<p>I’m having a hard time deciding between Brown and Wash U. I could run at Wash U. but I am also interested in taking up crew. Which do you think is a better school?</p>
<p>Brown is a better school.</p>
<p>I think Brown's better, but Wash U's close.</p>
<p>I think Brown will have a far more vibrant feel.</p>
<p>runang, did u expect another answer besides "brown is better"?? i think we all have a biased opinion, especially pete. ok in my <em>ahem</em> totally UNbiased opinion, i think brown is better. but thats only cause they accepted me and wash U waitlisted me...idiots</p>
<p>I am biased.</p>
<p>Missouri is filled with hateful, homophobic *******s. I despise the state.</p>
<p>Wash U is in Missouri.</p>
<p>Therefore, I don't like Wash U.</p>
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<p>****er</p>
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<p>I have a friend who goes to Wash U and the social scene is 100% drinking. Not 99%, 100%. He claims there is one substance free dorm that is separate from the rest of the community and otherwise you have to party, and party hard, to have any kind of weekend planned.</p>
<p>If you don't like drinking don't go there. Not that people dont drink at Brown, but your odds are better at Brown.</p>
<p>I think that Wash U is one of the more overrated schools on USNews, etc, but still a great education. Personal preference mainly. Wash U does spend one of the highest amounts of money per student on food services so that's really nice...</p>
<p>Wash. U. and Brown offer comparably excellent educations -- whether they're ahead or behind of one another in the rankings is irrelevant, they're both great schools. Certainly, the atmospheres are different -- Wash. U. tends to be more laid-back and politically apathetic, which is of course not the case at Brown. And I certainly see the conflict between Saint Louis and Providence.</p>
<p>ooo FOOD spending, who needs faculty when you have food spending :)</p>
<p>They also spend the most money on getting too many unqualified people to apply so as to lower their acceptance rate and boost their US News rankings...</p>
<p>IMO- Brown is totally better.</p>
<p>Runang, I'm having the exact same problem! I'm trying to decide between Wash U and Brown. I love them both, so hopefully ADOCH will help me decide. I decided that academically they are the same, and the only difference would be the atmosphere. Also, since I'm from the Midwest, I don't know if I want to leave the laid-back feeling and go to school with people who went to fancy private schools for their whole lives. Oh, and Kelly, Wash U is actually pretty politically active. For instance, right now they are having a huge protest for the University workers, and they even got John Edwards to help them out. I just think that Brown has more of the reputation for being politically active. Modestmelody, why do you think Wash U is overrated?</p>
<p>Honestly, this might sound crazy. I know kids from a few classes back who wouldn't be close to this decision. In the late 1990s, early 2000s Brown was significantly harder to get into, and higher ranked. WashU has climbed the prestige/ reputation ladder exponentially, but it might be short lived. Brown is the lasting top school. WashU will probably stick around the top, but Brown is the better school overall and its quality of life is also top notch.</p>
<p>Ok, let's disperse the "rich private school kids" image that people outside of the Northwest seem to hold for Ivy kids. I did not go to a private school, nor am I even close to being rich. Yes, we're all very focused and driven and some of us are very competitive here but that has very little to do with our schools. We simply want to succeed. I did not go to a "fancy private school". If you survey most of the Brown CCers, they did not as well.</p>
<p>Back to Wash U, I have also heard that it's the type of place where you can't have an intelligent conversation outside of class.</p>
<p>Wash U is high in the rankings for all of the wrong reasons. However, as slipper pointed out, Brown's prestige is long-lasting and Brown is much more well known. I've talked to quite a few people who still think that Wash U is in DC.</p>
<p>Jenz129, what are the "wrong reasons"? And why did you apply there if you dislike it so much?</p>
<p>wait.. it isn't in DC? then where is it?</p>
<p>It's in St. Louis</p>
<p>If you have an invitation to run at Wash U. then I can understand the draw. My freshman roommate at Brown joined the cross country program here as a walk-on, but he found it hard to keep up the commitment, plus he was not as fast as all the recruited athletes. The crew program at Brown is much larger than the running program, and it is much easier to join as a walk-on, in part because there are two-to-three boats for both the freshman and the varsity squads. Brown does not have a lightweight crew program, though, so if you're a stick you're going to have to start packing on some weight.</p>
<p>Brown and Wash U. are similar in that they are both smallish universities in smallish cities. Wash U. is set further back from St. Louis than Brown is from Providence, but both are essentially urban schools. Providence is a lot nicer than St. Louis, which is only beginning to experience a cultural renaissance. Brown's urban renaissance began eight years ago.</p>
<p>Because I go to Brown, I of course favor my alma mater. And although I visited Wash U. once, I actually know very little about it. I will say this, however: I've known a number of kids at Brown in four years who transferred here from Wash U., but none who transferred from Brown to the school in St. Louis. Just some food for thought.</p>
<p>both are excellent schools. i visited both this spring and here's my opinion...
dorms: wash u [didn't get to see a brown dorm]
students: tough one... both are awesome (friendly, studious, social, etc)
campus safety: wash u [brown is safe but just felt safer at wash u b/c campus was enclosed]
campus itself: brown [i love the east coast!]
access to city: brown [you're in the city] but wash u makes it very accessable to st. louis</p>
<p>can't think of anything else off the top of my head. just pm me for more or post... i'll try my best :)</p>
<p>I say Wash U is overrated because of the pretty strong indication that they have inflated themselves through getting more and more underqualified students to apply so that they can deny them in order to appear more exclusive. So, in terms of meaningless ranks, their school appears higher than perhaps a more meaningful number.</p>
<p>However, I do feel from an academic standpoint they are equals.</p>
<p>The most intelligent guy I know is there on a full tuition merit scholarship and says that if you don't drink you can't do ****. People just dont drink casually there, they drink till drunk everynight of every weekend. That's the extent of his social options. He's fine with that, but since I don't drink (not a moral thing, mostly just can't stand the taste of alcohol and I am very attune to it) I'd have a difficult time there for that reason.</p>
<p>Also, he dislikes St. Louis and preferred the Providence area.</p>
<p>FWIW, his first choice was Brown but was waitlisted.</p>
<p>The food comment, though true, was meant in a light manner.</p>