<p>My son had the same choice (Brown PLME and Yale) and he chose PLME. He is also a neuroscience major and was considering double majoring in a humanities subject but just recently decided not to pursue the double major. He can simply take as many courses as he wants in that area. The “double major” designation isn’t important to him and it would be hard to fit it in with everything else he wants to do. The open curriculum really does give a student great flexibility in forming his education. Brown has really opened his eyes to some subjects he wasn’t exposed to before. </p>
<p>Yale was my son’s first choice school for a long time, but he really liked Brown and Providence. He spent two summers there while in HS and did a year long weekend program at Columbia. He also spent some time visiting Penn and is very familar with Phili. He obviously prefers city schools. He ruled out Columbia because college life revolves around city life and not the campus. He wants to save that life for after school. He also didn’t feel he “fit” in at Penn, although he liked the hospitals nearby (and had spent time at CHOP and Wills Eye Hospital). Penn is a great school, just more pre-professional. His HS business major friends LOVE Penn. </p>
<p>The locations and campuses are quite different. I personally loved Yale’s old campus, but the science hill isn’t as impressive plus it’s a LONG walk from the dorms. On the plus side, I hear the food is better up by the sci buildings. MY FIL got a grad degree in the sciences at Yale so there was some pull to go Bulldog. My kids attended the Yale/Harvard game and said the tailagating is different from Brown’s. I saw photos and there were lots of catered tailgates. Plates was loaded with prime rib, shrimp, you name it. </p>
<p>My son did several trips to Yale throughout senior year and had a great (informative and lengthy) on-campus interview with admissions and then later a similar alumni interview. He definitely liked what he saw and heard. But after doing a couple weekend visits there, he was undecided about fitting in with the other students (more priveldged upbringing, more $ thrown around, more prestige seeking, etc) plus he really didn’t like New Haven. That opened the door for Brown, Duke and Stanford. He really likes sports, but in the end, city environment won out. </p>
<p>BUT in the end, I think PLME decided it for him. The guaranteed med school acceptance meant four stressfree years, while still having all the advantages of an excellent education and the city environment he wanted. He preferred Providence to New Haven hands down and Brown’s neuroscience program certainly had a better reputation (although Yale is Yale so no programs are bad). Yale has more prestige but that wasn’t very important to us. Yale has some gen ed requirements and you need more classes to graduate so there would be less flexibility than at Brown. JMy son will be studying abroad next fall, in mostly a humanities program but he will stay on schedule with his neuro major because he’s already taken four or five neuro classes, in addition to other pre-med required sci classes. Class sizes vary at Brown. That into neuro class is huge because it’s so popular. OTOH, my son had 7 kids in another class that semester.</p>
<p>People will tell you that you can take anything you want at Brown. But that’s stretching the truth. You still need to fulfill all the requirements of your major and all the pre-med requirements of the med school (for PLME) with acceptable grades (I think you need Bs). BUT outside of those requirements, you can direct your learning however you choose. Despite the myths, most students take a variety of subjects, taking some non-major classes pass/fail to explore new topics. Brown has great grad school placement so obviously students aren’t taking all their classes pass/fail. </p>
<p>My son sees his non-PLME pre-med friends struggling with the stress of worrying over EVERY class, every grade, every EC, while trying to find time to volunteer and do research. Many doctors strongly advised against combined med programs because in their experience, students were so stressed out. BUT they were thinking of the accelerated programs where there is little breathing room in order to get through undergrad in 3 years. Some programs rushed through in 6 years total. The doctors all said these are the years to enjoy yourself. Med School (and residency) is a totally different environment and you basically have NO life. </p>
<p>Now, don’t get me wrong. PLMEs work hard and probably get similar grades to non-PLMEs but PLMEs don’t stress as much. Getting a few Bs or gasp a C won’t determine their future so they don’t worry as much. Funny thing is, maybe because they don’t stress, they actually do about the same grade-wise. PLMEs have more free time, especially during 3rd year. While my son is off studying abroad, his friends have to study for MCATs, keep up with their ECs and research. Then, eventually, there’s all that time and expense spent writing applications and flying all over the country for interviews. </p>
<p>He has said that Brown students are very collaborative and work together. This differs from his pre-med friends at other competitive schools where the kids fiercely compete with one another. I don’t know which schools he was referring. Some pre-meds remind him of those kids in HS who never took a moment to breathe. He did ECs that he enjoyed then and now. He didn’t fight for points on tests, never took retests or did extra credit to inflate his grade. He only took his SATs once and was done with all standardized testing in junior year. So, he is definitely a bit laid back - but I don’t mean to imply lazy. Kids at Brown are intellectual and self driven and so is he. But like my son, kids at Brown don’t seem very interested in prestige or what others think about them. They are there to learn, to direct their education. They take control and seem to enjoy learning from one another. </p>
<p>Brown’s med school has steadily grown in size and reputation, the rankings continue to increase and the residency placements are very good. They received a HUGE endowment so many improvements have been made, as well as increasing the size of the med school class and opening admission to non-PLMEs. Getting admitted the traditional way is quite selective as the numbers will show if you check the website. Brown students continue to get great residency placements in top programs and difficult specialties (also listed on the website). This was one concern my son had before deciding because he also heard people say the med school wasn’t that good. He consulted numerous neurosurgeons and neurologists at top hospitals and they all had excellent things to say about Brown. He worked at a top NYC Hospital (neurosurgical dept) last summer and when he arrived, the other intern in his dept was from Brown as well. He met a doctor from NIH this summer at a medical conference who said he often takes Brown students as NIH interns.</p>
<p>You have some excellent choices and they will ALL allow you to get a great education. The rest is up to you. Consider “fit”. Find the school where you will do your best, not just in the classroom but socially as well. You don’t want to burn out so make sure you choose a place where you can see yourself having fun and where you can relax too. None of these schools will hold you back. PLME will take some of the stress away, but don’t think it’s an easy out. Brown classes (neuro anyway) are difficult and kids work hard for their grades. My son had 6 AP classes in his senior year (got As and 5s) and knew what it was like to work hard. But the workload (reading/studying) at Brown is intense and demanding. I’m sure that’s true at all these schools. So make sure your downtime provides much needed relief from the grind. </p>
<p>By the way, Yale gave my son a better FA pkg as well. We showed them the Yale and Duke offers and they took another look. We had some extenuating circumstances that they “reconsidered” and improved the FA. So don’t be afraid to speak to the FA dept. But in general, the NEW FA policy at Yale is amazing.</p>