<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I know Brown is an awesome school, but it feels like all of a sudden Brown is a "hot school. Why? I mean, I can understand WashU. (the increased propoganda) or Yale (Gilmore Girls, the presidential candidates, etc.) but why has Brown SUDDENLY gotten so popular?</p>
<p>The UPS advertisements..."What can Brown do for you?" :D</p>
<p>I'm just kidding. But, on a more serious note, the atmosphere at Brown appeals to most people (myself included), as well as the P/NC system.</p>
<p>I don't think Brown's popularity has peeked recently, if anything it happened in the late 90's, culminating with the infamous vanity fair article and repeated movie references
<a href="http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/Content/1998/02/09/News/vanity_fair.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/Content/1998/02/09/News/vanity_fair.html</a>
<a href="http://www.brown.edu/Administration/George_Street_Journal/vol23/23GSJ03b.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.brown.edu/Administration/George_Street_Journal/vol23/23GSJ03b.html</a></p>
<p>I became obsessed only recently. A friend of mine at Duke mentioned it to me, I researched and fell in love. My interveiwer dude just made me more crazy for Brown as he ranted about how and why it is a great place.</p>
<p>because more people are realizing Brown is sweet, probably by word of mouth</p>
<p>because they heard i was applying</p>
<p>....what other school is named after a color? that was good enough for me! :D</p>
<p>funny nobody mentioned the uber-liberal rep and curriculum. I would think a great many like-minded/inclined students would love the atmoshere: self-selecting to say the least.</p>
<p>Well that rep and curriculum has been in place for a long time. The question was why Brown was gaining popularity now. I personally have no idea. Maybe the applicant pool is slowly getting stronger, thereby raising the number of applications.</p>
<p>For me, it was because of the freedom of course selection (i.e. no core), the perfect location (very central on the East Coast), and the feeling of the student body (laid back, non-competitive, and leaning liberal :)). </p>
<p>It also doesn't hurt that it's an Ivy (that's the prestige-whore coming out in me).</p>
<p><em>gasp</em> shame on you! (but at least you're honest, and your other reasons are good :))</p>
<p>rabo,</p>
<p>the posters below yours seem to disagree.
IMHO, it's obviously the whole "I'm a liberal, thing. Everyone I know who is applying fits the description. Almost all my friends are some form of liberal, but the ones who feel the need for Brown aren't your average liberal; more like club-house liberals who would rather have no heathen conservatives in their liberal club.
I know that is not the only reason people choose Brown, it's an awesome school and on my short list, but there are quite a number of awesome schools and I believe Brown stands out from the crowd because of its liberal chauvinism. In the greater scheme of things, Im liberal myself; but I can only take so much of people like me, lol.
Once in a while, some feel the need for an old fashioned reality check; some don't.</p>
<p>The absence of a core curriculum and pass/fail, it seems to me, is just the extension of this liberalized-alternative, "have-it-your-way," philosophy that is very popular amongst well off liberals, like me, who are used to getting what they want, when they want it, without criticism.</p>
<p>Sure, that's why I like it too, but it doesn't answer the question. The absence of a core is almost 40 years old. Brown has been attracting students like us for a while. So why the rise now?</p>
<p>Most of the top schools went up, but the pool of those applying represented by "well-off-liberals" is probably disproportionably represented in any yearly pool, thus Brown's may have gone up proportionally. On top of that, Brown has been getting consistently better rankings over the past few years (making it safer for parents to concede). On top of that, most applied between last October and January during an election year--i.e. hyper-liberals feeling their blood flow.
I'm sure there are other reasons, but take out the liberal exclusivity and they'll all collapse.</p>
<p>I'm not sure about that, Kalidescope. I'm a self-described liberal, but I certainly don't mind hearing conservative viewpoints. I can have a constructive dialogue with anyone so long as the person is somewhat open-minded. Besides, I love debate! And it's very difficult to debate someone who thinks exactly like you do. </p>
<p>I think Rabo's right, that while the open curriculum is one of Brown's most attractive features, it is no longer "new" and therefore doesn't explain the surge in Brown's popularity. The same goes for the liberal reputation. I think Brown's "hotness" is largely intangible, actually.</p>
<p>In fact, if anything, Brown has become less rabidly liberal, because of Ruth Simmons. She is truly open-minded (the way liberals should be!) and has even encouraged prominent conservatives to speak on campus. </p>
<p>For my part, I love the atmosphere at Brown. (And I decided to apply to Brown last year. So trust me, it had nothing to do with the presidential election.) Yet one of my most conservative friends was accepted to Brown ED as well, and I am really looking forward to arguing with him for the next 4 years. :)</p>
<p>I fell in love with Brown recently for many of the aforementioned reasons.</p>
<p>I love the fact that Brown is known as liberal, the fact that it has an open curriculum, and that it is so different from the other Ivies. It seems to be quirky and interesting, and has its won way of doing things.</p>
<p>I love the quirkiness..........</p>
<p>Funky & Helix,</p>
<p>By no means am I criticizing Brown. It does what it does well. Most would agree. They would also likely agree that along with perhaps Vassar and Reed, Brown is one of the most PC schools in the country and although the country itself is probably more conservative, the type of liberalism represented by Brown (self-absorbed cultural liberalism) is probably more popular than ever across the country.
Amongst the top schools Brown is probably the least politically diverse and this appeals to a lot of like minded people. In the same way that Texas A&M or Wheaton are full of like minded conservatives, Brown has a plethora of like minded cultural-liberals. Neither Texas A&M nor Wheaton is known for their political diversitylike say, Brown and Vassar. Of course they all have a dollop of their opposites for varying reasons but they are all more or less politically homogenous. </p>
<p>I love Brown and what it stands for...I just like a little more intellectual diversity.</p>
<p>How does Brown compare to UC Berkeley? </p>
<p>Bah, I should know since I'm in Berkeley all the time, yet I don't. So, enlighten me </p>
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<p>-|-o </p>
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<p>Ok, I just made that out of sheer boredom. What I meant was :D</p>
<p>I just hope Brown doesn't become too inbred with liberal thought.</p>
<p>Personally, I'd like to see Brown's atmosphere become a bit more moderate (while still maintaining it's quirkiness, of course).</p>
<p>I could also do without it's reputation for marijuana lol</p>
<p>Aw, I hope that Brown never loses its liberalness, ever. :(</p>