Did anyone here go to Brown University?

Question

Brown had been a dream of mine since junior high. I'm currently going to be a high school sophomore. If anyone has gone or gotten accepted to Brown some advice would be incredibly appreciated.

What does the admissions office like? What kind of extra curriculars do they like to see? What kinds of activities did you do when you were in high school?

I have have the basics down. (My grades are at the top of my class, I play a varsity sport, I have a job teaching dance, I dance on a professional dance company, I participate in speech and debate, I'm editor of the school newspaper, I hold a leadership position outside my school, etc.) But people keep telling me that every qualified applicant meets that criteria. People tell me I need "something extra" and I'm trying to figure out what that "something extra" is.

Any advice? Please and Thank you. :)

Answer 1

To be honest, an '08 student at my school applied last year to Brown and got in with 1600/2400 on SATs, 3.5 weighted GPA, but good extracurriculars.

You don't always have to be a wind-up doll to go to top schools. Just make yourself stand out -- specifically in your personal statements. =)

Answer 2

Those things definitely look good against the other well qualified competition, but are not at all necessary.  My scores weren't perfect, my grades were high, but my school wasn't really challenging.

I did a lot of extracurricular activities, held leadership positions, did lots of community service and things outside of my school, worked... Lots of my friends did similar things, but I think the reason we were accepted to Brown was because we showed who we were in our application.

Sure, lots of people at Brown have traveled the world, worked for NASA or some famous politician, or have seemingly untouchable backgrounds, but I'm a regular person and so are most of the people here.  In your application, just don't try to follow some essay writing methods to impress the admissions office, show them who you are.

The people that read your application at Brown actually take their time and when you are accepted, you could meet them and they will know details about you because they spent that much intimate time with your application.  The extra curricular activities they like to see are ones that you are interested in, not ones that "look good".

In high school, I was VP of NHS, I was in Venture Crew (part of Boy Scouts, though I'm a girl), Drum Major of the marching band, I played oboe/sax/piano in different groups, I was in Project Earth, Spanish Club... it all seems fancier than it is, I think I was accepted because of my personal essay.

During a speech she gave at an orientation, President Ruth Simmons said that no one at Brown should be intimidated by their peers or try to be like them or do the things they do.  Everyone was accepted because of who they are and because Brown felt as though they had something to offer us.

Best of luck, feel free to message me if you have any other questions.

Answer 3

I didn't go to Brown, but here's one thing I've been hearing... that if you really want to go to a place, you should be in contact with them early and at every reasonable opportunity.  It's probably not too early to register on their web site and go to visit the campus.  And if a rep comes to your school, see if you can talk with them even though you're not a junior or senior yet.