<p>I received a call for an interview early in Nov/Dec for ED...but I was applying for RD lol. I was hoping for an RD interview, but haven't been asked so I'm not sure if there simply aren't any RD alumni interviewers around here or the system just marked me as already been assigned an interviewer</p>
<p>looking, </p>
<p>You should call the area chair for your area. You can find out who that is by calling the admission office or perhaps the "alumni schools committee" at Brown (call the general # and they will direct you). Do it tomorrow am! Then call that person and explain your dilemma.</p>
<p>Technically the window for interviews is closed, but you could at least get it noted that you requested one and did not get one so nobody would imagine you had turned it down. And MAYBE they could do a quick interview and get it in a few days late.</p>
<p>It is not a be-all, end-all to the admission decision, but it is a nice way to personalize the process and get your questions answered.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>More important then getting the interview at this stage is that you are that interested in brown that youd like to interview, even though they havent given you one so far.. they love it when you show interest..</p>
<p>I love Brown :) It's early in the morning, yet they're all so friendly! </p>
<p>Thanks for the advice SBmom. I called Brown's Alumni Schools Committee, and I explained my situation, but the person I spoke with told me that the deadline was Tuesday. He asked for my name, typed it into the computer, and then told me that it wouldn't hurt my application if I didn't have an interview. If only I had called three days earlier...!</p>
<p>Does BASC have decisions info? When he entered my name into the computer his tone changed a little bit and asked if I had been deferred/waitlisted. I hope not! Maybe I'm just being paranoid...</p>
<p>You are being paranoid. :) </p>
<p>We get no insider info.</p>
<p>I had an interview with a Brown alumna last weekend, and it was pretty informal. I mostly asked HER questions, it wasn't like she was interrogating me or anything.</p>
<p>One thing I don't like, though, is that my schools keep pairing me up with math/science-oriented interviewers. The woman who interviewed me is currently in med school, took 2 literature classes in her 4 years, and didn't know a whole lot about the English department (in which I would probably concentrate). Another interview I had in the fall was relatively the same.</p>
<p>SBmom thanks for the reassurance :)</p>
<p>looking, you are welcome.</p>
<p>equilibrium, I concentrated in English & American Literature; fire away.</p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>
<p>So what was your experience like in the department? How are the professors?</p>
<p>I haven't been contacted for an interview yet. I was wondering if this happened to anyone else and should i be worrying?</p>
<p>I loved the English Dept. </p>
<p>It was filled with excellent professors and there were scores of great classes. Granted, several legendary teachers have retired, or died, in the last 25 years. Giants from my era were Blistein, Jayne, Harper, Caldwell... there will surely be some new giants now though I think Michael Harper is still there.</p>
<p>Ask upperclassmen who their favorite English profs have been, and take whatever courses those widely-adored profs are offering. (This is a good method for course selection in any dept at any school.) </p>
<p>I did an honors concentration, which meant writing a thesis, which was great fun (except that in my day we TYPED them!) Being an honors concentrator allowed me to take "honors seminars"-- small discussion-focused classes of about 20 other honors concentrators. As you can imagine, it was lots of fun to be in those fast-moving classes with fellow literature enthusiasts, led by a professor presenting one of his or her academic passions.</p>
<p>About the only chronic problem I remember in the English department was that the seminar classes frequently took place in the 2pm-5pm time period-- and it is HARD to be alert for 3 straight hours in an overheated classroom when you've just had lunch and you were up too late the previous night! ;) I even had one professor who used to fall asleep! Believe it or not she was brilliant-- we all figured she had narcolepsy.</p>
<p>I recall that the English concentration had a few different menus for possible 'distributions' within the 10 or 12 courses one needed to take. This was to ensure that a student would have exposure to a variety of time periods, of genres, or of forms-- in other words, they didn't want someone taking nothing but the "20th Century American Novel." </p>
<p>I did not find the distribution formulae difficult to satisfy since natural curiousity took me in many different directions. I also recall that the English Dept would consider crediting courses from Comp Lit or other related departments that made sense to 'count' towards the concentration. (Generally, at Brown, if two professors would 'sign off' on a student's notion, it would fly... whether an independent study, a thesis topic, or a request to "please count my Spanish dept class on Lorca towards my Literature concentration.")</p>
<p>If you had a 5 (maybe a 4?) on the AP test you could place into upper-level courses as a freshman. This is great, because the "101" survey courses are rarely taught by the legendary profs. Thus if you'll ever get a grad student or brand new professor, it is likely to be in one of the 101 classes. In my experience even the newbies were pretty good but there is really nothing like the skill of an experienced professor smack in the middle of their scholarly area, and you typically find this in upper level courses.</p>
<p>Hope this answers your questions.</p>
<p>dmik87,</p>
<p>You probably live in an area that does not have enough active alumni to cover all the applicants. Don't worry, it will not count against you. The interview is a courtesy that Brown wants to offer to prospective freshmen more than it is a heavy evaluation.</p>
<p>Just so you know, Brown no longer gives any credit or placement for either one of the English AP tests, as apparently they did in SBmom's day.</p>
<p>I knew I was old!</p>
<p>is a phone interview normal??</p>
<p>My son had a phone interview because at the last minute the interviewer who was supposed to set things up with him had a family emergency out of the country. The interview was conducted after 3/1, on 3/3. He enjoyed speaking it & logistically, it was simpler to just do it by phone.</p>
<p>Phone interviews are normal but in person interviews are preferred where possible.</p>
<p>They arent that bad though... i know someone who got an email interview becasue there werent any alumni where he stayed... happens</p>
<p>I had a person-to-person inteview with a Brown alumnus and he said that although his opinion will not affect the decision, it would be bad if we didn't meet.</p>
<p>I had a phone interview...it was nice, because he lived an hour away, but I would have otherwise felt compelled to meet him.</p>