hey. i go to columbia, so i have a few things to say about your decision. i wanted to go to brown my whole life, but never got in. knowing what i do now, i still would've gone if i had the chance. basically, if you go to brown regular, or columbia, you will have the same chance of getting into med school, because i think their reputations are identical. the experiences, though, are COMPLETELY different. brown is MUCH MUCH MUCH more laid back. they never take more than 4 classes/semester, you can take all your classes p/f, and grading is a/b/c/no credit, without the +/- business, and most people get A's. what does this mean? it means that a good chunk of the class graduates with a 4.0. brown students i know (some of my best friends go there) are very very happy and all very laid back.
columbia is different. columbia is a wonderful experience, but only if you like nyc. i know people here that hate the city and are having a miserable time these past 4 years. the education you get at columbia is ridiculous, especially with the core. if you want to be premed here, you're sacrificing almost all your electives: 1/3 curriculum goes to core class, 1/3 to major, 1/3 to premed. you will take anywhere from 4-7 courses a semester (almost all semesters will be at least 5 with an additional 1 point lab or gym class) and the work can be intense.
the core classes are almost all humanities, and even science majors end up writing around 200 papers by the time you graduate (that number is an exaggeration, but not far off). you may not love all the core classes, but you'll like enough to enjoy them, and you learn more than you can fathom_ and it's stuff you apply to your general thinking and it helps you with everything else you study. basically, the core here molds the way you think, and by the time you're done, you will
1)argue very well
2)write VERY VERY VERY well, very fast, and very effectively (although it may not be clear by the way im splurging out this message)
3)have an obsenely large canon of background information, rendering you a very very well educated individual.
-but columbia can be intense, it's competitive as hell, and the people are definitely not as friendly as those in rhode island.
-at brown, they have absolutely NO core and you can just indulge any interest you have and take any course you want. don't get me wrong, at columbia, you'll have room for electives, but only a handful.
-basically, with PLME, you are avoiding the mcats, the stress of worrying about grades, and applying. these were basically the hardest part of my last 4 years, so it would be pretty tempting to pass them up.
-anyone on this board will agree that studying for and taking the mcats was the most difficult academic endeavor in the world. if you can avoid it, do it... also, applying is the biggest bitch in the world, so again, if you can bypass it, it's worth it.
-my advice would be to visit brown again, visit the med school, and SEE IF YOU CAN SPEND THE NEXT 8 YEARS THERE. if you can, go to PLME. brown may not have the best med school in the world, but it's good enough not to limit your options when you graduate. you will enjoy the next 4 years SO MUCH MORE without worrying about med school. it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it.
the more i write, the more i think you should forget about your waitlists and go to PLME.
feel free to PM me if you have any questions, and congrats!
......BUT, i heard Brown med isn't too hot. 
thank you for your messages 
