Georgetown vs. Brown: Which university offers better undergraduate academic advising?

For most students who prioritize consistent, hands-on undergraduate academic advising, Georgetown has the edge over Brown. Georgetown’s undergraduate schools use a more structured advising model, with assigned faculty advisors and undergraduate deans who help students navigate requirements, course selection, major changes, and academic concerns. Its core curriculum also gives advisors a clear framework for helping students build a coherent four-year plan.

At Brown, advising can be excellent, particularly when a student develops a strong relationship with a faculty advisor or department. But Brown’s Open Curriculum places much more responsibility on the student to shape an academic path, and the experience can feel less uniform across concentrations and individual advisors. Students have advising support through faculty, deans, and peer resources, yet they may need to be more proactive in seeking it out.

Georgetown’s school-based structure is especially useful for a student still exploring majors or considering an internal transfer between programs such as the College, McDonough School of Business, Walsh School of Foreign Service, or School of Health. Advisors can explain prerequisite sequences and school-specific policies early, which reduces uncertainty when academic plans change.

Brown offers unusual freedom to sample broadly without a core-curriculum checklist, which can be intellectually exciting but also makes thoughtful advising more important. A student who already enjoys designing an independent path may value that flexibility; a student who wants regular guidance and clearer academic guardrails is likely to find Georgetown’s system more dependable.