I’m seeing a lot of bad things about the campus/dorms/food, and I’m interested in finding out new tiny things that aren’t well known about Brown. Please comment if you have a child who goes there or visited or anything of the sort, I’m getting so many mixed opinions on Brown as a school.
With a 5% acceptance rate, it makes more sense to worry about trivial matters until one actually has an acceptance in hand.
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Which is why it’s so amazing I matched yesterday through questbridge :)))
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Perhaps you could have led with that. Congratulations
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If you matched through Questbridge I would 100% focus on the positives of the school – and there are MANY. Congrats. I hope you make the most of this amazing opportunity.
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I ate there just recently and I thought the food was fine/good!
Freshman dorms are usually fine. Sophomores tend to not like their dorms but there are a number of residential program houses/theme houses you can join instead of the sophomore dorm lottery and you and can start living in as of sophomore year and if you like the program/theme then you’ve got a ready-made social group in known housing.
I can DM you more info this evening.
Brown is great. I’m sure you will thrive there !
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@Catcherinthetoast has direct experience and can perhaps address your concerns.
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Congratulations, I think you should be thrilled and celebrating!
I have a very happy freshman. The dorms aren’t glamorous, though there are some newer smaller ones that are very nice, but that is true of all ivies. The food is fine. I’m impressed when I see variety on menus across dining halls when I’ve looked. These food and dorm comments will be standard complaints almost everywhere.
My child toured all Ivies except Dartmouth and Columbia and several others. Brown was their favorite based on the feel of the campus, lots of energy and just felt positive. I don’t think it’s the prettiest of all the campuses as tough competition, but I personally think it’s charming and warm and has great location for stage of life. It’s a nice manageable size city, in a little bubble on college hill yet super close to walk into downtown. The city has great arts and food scene and a Brown alum created Fire Festival, nice community vibe in Providence with lots to do. Quick bus to Newport or beach, quick train into Boston, it makes for a nice quality of life.
Classes are great with open curriculum as students want to be there and chose them, makes for happy students and professors. Very collaborative, less direct competition as everyone doing their own thing. Makes for a nice academic vibe overall. My kid has easily had meetings with many professors for networking and opportunities, everyone has been very open to help.
You’ll find all the same negativity at any school you search and I’d take it all with a grain of salt. Congrats again!
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I graduated a thousand years ago and go back frequently- not just for reunions, but for alumni events and special speakers, etc.
Providence is a fantastic city. You can get off the Amtrak train and walk up the hill (or take the bus if you don’t like hills) and it’s like you’re in another place. The historic homes, the beautiful architecture on the East Side-- really special. Downtown has music and restaurants and a lovely riverwalk, and up the Hill is an affluent neighborhood (not just Brown and RISD but people who actually live in the historic district) and a nicely laid out, compact university.
Professors love to teach; the students (mostly) are there to learn. The university has centers and inter-disciplinary departments which focus on a wide array of subjects. You care about poverty? There are teams of professors from poli sci, econ, the med school, sociology working on solutions.
It’s a small university, so it won’t take long to figure things out-- but it’s big enough so you can’t run out of interesting people to talk to and cool things to study. There are departments with hundreds of students concentrating in that area- and departments with ONE student.
Want to participate in an activity which isn’t on campus? Go get funding (it’s easy) and start a group. You think that clumsy people who can’t keep a beat should be able to learn to swing dance? Go for it. I was actually part of a tap dance class which focused on “awkward, clumsy and non-athletic” participants. We were a sight to behold- but it was fun. And the instructor (part of Brown’s athletic staff) was a doll. The next semester she was teaching ballet (also for the awkward, clumsy and non-athletic) but I opted for volunteer work in Providence instead.
Congrats!
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Congratulations. People do not pick Brown or Cornell or Dartmouth for the dorms (or food for that matter).
HUGE congratulations! It is a ridiculously amazing school and everyone I know that has attended loved it.
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Congrats on matching! Just going to point out that you’d be going for free. That’s an insane opportunity. I really wouldn’t quibble about the possibility the food isn’t amazing. Dorms are dorms - no one loves them, but once again, free Ivy League education.
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Positive things are that it’s a great school, open curriculum, that leads to many opportunities. Both my siblings graduated from there. My nephew goes there. And I have had a number of aunts and uncles who attended. They all seemed to like it. Bad thing is that I got rejected….
My son went to Brown. I have to say it is my favorite school. Congrats!
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My son was able to build a company with the help of Browns extensive resources and highly engaged and accessible professors. He was also able to be a part of a national champion athletic team. Lastly he pursued a customized curriculum that he structured to have applicability to his eventual career goal.
He would agree the food and housing freshman year were sub standard but plenty of alternative options. They were livable but not luxury.
He maintains friends that were teammates, students and professors and views those relationships as what made Brown standout.
He had several very highly ranked options including Duke, Harvard, Notre Dame and Georgetown but never regretted choosing Brown.
It is a very welcoming place and I wish you luck.
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Congrats! I went there a long time ago and have a child who did a summer program there earlier this year. I loved it and so did she! My dorm was not great but…whatever. I recently looked up pics of my freshman dorm and it’s been totally renovated…but still kind of blah.
The food was fine. I didn’t think it was particularly bad way back when and my child who was there last summer said the same.
Providence is WAY NICER now than it was in the 1980s!
No college is perfect but I think Brown is great and matching through QB and going for free is AMAZING!! Congrats to you!
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First, CONGRATS! That is fantastic, and you’ll love it. My son is a sophomore. He recently went to a social event at Harvard and said “dang, their dorms are SO nice compared to ours!” so yes, the freshman/soph housing is average. But my kid has made great friends in his dorm and truly spends very little time in his room- as a college student, you’ll be sleeping in your dorm room and that’s about it. The food is fine, plenty of options. I think the biggest misconception about Brown is that it’s “easy” because of the S/NC option and open curriculum- nope, the students are smart and fully engaged. So even if they’re taking a class S/NC (pass/fail) they’re still working really hard. Also, if you are thinking about engineering or pre-med, take a look at the required classes and map out a plan- that open curriculum is great, but certain majors have a high number of requirements that you’ll need to tick off. For example, my kid has only taken 1 “elective” class outside of Math/Engineering/CS each semester so that he can fill the requirements for Computer Engineering. If you’re looking for a fun, inclusive club sport next fall, check out the Quadball team, they have a great time and even went to the national championships last year!
Minor note: Harvard has been renovating their river house dorms…
We thought freshman dorms at Brown were great (similar to Harvard), the brutalist concrete dorm (I forget the name) one of the middle years wasn’t so great, and the final year was in a college-provided apartment with two friends that was really nice.
Brown does not have the house system that Harvard and Yale have, that provides a community within the college. This didn’t affect my kid negatively but I think the house system would have affected him positively. He was busy busy busy and had many friends and loved Brown. We loved Thayer Street.
I just sent you a DM.
all schools will get mixed opinions. Being that you matched already, seems like Brown is a done deal for you? Focus on the positives and get excited about going there.
You’ll have an admitted students visit sometime in the Spring where you can reinforce your excitement.
Congratulations!
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