Brown University Top Questions

Yes and No. Brown is very diverse. People from all walks of life come here. I've seen studious kids who work their heads off all day and all night. I see people who are geniuses by day and party animals by night. I see others who seem pretty normal most of the time, but on weekend nights are dressed like they belong to the other sex. You name the demographic, you've got it.

we have some hippies, but really diverse student body. i think we are genrally less competive than other ivy league schools I have visited, and overall the students are very nice and happy. most students are liberal, but definitely not everyone.

It is true that there are alternative types of people here, but the great thing about Brown is that you can be whoever you want to be. There are hipsters, sure, and hippies too, but there are also CS nerds and shirtless jocks, and for the most part we all get along. (Obviously there are normal people too!) But really I can wear pretty much whatever I want to class and people won't think twice about it, whether I'm wearing heels, huge-ass sunglasses, and carrying a gucci purse, or a wrap around skirt, Birkenstocks and a dirty t-shirt. As for the awkwardness, yes I would say that the average Brown student is more awkward than most people, but we get over it and have fun anyway.

It's true that Brown has a reputation for being slightly more liberal than other schools (specifically the curriculum), but that doesn't mean it's full of hippies. In fact, there are actually quite a few conservatives at Brown - and probably more of what I would consider to be the YUPPY type. In my experience, people don't smoke weed any more here than at your average school. I happen to be friends with a group of really nice, normal kids who don't smoke. But hey, if that's your thing, you can DEFINITELY find it. Lastly, I won't deny that Brown kids, on average, are a smart group. That doesn't mean they don't have fun (or do stupid things). Maybe there are a few more straight up book clubs than you might find at the average state school, but most kids just wanna have fun (while getting good grades, of course).

yes

yep

In general, the campus is less ridiculously liberal than I expected. Everyone is, in fact, liberal, but the annoying people who want to shove their PETA garbage down your throat only come out once every few weeks and are easy to avoid. The other stereotypes are pretty accurate though - Brown students are open to anything and everything, and are really happy to be at Brown.

The people here are disappointingly more normal than people make it seem.

Not at all. Brown is an extremely diverse campus and that applies even in terms of social groups--hippies are definitely not that predominant here.

Yes.