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Verbal · 04-20-2008, 12:51 AM

As I continue my college search, I have settled upon Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island as my primary objective for admissions. However, while not a defeatist, I am a realist and I understand that with a 2010 SAT and 3.8 weighted GPA, my chances at Brown are not best. As such, I am looking for more match/safety schools besides the UCs and CSUs which I will inevitably apply to. And in this search I am looking for institutions which have similar qualities to those which I admire in Brown. These attributes include:

*It's reputation as having a liberal leaning ideology. I'm a pretty hardcore atheist liberal, and the Brown culture appeals to me.
*The curriculum is exactly what I want. The ability to choose all of your own classes, to not deal with general education requirements, and the ability to take anything pass/fail is massively appealing to me.
*It's location in New England. Living in California, I would really like to get away for four years and have decided that everything on the east coast north of Virginia is desirable.
*It's location in a decently sized metropolitan area. Having lived in San Diego my entire life, I am not sure if I could deal with suburban or rural living.
*It's student population of ~6,000. I think around 5,000 is the most desirable of sizes in a college. Liberal arts schools have a lot of appeal to me, but having gone to a small high school I am not sure I could deal with only 1,000 students for another four years.
*The financial aid is Ivy League-aid. I've never really fallen for the whole allure of the Ivy League, but the fact of the matter is that with my family coming from the sub-$45,000 bracket, I do need the financial aid which such institutions are able to offer.
*The prestige is a little nice as well, but something I am not particularly worried about.
*Also probably worth noting is I am undecided as to my undergraduate major but that History is probably most likely. Eventually I would like to study law, particularly environmental law.

As you can see, I am more or less in love with Brown. However, as I said, I realize the need to consider more realistic options. Any schools which fit all, or even just several, of these wants would be massively helpful.

I also hope this is in the correct forum. I have lurked for awhile, but if there is a forum for which it is better suited, please let me know.

04-20-2008, 12:51 AM	#1
Verbal New Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 29	Universities similar to Brown As I continue my college search, I have settled upon Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island as my primary objective for admissions. However, while not a defeatist, I am a realist and I understand that with a 2010 SAT and 3.8 weighted GPA, my chances at Brown are not best. As such, I am looking for more match/safety schools besides the UCs and CSUs which I will inevitably apply to. And in this search I am looking for institutions which have similar qualities to those which I admire in Brown. These attributes include: It's reputation as having a liberal leaning ideology. I'm a pretty hardcore atheist liberal, and the Brown culture appeals to me. The curriculum is exactly what I want. The ability to choose all of your own classes, to not deal with general education requirements, and the ability to take anything pass/fail is massively appealing to me. It's location in New England. Living in California, I would really like to get away for four years and have decided that everything on the east coast north of Virginia is desirable. It's location in a decently sized metropolitan area. Having lived in San Diego my entire life, I am not sure if I could deal with suburban or rural living. It's student population of ~6,000. I think around 5,000 is the most desirable of sizes in a college. Liberal arts schools have a lot of appeal to me, but having gone to a small high school I am not sure I could deal with only 1,000 students for another four years. The financial aid is Ivy League-aid. I've never really fallen for the whole allure of the Ivy League, but the fact of the matter is that with my family coming from the sub-$45,000 bracket, I do need the financial aid which such institutions are able to offer. The prestige is a little nice as well, but something I am not particularly worried about. Also probably worth noting is I am undecided as to my undergraduate major but that History is probably most likely. Eventually I would like to study law, particularly environmental law. As you can see, I am more or less in love with Brown. However, as I said, I realize the need to consider more realistic options. Any schools which fit all, or even just several, of these wants would be massively helpful. I also hope this is in the correct forum. I have lurked for awhile, but if there is a forum for which it is better suited, please let me know. Last edited by Verbal; 04-20-2008 at 12:57 AM.