<p>To come to Brown. I’m feeling a little miserable about my college decision (ironic, considering the great choices I have). </p>
<p>My worry is that I won’t find as supportive and tight a community at Brown as I would at a smaller school…I’m not a very outgoing person, although I am confident in myself, so I sometimes worry that making friends will be hard unless I really get out there and push myself to do it. Any thoughts on this or on Brown in general that will REALLY make me want to come?</p>
<p>…it depends on the alternative. many people choose LAC’s for precisely the reasons you stated. when i was applying, a good friend and i that both came from a tiny high school were both considering brown and swarthmore. he chose swarthmore because he wanted a place that is small and secluded. i chose brown for several reasons
the open curriculum was very important to me
brown seemed friendly and small enough that you run into people everywhere you go
brown offered many small classes, but a much wider breadth of choices than i could ever find at a LAC
as a university, brown offered me opportunities that a LAC never could–i got to hear directly from leading public figures i admire like Salman Rushdie, Bill Clinton, Janet Reno, Oliver Stone, Paul Farmer and so on almost every week. i also got to do high-profile research with extremely accomplished faculty
i had a feeling that the alumni network at brown would help me tremendously with my future goals and that has definitely turned out to be the case</p>
<p>So you’ve already been accepted…well atleast half the battle is won. I all reality, people in large cities are rather nice. Plus the best way to makes friends is to join a club. That way you can come to a place and talk to people with the same intrest as you. So if you want to make friends join an acedemic club…of the sort…</p>
<p>I hate to say this but alot of people on this site, are condesending, rude, and slightly obnoxious. They have the pompous attitudes of nail biting, grade crying, know-it-alls who will no doubt string out on cocaine, over their physics book. People are able to change, and sometimes, they just need reassuring. Sorry for the tangent, but Perrinial, I have faith that you will do fine, and dont worry about making friends, rarely anyone goes through college without making some friends.</p>
<p>Thanks for the comments…reading over my original post, it sounds a bit like I’m a sniveling hermit who wants someone to hold her hand through college. That really isn’t the case; I think my worries will be the same no matter what school I choose (my other options being Haverford, UChicago, Oberlin, Vassar, and Smith) and I just wanted people who know Brown well to give me some general things that they liked about the school.</p>
<p>Why don’t you go to your local bookstore and read the relevant entries in several “what these colleges are like” books. This might help you decide where you will fit in the best. You can also look at the ratings and comments at studentsreview.com or a similar site.</p>
<p>My daughter is fairly shy until she gets to know people, but she’s had no problems making a number of friends at Brown – in her dorm, her classes, her ECs, orientation, parties, even folks who eat at the same time. She’s found people basically friendly and accepting. (It isn’t as if she was used to a large school either – she was homeschooled in high school.)</p>
<p>Her final decision came down to Brown versus Chicago. From everything she read, it seemed like she would fit in much better at the former. She also likes the open curriculum. (The winter weather is worse in Chicago, too. This last winter, when she mentioned it being cold in Providence, I would look up the temperature in Chicago – which was usually 10 degrees worse, with more snow and higher winds. This may not be a factor for you, but it was for her.)</p>
<p>Are all your choices equal in terms of the field you wish to pursue – have you looked at course offerings and the like, for instance? What about EC availability?</p>