<p>I am a freshman at Columbia College and am thinking about transferring to Brown. I really can’t stay in this crazy place for more than a year, seriously.</p>
<p>I applied ED to Brown and was deferred-dinged. I got into Columbia in RD by coincidence(I really dunno why). Although I never liked the concept of core curriculum, I thought I would give it a try and thus committed to Columbia.</p>
<p>However, things turned out to be even worse than the worst case scenario I expected. My advisor is a control freak who never lets me enroll in courses I love; she would point to the “core checklist” and tell me why I have to enroll in those cores rather than ,say, East Asian studies etc… </p>
<p>When I was in high school, I was really attracted by the open curriculum at Brown and I literally imagined how I would explore all the areas that interested me in college, but Columbia simply won’t let me do it. </p>
<p>Just a few questions that I want to make sure before deciding whether to transfer:</p>
<ol>
<li>Are academic advisors at Brown friendly? Do they really care about you as a person?</li>
<li>Do they give you “instructions” about what courses to take or would they prefer to let you decide your own schedule? 3. Would the open curriculum really allow me to take like different courses in various disciplines rather than just dead white men literature/philosophy etc. promoted by Columbia? Are there any potential restrictions that may hinder me from doing so?</li>
</ol>
<p>In addition, if there are current Brown students who transferred from Columbia I would appreciate if you could comment on whether I should transfer!</p>
<p>First thing first, did Brown admit you in RD (you said “deferred-dinged”)? want to gauge your chance there…</p>
<p>Just want to relay something I heard from a Brown alumni back in April during “Brown in your town” event. This sounds even better, you could opt for Pass/fail (Brown’s term “Satisfactory/No Credit”) for ALL your courses. The alumni said she knew she wanted to be a rabbi, so she checked with the church (her employer) to make sure S/NC was ok and she took all her courses S/NC. Her son is attending Brown this Fall. Taking all courses S/NC is a bit extreme, but you get the point…</p>
<p>Brown’s Meiklejohn peer advisors provide first-year students with an informed student perspective on Brown’s curricular options. Some super popular courses are filled up early, some small-sized courses are go by lottery pick, but I think one can take any course they like if they are available.</p>
<p>Brown students are among the happiest ones for good reasons, not to mention the convenience of shops/restaurants/bars on Thayer street right at the center of the campus where one can safely hang out late at night.</p>
<p>OK, I’ll bite. Maybe some readers (including me) are wondering why taking all courses S/NC is “even better”. Not sure what the alumni (sic) rabbi who is employed by a church meant by this.</p>
<p>I understand the benefits of having the S/NC option, to be utilized judiciously. But if taking all courses S/NC is really better, was the “alumni rabbi” suggesting that S/NC should be the standard?</p>
<p>Based on what I know of this alumnus’ comments, I do not think she has a full understanding of the rationale behind the Open Curriculum.</p>
<p>Thanks for the inputs!
Just want to clarify that I meant I was dinged by Brown in RD after being deferred in ED.
I don’t really mind whether I could take courses S/NC because I am not the slacker type. I am more concerned about academics, i.e. whether I could really explore a variety of disciplines without constraint.</p>
<p>S/NC is not meant for slacker, you’ll put in the same amount of work and there is an evaluation report at the end (this is extra for S/NC). Brown said it is for students to explore unfamiliar subjects that they are interested but lacking the necessary background.</p>
<p>Good on ya! This is what the Open Curriculum is all about. And this is the attitude…I believe…the Admissions Committee tries to screen for in the admissions process. Let this show through in your transfer application process and I think it will hold you in good stead.</p>
<ol>
<li>Are academic advisors at Brown friendly? Do they really care about you as a person?</li>
</ol>
<p>There are dozens? hundreds? of academic advisors at Brown. Some are very friendly and really care about you as a person. That is certainly what Brown hopes for when it hires faculty. But there will always be a few who aren’t. If you are unhappy with your advisor, you can find another one. Every student is also assigned an upperclassman as an advisor, and they are friendly and care about you. I don’t know if transfer students get a Meikeljohn</p>
<ol>
<li>Do they give you “instructions” about what courses to take or would they prefer to let you decide your own schedule? </li>
</ol>
<p>Within your concentration, there are required courses. Outside of that, no one gives you instructions. You can be totally independent and do what you want and take whatever you want. But there are also lots of people around to ask. Brown wants you to make an effort to seek out the info you need. It is not handed to you on a silver platter. </p>
<ol>
<li>Would the open curriculum really allow me to take like different courses in various disciplines rather than just dead white men literature/philosophy etc. promoted by Columbia? Are there any potential restrictions that may hinder me from doing so?</li>
</ol>
<p>You are limited by the number of classes you can take per year (5 a semester, although most students take 4) and by the requirements within your concentration. If you are interested in an ScB, then you have much less room in your schedule to explore. Some concentrations have a lot more required classes than others. Some classes have prerequisites (for example, many MCM classes require that you take one of the intro classes – MCM is Modern Culture and Media, which is sort of like film studies). The Brown curriculum is designed to encourage students to explore as many different disciplines as possible. </p>
<p>(I’ve said this before on these boards and I’ll say it again – I simply don’t understand how anyone who prefers an open curriculum would opt to go to Columbia or UChicago. There are plenty of other schools with more flexible curriculums – what a shame you decided to go to Columbia.)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the inputs and I’m sure I’ll transfer now. Hope Brown would give me a chance!</p>
<p>@fireandrain Columbia’s core curriculum really sucks but I didn’t realize it before coming here. I am a philosophy major and among the schools I applied to, only Columbia and a few other random state schools and LACs admitted me. After taking into account financial aid, Columbia was the most attractive one and I simply thought Core Curriculum might not be that bothering to a prospective philosopher, which turned out to be extremely wrong though. </p>