Brown is now ranked sixth in a survey of college applicants' "dream colleges," up from eighth place in the same survey last year. The results come from the Princeton Review's annual "College Hopes and Worries Survey," released March 27.
Parents' views of the University fell from last year, however, with fewer selecting Brown as their child's "dream college" - Brown fell from fourth place to 10th this year, according to the survey.
The survey, which was completed by 8,776 college applicants and 1,612 parents of applicants, asked, "What 'dream college' do you wish you could attend (or see your child attend) if acceptance or cost weren't issues?'"
The top 10 applicants' choices, respectively, were Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, New York, Yale, Brown, Columbia, Cornell universities, the University of Southern California and the University of California at Los Angeles. Parents' top 10 were Princeton, Stanford, Harvard, NYU, the University of Notre Dame, Cornell, Duke, Yale, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown.
NYU had previously ranked first among students for the past three consecutive years, and Stanford was the first choice for parents last year.
"It's great that we're in the top 10 for both parents and students," said Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron.
50 percent of all respondents - including both students and parents - said the most significant factor determining the college they will choose to attend is "overall fit," according to the press release. 30 percent of respondents said they look for the college that is "best for career interests."
Respondents also noted the high stress of the college application process - 61 percent of those surveyed said their level of stress was "high" or "very high." Additionally, 84 percent said financial aid would be very or extremely necessary in paying for college. Bergeron said some of the recent decisions about financial aid made by Brown and its peer schools may be influential in the survey.
The changing attitudes of applicants and their parents may also be partly attributed to increased knowledge in college decisions, said Vernissia Tam '09, a tour guide for the past five semesters. "Students are doing more research and know things about campus before they arrive," she said. "Tours are getting bigger, and parents are asking more questions."
Tam said in the past, prospective students would arrive for a tour without much prior knowledge. But now they already know specifics about Brown, such as the University's open curriculum.
Parents on tours are more likely to ask "tougher" questions than their children, and the general level of excitement among those on tours has increased as the year has progressed, tour guide Bryan Smith '10 said.
"Sports and academics are very important to me," said Kelly Rotstan, a prospective student who took a tour of Brown.
But when her father, Bob Rotstan, was asked by The Herald what he cared about in a college, he responded: "Purely academics."
The difference between parents' and applicants' interests in colleges may also lie in how "parents probably don't care that much about campus life," said Johnny Blanchard, another prospective student touring Brown.
Some current students echoed Blanchard's thought. "A student's dream school has more to do with personal choice, whereas parents are probably looking for something more structured," said Matthew Kimball '11.
But Bergeron said parents do care about more than just academics. "Parents are also very concerned about their children's happiness," she said. "In talking to Brown parents, I am struck by their enthusiasm about how welcoming, open and generous Brown students are."
