god, the only college i care about is brown. i got straight a’s freshman year, but i was dealing with a lot sophomore year ended up with 3 B’s… if I get straight a’s junior year, the highest my GPA can end up to be is a 3.86. this is still top 10% for my class (we have around 500 kids). if i end up with a 2300+ sat score and 750+ scores for my subject tests, (my ec’s are pretty strong, i hope) do i still stand a chance?
i would really like some answers from people that have gone through the application process and have experienced rejections/deferrals.
It would be possible; however, Brown is a reach for everyone. Please be sure to have some matches and safeties that you also like on your list.
What’s troubling isn’t your GPA but your fetish with one College – especially one where admissions is so selective. Please see that as a 16 or 17 year old, your perspective on “good” or “great” may be extremely limited. It’s akin to those couples at your HS who are joined at the hip and declare their lifelong devotion for one another daily for all to see – you know the type: those where everyone says “eiewwww” behind their backs. That’s YOU right now with Brown. Please broaden your target schools. I turned down a Brown admission – but believe the trajectory of my life would have been extremely similar at Brown, my alma mater or any of the 4 other colleges that accepted me.
And please understand the message by Spring: everyone who hits “submit” has a rotten chance. You’d better hedge your bets w/other target colleges.
Thank you both so much for your input! i never really realized that my exclusive love for the school was so detrimental, haha. but i’m glad to hear that my gpa isn’t too terrible for even a mere consideration - from any of the top schools, not just this great one 
ECs are subjective, yet you think yours are strong. Therefore no need for you to seek advice.
GPA is less subjective, but you do not know if your GPA gives you a chance at Brown, so you ask for opinions here.
I agree with both of the other opinions expressed above about your chances. But why would you rely on them, or me, when there is data published by Brown and other schools about ranges of GPAs among admitees or matriculants?
Why?
If you need a link to these statistics, I am sure someone here can provide it.
Brown admissions is fully capable of reading your transcript. High grades in 9th, 11th and 12th grades will be obvious, and lower grades for one year, 10th, will also be obvious. So it will be evident from your transcript that your 3.86, if you manage that, is not a reflection of a four year record of similar grades. High SATs and subject scores will further reinforce that the 10th grade was an aberration and admissions officers can figure this all out. So don’t get hung up on GPA as a be-all, end-all number. Just do your best and put in your application. If your high school career goes as you hope it will, your grades will put you in the range for admission – whether you will be one of the ones selected, who knows. Agree with others that Brown being the ‘only college you care about’ is more a reflection of your limited knowledge of what’s out there than a reflection on Brown. It is a great school, but only one of many. It could be the best match for you, but there will be many others that are great matches for you as well. Good luck.
If you’re focused on stats and assuming your ECs are “pretty strong,” after only two years of hs, you’d be well served by going back and trying to learn what really impresses the elites. We don’t know much about you, so far, but lots of kids only use the hs view, what makes them “big” in their high school.
You need to learn what the colleges expect, in terms of your choices, experiences and commitments. (And don’t just ask on CC. You have to go to the source.) The issue with lower grades will depend on what classes they were for. Eg, a B in STEM may not help for a STEM major.
fenwaypark, i’m aware that there are such stats from their website, but i wanted to ask for personal experience and personal opinion from past applicants/admitees rather than just rely on numbers yknow?
bonenz, this was the kind of clear and concise answer i was looking for to my question that addressed my concern (the dip in grades for one year). thank you so much!
lookingforward, what you say is not untrue. i guess when i was frantically writing this forum, i was so worried about my gpa, that i was telling myself that my ec’s were good enough - just so i wouldn’t die from worrying that my gpa brought me to the end of any possibility of getting accepted. a defense tactic, i suppose. understandable, right? but you’re right, i still have a lot to learn. i’m just in panic mode because i feel like my time is ticking all too quickly 
I dig.
My personal opinion is that you will find more information from results threads than you will from “past applicants/admitees” who will respond to you here. After all, not one past applicant/admitee…with any recent experience that may be relevant…has responded to you yet.
And even if one…or two or three… did, and they said they all got in with a 3.86, or two out of three did, or one out of three, how would you use that information to inform any important decision-making?
You can easily search for results threads here. These are threads where applicants post up (hopefully in a truthful manner) their academic achievements along with the decision that the Brown Admissions Office made.
Again, the subset of people who choose to do this is skewed, not necessarily representative of the entire group of applicants, but I think you would get more data points than you will from your current mode of research…if you prefer this kind of information to the data that Brown produces
fenwaypark, i told my story about the fact that i usually do well in academics, but bc i oddly dipped this year, i wanted to ask the people of cc how they think this would look to admissions - would they think it was lazy? would they understand that people screw up? etc etc bc everybody has their own story
Thousands of applying kids won’t have had a dip. If you don’t know what a college looks for, how do you show the right story?
lookingforward, so i guess you’re validating my fear this sucks. im just going to keep working hard and hope ill be good enough in the end
Bolt, it just goes back to my serious advice to really know the schools you target, to get under their skin, so to say. Haunt their web info, look hard at the kids they brag about. Check your major’s strengths, etc. Then you know how to present yourself in your app. We don’t know your ECs but that and your thinking are what rounds out the picture. Yes, low history grades can affect poli sci. So…what are you doing in the poli sci arena now? How can you show (not just tell) your energies, etc? And get the right LoRs from teachers who will communicate your strengths, etc. And since Brown has had a Why Us?, think about how you will offer a solid answer.
None of this is as simple as stats.
Don’t get excited about a “dream.” Get excited about a fully formed plan to give this your best shot. Be willing to flex and grow.
I believe that the RD admit rate was under 9% this year. Even with a 4.0 and 2400 there’s no guarantee. Some get in with less, some with “perfect” stats don’t get in. You just don’t know until they release the decisions…
lookingforward, beautiful answer haha, thank you. i will probably remember that comment for the rest of my high school career.
epeemom, thanks for the clarification! that’s what i was hoping for.