<p>What are some pros and cons about Brown?</p>
<p>i think the main con of brown are those jokes by harvard people in hollywood. that, and that brown isn't as well-known as HYP. some have pointed out that our lack of a traditonal liberal curriculum is bad for undergrads.</p>
<p>on the other hand, brown is recognized by all big banks and firms and has rose from the ashes of the '60s, when it used to be known as the 'doormat to the ivies', according to an essay i read. tiz no exagerration that the New Curriculum is acclaimed by most academics and admired by many colleges. alos, brown is filled with bright and fun people and its not a pressure cooker like cornell.</p>
<p>that's my take.</p>
<p>This is just from my experience, if you disagree, fine; flame away:</p>
<p>Academics:
Pro: Classes are awesome, interesting, and fairly easy.
Pro: The professors are very knowledgable in their subject and were very willing to help students.
Pro: There is no core curriculum.
Con: Nothing. Not one thing.</p>
<p>Food:
Pro: The food is great and there are places open all night to accomodate both late-night studying and drunk/high munchies.
Con: Choosing which dining hall to go to might be the toughest decision of the day.</p>
<p>Social Life:
Pro: Brown is located near some pretty nice bars.
Con: Some of the bouncers can be dicks and will take away a fake ID if it doesn't properly scan.
Pro: If you are good looking, the attractive girls will sleep with you.
Con: There aren't a lot of attractive girls at Brown.
Con: There is hardly any Greek life at Brown (only a few on campus fraternities), there are no sororities :(.
Con: There really isn't much of a social scene.</p>
<p>People:
Pro: Brown is diverse
Con: Brown is diverse and thus creates segregation (I tried to get into the black fraternity, but apparently I'm white, <strong><em>)
Pro: You will meet some wealthy people and be able to network well after graduation.
Con: You will meet some wealthy people that are complete pretentious *</em></strong>wads.</p>
<p>I'll add more to this list when I think of stuff, it's late, I'm drunk, goodnight.</p>
<p>Just a point of note about Ecliptica's comments:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>I think you'd be hard pressed to find any school in the country that is more lax about alcohol laws than Brown. The thing about fake ID's is only for outside Brown parties; Brown parties do not require ID.</p></li>
<li><p>I think there are some pretty hot girls.</p></li>
<li><p>There are two sororities.</p></li>
<li><p>The "black fraternity" that is referred to is not an on-campus, university-legitimate fraternity.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Con: Brown is diverse and thus creates segregation (I tried to get into the black fraternity, but apparently I'm white, ***)</p>
<p>hahahah.</p>
<p>im asian.. so how does that play in?
i really liked duke, but i heard so many comments that it was super clique-ish and self-segregated. I can understand why that would happen, but I don't want it to dominate the social scene for minorities...</p>
<p>hm im trying to choose between duke and brown too. brown definitely fit more for me though</p>
<p>PROS:
freedom
access to great professors
chill, happy, inspiring people
diversity
Ruth Simmons
Providence
RISD
Thayer Street
beautiful campus & neighborhood
internships</p>
<p>I can't think of one single "con."</p>
<p>If I come up with hypothetical "cons," they would be linked to location. For example, you don't have the cultural resources of Manhattan; you don't have an adjacent ski slope or warm beach...</p>
<p>None of this mattered at all to me, but I suppose it could matter to somebody.</p>
<p>I'm also worried about the degree of 'segregation,' if any. I'm attending a high school that has barely any minorities (~5%), and what happens is that both the majority don't feel comfortable associating with minorities, and minorities also self-segregate. I'd like a more inclusive atmosphere when I go to college (which is why I wouldn't want to attend some of the UCs...highly self-segregating Asian population).</p>
<p>While the ski slopes are not super nearby, the location is such that one can go skiing, unlike some other college locations. My D skied four days per week the entire winter at Brown. Actually, while the beach is not a warm beach most of the year, the college is not far from beaches, whereas some schools are. As far as cultural resources of Manhattan....that is true but at least the school is in a city and it is just 50 miles (one hour) to Boston and so students do go there for things even if just for the evening. So, the school is not in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>I agree with SBMom's "pros" list, btw.</p>
<p>I'd make a few changes. First off, the food is bad, period. It's cafeteria style and that's all I expected, but is by far not as good as some I've had, and just a tad better than others. I'd say we're in the 40th% on that one.</p>
<p>Classes are only easy if you choose them that way. I have found some courses that are very challenging, others that are really a joke.</p>
<p>THe social life at Brown far exceeds what I expected, I don't know how you can say there isn't a strong one.</p>
<p>I think it's a pro there are less frats etc. Those parties tend to be the least fun, far better to get the drinks and friends on your own.</p>
<p>I believe Ecliptica was a displaced Tulane student, which may explain why he finds the social scene lacking.</p>
<p>Cons: the housing could overall be better</p>
<p>I would not recommend using housing or food as a way to choose your college, however.</p>
<p>Is it really that segregated? I come from a school close to D.C. where everybody interacts with everybody...and it is a very diverse school. My parents are Filipina and Caucasian. If people really do self-segregate, I think it'd be culture shock for me.</p>
<p>People self-segregate to a certain extent, partially because a lot of minorities come early for TWTP (Third World Transition Program) and make friends before orientation. However, I wouldn't say it's too extreme. You might look around the Ratty and see a few groups of people sitting together who are all of the same color, but mostly you'll see mixed groups.</p>
<p>I'm a white Jewish girl, and I've had no trouble making friends of other backgrounds. Several of my best friends are Korean, African American, and Puerto Rican.</p>
<p>Yeah, I found that if the segregation exists, a lot of it stems from TWTP which is ironic. As a white Jewish male, I can say I have friends from similar background to the above-- from Venezuela to Singapore, to Korea, etc.</p>
<p>Housing here is overall just ok.</p>
<p>
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I believe Ecliptica was a displaced Tulane student, which may explain why he finds the social scene lacking.
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</p>
<p>In the fall/winter, no less. Cold weather makes for a bad social scene (maybe I'll come visit again sometime next spring) :)</p>
<p>
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Classes are only easy if you choose them that way. I have found some courses that are very challenging, others that are really a joke.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Thus why "no core curriculum" is the best part of Brown. Classes are as easy or as difficult as you want them to be. When I was there, I took classes I found interesting and thought would be easy (PY0001, PL0008, and CG0041) and managed to somehow pull off a 3.75 without doing much work (this could also be due to the lack of a social scene forcing me to ::gasp:: do homework on a Tuesday night rather than go out somewhere and party).
Back at Tulane, I'm struggling to keep up a 2.701 (this could also be due to track and field taking up every free hour of my day).</p>
<p>EDIT: The more I think about it, Brown was pretty fun, I met a lot of interesting people from different backgrounds, took interesting classes, and ate delicious food. But I'm still uncertain if I would come back (the track coach/my parents wanted me to apply to transfer, so I did) only because of what I consider a lack of an active social scene.</p>
<p>Lol the pros and cons lists are pretty funny.. especially eclipticas... sadly, the social cons are true in some cases..</p>
<p>Overall, id say the pros far outweigh the cons.. </p>
<p>About the alcohol, brown is pretty lax (no id needed at frat parties etc, the nigthclub on college hill is really lenient about ID's).. Clubs downtown are stricter with ID, but thats to be expected..</p>
<p>No core curriculum, freedom to choose classes that interest you - amazing..</p>
<p>Most of my classes have been really good so far.. Whoever said classes are easy obviously hasnt taken orgo chem yet... (Kill me)..Overall though, you can balance tough courses with relatively easier ones... Its what you want to make of your education.. Brown gives you the freedom...</p>
<p>P.S. Hows it like to be back at Tulane Greg?</p>
<p>Still miss the brown social scene? Lol</p>
<p>Also, just looking back, i came across the topic of segregation...</p>
<p>The segregation exists only if you want it to... If you try mingling, most brown students are pretty open... Im an international student, and most of my close friends are american/canadian.. Its not really a big deal at brown..</p>
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Lol the pros and cons lists are pretty funny.. especially eclipticas... sadly, the social cons are true in some cases..
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Good, that's what I was going for. I think other people took it a bit too seriously.</p>
<p>
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P.S. Hows it like to be back at Tulane Greg?</p>
<p>Still miss the brown social scene? Lol
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</p>
<p>I miss you, sexy ;)</p>
<p>I love it here, the classes are more difficult (maybe because I'm taking core curriculum stuff whereas at Brown I was taking classes I was interested in), but it's definitely more fun. You should bring all of New Pembroke 3 down here sometime, it'd be a nice change of scenery. I think the major difference between the social scenes is this:</p>
<p>
[quote]
About the alcohol, brown is pretty lax (no id needed at frat parties etc, the nigthclub on college hill is really lenient about ID's).. Clubs downtown are stricter with ID, but thats to be expected..
[/quote]
</p>
<p>There is no ID required anywhere around here. Until 8 or 9 years ago (not sure if it was 1997 or 1998), the drinking age in New Orleans was 18. It's 21 now, but it's only 18 to get into any club in the city (less Bruno's, which is 19+ for some reason, but probably because it's the best bar around), so even though you can't "technically" buy your own drinks, the bartenders never check to see who has a wristband on and who doesn't.</p>