<p>My daughter is looking at Brown for Engineering. She wants to combine engineering with a more liberal arts type experience versus going to a more techie school. She has near perfect SATs, strong grades and has taken high level math (Calc BC) and physics classes. Can anyone comment on whether the admissions process works differently for an engineering major compared to other majors? I know the odds are low in general for Ivies, even for highly qualified students. She’s trying to decide where to use her Early Decision slot. Some schools have much higher admit rates for females interested in the engineering field and I’m not sure this is the case at Brown.</p>
<p>Also, can someone comment on specific majors such as Mech E. /EE/etc. Are some areas stronger than others and how is the recruiting in each of the different majors?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>If she’s interested in engineering with liberal arts, Brown is the place. The admissions process works the same no matter what your intended concentration, so she shouldn’t worry about that. I know they’ll be happy to see a female engineer, especially if she’s a well-rounded student. However, she should only apply ED if she’s sure Brown’s her top choice, since it’s a binding decision.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about the different specialties within engineering, but I can tell you that the engineers I know graduating this year are all going to great jobs or to grad school, unlike others I know.</p>
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<p>The Brown application has a separate supplement for engineers. There are additional essays and an additional teacher recommendation (I think). The application is sent to engineering faculty for review, and they have a say on whether a student is accepted. </p>
<p>Brown, like many schools, is VERY interested in women interested in engineering. If your daughter has the stats and the resume to back up her interest in engineering, it will definitely boost her chances. And no matter where she goes to school, if she majors in engineering she will find a lot of employers interested in hiring her. </p>
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<p>How much ED helps is debatable. A large number of ED acceptances go to recruited athletes, development cases and legacies. Once you take them out of the picture, the ED acceptance rate is more comparable to the RD acceptance rate. As bruno said, she should only apply ED to her first-choice school. And I’ll add that if you need financial aid, it’s usually not a good idea to apply ED. </p>
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<p>She should look at the requirements for an engineering concentration. At Brown, the number of required classes for an ScB is pretty high and doesn’t leave a lot of room for “liberal arts” classes. If she wants to do an AB in engineering, then there’s more room for liberal arts classes.</p>
<p>I know a fair number of engineers who went to Brown, and they were all happy with their experience and education. Brown’s program is more entrepreneurial than other schools. You should definitely visit and take the physical sciences tour. One of the plusses of the Brown program is that in the first year, students take courses in several of the engineering disciplines, so they have some knowledge to use when deciding what specific area to concentrate in. I don’t know if some areas are stronger than others. There used to be a regular poster here, modestmelody, who could probably answer that. He pops in every now and then – you might send him a private message and see if he responds.</p>