I never thought I would be in this situation, but here I am.
Up until Ivy day I thought I was going to Wellesley. I didn’t think I had a big shot at any of the Ivies I applied to, but I ended up getting into both UPenn and Brown.
I plan on visiting all three again (Wellesley COC, Brown ADOCH), but I was wondering what others think about this situation. How different would my experience be at Brown or Penn vs. a small top LAC like Wellesley?
Career wise, how would any/all of these schools help to propel me forward?
I am interested in Middle Eastern Studies, Arabic, IR etc. I am also very interested in Politics. My prospective majors at the three colleges are as follows:
UPenn: Modern Middle Eastern Studies or PPE (Politics Philosophy and Economics)
Wellesley: IR w/ Poly Sci or Econ (possibly might try my hand at Comp Sci as well)
Brown: IR (fantastic program with focus on Security & Society or Political Economy & Society), Development Studies
Putting aside the academic pros and cons, my sense is that if you like the feel of Wellesley, you’d prefer the Brown vibe to Penn’s. But all three schools are outstanding. Can’t go wrong.
The difference between Brown and Penn is the difference between having a medium-sized state capital a healthy twenty minute walk away as opposed to a major urban metropolis lapping at your doorstep. I personally would have found the Penn campus rather disorienting with its competing academic fiefdoms (cough, Wharton, cough, a HUGE hospital complex), but others might find it exciting to have all of that going on at the same time. Brown is a nice compromise between a large LAC and sprawling university.
For full disclose I’m a Penn alum (Wharton) and loved my years there. My sister went to Brown. Both awesome schools with different vibes. I felt Penn was more pre-professional, larger, and more urban which all suited me very well. But if you want more of a LAC feel, Brown is smaller and may be a better fit. Hopefully after you re-visit one of the schools will jump out as being the right place for you.