We fondly remember A Day on College Hill as a time of great excitement and anticipation. The ADOCH planning committee has put in a lot of hard work and done a great job of setting up informative and entertaining events, and you should absolutely make the most of this brief introduction to life at Brown.
On top of the events, we especially encourage prospective freshman to seek out some informal interactions with current students. Don't be shy — the overwhelming majority of people here are extremely friendly and willing to talk extensively about why Brown is such a great place. Pick out someone who looks interesting and strike up a conversation. Ask them where they're from and what they're studying. We're confident that talking to current students will make you even more excited about coming here than you already are.
For those ADOCH attendees who have settled on Brown, this visit is just a small taste of the awesome things to come. We won't harp on the open curriculum or the fact that the Princeton Review rated Brown's students the happiest in the country. But for those of you still deciding, we would like to offer a bit of objective, unbiased advice.
Dean of Admission Jim Miller '73 told The Herald last week that students who turn down Brown usually attend Princeton, Yale, Harvard or Stanford instead. Having spent some time here, we know quite well what a disastrous decision it would be to choose one of those other, far less reputable schools over Brown. So let's consider Brown's biggest "competitors" one by one.
Princeton recently implemented a policy to stop grade inflation and cap the number of A's that can be given in any class. It's safe to say that Princeton won't be challenging Brown for the top spot in the happiest students ranking any time soon.
"The nightmare scenario, if you will, is that you apply with a 3.5 from Princeton and someone just as smart as you applies with a 3.8 from Yale," a Princeton senior told the New York Times in January. If this is the kind of thing you want to hear yourself saying in four years, then Princeton's your choice.
Anyone considering Yale should immediately search YouTube for a video called "That's Why I Chose Yale." Note that this video is an official production organized by Yale's admissions office. One current Yale professor — who also attended Yale for his undergraduate and graduate studies — told the New Yorker, "It's the God-damnedest thing I've ever seen." Maybe so, but watching it could very well help you make this important decision.
Somehow the geniuses at Harvard managed to mess up the school's finances so badly that it can no longer afford to serve hot breakfast in upperclassmen dorms on weekdays, the Times reported last October. Are you really ready to give up eggs, bacon pancakes and French toast?
If you choose Stanford purely on the basis of weather, we probably won't blame you. But The Daily Beast's recent rankings of the most stressful colleges — in which Stanford placed number one — should give you some serious hesitation.
So there you have it — what you thought was a difficult decision is actually quite clear. Have a great day on College Hill, and we hope to see you all again in September.
Editorials are written by The Herald's editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
