is having a wonderful experience. He is a history major, has amazing contact with his professors in any number of fields, and is really having the undergraduate experience that Princeton is famous for. I had taken a dim view of the eating cubs because I thought they sounded snobby, but actually my son’s has been a really good experience both broadening and deepening his friendship pool and giving him a more balanced life there. Princeton’s generosity is a huge advantage, and I would be surprised if brown could offer anything like that. They helped him arrange an internship in Germany last summer and this summer he won a large prize to do thesis research in a number of archives throughout Europe. He goes to NY quite often but there is a lot of good culture on campus too. I liked Brown a lot when we visited. It seemed puppyish and enthusiastic, left-leaning but in a sort of ineffectual hippie-ish way. Princeton politics aren’t particularly conservative but you have he impression that the conversations are more wonk ish, less hippyish than at Brown.</p>

29

<p>My daughter liked both Brown and Princeton, but she would have chosen Brown. She liked the open curriculum at Brown, and she said the campus felt like home. She really liked Princeton also, but Princeton can be much more intense. I would have gone for Princeton.</p>

30

What does he think of the eating clubs? Is it a big party scene? Do you have to be part of one to have a social life?

31

Please do not revive old threads. Use them for information purposes only and start a new thread to ask you questions. Thank you!

32

MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Closing thread. As noted above, questions should be asked in a new discussion.