<p>US News is: a)not entirely accurate and b)a numbers game. So really you shouldn’t rely on rankings to determine how good a school is. Nonetheless, I def prefer Brown over Cornell but that’s b/c I wouldn’t like a big school, other than that they’re generally similar in terms of academics, but when you choose a school it’s all a matter of personal preference.</p>
<p>Like others have said, never use US News for anything other than to paper your parakeet cage. </p>
<p>Incidentally, I’ve taken courses at both colleges. Cornell is superior to Brown, across the board, in just about every department. Cornell also has a much nicer campus and more impressive facilities. HOWEVER, if academic freedom is what you want, that is, if you want total independence as to what courses to take, and the freedom to take a ton of courses pass/fail, then you would prefer Brown, no doubt. This academic freedom is attractive to some people.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the “atmosphere” at each college is also completely different. Cornell has the reputation of being a bit more competitive, especially in the sciences. Brown tends to be more nurturing and you get a lot of freedom in what you want to study. Choose what you want.</p>
<p>Definitely agree with others, DO NOT give USNWR much credence, especially in this case bewteen #13 and #15. That difference in no way should come into your decision making process. I could see #15 vs #30 as something slightly to keep in mind as a reference point, but that’s about it. Especially, when the rankings change each year anyway.</p>
<p>The acceptance rate for Brown might be lower than that of Cornell’s, but keep in mind that Cornell is much, much bigger, so that plays into how the numbers seem. Plus, it depends which college at Cornell you’re talking about. AEM, Architecture, and Arts and Sciences all have very low acceptance rates. In the end though, go with what YOU want. Between Cornell and Brown, you can’t go wrong. Just choose which one works for YOU. I’d actually even question the motives of people applying to both schools, as they really have very little in common other than the Ivy League name.</p>