<p>I have quite surprisingly been accepted to several awesome schools:</p>
<p>Stanford
Duke
Brown
Amherst College
Rice
prob BC</p>
<p>I am probably going to go into something like poli sci.. international affairs.. i dont know, it might change.. I don't know where to go! I'm mostly torn between stanford, brown, and amherst.. I've just visited Duke and I didn't love Durham..</p>
<p>any advice??? </p>
<p>I went to Duke yesterday and they tried to sway me by telling me that if you don't do pot then you shouldn't go to Brown.. I'm sure someone will have some thoughts on that!</p>
<p>Stanford without a doubt. Many people say that Stanford is the best of the best. Take the opportunity to go to Stanford and if you do not like it (which I cannot imagine why) you can always transfer. I am not saying that Duke is a bad school it is very good, but Stanford has a better campus, top notch faculty and students, good sports teams and much more.</p>
<p>From what I've heard, Brown is among the best for poli sci. If you didn't like Durham, obviously mark Duke off the list: you have amazing options and so there is no reason to compromise.</p>
<p>I too would be torn between Brown, Stanford, and Amherst. However, I would mark Amherst off the list simply because I do not think it is as well-regarded as the other two (all of this assuming that you like the schools equally). Brown vs. Stanford is a VERY tough decision...visit. I'd choose Brown, but I am biased.</p>
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I went to Duke yesterday and they tried to sway me by telling me that if you don't do pot then you shouldn't go to Brown
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</p>
<p>You also don't go to Brown if you don't get in. :rolleyes: I would imagine most of those with the chance to go to both choose Brown over Duke. Jealousy.</p>
<p>I think Amherst is great, but it's not as well-known as Brown, simply because it's an LAC. Obviously not enough to base a decision on, but when you're deciding between three great schools and have to differentiate on some basis, it's worth considering.</p>
<p>"Not as well known", sure. I wouldn't equate that with not being as "well regarded", however. Amherst is not as well known as Ohio State, either.</p>
<p>I wouldn't do that either: just a suggestion to try and mark a school off of his list. You've got a very tough decision ahead of you my friend. I think I'd prefer only being accepted at one of them. ;)</p>
<p>I think Brown/Duke split 50:50 or even possibly more to Duke. Im very suprised that some people from Duke would say that about Brown, I dont know anyone here like that.</p>
<p>Personally, I chose Duke over Brown. But if I had one regret, it was not applying to Stanford. Stanford and Duke are very similiar, except Stanford has nicer weather and a very slight edge academically. </p>
<p>Both Stanford and Brown are great academic schools. I would say that Stanford is more prestigious, but Brown has the East Coast Ivy League thing going for it. Anyway, at that level of quality education, you're really just really trying hard to find important differences. Ultimately, IMHO, it comes down to a geographic choice: do you want California or New England? </p>
<p>BTW, while Amherst is a great school, I feel like it's limited in its scope. Somebody once described it to me as a glorified prep school, where elite private school kids get primed for grad school. That could be the case for many elite colleges, but at least they're big enough to have a lot of diversity (in all forms, not just race).</p>
<p>If I had to choose between the two, I'd choose Brown simply because of location. I've lived in CA all my life and know the weather, and living on the east coast would be an exciting change/opportunity. Vice versa, if I had lived in say Boston all my life, I would pick Stanford. </p>
<p>It might seem trivial to base decision solely on geography, but you can't go wrong with either Brown or Stanford. It's all a matter of personal preference at the level where you're deciding between two fantastic schools. (Although I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't pick Stanford over Brown if I lived in like Chicago or Dallas.)</p>
<p>"BTW, while Amherst is a great school, I feel like it's limited in its scope. Somebody once described it to me as a glorified prep school, where elite private school kids get primed for grad school. That could be the case for many elite colleges, but at least they're big enough to have a lot of diversity (in all forms, not just race)."</p>
<p>And it's an absurd stereotype not based in fact, to set you straight. Of course there are many, many wealthy, elite kids who went to private school. However, there is far more poverty and socio-economic diversity than at comparable schools - that is President Marx's entire mission. The Amherst area is one of the most liberal in the country, and Amherst College is incredibly socio-ecomonomically diverse when compared to similar elite Northeastern schools. Don't just spout off such nonsense, please. Amherst also has the benefits of the 5 college consortium - do you really think that it is a less diverse environment than Stanford or Brown? Puh-leaze. How much time have you spent at Amherst?</p>
<p>Edit: With the Brown vs. Stanford thing, go to Stanford! ;)</p>