<p>A few quick questions for current students:</p>
<ol>
<li>How are the dorms?</li>
<li>Is the school super liberal, as is the rumor?</li>
<li>How diverse is the school and is there an active group of african american students who are comforble at the school?</li>
<li>We are from the south…any idea how Brown compares to Duke and Chapel Hill, generally? </li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks!
T</p>
<p>A lot of the answers to your questions can be found here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1070541-current-brown-students-taking-questions.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1070541-current-brown-students-taking-questions.html</a></p>
<p>Please take the time to read previous posts in the forum before asking more questions. Thanks!</p>
<p>Brown is “super liberal” when you compare it to many southern universities, but not more/much than any other school north of DC. and less than some. I would say instead it is more “tolerant”.</p>
<p>to start: Less WASPie, preppie than Duke. Less sports oriented than Duke or UNC. those are 2 obvious comparisons.</p>
<p>School is very diverse. There are certainly active African American students who “as a group” are very comfortable at Brown. But more to the point, most of the African American students at Brown are very comfortable without “being in a group”. Ie Brown is more integrated in my experience than most schools, and definitely more than most of the schools I’ve been to in the south.</p>
<p>I went to school in NC a thousand years ago (Wake Forest) and my son is at Brown. You won’t see any Confederate flags up at Brown, for one thing. Definitely all types of kids from all over the world at Brown–very accepting group. Fewer frats at Brown. Also very smart kids–without flaunting it, just a baseline of smart to start with. Waaaaaay less into sports that the ACC.</p>
<p>Also alot colder!! :)</p>
<p>
Brown and Duke students are far more similar to each other in background and dress than either is to, say, UCLA (to use another school with which I’m familiar). Where they primarily differ is that Brown has a larger contingent of the theatre/out on the town/music/etc. folks, whereas Duke has a larger contingent of the frat/dorm party folks. Both schools, of course, have a wide variety of students – you can find binge drinkers at Brown and cosplay enthusiasts at Duke. UNC is difficult to classify, and I think the social scene is a bit more segregated there (by interests, not race/gender/whatever) than at Brown or Duke. I agree that UNC and especially Duke students tend to be athletic and/or sports-oriented. Again, it varies…most students can name at least a couple basketball players, a few can name entirely too many, and a decently sized contingent has never set foot in the stadium or gym (this includes many pre-meds). UNC students tend to be significantly less intense/driven than Duke students, and I think Brown is a little more laidback as well. </p>
<p>The locations are VERY different. I personally found Brown’s campus entirely too cramped and urban for my taste. Others love it. I would definitely give Providence a significant nod over Durham, but Chapel Hill gets my vote for the best setting of the three. Whatever you’ve heard about southern friendliness is true, though I admittedly found Brown students and faculty much more friendly than the people I ran into in Providence. I agree with mom in virginia that the winters will be colder at Brown. August and sometimes September in the south are notoriously muggy, though a southerner should be used to it.</p>
<p>Duke and UNC being so close to each other creates a distinct energy on both campuses…there is the rivalry, certainly, but there are many cooperative programs and a regularly running bus that link the two universities together. I prefer to think of them as sibling universities that squabble between themselves but are each rather fond of the other deep down. I don’t think Brown has the same sort of tie with RISD or any other university, though I would welcome a correction.</p>
<p>As a parent of a Brown student, and with my other two children having graduated from Dartmouth and UVA, I heard all the “liberal” rumors as well. I would say the adjectives “open” and “tolerant” are more appropriate. There are plenty of true preppies at Brown. The athletics are not nearly as followed as ACC, but the students who participate are very enthusiastic. The athletes are also equally as bright as the non-athletes for the most part. The kids at Brown and Dartmouth tend to be thinkers and outside the box doers. I love UVA and the south, but sometimes the mentality is not always very “open.” BTW, all 3 of my kids are conservative preppy sort.</p>