Brown

No core curriculum, no distribution requirements, all classes can be graded satisfactory/ no credit.  What a school!  Must be a joke.  Nope it’s one of the most prestigious, popular and competitive universities to get into in the country.  The open nature of classes and grading is reflective of Brown’s liberal perspective on a college education.  They don’t necessarily believe that there is a core body of knowledge that all college educated people should possess.  Instead they merely require that all students demonstrate a competency in writing and take 30 classes before graduating.  The assumption is that students will take 4 classes/semester or 32 classes before graduating.  Students must also pass seven classes in two consecutive semesters or they will be placed on academic warning.  

Brown wants students to feel comfortable exploring and challenging themselves without the pressures students at other ivy league and top tier colleges feel.  They also want students to feel empowered to start making decisions for themselves. Some students find this incredibly liberating and use the satisfactory/NC option to take a fifth class or exceptionally challenging class the student might otherwise not take.  Some parents may worry about such an academically liberal environment but remember students at Brown have been successful in life, want to continue to be successful and are aware how the outside world might perceive a transcript dominated by satisfactory evaluations instead of grades.

Challenging conventional wisdom is not something only the administration does but is also reflective of the students it attracts.  Brown students tend to be enormously progressive, free thinking individuals who are confident in their opinions, willing to speak out and challenge the norm.  All of this has led to the reputation of Brown as a bastion of liberalism.  For concerned parents this does not mean that the personal life styles of the students are any wilder that their peers at other institutions.  Rather, students are less judgmental and more willing to intellectually stand out.

Brown is primarily and an undergraduate institution with approximately 5,750 undergraduates and 2,400 graduate students.  As such it strongly values undergraduate teaching and considers classroom skills as much a s research and publishing in tenure decisions.  Brown’s most popular and highly regarded programs include Biology, International Relations, History, Political Science and English.