Brown University Top Questions

Some yes, some no. We are not all hippies. We are rather laid-back.

Well you know. Shit happens when you party naked.

No they are all apathetic.

for the most part

Relative to other schools, there is some truth to them. But the biggest truth about Brown is that it is diverse: ethnically, politically, and just in terms of what a given person will do on a typical Friday night. There is something for everyone -- you just have to get yourself out there and find it. And putting yourself out there is something that Brown students indeed do.

I transferred to Brown from UCLA, and I would say as a whole Brown students seem to exemplify most of the stereotypes. However, there are sad, hypercompetitive, ugly people around too, and quite a few of them. So you can't always believe the stereotypes.

Traditional structure may not be forced upon us, but this does not mean that a Brown education is undirected. Most Brown students take a broad, carefully chosen set of courses and only make use of the S/NC option when it is truly beneficial.

Courses are very challenging-some professors will regrade assignments until they find enough mistakes to get the averages they want Not as liberal as you would think, it's liberal in the sense that everyone's very tolerant of one another and you're allowed to speak your mind We're not lazy, we just have to be very responsible with our four years and that 50K for tuition!

A majority of us aren't hippies but the rest is true.

very

there's this mix anywhere... accurate to the extent that this stereotype fits other colleges as well

While we are as a campus very earth-conscience, a friend once described Brown as more "hipster" than "hippie". I think this term is much more accurate.

We do like to wear sandals when it's warm, but it rains a lot in Providence. Like any school, people dabble in the ganja, and as an ivy league school, there are many intellectuals. Yes, we are a liberal school and the vast majority of the people here are liberal, and very liberal about sharing their opinions towards conservatives. I think that there's a nice selection of students from all different backgrounds to hang out with.

yes

No, though it is a very liberal campus.

Not really... there's a lot of different social circles to choose from, and we study a lot. Don't be fooled by this stereotype... pass/fail classes or no, there is a large amount of work involved in most classes.

At first I was surprised at how extremely modest people were. Most people do not flaunt what they have or how brilliant they are. However, most students are very well-off, but only some of them show it. I would say only half of the stereotype is accurate.

For some people.

Some of them for sure. Brown students are super liberal. They are also fairly politically active (not as much as they used to be, I think). There are definitely some pretentious hipsters here, and also some athletes, and some wealthy NYC kids /famous people's kids who bought their way in, but for the most part, students are just students. And let me tell you, plenty of Brown students do a TON of work.

People at Brown on the whole are exceptionally smart, but they tend not to be philosophers about it and the people I find obnoxious are not so because they think too highly of their own intellect, ie there is not an I am smarter than you stigma.