Hi everyone! One year ago, I posted on this forum asking for college advice as someone who had no clue about the process. I’m beyond thankful for all of the wonderful advice I’ve received! I’m here today to ask for advice on whether Brown or Stanford.
Some thoughts:
I’m hoping to major in either Neuroscience or Human Bio.
Weather isn’t too important, I’m from the Midwest.
I really love Brown’s Open Curriculum, and I’ve heard really positive things about the people there.
However, Stanford is such a dream with ample resources for those who want to apply for med.
Any thoughts would be welcomed! Once again, thank you so much!
My suggestion - look into each - who really has what you want.
Don’t be taken by a pre supposed vision - because that vision will be gone the minute you step on campus.
Where do you feel most comfortable. Who has the best curriculum for you - some of which will be fixed due to pre med requirements.
There’s no right answer here and both may work for you - but pick a real reason - not that Stanford was just what you always envisioned. Certainly both of these schools have ample resources as does any school quite frankly - in regards to applying to med school.
Brown is great for premeds because you can choose your classes and play to your strengths outside the premed pre-reqs. As a result, that makes it easier to achieve a high GPA (obviously, it’s not easy, just easier relatively speaking!)
The vibe at both is pretty different - did you visit? Or would you be able to visit/participate in a fly-in?
What year of high school are you currently in? Would you be applying next year, or have you already applied and been accepted to both schools?
If you are seriously considering medical school, then you need to budget for a full 8 years of university. Brown and Stanford are great schools and offer very good need based financial aid, but are expensive if you are full pay.
Brown is on the semester system. Stanford is on the quarter system. I personally liked the quarter system better. You get to take more classes in an academic year. However, classes go quickly and the end of the quarter comes up faster than you might expect if you are used to the semester system. This is fine if you are well ahead in all of your classes, which you probably want to be anyway if you are premed and enrolled in a very academically demanding university such as either Brown or Stanford.
I definitely spent many Saturdays and Sundays doing homework when I was at Stanford, and I think that this is probably not all that rare (and maybe even more common for premed students, compared to my major that was approximately math). You need to want to do it. However, this is probably true for premed students at a wide range of universities.
Stanford has a large and attractive campus. A bicycle can be useful for getting around. I am not familiar with the Brown campus.
To me the open curriculum does sound appealing. While you will need to complete the required premed classes, I can see value in having flexibility regarding whatever else you take, since many students are stronger in some areas and not as strong in some other areas.
If I had been accepted to both of these schools I can see that it would be a very tough decision. If you are ready to work very hard, and if the desire to do this comes from inside yourself, then IMHO you cannot go wrong choosing either of these excellent universities.
Here are my random recollections from a few decades ago. This sort of recollection might be personal and vary from one person to the next:
Classes go fast. Students put a lot of effort into their course work. Large campus. Lots of sunshine and palm trees and bicycles. Most of the professors are very good. I had one bad professor, but fortunately in an easy class (both “bad professor” and “easy class” are rare at Stanford). The sunshine and palm trees and stone buildings and clay roofs and bicycles give a relaxed feeling which is offset by how fast the classes go and how tough some of the homework is. Personally I worked very hard and I loved it – but since I was a graduate student (master’s degree) I was older and knew why I wanted to do it. I was proving to myself that I could do it and that I could excel in that environment. I remember some very tough exams, but oddly enough this can be fun (sort of like solving a puzzle).
I still remember one sunny Saturday when I woke up, got dressed, had breakfast, worked six hours straight on one single math problem (out of five problems for that one course, out of five courses), solved the problem, and then went to dinner with my girlfriend. What more would you want to do on a sunny Saturday in California?
I would call it more cooperative than competitive, but that might have been related to the fact that I was a graduate student and we were all older and more focused on what we were learning and how this would help us get where we wanted to be in regards to our careers.
I happened to be there during a drought. It did not rain one drop while I was a student there. This is of course not always the case.
I think that at any highly ranked university there will be students who were the top student in their high school, and discover that suddenly they are not the top student anymore. There will be some students who never needed strong study skills in high school, but need to learn study skills in a hurry because classes just got tougher. I fortunately was not in that situation partly because I was older (I had a couple of years of work experience between undergrad and graduate school) and partly because I happen to be bad at some things (and therefore needed to work hard at something in high school) but I was good at what I was studying in graduate school. One issue in some graduate programs is that you take a lot of classes in a relatively narrow area. If you are good at that one area then weaknesses in other areas might just not matter anymore.
Overall I remember sunshine, palm trees, classes that go fast, a LOT of work, and I loved it.
Congratulations, what a wonderful position to be in!
I can offer some insights into Brown, my kid is a pre-med currently. Brown was their favorite after doing tours, it is a small compact campus and that makes it very lively. There is a lot of energy around and the main green is always busy and social. They also loved that it was a short walk down the hill into the city where the train station is very accessible as well as a great foodie and arts scene. RI offers free bus rides to students so they have utilized for a day trip to Newport beach which is about 40 minutes away. The school has the quintessential New England feel with historic homes surrounding around it in a nice manageable size city that isn’t big enough to cause distraction leading to a more disjointed community.
The open curriculum was a huge draw. However, there are concentration requirements plus the pre-med requirements, so the flexibility isn’t quite to the same level for pre-meds. They offer 20 person freshman seminar classes on interesting topics though and mine was able to take one that was a bio credit so nice sGPA pad. One thing to note also is that the student body is very motivated and when they get to choose their classes due to open curriculum you are then ‘competing’ with kids that are all locked-in. This also makes for a nice class environment for professors too due to high level of engagement. Mine did have a slight concern about pace of trimester schools with some classes like orgo, but clearly it works out for most. They did like that that system allows for more classes though, pros and cons.
My kid has had numerous meetings with professors and faculty, everyone has been very willing to meet up and chat. They had a course first semester and enjoyed a topic. Met with professor to discuss and they said go do this to show me your commitment level, and then we’ll work on a UTRA for paid research next year. They are only marginally interested in research, and much more focused on clinical side. They’ve been able to serve on EMT crew, volunteer in hospice care, and participate in some city-wide public health initiatives. Plenty of things to get involved with and due to size of city everything is very accessible.
There is absolutely no wrong answer for you, you will have everything you need to be a successful med school candidate at either school. I know Stanford is incredible! There was a poster in our regular parent chat that has a pre-med at Stanford and they are every bit as happy, want to say the kid is staying for summer doing research on campus. I would think they are different enough locations and possibly vibes that you may have a preference one way or another. Best of luck to you and hopefully you can visit each!
Both are outstanding choices. You need to choose the one where you want to be for the next 4 years, and where you will be happy. Happy students do better than unhappy ones.
We have been to both colleges with our DD…just to see these campuses. She would not have been a competitive applicant at either. She actually didn’t like Stanford because it was so sprawled out. Pretty but very sprawled out! She liked Brown’s campus better.
I think looking at the difference between that open curriculum at Brown, and then Stanford curriculum needs to be a consideration.
You can take the required courses for medical school applicants at either college.
I’m hoping cost is not a factor…if it is, then remember that medical schools will cost $100,000 a year if you get there.
Congratulations!! Great choices and a testament to your hard work.
My son who attended Brown had a similar challenge when making his school selection. He had been lucky enough to have been accepted to his dream school (not to be named) and Brown.
At the outset of the application process he knew very little about Brown but had certainly heard a lot about his “dream school” through popular culture. Retrospectively it would seem most of the attraction was the perceived exclusivity and universal name recognition. Brown on the other hand was still a color in his mind.
While touring both schools however he fell in love with Brown’s vibe, the flexible curriculum and being situated on a beautiful campus that in parts felt suburban in others urban, but always northeastern. The proximity to RISD and the ocean, the dedicated center for entrepreneurial studies and most important the happiness and openness of the students also added some qualities and opportunities that differentiated it.
Once accepted however, the other school just didn’t seem as impressive or as good a fit. People were wonderful but under closer scrutiny he came to realize his pre conceived image was different from the reality and Brown was the better fit.
To be honest the differences were hard to define as in many ways the schools at face value were similar. He just found one to be a better fit based on intangibles and the personal interactions he was able to have with a “clear head” as an accepted student.
It certainly wasn’t an easy decision. He took his time and we agreed as a family that whatever he decided he would likely be very happy. Ultimately he was determined to go with the school he felt matched the experience he wanted and choose Brown.
Thankfully Brown turned out to be everything and more than he was hoping for. The school has been instrumental in his career success and happiness and he has lifelong friends. The best evidence we believe of his having made the right decision is we rarely if ever find ourselves discussing where he could have gone. To be honest it’s only in threads such as yours that it even occurs to me. Once his decision was made he moved on and thrived.
Nothing sadder than hearing someone year later validating themselves by highlighting by name where they or their kid could have gone. Please make your decision based on the criteria that suits your expectations and needs and make sure you never look back.
Congratulations! Both great schools. Probably cannot go wrong with either. Completely different environments. Which school do you prefer? Which fits you better? What’s your personality like? What location, campus size, setting, weather, school sports, student makeup and vibe matter? It’s a tough choice, but a great one to be in. I know a very high pct of students who apply to med school do get in at Brown. Not sure about Stanford. Moreover Brown is the happy Ivy and you can’t beat the open curriculum. But the weather, campus and college sports activities at Stanford is appealing. I think if I was outgoing, active, wanted to go to sporting events, and wanted to live on the west coast or California I’d choose Stanford. If I liked East coast, more urban ish life and didn’t mind being on campus or walk around Providence more and occasionally go to Boston and have that whole small school East Coast experience, and did not care about football or basketball too much, but did want to get great grades for med school, I’d go to Brown.
Agree with your assessment but technically Brown doesn’t calculate GPA…
“In keeping with the spirit of the Open Curriculum, Brown does not compute students’ grade point averages. If you have questions about how to complete applications for external opportunities (e.g., graduate or professional school, fellowships), please consult with an academic advising dean.”
Most students do provide the “interpreted” GPA but the above is the schools policy.