Princeton vs Brown (PSP)

[serene torrent]

Schools: Put the two schools you’re comparing here
Intended major: Math and Cs, Math and Econ, or Math and Philosophy (Want to go to Grad school)
Similarities: FGLI support, want to know more about this though. Both full ride

Brown
School 1 Pros:
-Presidential Scholar Program, tons of opportunities and seems way more legit than any counterpart that Princeton has to offer. Internship placement assistance, Research assistant opportunities with faculty, paid summer research opportunity, summer earnings waivers, and networking opportunities.
-Can double major

School 1 Cons:

• Not as prestigious?

Princeton
Princeton Pros:

• “More” Prestigious
  -From what I’ve heard you develop a close relationship with professors over time and find internships and opportunities that way
  -Easy to switch between majors
  -More job recruiting than Brown?

Princeton Cons:
-Weird eating club traditions
-Exclusivity
-Apparently no real sense of community at residential system, are more like dorms

Tiebreaking considerations:

• Possible Programs at both, I feel like the Applied Math and Cs combo is very strong at Brown, at Princeton I would most likely do pure Math. Any suggestions on possible majors and or minors for both would be great!

[celest arrow]

i would take brown as you seem to like it more

can’t really go wrong with either

grade inflation is pretty great for grad school too afaik

[errant lintel]

Sounds like brown is a better fit for you

your princeton pros (other than prestige) are all things that are at brown

[serene torrent]

I realized that as I was typing this out, but that are some Princeton pros I might not be considering?

[errant lintel]

i mean, there isn't a wrong choice here

[rigid urchin]

Princeton clears, Princeton engineering department is one of the best in the ivy leagues. They are also undergrad focused too, so they spend all their endowment money on undergraduate students, helping them get hella more opportunities. For your cons I don’t think that’s really true. The residential colleges prides themselves on being apart of their community, and I personally don’t think eating clubs are “weird.”
There are some cons at Princeton tho that Brown is better at, which is that it has grade deflation, whereas Brown is a relatively easier school. Brown also has open curriculum which is pretty nice

[errant lintel]

it is about fit

and you seem to think brown is a better fit for you

there isn't a wrong decision here

[rigid urchin]

The pro at brown is also at Princeton, except for double majoring

[errant lintel]

nobody is talking about engineering?

[alpine ore]

princeton has a very strong math program doesn't it

[rigid urchin]

Cs

[rigid urchin]

Yes

Princeton cs and math department is one of the best

[serene torrent]

Yes their math a philosophy programs are looked upon better

[rigid urchin]

For the ivy leagues

[errant lintel]

not engineering...

[serene torrent]

Same for their Econ

[alpine ore]

but its def about what you want from your undergrad experience

[rigid urchin]

Princeton has 2 degreee for cs, bse and ab

[alpine ore]

do you think you'll like new jersey or rhode island more

[errant lintel]

sure, but brown has very strong programs too

[alpine ore]

have you visited the campus or

[errant lintel]

this isn't like you'er comparing princeton and like a regional campus of university of idaho

[serene torrent]

No and I won’t be able to in time for Monday either

[alpine ore]

did you watch any videos abt current students talking about their experience

bc it helped me a lot when i chose where to commit

esp for my major

[serene torrent]

I’ll check that out

[rigid urchin]

@serene torrent if u care about opportunities for like experience, internships, etc, consider Princeton. They’re hella undergrad focused and undergrad students get hella stuff + opportunities

[errant lintel]

Brown is too though

[rigid urchin]

Bro what

[alpine ore]

princeton and brown both have very good post-grad outcomes

[serene torrent]

Rn my biggest turn off for Princeton is that their SIPF program (Scholars institute fellows program for FGLI) smells like utter bs

[rigid urchin]

You can not compare undergrad opportunities from Princeton to the same as brown

😭

[errant lintel]

both are very undergrad focused

[rigid urchin]

Yea but Princeton doesn’t even have grad schools really, and they have the biggest endowments per student

[errant lintel]

That is true

[rigid urchin]

This forces them to be more undergrad focused

Brown is too

But there’s less money + they have med school right?

[errant lintel]

i will say, princeton probably has more grad students than you thinjk

princeton has plenty of grad students, but not relaly any professional schools

[rigid urchin]

I think it’s like 5.6k ug and 2k grad?

[rigid urchin]

Yea

[errant lintel]

something in that region yeah

and brown is like 7k and 3k

so fairly similar ratio

Princeton and Darmtouth are the two most undergrad focused Ivies and brown is third

[full cypress]

isn't princeton known to be very toxic and depressing and they have grade deflation so might not be the best if you're planning on going to grad school?

[rigid urchin]

Oh really

[rigid urchin]

That’s not what I saw and heard

[keen thicket]

can always go to pton for grad school, grade inflation at brown def helps

[rigid urchin]

Bro, the whole point of Princeton is that it’s undergrad focused

😭

[full cypress]

tbf they're both top tier universities so you really cant go wrong with either. seems that you like brown more and you wanna enjoy your undergrad exeprience so i'd go to brown

[full cypress]

yeah idt pton is great for grad school

also wtf are princeton eating clubs and why does everybody hate them

[keen thicket]

nah its good it’s just that for undergrad it’s rly good

[rigid urchin]

Clubs you eat at

[full cypress]

whats the big deal about that

[keen thicket]

like for grad school the prestige won’t rly matter and it’s more about keeping good grades + doing research, while research might be better at pton there won’t be a shortage of opportunity at brown, plus vibe fit and grade inflation tips the scales imo

[rigid urchin]

They’re the main social scene at Pton

[errant lintel]

i would say so

[full cypress]

its not even about whether prestige matters, its that they are almost equal prestige

like yes princeton is more prestigious but its not a huge difference

[errant lintel]

they are social organizations

[rigid urchin]

Well that’s not what they were intended for

Technically

[keen thicket]

most elite schools have exclusive stuff like that I wouldn’t put much stock into eating clubs

[errant lintel]

it is what they are

[errant lintel]

yeah, but they are core to priceton experience

[serene torrent]

Aside from being the main social scene it’s essentially elitist fraternities with some of them being exclusive and difficult to get in

[rigid urchin]

Their main thing is replacing the meal plan since back then people thought the food was kinda mid, but yea, nowadays they are known as the social scenes at Princeton

It’s cause the dining hall upped their game

The dining hall food is so good lowkey

[errant lintel]

right, I think like 1/3 are open and a 2/3 use bicker to get members

[rigid urchin]

Nope

Half half now I think

[serene torrent]

I can’t believe grown people have exclusive party groups and “bickering” processes. Just that puts me off

[rigid urchin]

More are starting to become bicker clubs

[full cypress]

go to brown man

[errant lintel]

yeah, you're right, 6 use bicker, 5 don't

[rigid urchin]

Half of them you can literally just sign up to join

[full cypress]

whats a bickering club

bro atp princeton feels like a cult

[rigid urchin]

Yea that sounds right

[rigid urchin]

It’s like rushing

[errant lintel]

bicker is kind of like rush for greek houses

[full cypress]

oh

[serene torrent]

Right but I also read that some Greek societies are feeders into those exclusive clubs and people try really hard to get into the ones with bickering process but often fail

[full cypress]

in your heart it seems like you wanna go to brown but you dont wanna pass up princeton's prestige and the #1 usnr so you're finding reasons to hate princeton and convince youreself to go to brown

[errant lintel]

sure, with anything selective there will of course be people who don't get in

[rigid urchin]

Firstly, they’re not Greek societies at all lmao. Secondly, there are 5 eating club you can just sign up to get in, you don’t really need to join one of the bickering ones

A lot of people don’t even join an eating club

And they still become successful

[errant lintel]

no they are saying that some fraternities are pipelines for selective eating clubs

[rigid urchin]

Ohhh

We don’t have frats

At Princeton

💀

[errant lintel]

yes you do

[rigid urchin]

Frats are banned

Huh?

[errant lintel]

and yet they exist

[rigid urchin]

Source?

[keen thicket]

they’re unaffiliated

not “official”

duke recently kicked out their frats as well

[errant lintel]

just google it?

!biggreen

[high linden]

https://i.imgur.com/v0Wc3XA.png

[errant lintel]

i have friends who joined tthem

[full cypress]

wait why

[errant lintel]

https://odus.princeton.edu/community-standards/statement-fraternities-and-sororities

The University does not recognize fraternities and sororities because, in general, they do not add in positive ways to the overall residential experience on the campus. These organizations can contribute to a sense of social exclusiveness and often place an excessive emphasis on alcohol. Students are discouraged from participating in these organizations.

many universities and colleges have shuttered them

[full cypress]

ahhhhhhh

[serene torrent]

I don’t party or drink (don’t plan on it either) so my concern isn’t gettin into an eating club, but rather how I’d fit in when the main social scene is concerned with the manufactured exclusivity around eating clubs. I’m gonna watch some student life videos and see what I find out

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this chat so far

[errant lintel]

my two good friends who went there both were in a sign-in club and loved it. They are definitely partiers, but the system isn't ALL about exclusivity

[jolly oriole]

Yea eating clubs are not exclusive at all

[jolly oriole]

There’s a lot of ways to be social that don’t involve drinking

[onyx coyote]

i’d say brown, saying it’s not as “prestigious” enough feels wrong especially when this is undergrad and you want to go to grad, so most of the heavy lifting comes based on what you do with research rather than the school atp, and brown seems to give you more opportunity . the presidential scholars program is definitely no joke, and when you’re comparing two top schools and one gives you a scholarship it’s definitely smt big and prestigious. it also seems like you enjoy brown more, and i feel like it’s important to consider factors like burnout and motivation in undergrad esp if you’re going to grad. the faculty at both is great and there’s really no wrong choice, both brown and princeton have exceptionally strong math programs.

[minor burrow]

Nah go to Princeton lmao

Both schools are filled with rich kids and exclusivity, they’re ivies

Just go to the better school atp

[errant lintel]

what? That is terrible advice

[finite plaza]

Fwiw my interviewer said that eating clubs were pretty pervasive along with the drinking culture that comes with them, and he ended up not enjoying his time there as much; meanwhile while substance is big at brown, it's not as necessary to having a social life, if that's something important to you

The applied math department at brown is also pretty special, and might benefit you more relating to jobs rather than pure math

[atomic spear]

do you care about the gen eds at princeton? the ability to take other courses that interest you?

[amber ice]

I’d go brown

Prestige should never overtake fit

[minor burrow]

It really isn’t

Top schools are more similar than they are different

They admit the exact same types of people

Not going to pton because of the eating clubs is kinda dumb imo

Like there’s other reasons for choosing Brown but thinking there’s less “exclusivity” seems plain wrong

[keen thicket]

yeah the eating clubs are not the reason to not go

but I’d go with brown here

[regal gull]

Go to brown

[errant lintel]

so this goes against your recommendation to just go to the "better" school

[amber marlin]

tough decision

i’d go with princeton if I was personally making this decision, but i think u should go with brown because of the community aspect you’re looking for, though I doubt it’s really as bad (or bad at all) as you may think/your cons say, and the scholar program you’re in

[minor burrow]

I don’t think you understand me

I’m simply saying elite schools have similar students

But some schools are more prestigious and better funded than others

[errant lintel]

of crouse, but the gap in that between brown and priceton is small

[celest arrow]

bruh Princeton is only marginally better

yeah exactly lol

[errant lintel]

compared to other differences like setting, curriculum, etc

[amber marlin]

I have heard not so good things about brown cs compared to pton, but it’s prob still better than most other unis in the country

applied math/math is good, prob on the same level as pton

they’re both kinda in the middle of nowhere tho 😄 lol

otherwise i would’ve picked the one with better setting rip

[errant lintel]

neither is in the middle of nowhere

one is in a city, an hour from one of the major cities in the nation. Theo ther is an hour from two major cities

[amber marlin]

eh yeah i guess you’re right

most ivies are like that now that i thjnk about it

[errant lintel]

compared to like Cornell

which is an hour from... Syracuse?

[amber marlin]

cornell, dmotuth, brown, pton

[errant lintel]

Dartmouth is near a lot though

4 hours or less to Boston, Montreal, and NYC

but yeah, nothing right there

[amber marlin]

columbia goated

well, maybe not rn with all the shit

but location wise

Either way yeah u should pick brown OP

[full cypress]

also at Princeton you'd be just like everyone else but at brown you'd be special cuz of the scholar program

[amber marlin]

just like everyone else

yeah, but i don’t think that’s necessarily bad lol

idk how good this program is

it sounds nice so that’s why i said brown but idk

[full cypress]

def

being mediocre at pton is still fucking awesome

but

why not be special at brown instead

[minor burrow]

Why not go to a marginally better school

Lol

Of course there are reasons but this specific persons cons just seem very nonspecific

I think the academics at brown are less stressful

[celest arrow]

what i’m saying is that when an employer looks at a resume, the reason you get picked won’t be that you went to princeton over brown

[minor burrow]

It’s not that

It’s moreso that Princeton is more well known outside of the US

More portability

I don’t think pton is way better or anything, but I’d just go to the slightly better school unless something rly pulls you towards brown

[amber marlin]

who cares about this though

unless you specifically plan on working outside of the U.S.

even if you work in like the UK or something, most people know brown well enough i think

maybe not to the same extent but I think in most cases it won’t matter

[jolly oriole]

Princeton is better for pure math 100%

But brown might be better for applied

[rigid urchin]

Ic, I didn’t know that

[rigid urchin]

Imagine if Nick was here

Unlucky he’s banned

[amber marlin]

not true

well, maybe

brown is difficult though, at least that’s what ive heard

and this person is doing cs math

two arguably majors that are pretty difficult

so saying ‘laid back’ might be an understatement

[jolly oriole]

Lmao

[rigid urchin]

Hop on clash or brawl stars

[jolly oriole]

I can’t I’m in nyc

[rigid urchin]

Rip, why r u in nyc

[jolly oriole]

Day trip with my friends

And then I’m meeting up with a high school friend who goes to fordham

[torn ingot]

Princeton vs Brown (PSP)

Don’t be obnoxious and all caps your post with stuff like “urgent”, your post isn’t more important or urgent than any others in here

[full cypress]

@serene torrent what did you end up choosing?

[rigid urchin]

Sounds fun

[jolly oriole]

Yea it was

[rigid urchin]

:)

[serene torrent]

Yikes

[serene torrent]

I got invited to a committed Princeton student event for my state even though I was still trying to decide and most of my worries were kind of just erased.

Talked to a couple of alumn as well but the grade deflation stuff I think is greatly over exaggerated, not elitist at all and everyone was very nice and welcoming.

Made up my mind and committed to Princeton

[errant lintel]

Awesome!

[serene torrent]

The school is undergraduate focused enough that finding internships and opportunities isn’t actually a real problem (supposedly). And I think a lot of people in ivies are quick to tear down other ivies as well so it was nice that I got to speak to some Princeton students as well as a couple of Brown students

[errant lintel]

That's the best resource

Obviously none of them are bad, they are just very different from one another

[serene torrent]

Thank you for your advice as well. It was very sound and you were one of the people who didn’t try and push absolute claims

[errant lintel]

Like Penn, Columbia, and Cornell are my nightmare, but perfect for others

[errant lintel]

That's why I'm good at what I do 😄

[serene torrent]

That’s very true. I will say tho that the students were in a completely different income bracket

Someone said their high school tuition was more than Princeton’s

Which is such an insane problem to have

[errant lintel]

Those people are out there

Just remember that 60% of your class will have gone to public school

[full cypress]

congrats, and good luck for your future!! princeton is awesome and im sure you'll do great

[full cypress]

holy shit