UNC Robertson vs Brown

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
1

<p>UNC Robertson is a merit-based scholarship in which I am qualified for full tuition, free summers abroad, free study abroad, and ALL resources at both Duke and UNC. </p>

<p>Sounds pretty wonderful, but I am reluctant to jump into a 'southern' atmosphere and honestly into a school where a majority of students may not be as intellectual as those at Brown.</p>

<p>I love Brown but I recieved no financial aid. My parents are reluctant but willing to pay full tuition. They are agreeing however, to help me with graduate tuition if I took the full scholarship.</p>

<p>I am interested in pursuing a degree in
Public Health or an
MD/MPH program in
the distant future.</p>

<p>So my question is: Can I get some reassurance that Brown is worth it? Is an ivy league education and the ideal atmosphere worth 55k?</p>

<p>Sorry if I sort of asked this in a separate thread but this is more specific.</p>

2

<p>In all honesty, this should be a no brainer.</p>

<p>No, Brown is NOT worth it. Your Robertson experience will blow away a normal undergrad experience at Brown and Chapel Hill vs Providence???..again, no brainer.</p>

<p>It’s NOT just $55K…we’re talking FREE with fully paid incredible world travel experiences for three summers vs $200K + and I doubt that your family will also spring for summer travel abroad…</p>

<p>My son turned down Yale and Princeton to accept a Morehead Scholarship at UNC in 2004…he NEVER regretted his decision. He is now finishing his second year of Med school at a top 15 school. His best friend and roommate was a Robertson (who also turned down several Ivies) so I also have first hand knowledge about what I am saying.</p>

<p>There are plenty of very smart, very talented-even brilliant students at UNC, in fact numerically there are probably more at UNC than at Brown and with the Robertson you will also be exposed to the best of the best. It is an incredible program and opportunity.</p>

<p>UNC and Chapel Hill are not truly “southern” like Bama, Ole Miss, Tennessee or South Carolina and Duke is jokingly referred to the University of NJ- Durham campus because there are so many northerners there…</p>

<p>Med school is VERY expensive…and there is not much merit money, mostly loans…graduating debt free should not be taken lightly…just the other day my S mentioned that he is already $200-250K ahead of most of his med school classmates with two more years to go which is giving him some options he never dreamed of.</p>

<p>Don’t get so hung up on Brown, while it is an Ivy it isn’t HYPS…you will find that the majority of kids accepting the Morehead and Robertson are turning down HYP & S to do so…in fact some have turned down multiple Ivies or Ivies and Stanford. This is the norm, not the exception.</p>

3

<p>While I personally have no experience with the Robertson/Morehead programs and I had no interest in attending Brown or any of the other Ivies, but I wouldn’t be so quick to say the students at UNC aren’t as intellectual as the ones you find at Brown - I would definitely have to disagree with that. You’ll have AWESOME opportunities most people can only dream of with the Robertson - both during undergrad & after. Graduating debt free is so incredible, and it’ll give you the chance to do things after graduation that most of us won’t even able to consider.</p>

<p>Being from Raleigh, it’s safe to say that you aren’t going to be going to a typical ‘southern’ university - while it is very southern in very many ways, a lot of people around here are from the north, so if you’re looking for a non-southern atmosphere, I think you’ll be able to find it. I’m totally in love with Chapel Hill, so maybe I’m a little biased, but I really think that the education you’ll get at Brown is really very little in comparison to the opportunities and experience you’ll gain with the Robertson.</p>

<p>As a side note - You mentioned the ‘ideal atmosphere’ at Brown…have you visited Carolina?</p>

4

<p>No I’ve never been. I also applied sort of on a whim! I’m from Minnesota & am an AA female who’s had a bit of trouble with fitting in with my own race in the past and that is where all of my apprehensions stem from.</p>

<p>I am a bit unique, have strong opinions, and can fit in with anyone but really hate being pushed into a box by others (which is what I have experienced). I guess Brown is the sort of place where students are known to be outside of the box. Whereas when I visited GA there was this huge sense of segregation by class & race. When I read about UNC I also note that students report self segregation. In order to have black friends will I have to conform? </p>

<p>I dunno the thought of going back to all that deeply disturbs me but I am visiting next week so hopefully all I see will prove me wrong!</p>

5

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<p>Absolutely not…</p>

6

<p>I think you’ll love Carolina when you visit. A, it’s an absolutely gorgeous campus and B, Carolina is also known for being a very welcoming community. I’ve heard some people talk about self-segregation, but it’s never something I’ve seen at UNC. I go to a high school right now where the self-segregation is VERY apparent, it’s undeniable that it happens in parts of NC. But, UNC is definitely opposite of that, in my opinion, and that’s part of what I love about it. You would not have to conform at all to have black friends.</p>

7

<p>Sorry I’ve just had some of the worst experiences when it comes to race relations. I’m scared of experiencing them again (although I know it’s something I’ll always deal with). And again sorry to ignorantly lie on stereotypes of the region but I’ve only experienced a little bit.</p>

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<p>Sadly on every campus I have ever been on whether in the south or an Ivy there is always some degree of self segregation. Interestingly, in many places it is even more prevalent among Asian students.</p>

<p>That said, at UNC not every student in every group self segregates. It is not uncommon for many people to have diverse groups of friends; I know in my son’s case his circle of friends was VERY diverse not just racially but also by sexual orientation (he has good friends who were openly gay or bi-sexual), liberals and conservatives, with areas of interest ranging from student government leaders to musicians to athletes. One thing most UNC students have in common is that they are very involved and many are focused on service of some sort.</p>

<p>Whatever your interest you can find a niche (if you want to) at UNC.</p>

9

<p>I’m a Duke student from North Carolina (a freshman), and my response to someone denying a Robertson Scholarship from UNC for Brown is this: LOL.</p>

<p>Okay, sorry, now that I’m done laughing I’ll try to be nicer and more helpful.</p>

<p>The Robertson Scholarship will give you HUGE amounts of opportunities, whether you get it for either Duke or UNC. UNC is one of the best public schools in the nation and is overall ranked in the top 30 for all schools. Duke is ranked higher than nearly half the ivy leagues asthe 10th best school in the nation and the 14th best in the world. Both schools have programs ranked at the very tops of nearly everything. The area surrounding UNC-CH (especially Franklin Street) is second to none. </p>

<p>I’ve been to both schools, and an intellectual atmosphere isn’t lacking at either. The Robertson program gives you TONS of programs and opportunities. </p>

<p>Brown is one of the lesser known ivies, and to be honest will not give you nearly as many resources as the Robertson. The Robertson gives you full-tuition, the resources of both schools, and an opportunity to take classes at Duke as well.</p>

<p>Even if you might choose Brown for prestige, that reason is flawed. In North Carolina, UNC-CH is equal to the ivies in prestige almost and Duke is too. Outside of NC, they are both respected still, and Duke especially is pretty much respected as much as the ivies outside of NC, especially in the northeast.</p>

<p>So my question to you is: Are you really ready to give up a school as great as UNC, with a semester at Duke, with all the resources the Robertson will give you, and with the intellectual atmosphere that UNC definitely has on a level equal to Duke/Brown/wtvr for BROWN. Keep in mind that if rankings are what you care about, Duke being number 10 and UNC being around 28 or whatever still makes them average out better than Brown (I think Brown is 19, may be wrong…yes, this logic is flawed, but not anymore flawed than people making their decisions based completely on rankings…).</p>

<p>Take my advice. Take the Robertson and go to one of the best public universities in the nation. </p>

<p>Good luck. :)</p>

10

<p>Also, I’m not sure if you’re aware of this or not, but Carolina’s Gillings School of Public Health is the 2nd in the nation.</p>

11

<p>Also, if you want liberals, UNC and Duke are majority liberal. UNC is actually even more liberal than Duke…and 85 percent of Duke students voted for Barack Obama.</p>

<p>Good luck, once again!</p>

12

<p>"In order to have black friends will I have to conform? "</p>

<p>No.</p>

13

<p>i completely agree with what has already been said. one thing i might add is that you should definitely talk to brown about financial aid. i’ve often heard that this sort of thing works. otherwise, the incredible opportunities that come from being a robertson scholar should make your decision very easy, and you should visit unc asap!</p>

14

<p>Similarly, My OOS son has been offered a Carolina Scholars Scholarship and invited into the Honors program. He is weighing this against admission to Duke. Sports and athletics are important to him. He is undecided regarding Major or career path. I have saved significantly for his complete education, but there is a finite number of dollars available for his use. That being said, will the UNC network equal Duke’s for later in life? Where will the mentoring be superior? What are the pros/consof the two universitites that we may be missing? This forum’s insight is eagerly awaited.</p>

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<p>Helicio, I never once considered prestige. I chose Brown for its fit. In fact I applied to UNC as a prestigious safety & neglected to look at the fit.</p>

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<p>Visit Chapel Hill before you write off the Robertson due to the “Southern atmosphere.” I’ve lived in Chapel Hill for most of my life, and it feels much less Southern than the rest of North Carolina (to the point that I feel like a foreigner in most of rural North Carolina). Also, as already mentioned, UNC is #2 in the country for Public Health.</p>

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<p>Neodad, UNC-CH is a great school if you have a scholarship versus Duke. It is one of the best public schools in the nation. I got a scholarship to UNC, one of their lesser academic ones, and chose Duke…but I get financial aid, so their was no monetary difference for my decision.</p>

<p>That being said, Duke has been extremely fun and has given me a ton of opportunities already as a freshman (I have an internship in D.C. lined up for this summer)! But you can get that at UNC too. So just see where he fits in better, balanced against the monetary cost, and carefully make the decision!</p>

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<p>Also, to the OP, I just mean to say that an intellectual atmosphere is not by any means lacking at UNC-CH. Being at Duke now, I know that it certainly isn’t at Duke (a day ago, a grad student here discovered the only surviving copy of Haiti’s Declaration of Indep.). These schools are both ranked highly for reasons. </p>

<p>Sorry if I came up as harsh! You really have a great decision. I just think that, from visiting Brown and UNC-CH and going to Duke (where you will spend a semester as a Robertson), turning down the UNC Robertson is a bad decision. Again, UNC-CH is one of the best public universities in the nation. With the Robertson too, it opens up so many doors for you!</p>

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<p>Wait… how did you get the Robertson without visiting Chapel Hill?</p>

<p>But yes, I totally echo the sentiments of all of what was said here. Brown is a very neat place, but certainly not worth all that money. It’s hard to take advantage of the opportunities given when you have to have a job. I’d argue that no Ivy, for undergrad, is worth all that money, and three members of my family went to Ivies for grad or post-grad.</p>

<p>Also, UNC is booming with things to do and intellectual forums. I consider myself a total nerd (in a good way) and have been more happy here than I would have ever imagined - and I was excited to come, anyway!</p>

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<p>She didn’t. She’s “visiting” UNC next week for Finalist weekend…she has not won the Robertson yet.</p>