<p>I’m currently a junior, who’s interested in applying to Brown next year. According to the College Board’s website, Brown doesn’t make grades a major concern, but looks more closely at the applicant’s character/personality.</p>
<p>Through my research, many have told me that the University of Chicago too doesn’t look too closely at grades but is concerned with the applicant’s character; namely, that the applicant has a genuine desire to learn. So, my question is, what type of student/personality is Brown looking for?</p>
<p>The reason I’m asking this is not so I conform myself to this personality in the Brown essays, but because I want to see if Brown matches my character/personality and if I’ll be happy there 2 years from now.</p>
<p>I don't know much about Brown, but i dont think it's a great idea to change your personality for another college. Like the dr.pepper commercial said, "be you, be..." i forgot, but you get the point</p>
<p>Grades are certainly one of the most important things--it shouldn't be under-emphasized, but Brown does care a lot about personality as well.</p>
<p>You should be self-driven and independent-thinking (Brown is looking for people that can maturely navigate the open curriculum).
Interdisciplinary academic interests are a plus, as well as ability to give back to the community in a meaningful way.
"Quirky" personalities (people that tend to combine unexpected interests), and outgoing people tend to appeal to the admissions committee a lot.</p>
<p>Thanks, dcircle, that gives me a better picture. I think Brown might be a match school for me afterall, seeing as my interests aren't very narrow and are pretty much everywhere.</p>
<p>I had an alumni interview this week, and the person I met said exactly what dcircle said. And they tend to be kind of liberal, free, laid-back as opposed to uptight and competitive.</p>
<p>when i was visiting, i met an academic dean and spoke to him for a while. he said the adcoms love to see people "burning for brown." so if brown is your first choice hands down, make sure you somehow let the adcoms know.</p>
<p>funkyspoon is absolutely right. if they think you will definitely matriculate and can convey that you love brown for the right reasons (meaning you love the things about brown that make brown unique) it can give you a big edge</p>
<p>...and how do you tell the adcom this? i didn't do ED because of financial aid reasons--how do i tell brown they're my first choice? a letter saying "you're my first choice, i love you!" seems kinda lame.</p>
<p>well, there <em>is</em> a section asking why you want to go to brown...</p>
<p>oh, and I don't know why you chose ariadne, but it reminds me of xenosaga (yes, I know that this goes back to mythology, but I think of the recent game nevertheless.) I like the name.</p>
<p>i was enthusiastic about brown in that statement, but didn't really flat-out say they were my first choice...now i'm thinking of sending some sort of letter. or something. hmm.</p>
<p>ariadne's my actual name. i was super creative coming up with my CC screen name. hah. thanks for the compliment, though. :D</p>
<p>Be you. I think that's definitely the best advice. When a Brown admissions officer visited my school, someone asked her "Usually, Brown doesn't accept many people from this area - why?" (I live in upper middle-class surburbia with very competitive school districts.) Her answer was simply "I don't think kids from your area very genuine - they seem to do their activities and write their essays solely to get into college."</p>
<p>jenz129 -- I can't tell you how relieving that is to hear. I go to a public high school in Southern California that's only been in existence for roughly four years (our class is the first graduating class to have gone through all four levels). Last year, among the smartest kids in the Class of 2004, only one got into Stanford, one into MIT (who was also accepted at Columbia), and one at Duke; they were all girls, which I find a strange yet somewhat flattering correlation.</p>
<p>Anyways, so far this year only one deferral at Stanford EA and Harvard EA (or is Harvard ED? I have no idea, I'm not applying), and I don't see RD being too friendly to their apps. Why? For the precise reason that adcom stated: these kids are treating education like a game, trying to fit some imaginary formula of what it takes to get into college instead of being genuine and honest. It's good to know that schools can see through the BS, because some of the kids at my school really infuriate me.</p>