<p>I intend on majoring in Computer Science myself and I am fortunate to have friends in all three schools who are majoring in Computer Science or who have taken the courses. So I’ve been able to get a feel for the schools.
Things are far more expensive in NYC (if you ever want to go out on a date or go to a club it costs a lot) and the Computer Science courses at Columbia don’t compare to either of the other two schools.
Princeton and Brown both have amazing courses and professors for Computer Science so you can’t really choose between the two solely based on that.
If you relish the idea of being near the city, neither of the two is more than a 45 minute drive away, and I believe that there are trains that run between as well, so that shouldn’t be a concern.
As far as social life, I’ve been told that most people at Princeton are openly friendly and that there are a lot of social events occurring at all times on campus. Brown is similar but my friend there told me that starting toward the end of sophomore year things begin to become very clique-ie. I’m not sure which you prefer.
The work is a lot more intense at Princeton from what I’ve heard and it does have grade deflation (both things to consider). Also Brown has a slightly better ratio of girls to guys.
The schools are comparable on almost all levels so I think you should revisit the schools, check out the foods, the teachers, the people, and the campus.
I don’t think that there is any single factor that would let you decide between the two just by hearing about it over the internet. I think you should make your decision based on your opinions of the campus and the people and things you see when you revisit. Chances are it will be a close decision.</p>