Brown University

Brown was an incredible and life-changing place to go to school. I loved the inspiring, smart, funny & diverse people I met, the physical beauty of the school, the fun & funky neighborhoods of Providence, the RISD connection, the seasons, the Brown Band, the Rhode Island accents... everything!

With the lack of a core curriculum, every semester was a huge smorgasbord of tempting choices. My educational journey may have lacked balance-- but boy, was it fun. After a few misfires in freshman year (where the title of a class sounded fantastic but the class itself was only so-so) I began ignoring course topics and titles altogether, asking around to upper classmen, and simply choosing whatever course any legendary & adored professors were offering that semester. It was a fantastic method. My professors were the creme de la creme of Brown and I absolutely loved them. (Odd or 'dry' topics can be fascinating when the subject happens to be the life's work and passion of some wonderful teacher who can bring it thrillingly to life. Even "hard" classes seem less hard when you are carried away by the enthusiasm of a great professor.) Brown is the sort of place where you can roll the dice like this for four years and not get hung up on any pesky core requirements. So long as you pick your favorite subject(s) to concentrate in, you will have an absolutely unfettered four years of learning at Brown.

Back then, this meant-- yay, no more math! I did not realize until later the true value in that open curriculum-- at Brown, you are given complete autonomy over your life, your choices, and what you make of things. Not only does that mean that you are excited to be in any class, because YOU have chosen it, but by the time you graduate, you have 4 years' head-start over everyone else from other colleges in being comfortable with and experienced at running your own life.

I left Brown with a thesis in poetry, a reasonably unmarketable degree and no idea what I would "do" with my life, but with a VERY high level of confidence and self-determination. I was comfortable that I could experiment, figure things out, find my way-- and I knew from experience that if I made mistakes or hated where I wound up I could re-group and change course. What a gift, to know that you can meander a bit in life, and have things turn out well.

Many of my friends from Brown have remained self-employed or been entrepreneurs, as I have-- in part because Brown selects independent people who can thrive in a free environment, but also because doing your own thing is fun and addictive. Who would want to give that up?! If you are a person who would love to take the reins of your life, experiment, and learn, Brown is a spectacular environment within which to discover your passions and grow up.

A Brown degree (however unbalanced; however many C/NC courses-- and they'll never know!) opens all sorts of doors in the big wide world. Brown alumni tend to LOVE their school and will usually go out of their way to assist you. Non-alums, also, make very favorable assumptions about your ability and intelligence just because you went to Brown.

The hardest thing about Brown is getting in. The rest is just a joy.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

Brown is the best place in the world and everybody who is cool and chill should go there. There is something for everybody. If you want to work your ass off, you can for sure, but if you want to play alot and do a little to get by you can do that as well. I love it here and would never go to another school given the chance, well it helps that brown accepted me to med school early, but even if they didnt, I love it here, love the cs department, everything is great.

1st Year Male -- Class 2007

Education Quality: A+, University Resource Use/ spending: B

Since graduating I've worked at other colleges and universities, so I have a better perspective now on why Brown is a good place to go for college. First and foremost, kids at Brown appreciate the Open Curriculum. In addition, there is good support from the university in terms of teaching kids how to make the most of the freedom that they have.

Secondly, the university attracts extraordinary people; especially students. Generally I would describe my classmates as people who were happy, independent, helpful and open-minded. There is a knee-jerk liberal element at Brown, but since returning to the school I've noticed that there are more openly conservative people on campus now than there ever were when I was a student. Brown even has a conservative student journal now!

Finally, there is none of the tension here between the students and the administration that I have seen on so many other college campuses. Students here actually like the administration and generally feel that the administrators are there to help them out. This gives the entire campus a friendlier feel.

Not everything is a rosy picture. Sophomore advising at Brown could be a lot better. The administration has been erecting new buildings all over campus in the last few years, and now some of the older buildings look as though they could use repairs. I also believe that the university could do more to build a sense of community among upperclassmen.

That said, the there's nothing wrong with Brown that what's right with Brown can't fix (to borrow the phrase from Mr. Clinton). I think that many people who are associated with the university have especially strong confidence in the new president, Ruth Simmons, who appears to get more done more quickly than any other president in the university's history.

In terms of my own experience: I do wish that I had taken more risks as a student at Brown. I think that to truly get the most out of your experience here you have to be willing to go out on a limb and try new things. I would not change anything about the school, however. I cannot think of a better place to go to college.

4th Year Male -- Class 1998

Scholastic Success: A+, Campus Maintenance: B