Penn vs. Brown for Undergrad

[hofers73]

Hi all,
I'm thankful for getting accepted to both of these schools a few days ago. I am intent on becoming a physician, and I'm having trouble deciding between these schools.

Penn seems to have better opportunities for the standard Pre-med ECs, like clinical volunteering, research, etc. While these aren't poor by any standard at Brown, as I see it Penn seems to have better pre-med advising/resources in general.

Brown, however, is a lot less cutthroat than Penn, and courses are graded on curves. They aren't "easier" perse, but I like the idea of not having to directly compete with people for the best grades. Because a higher GPA is more likely for me at Brown, I see this a potential advantage.

I know fit is a really important factor, and I've yet to go to admitted student weekends to gauge it completely-- at the moment I'm more concerned with other factors that I should weigh. Do I have any glaring misconceptions, and what would you do if you were me?

Thanks!

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[puahate]

Brown.

Penn is cutthroat and Brown does a lot of inbreeding in thier med school.

 

[fdgjfg]

Honestly, just choose on fit. There's so much noise regarding course rigor/GPA between schools that it's impossible to generate an objective, quantitative comparison, especially between schools that don't have really strong reputations (e.g. grade deflation at Princeton). You end up just going in circles of hypotheticals - often it turns out that you're trying to collect additional data to make a tough choice, and you end up overanalyzing and making "data where there is none" (if that makes any sense) which doesn't even really help you in the end. Resist the urge of going down the rabbit hole. Brown is definitely a student friendly environment (for example, it used to be that if you screw up a class and have to retake they'll wipe the first grade from your transcript so it never makes its way to AMCAS - not sure if that's still the case), but it's just so hard to know if that actually comes out to create different outcomes.

 

[Lucca]

Choose the one you like better and are more comfortable affording. Can’t go wrong. Don’t think too hard about whether or not things will be easy or hard. It will be hard either way.

 

[lalalallala]

These two are extremely different fit wise and that really needs to be your concern. You could go to the school with the best objective opportunities in the world, but if you aren't happy and are struggling to fit in and do okay, then it won't matter that the school is great.

Penn is great for pre-med opportunities but it is definitely filled with more gunners than Brown. It really depends on your personality. Penn has an extremely strong pre-med program, so if that is your main consideration then pick that. If you can't handle a fairly competitive environment then pick Brown

 

[Wuyu]

I go to Brown and I would say that it is a great place to be a premed. Advising sucks, but SDN's already the best advisor anyways. I would say, if you're a gunner, then courses will be pretty easy at Brown. Generally, the top 40-50% get As in most classes (except orgo and biochem), but most biology courses have set cutoffs for A (generally in the upper 80s). However, a practical consideration is the grading system – there are only A/B/Cs, so if you don't get a 4.0 in a class, you get a 3.0, which makes small slip-ups a little more painful to stomach. The culture here is also a lot nicer and less cutthroat in my opinion, but there are still many gunners out there.

I may be biased, but I don't think there's any dearth of pre-med opportunities either. There are several hospitals here popular with pre-meds and getting involved in research is just an email away.

Feel free to message me if you want to know more specifics about my experience at Brown or if you'd like to ask questions in person during ADOCH.

Brown.

Penn is cutthroat and Brown does a lot of inbreeding in thier med school.

This isn't true. Only a few students (like 4) go to Brown through the standard application process. The rest are BA/MD. I for one am ready to move on

 

[gyngyn]

Nobody ever gets a "B" at Brown. Sadly, we all know it...

 

[lalalallala]

The advising at Penn is really really strong. The hospitals are very easy to do research and volunteering at. If you are a really strong student it is probably one of the best places to be pre-med, but in some pre-med classes like orgo less than 10% are getting As and in other pre-med classes more like 10-15%. They always tell you ahead of time though so you know what you're in for. Other classes are a little easier to do well in.

As an above poster said - Brown seems more friendly - it has the BA/MD if you're interested in that - there seem to be a lot more As - but the advising doesn't seem as strong and they don't have CHOP/HUP on campus and the advantages that brings

 

[Rachapkis]

Brown and Penn are both great schools (though Brown is better!) If you do well at either school, you will be well positioned for medical school. As many others have said, visit the schools and see where you feel at home. Fit is, by far, the most important aspect of your decision.