A culture of kindness pervades the Brown University campus, said James Kytta of the Office of College Admission. Brown students have the freedom to chart their own undergraduate, Ivy League experience without any core curriculum requirements. The result is a competitive, entrepreneurial student body, but one where the emphasis is on internal competition – bettering oneself – rather than competing against others. There are approximately 6,200 undergraduates, 2,000 graduate students, and 500 medical students on campus.

Brown is located in historic Providence, Rhode Island. Over the past 10 years, Providence has experienced a renaissance of sorts and is now regarded as the creative capital of the Northeast. Providence boasts the highest number of degreed chefs per capita than any other city in the U.S.

At Brown, a field of study is called a concentration rather than a major. And there are over 70 concentrations from which to choose, all leading to a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree. Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) is an ideal path for an aspiring physician to combine undergraduate and medical school in a single, eight-year program. It’s the only combined baccalaureate-MD program in the Ivy League. Approximately 50 strongly motivated freshmen are admitted each year to PLME, and potentially, Warren Alpert Medical School.

A special program at Brown is “Brown +1,” offered through the Office of International Programs. During the junior year, a Brown student studies at least one semester at Trinity College Dublin, Pompeu Fabra University, University of Edinburgh, or Chinese University of Hong Kong – all the while making progress towards a one-year master’s degree. Students return to the Brown campus for senior year, and after graduation, they then have the opportunity to return to the foreign university to complete the master’s degree.