<p>Hey everyone,</p>
<p>My name is Eddie and I graduated Brown in 2008! I’m also an alumni of The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (GSE 09 - M.S.Ed) and, well, I’m going back again to GSE (expected graduate of 12’) for another M.S.Ed. I earned an A.B. in Literature and Cultures in English, I was awarded the Rockefeller Scholarship (Now the Woodrow Wilson Scholarship), I studied abroad in London (King’s College), and volunteered like crazy at Brown (both with the university and with the city of Providence). </p>
<p>I’m here to take some general questions about Brown. I love Brown and want everyone to get as much positive and honest information as possible to make an informed decision about the next step after high school.</p>
<p>Let me be clear: here is what I’m not going to take - your qualitative and quantitative marks to “rate your chances” for admission. Sorry kids! </p>
<p>Feel free to ask me some questions about student life, internships, fellowships, study abroad, residential life, Providence, resource centers (academic and health wise), professors (no professor bashing), classes (no class bashing), places to study, places for coffee (I love coffee), places to eat, where to get a hair cut (trust me, it’s important). </p>
<p>Be organized: State what you want to be called, and your question. I’m a teacher and my spring break is coming up next week, so I’ll be taking questions starting today (3/22) and ending (4/4). </p>
<p>Ever True,</p>
<p>-Eddie
Brown 08’
Penn GSE 09’
Penn GSE 12’ - expected.</p>
<p>Hey Eddie,
Brown '09 Sc.B. Chemistry and expected '10 A.M. in Urban Ed Policy. No questions, just recommending we geek out on education stuff sometime in the future. PM for an email address. </p>
<p>Jason</p>
<p>@Brown08: Thank you for the noble gesture of coming out and helping us hopefuls!</p>
<p>I have always had a very strong interest in both Computer Science and Astronomy. If possible, I would like to double major in these very subjects at Brown. According to what I have gathered, Brown is a wonderful place for Computer Science. Unfortunately, I have not been able to garner any information on Astronomy, except a few course offerings by the Physics department. Could you please give me a much more clearer and colorful picture of these courses at Brown on the basis of the Faculty, Fellow Students, Resources, Research Opportunities et cetera?</p>
<p>Thank you once again for lending a helping hand!</p>
<p>We recently approved a separate Astronomy and Astrophysics concentration in the physics department. I imagine it’ll hit the web in the next couple of months.</p>
<p>We’ve always offered these two paths, essentially, it’s just not been formally on the books for sometime. The CCC approved this at its last meeting and will be discussing it again tomorrow when we go over our departmental review of Physics.</p>
<p>Double majoring in these areas would be nearly impossible unless you did an AB in both.</p>
<p>While we are in the waiting period …</p>
<p>My S was attracted to Brown, very much so after the physical sciences tour. He’s interested in physics (so I’m pleased to see your post above) but very interested in a school that can provide an intersdisciplinary approach to the sciences, perhaps even a double major. He’s been accepted to UC Berkeley (Regents candidate.) </p>
<p>Are there any other recent bits of info about the physical sciences program that you can provide? It appeared to us (the parents) that Brown was very much interested in strengthening the programs in this area.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>@harvard17</p>
<p>Hey, so take what modestmelody has to say and I also provided some links to some places with some information about the astronomy concentration (although I think it was merged).</p>
<p>Ladd Observatory
[Ladd</a> Observatory: Home](<a href=“http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Physics/Ladd/]Ladd”>Ladd Observatory: Home)</p>
<p>Brown University Dept of Physics, Astronomy, and Cosmology (course listings)
[Brown</a> University Astronomy and Cosmology](<a href=“Physics | Brown University”>http://www.physics.brown.edu/physics/undergradpages/astropages/index.html)</p>
<p>Brown University Physics Cosmology
[Brown</a> University Observational Cosmology](<a href=“http://cmbr.physics.brown.edu/]Brown”>http://cmbr.physics.brown.edu/)</p>
<p>Astrophysics and Cosmology
[Brown</a> University Department of Physics Astronomy](<a href=“http://www.physics.brown.edu/physics/researchpages/cosmo/courses.html]Brown”>Physics | Brown University)</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I don’t know too much about the classes - English major! I would recommend reaching out to a professor or an academic dean ([Deans</a> and Directors](<a href=“People | The College | Brown University”>People | The College | Brown University)) for some more help!</p>
<p>-Eddie</p>
<p>@ Findaplace</p>
<p>Looks like Jason dug up some information on the science question. From my experience, the SciLi has been undergoing constant positive change - face lift to the interior of the building, adding the Sidney Frank Hall ([Building</a> Brown: Sidney Frank Hall](<a href=“http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/Building_Brown/projects/sciences/]Building”>http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/Building_Brown/projects/sciences/)). Again, I can’t stress this enough - reach out to faculty members and academic deans ([Deans</a> and Directors](<a href=“People | The College | Brown University”>People | The College | Brown University)) for some more insight into your question about the interdisciplinary approach of the physical sciences!</p>
<p>-Eddie</p>
<p>@modestmelody and Brown08: Thank you for the information and insights!</p>
<p>Why do you think it will be nearly impossible to double major in Computer Science and Astronomy (unless A.B.)? Is it the strenuously long course load? Or is it some extrinsic factor that I don’t have any idea about?</p>
<p>This is probably a very broad question, but how is the social life at Brown? In particular, does Greek life play any sort of role? Also, do many people attend athletic events? Thanks!</p>
<p>@harvard17-- an Sc.B. at Brown consists of 18-20 courses. Considering the average load is 4 per semester * 8 semesters = 32 courses while at Brown, taking 36-40 classes all in your concentration is just not feasible for most people. I should note that there are ways to get some AP credit placement here or there + two courses which count toward both, however even then, you’re looking at over 30 courses in your concentration to double concentrate with two Sc.B.s. By contrast, an AB is typically 10-12 courses and therefore much more doable for a double concentration. Double concentrating is generally not a particularly good idea-- it doesn’t better prepare your for grad school or the work force and often involves taking, “just a few more classes” that you’re actually not that interested in. The credential is really no more helpful and you can easily work in your secondary field as far as your interests and time permits and stop there and still be just as prepared as anything else.</p>
<p>Think human capital versus signaling-- no employer cares what your degree says, they all care what you know and can do. It doesn’t take a full concentration to be competent in some areas and it certainly does not take an Sc.B.</p>
<p>msheard-- you’ll have way better luck using the search function for common, broad questions like these that have been answered many times before. Eddie will probably chime in and help, he’s probably less burnt out on those kinds of questions than I am after thousands of posts.</p>
<p>@modestmelody: Thanks for the detailed explanation. I am an international student and hence, need lots of these!</p>
<p>What are the extracurricular opportunities in the fields of Astronomy and Computer Science? Also, how easy or difficult is it to move from one field to another? Can we choose to complete an Sc.B. and A.B. at the same time while at Brown, as you did? Would you call this double major/concentrating?</p>
<p>@msheard about “social life at Brown.”</p>
<p>Greek life? - The last time I checked, Brown is less than 10% Greek. That being said, you quickly find that a lot of people attend the parties the fraternities and sororities host. In my opinion, they are a lot of fun. Most people who attend go in groups and just enjoy the general party atmosphere. The Greek system at Brown (although small) does play a nice part in bringing out community awareness about certain issues. I know of one Greek organization that collected pennies for a health organization. </p>
<p>athletic events? I know I attended a lot of the athletic events. I grew up on a small ranch in South Texas and I was never exposed to hockey (both on the ice or on the field), lacrosse and other sports. So, I took advantage of these events to meet people and just explore what my peers at Brown were committing time to. I do think a lot of people attend events (especially if we are doing well in the season) not only because of the strength of the team, but because (again in my opinion) we have a general care for the Brown community!</p>
<p>I’ll also add some other side notes about the social life at Brown. You can basically find any type of social life you want. This can range from your house party off campus to your dorm get together on campus. Providence is becoming more accessible and a lot of off campus bars/venues are hot places of interest to seek during the weekend. </p>
<p>My favorite time at Brown was during SPEC day - a two day carnival festival that many people attend. Also, some popular attractions are Spring Weekend (a weekend that Brown hires some top notch bands - this year is Snoop Dog and MGMT) and SexPowerGod - a party that the Gay Alliance hosts. </p>
<p>-Eddie</p>
<p>Agree with Eddie on all of the above. Greek is still less than 10% as of last year.</p>
<p>@harvard17-- You do not select a concentration until after your sophomore year. Even after that point, you can change as often as you want until the end of your 7th semester (fall senior year) and all it really takes is a one page form. AB/ScB changes are common.</p>
<p>You can double concentrate with two ABs, double concentrate with an Sc.B. and an A.B., you can earn dual degrees with an Sc.B. and A.B. (fifth year, two sheets of paper), and you could do a fifth-year master’s like I am (Sc.B + A.M. in five years or A.B. + A.M. in five).</p>
<p>As for activities, there are lots of things. Some examples are Robocup-- teaching robot dogs to learn to play soccer, formula SAE race car team (build a new race car from scratch every year), research in either field, various competitions that are “game-like” on the CS side, getting into Providence schools and help kids get interested in science, department social events, etc.</p>
<p>Just letting all you anxious applicants know that there are some great alums on this post waiting to answer your questions! Feel free to ask about anything Brown! </p>
<p>-Ed</p>
<p>I am an 09 Brown alum that is just jumping into this thread. I want to quickly point out a cool thing I did at Brown for @harvard and other science aficionados called the NASA Microgravity University. It is through Brown’s Space Club and they submit science project proposals to NASA to be flown on their zero gravity aircraft in Houston. We have a good acceptance rate and I was fortunate enough to be a part of the crew my sophomore year and fly in zero gravity. Cool stuff.</p>
<p>As far as the greek scene and sports I would actually disagree with Brown08. Not because he is wrong, but because the Brown experience is a unique one. Most of my friends stopped going to Frat parties after freshman year, that is until senior year where we would go to the parties of our friends in the frats who now ran them. Greek life does not dominate but is a great addition - they make Wriston Quad a really high-energy and fun place. With regard to sports, no one goes. It is a running joke at Brown that, for how much the students love it, there is NO school spirit. No one goes to games, no one follows the teams. I would have liked to see a little more obsession with our sports, but it’s also weirdly refreshing to be around people who have divergent interests.</p>
<p>@FatEnvelopeGuy: That is an absolutely fantabulous thing that you did! Flying in zero gravity, being associated with NASA, breathing that Houston air - now that’s what I am talking about!</p>
<p>Is the advising good? I REALLY love the open curriculum, but I feel like I would make some dumb mistake in choosing my classes without some help.</p>
<p>@ava1992</p>
<p>I had a terrific experience with the academic and social advising at Brown. I’m posting a few links directly related to your question. The first link was my first line of defense
[Curricular</a> Advising Program](<a href=“http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Dean_of_the_College/advising/cap.php]Curricular”>http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Dean_of_the_College/advising/cap.php) My freshmen year CAP class was called “Religion and Public Policy” and was taught by Professor Bret Clifton. A big part of this CAP feature (at least when I was a freshmen back in 2004) was that the professor also acted your academic adviser. To my knowledge, these professors and classes are selected to essentially help students out their first year. The process of selecting a CAP course - although probably different now - was picking from a list and selecting your top three (Please note that these are voluntary). When it was all said and done, Dr. Clifton was amazing! He know so many people around campus and in various departments. He really challenged me to not only explore the Brown Curriculum, but understand it as well. We had weekly/bi-weekly meetings to discuss internships, classes, professors, etc. </p>
<p>During my CAP experience, I was told about another level of advising (done by students) called the Meiklejohn Peer Advising Program [Meiklejohn</a> Peer Advising Program](<a href=“http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Meiks/]Meiklejohn”>http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Meiks/) This was pretty neat because I got connected with an upperclassmen and some other first year students to discuss a variety of topics like academics (on a more “student to student” level) and social life at Brown. This program was an amazing supplement to my CAP class. I loved it so much that I became a “Meik” my junior year. </p>
<p>Finally, I would like to stress how the administration comes into play. Here is the link for the Deans of the College [Deans</a> and Directors](<a href=“People | The College | Brown University”>People | The College | Brown University) I can’t stress this enough! The College Deans are so helpful and knowledgeable in guiding students (at least from my experience). I went to conference with a dean at least twice a month. In this space, we spoke about graduate school options, fellowships, studying abroad, etc…</p>
<p>In a nutshell, Brown really has so much to offer its undergraduate students!</p>
<p>[Curricular</a> Advising Program](<a href=“http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Dean_of_the_College/advising/cap.php]Curricular”>http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Dean_of_the_College/advising/cap.php)</p>
<p>Ivy League students are often stereotyped as pretentious and snooty. In your opinion, is this stereotype generally true/untrue at Brown?</p>