<p>Hey,
So I was at ADOCH last week and was pretty shocked. Please don’t get me wrong–I’m not saying this in a racist or judgmental way in the slightest.</p>
<p>Was anyone else a little surprised by the enormity of diversity at Brown? </p>
<p>I’ve been visiting other schools in my decision-making process, even ones that claim to have the same (if not the same, close to) statistics as Brown, and yet Brown seemed to be by far the most diverse. I just felt a little…out of place…that’s all. Was it the entire campus, or was it just the class of 2015, or was it because of TWW, or was I really missing something?</p>
<p>Oh…but the majority of the student body is white so I don’t think it would be that bad. But if you come from a place that isn’t very diverse, this is understandable.</p>
<p>Yeah, let me add to that qualification…my high school claims diversity in having like twenty non-white students in a class of one hundred.
That aside, I did not feel this way when I was at Columbia.</p>
<p>There was a lack of diversity at Columbia? That’s odd, because according to this report of African Americans at top schools, Columbia had the highest percentage. Perhaps it just seems that way from a short visit?</p>
<p>Possibly, but if I’m trying to judge where I’m going to spend the next four years off of these short visits, I want to feel comfortable with the perspective I got, and if I have questions, find answers (like here)…you know what I mean?</p>
<p>Are you kidding me? You didn’t feel comfortable because there weren’t enough white males? Could you tell me how people of different race and nationality would make you feel uncomfortable?</p>
<p>My younger daughter (junior in HS) just visited Brown last week. She said she felt very comfortable at Brown because of its diversity. She saw a lot of international students (Brown has 10%, vs Cornell 7%). On the other hand, Williams was too much of a white bread (she visited it after Brown), just like her prep school. </p>
<p>Diversity is more than just number of black students.</p>
<p>Oldfort, what you’re saying is true but the environment he comes from is very different. Hence the uncomfortableness. </p>
<p>If you’re referring to my comment about blacks at Columbia, yes diversity is more than just the number of blacks. I was just giving an example of one area of the student body that suggest diversity.</p>
<p>My kids are bi-racial. My daughter was very impressed by Brown. She thought students were very down to earth, and happy. She loved the tour guide.</p>
<p>College is a time to move out of one’s comfort zone, to explore and learn something new. We live in a global world now. </p>
<p>This year we moved to an emerging country (most students my daughter encountered are of differnt skin color than her), but she said they are no different than her old prep school in the States. They party, fight, gossip,listen to music, worry about colleges - same crap just at a different country. They may have a different ways of expressing themselves, but underneath they are all the same. I think it is after her experience in this new place, she finds Brown to be so appealing.</p>
<p>Kali22- it is very nic that you are so understanding of OP.</p>
<p>I really do agree with you though, oldfort. When I decide which college I want to go to next year, diversity is probably the biggest factor aside from academics. But like you said, I’m just trying to understand the OP from his perspective. </p>
<p>But if I had to give my opion, ARandomDude, give diversity a chance and you just might be pleasantly surprised :).</p>
<p>I wish you the best wherever you choose to matriculate!</p>
<p>^The class of 2015 will be the most diverse Brown’s ever seen. If admissions correlates to acceptances, we’ll have more than 65% on financial aid. We actively tried to get top-performing students from areas that don’t normally consider applying to Brown.</p>
<p>If you don’t like to step out of your comfort zone, I wouldn’t think you’d feel like you belong at Brown, because there aren’t a lot of people who you’ll easily find who are the same way (then again this may be my own view because I haven’t found people like that and wouldn’t want to hang out with them if I did).</p>
<p>^ I actually really like the diversity of Brown because it is something my school doesn’t have. And I am one of the 30 non whites and probably the only person that is not Christian so its really strange. Brown’s diversity, and for that matter all of the top colleges, really appeal to me because they are not 99% white, 1% other</p>
<p>Do you guys who are still students at Brown really feel like it’s THAT diverse? My experience was always that there’s a lot of self segregation. The ratty is the perfect place to see this in action.</p>
<p>The more things change, the more they stay the same. I went to Brown a few decades ago, and I could have written the exact statement above then. What is it about the Ratty that results in this behavior?</p>
<p>I just mean that there are tables full of white people, tables full of black people, etc. It’s easier to notice than say, where people sit in class, or at parties.</p>
<p>As with any school, you’ll find groups of people who share similar ethnic or economic backgrounds, but from my personal experience and observations, the majority of people are willing to socialize with the whole spectrum of culture that essentially embodies Brown. I recognize that it may be difficult getting to know people that you wouldn’t normally talk to, but college is meant to be a time for you to step outside your comfort zone and learn new things (and trust me, when you have no prejudices in who you choose to talk to or meet, you learn a lot). </p>
<p>As an Asian who spent most of my life in a predominantly white, non-diverse community, I found the diversity factor at Brown not only new and exciting but one of the key reasons I love being here so much. Give it a try; you might surprise yourself.</p>
<p>Brown was very generous in explicitly offering to pay for airplane tickets for low-income families. Low-income acceptees are disproportionately, although not exclusively, URM. Low income families (like ours) are less likely to have been able to actually visit the campus before applying. Given the TTW event and that high school was in session, it could well be that higher-income students did not attend ADOCH in proportion to their admission rate (perhaps most had already visited the school previously).</p>