<p>I know an incredibly bright kid, 1600 SATs, self-studied APs, captain of three sports, student gov. president, likely letters from other schools…waitlisted.</p>
<p>No wonder Brown doesn’t get much respect. They should admit qualified people instead of having a ‘Tufts syndrome’ or completely ignoring stats for petty stuff like essays.</p>
<p>Hi, agoodfriend,</p>
<p>Unfortunately, people like your friend get waitlisted and rejected from schools like Brown all the time. No matter how amazing a student is, competitive college admissions often seems random.</p>
<p>At Brown, "qualified people" doesn't just mean 1600, 4.0 students. It means students who have drive, passion, and unique talents and abilities. It sounds like your friend had all of those things, but it's possile that other students were able to display those qualities more clearly in their "petty" essays. It's also possible that Brown had a lot of applicants from your area, or that they had enough people for the particular sports this person played, or whatever. It's just impossible to tell why this stuff happens, and it definitely sucks, but one example doesn't necessarily reflect badly on Brown, nor does it mean that the school "doesn't get much respect."</p>
<p>A couple of my friends got rejected from their safeties, and I think it's because people get into a "safety mentality" when doing their applications. I'm pretty sure a lack of effort will shine through on an application, and if he sees it as a safety school then he's probably not putting as much effort in to the application.</p>
<p>brown is known to have really random admissions. i know a pretty average girl who got waitlisted and an amazing girl in terms of academics, leadership, community service, music, etc who got deferred and rejected. there isn't just one example of a poor admissions decision, there are several. and who can argue that brown doesn't get as much respect as other ivies like hyp? admissions would be more competitive if they judged people more objectively. and with more competitive admissions comes stronger students, a mark of a respected institution.</p>
<p>I actually think Brown adcoms are pretty bright. I truly think they look at a person holistically; a bohemian or otherwise funky-indie attitude and outlook on life can make a 1980 SAT kid (like me) get waitlisted!</p>
<p>Umm yea.</p>
<p>Actually im thinking the exact opposite when i got rejected from other ivies with a 1580, intel semifinalist, 4.75w, multiple presidents...so yea.</p>
<p>its just random</p>
<p>deal with it.</p>
<p>I just posted this in a similar thread, but please keep this in mind before calling names,</p>
<p>
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As someone who was waitlisted last year, my heart goes out to all those who were not accepted. I know how random and unforgiving the admissions process can be. As comprehensive as it tries to be, it can never truly know its applicants. Some applicants, like the roommate of a friend of mine, know how to put on a show and then when they come to Brown shut themselves away in their room and go home every weekend. Others, friends of mine who I know would have been perfect for this school, slip through the cracks for whatever reason. I know that youve probably all heard this before, but for many of applicants who fit the test scores, the grades, the extracurricular involvement it is about luck, how something in your application didnt catch their eye when it would have on another day or if another admissions officer had read it then maybe it would have gone over better.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The point is that admissions isn't perfect, and the adcoms are trying their best in a process that they themselves describe as capricious at times.</p>
<p>congratulations! your anecdote proves nothing</p>
<p>Yeah, it does. Admissions are just as much a game of luck as they are a game of qualification at this level.</p>
<p>i think you should just respect the admission committee's decision instead of calling them idiots. how qualified are you to think that your decision is wiser than the admission committee's? how well do you know brown students (all kinds of them) and what brown wants from their students?</p>
<p>you decided that she deserves to get into brown based on the assumptions of what brown wants from a student. well, brown looks past the stats and at a person more hollisitically, or maybe she just won't fit in well. whatever it is, they admission officers have been deciding who deserves to be accepted and who doesn't as a day job, and have been doing that for probably years. brown's quality of student haven't been slipping. and honestly? who knows better on who deserves to be in brown more than the admission officers? </p>
<p>sure every can have their own opinions and assumptions about brown, but are they wiser than the admission committee's? </p>
<p>and for your info, brown gets lots of respect. you don't need to diss a school and their admission committee just because they didn't agree on your assumption. the admission committee is there for a reason. and i doubt brown will not accept a student that they really want just for the yield rate, they aren't that insecure.</p>
<p>What's a "Tufts Syndrome"? I got in there and would like to know what kind of disease I have.</p>
<p>waitlisting to protect yield knowing that the majority of your applicants consider your school second-rate last choice safety school</p>
<p>Hey myohmy, I got into Brown as well, so congrats to us both. I saw your post asking what disease you had (LOL) and thought I could shed some light for u... Tufts Syndrome: A process somewhat unique of Tufts (the school) adcoms, in which they wait list/reject students who are applying to other, more "prestigious" schools and may very well get in so that they don't offer places to students who they think will not accept. In short, they wait list/reject "over qualified" students and opt for kids they are pretty certain will commit.</p>
<p>i got rejected, but I feel at brown once you reach a certain level of academics, no matter how high it is- then youve passed round 1. round 2 is all about the other factors such as essays recs , and this is where brown students are chosen.</p>
<p>"No wonder Brown doesnt get much respect"</p>
<p>Yeah its only an ivy league and one of the top colleges in the world.. Who'se going to respect something like that...</p>
<p>Maybe your friend is just an *<strong><em>. There are plenty of really smart *</em></strong>s out there, and they'd probably do a whole lot better elsewhere than at Brown.</p>
<p>A girl at my school does pretty much next to nothing in terms of extracirricular activity (or co-cirricular activities) and got waitlisted. 7 other students from my class (including myself) were flat out rejected, and all 7 had waaay better stats.</p>
<p>Well, a lot of you guys argue about stats. But what I realized during this painful and I-thought-it-would-never-end college admission process is that it's not all about stats. I've applied to many top schools and received many different answers from each. In the end, I think what made the difference was my essays. In retrospect, my Brown essays showed more of my passion than any other schools' school specific essays. It definitely portrayed that Brown's unique curriculum would benefit me greatly than any other school would. It's not all about how I was qualified - I know I am ready to be at any place. It was also about what a school can bring to my life. </p>
<p>I was rejected from MIT where I thought it was my first choice. But right after being rejected, I realized I wanted more liberal art education rather than a tech school and it definitely showed through my application. When I told my teacher about my rejection, her reaction was that she couldn't believe what kind of people would get in. But now I am really glad I didn't get in to that school. I remembered my Brown alum interview and how Brown seemed to fit everything that I was looking for from a college. I kept thinking about Brown for two weeks then luckily I am in =). (After I saw my crappy Brown financial aid package, I prayed I didn't get in any other comparable school so that I wouldn't have to go anywhere else because of money.)</p>
<p>I think all college adcoms are great people who know how to see what's beyond numbers and simple words on each application. Despite numerous rejections and waitlists that I got, I am still grateful that they made right decisions for me to help me think about and realize what I am looking for in my life next four years.</p>
<p>brown doesnt have a tufts syndrome.</p>
<p>I think some people just don't like others who got in. Maybe these people who you don't like (since you're so ****ed that they got in) have stats that you didn't hear about, or ECs that you just ignored for your own peace of mind.</p>