<p>Well, there’s a supplement essay required for science/cs/bio major in Brown Supplement.
If I’m about to applying Applied Mathematics major but not Mathematics major, do I have to write that supplement?
(I know that Applied Math and Math are two departments in Brown)</p>
<p>It would seem to me that if it’s required for math, then it’ll be required for applied math since both share some core math classes. Also, you should see these essays as a way of selling yourself as being a good fit for Brown, not as a chore to try to bypass on some technicality.</p>
<p>I’m curious as to why Brown requires a supplement just for STEM majors and not liberal artsy majors. Wouldn’t someone feel obliged to just change his/her major and avoid this essay all together?</p>
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<p>If your high school portfolio shows lots of AP math and science classes and related ECs, you think it would be a benefit to declare yourself an intended English major to avoid writing a couple of paragraphs?</p>
<p>Brown really really benefits self-directed learners who don’t need handholding. If you are the type that tries to do the minimum you will quickly find that the open opportunities that Brown enables will also allow you to quickly crash and burn. You would be better off elsewhere.</p>
<p>I have seen a number of applicants who are likely to be premed or STEM concentrators who have from some source decided to game the admissions by “pretending” to be liberal arts concentrators (and yes, then they get to skip that essay). (FYI to Torandot, at Brown they are concentrations, not majors.) However, most are in some part really interested in an “additional” field. Very common among premed candidates. Some of these students will really end up concentrating in classics, or anthropology or whatever. Some will get to Brown and decide that the STEM route is really just too hard, or maybe not where their heart is. Brown understands that and can usually read between the lines to guess the “closet premeds”, even if as many do, they have a very rounded HS curriculum. I think the essays show a bit if the student is likely to stay in those STEM concentrations, and level of commitment to those fields.</p>
<p>Just as a corollary question: While I’ve seen students who applied “as a liberal arts student” then proceed with a chem or comp sci or bio track from semester 1, I’ve never seen this with Engineering. Anyone ever heard of that at Brown?</p>