Brown vs. Ivies Early Decision

bjrwrh
Wed, 13 Apr 2005 19:53:16 +0000

Cornell is the easiest; that is clear. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are the hardest; that is also clear. However, Dartmouth, Columbia, Penn, and Brown are all more or less equally selective. Anecdotally, Brown is known for being more capricious and less numbers-based, while Penn is known for being more numbers-based. (It’s also probably a bit easier than the others.) The thing is, though, with the exception of Cornell, all ivies are very random. I know people who have gotten into Harvard but not Columbia, Columbia but not Brown, Brown but not Columbia, Penn but not Brown, Brown but not Yale, etc.

Looking for an “ivy” is a bad way to look for schools. The ivy distinction is somewhat arbitrary. Although all are good schools, they are all different, and there are lots of schools that are just as good but aren’t ivies. Besides, some, most, or even all of the ivies might not be right for you. (I only applied to Brown and Yale.) Right now I’m choosing between Brown, Wesleyan, and Vassar; Brown is the ivy, but it might not be the best fit. (I’m visiting all of them again and then seeing how I feel.