<p>i was a brown undergrad and am graduating from harvard grad school this spring, where i advised harvard undergrads</p>
<p>there several are legitimate trade-offs between the two places</p>
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<li>academic freedom is undoubtedly greater at brown. this is a story about a brown student who transferred to harvard and then transferred back to brown after only one semester because she found harvard too restrictive (she went on to be a marshall and rhodes scholar)</li>
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<p>[Two</a> win Marshall Scholarships - Campus news](<a href=“http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2004/11/22/CampusNews/Two-Win.Marshall.Scholarships-813133.shtml]Two”>http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2004/11/22/CampusNews/Two-Win.Marshall.Scholarships-813133.shtml)</p>
<ol>
<li>certain resources are deeper at harvard – in internationals relations, this would include CGIS and the IOP at harvard. however, Brown’s Watson Institute is no slouch, with several former heads of state on the faculty that are legitimately devoted to engaging with undergrads.</li>
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<p>[Harvard</a> University Institute of Politics](<a href=“http://www.iop.harvard.edu%5DHarvard”>http://www.iop.harvard.edu)
[Center</a> for Government and International Studies, Harvard University](<a href=“http://cgis.fas.harvard.edu/]Center”>http://cgis.fas.harvard.edu/)</p>
<p>[The</a> Watson Institute for International Studies](<a href=“http://www.watsoninstitute.org%5DThe”>http://www.watsoninstitute.org)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>culturally, they are different. there is some elitism at both places but it is much more palpable at harvard. that being said, i’m not sure this should be a deciding factor. both places have very nice, humble people too.</p></li>
<li><p>generally speaking, access to star faculty and advising is better at brown. for most faculty there is no difference but for the real stars it can be hard for a harvard undergrad to get access unless they are very type A and persistent. also, the advising system at harvard is a little odd since they have people like me (grad students) do the bulk of it. for example, you would have a pre-law “tutor” based in your residential house responsible for writing your letter of recommendation, etc. i don’t think it is to your disadvantage, but i always found this strange</p></li>
<li><p>social life is more diverse at brown. at harvard social life and activities completely revolve around which house you live in. at brown, people tend to affiliate more by their interests than where they live.</p></li>
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