<p>I'm currently a junior in high school, and I'm absolutely in love with Brown. I visited today and it just confirmed for me that this is the school for me. Of course, chances are I won't get in. I'm trying to come up with some excellent, similar 2nd choice schools that are like Brown. The main thing I love is their open curriculum. I know that Grinnell also has an academic program like this, but I would never be able to live in the middle of Iowa. I need at least a small city nearby!</p>
<p>My academic stats-
haven't taken the SATs yet, but based on practice tests it should be 2200+
3.9 GPA at the top high school in my state
candidate in the IB diploma program
classes I'm taking as a junior: IB World Lit HL, IB History of the Americas HL, IB Economics HL, IB Calculus SL, IB French B SL, Honors Physics, Theory of Knowledge, and Creative Writing as an elective
3rd place in a national writing contest
went to nationals for DECA last year (not sure if this means much as I didn't place..)
Clubs: DECA, JSA- I know I need some more ECs</p>
<p>and as for other "hooks," I've studied circus arts for 7 years (I can unicycle and perform aerial acts such as the trapeze.) I also have very strong essays. </p>
<p>What other schools should I be considering?</p>
<p>Selective private schools love to attribute off-the-wall experiences to their entering students. So if possible, try to get at least a small role in a paid or serious amateur act so you can make a credible claim to being a “circus performer”. </p>
<p>As for Brown-like schools, strictly speaking there probably aren’t any. Not with the full set of features including the Open Curriculum, urban location, and P/F grading option, not to mention Colonial College, Ivy League cachet. So you have to decide which of these characteristics are most important to you. </p>
<p>You can Google on “Open Curriculum” to find about a dozen or more selective OC colleges. A couple (like Sarah Lawrence) are in or near major urban centers, or at least in lively large college towns (like Amherst). I think the majority of them, though, are small liberal arts collges, and not too much less selective than Brown. </p>
<p>Perhaps the closest to a “little Brown” is Wesleyan University. Other schools to consider include Smith (women only), Amherst, and Hampshire. These are all part of the same 5-college consortium, which gives you the combined benefit of small classes but huge course selection. Macalester College (St. Paul MN) is not an OC school but is one of the few truly urban LACs. It’s a little less selective than some of the other schools likely to appeal to you.</p>
<p>I visited Swarthmore College with my brother yesterday. I would certainly take a look at it. It is a bit outside Philadelphia (there is a train station on campus) and is only about 1500 students. You would struggle to get a better academic experience than there as it has so many opportunities for undergraduates. It is also quite left-leaning.</p>
<p>I would give Oberlin serious consideration as the campus atmosphere and the student body tends to come close to Brown’s according to several Brown alum friends who visited. </p>
<p>Also the 9-9-9 distribution requirement in the natural/technical sciences, humanities, and social sciences is practically similar to the open curriculum as there are many different ways to fulfill them.</p>
<p>Apply to brown, your stats are on par with other people there.
Wesleyan is the first school that comes up to mind…they are very similar to brown in pretty much ALL aspects.
Other liberal arts schools in the northeast (Amherst, maybe Williams? not sure) are also similar. </p>
<p>But yeah, I don’t really know any safeties like that.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions. I’m definitely considering Wesleyan as well. Oberlin looks good too (+ thanks qialah for that info about the circus there!), but slightly less competitive academically.
They’re both also quite a bit smaller than Brown…I’m realizing that Brown really is one of a kind. I truly hope I can get in!</p>
<p>I would check out Colorado College - not necessarily and “open curriculum” but utilizes the “block plan” which seems equally innovative. You take a total of 8 classes a year, each lasting 3.5 weeks - and you only take one class at a time. A lot of my friends who loved Brown also loved Colorado College, you should check it out.</p>
<p>i think you might be overemphasizing the importance of the open curriculum. Many schools have distribution requirements which really aren’t onerous and if you look closely at the requirements, you might find that you would end up taking courses across the academic disciplines anyway.</p>
<p>"Other liberal arts schools in the northeast (Amherst, maybe Williams? not sure) are also similar. "</p>
<p>Several Oberlin/high school classmates who were admitted and toured Amherst, Williams, and Brown felt those campuses were quite different from Brown and Oberlin. </p>
<p>The former two SLACs were perceived by them to have a far more pre-professional, strait-laced East Coast establishment, stereotypically preppie vibe than the latter two institutions. A reason why high school/college classmates turned down admission to Amherst and Williams for Brown and Oberlin. </p>
<p>It was also why one college classmate who actually wanted a more strait-laced East Coast establishment school ended up applying to Amherst, Williams, and Dartmouth as a transfer student.</p>
<p>Not sure about UChicago as they do have a set core curriculum which is opposite of the open curriculum or schools with similar open-ended distribution requirements. </p>
<p>Moreover, the vibe I heard from those who went to UChicago was that it was an intensive academic pressure cooker more similar to Swarthmore or MIT than schools like Brown or Oberlin. After all, wasn’t it said that it was a school where “fun goes to die”?</p>
<p>The main issue I’m facing right now is that all the schools I’ve been able to find that are like Brown are tiny. I would feel constricted at a school with less than 3000 or so students. It seems like all of the excellent liberal arts schools (other than Brown) are small. Does anyone know of any that are medium sized? (3000-10000)</p>
<p>Brown is a university. You can get a liberal arts education at universities, not just colleges. If you think of it that way, you will have many options. Most colleges don’t have core curriculum / requirements like UChicago and Columbia U, but may have distribution requirements which will be minimal and will still allow you take courses in whatever areas you wish.</p>
<p>All colleges, even those with an “open curriculum” will still have requirements to complete for the major.</p>
<p>WashU is really competitive and pre-professional. I think it would be one of the schools which is least like Brown. I think some LACs might have a similar atmosphere, but definitely not schools like WashU.
Yale is similar to Brown in the sort of students they look for and they have a large number of cross-admits.<br>
Schools on the west-coast will be generally pretty chill. But without the New England weather and the Ivy League history/ atmosphere.</p>
<p>Advice: Open-curriculum, S/NC,ABC are things which are incidental.
Look for schools which ask for similar types of people. While Amherst too has the open curriculum, it attracts different people and has a different atmosphere. And while Yale has requirements, different grading and professional schools, it attracts and admits similar people and gives off a similar vibe.</p>
<p>What about Vassar? It has an open curriculum. It is only slightly smaller than you want (about 2500 students) and is 75 miles from NYC. </p>
<p>What about Tufts? While it is not an open curriculum, the distribution requirements are fairly broad. A lot of people who apply to Brown also apply to Tufts and vice versa.</p>