Brown Scholar stats

Colleges and Universities A-Z Southwestern University
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<p>Since this forum is pretty dead, I'm not too hopeful for a response, but I really wanted to ask if anyone here is/knows someone who is a Brown Scholar. I'm thinking of applying next year, and although I know I meet all the minimum suggested stats, I'm not sure how competitive I would actually be for the scholarship. They say that there are typically about 100 qualified students, so I'm wondering about any information about how they narrow it down to those top 4.</p>

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<p>I was a finalist, placed pretty high on the waitlist for the scholarship, and it was eventually offered to me. I did not accept, however.</p>

<p>The way it seemed to me, the first four kids who were offered the scholarship were very high stats. I would not be shocked in a bit if they were ivy league level. However, I also don’t think it’s quite as competitive as it seems because those same high stat kids probably received offers from other schools which they chose to attend over Southwestern. So if you’re placed on the waitlist, your chances aren’t terrible. If you’re the first 1-3 on the waitlist, you’re in even better shape.</p>

<p>My stats:
SAT: 2270
SAT II: 720/760
UW GPA: 4.0
W GPA: 4.67
ECs:
Newspaper 2 years w/ leadership
Academic Decathlon 2 years w/ awards
Volunteer organization 4 years w/ leadership
Typical NHS/Mu alpha theta
Individual volunteering at hospice 200+ hours
Web/grahpic design hobby 2-3 years + Computer Science team 1 year</p>

<p>I also interview pretty well. I also baby sit my younger sister because my parents worked all the time. I listed it under ECs and highlighted it in my comm app essay.</p>

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<p>Wow, thanks so much for the response! I’d almost forgotten about this post. I creeped on some of your other posts, and I gather you’re going to the University of Alabama. I think it’s funny because I am also considering 'Bama since I found out about their great National Merit scholarships. I used to be in love with Southwestern, but now I’m leaning towards bigger schools. May I ask how you made your decision?</p>

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<p>What a coincidence :slight_smile: UA is very generous with their merit aid, and the full scholarship was one of the biggest factors in my decision.</p>

<p>Why I chose Alabama:

  • UA offered me the scholarship immediately upon admission. I was not one of the original finalists for the Brown Scholarship, so I didn’t get the official offer until near the end of April. By then, I had basically already committed myself to UA and didn’t really want to go through the hassle of withdrawing.
  • I had always imagined going to a small LAC over a large public university. But when it came right down to it, I realized UA, as a large university, had a lot more opportunities to offer. I had been granted admission to their Computer Based Honors program, which would allow me to become involved in research as an undergrad and their University Honors Program would give me the small class feel I wanted from a LAC. Best of both worlds.
  • Although Southwestern’s full ride gives a little over $40,000 and UA gives a little over $30,000, UA has a nicer scholarship offer. Southwestern’s scholarship covered tuition + room and board. UA included tuition + room and board + $1000 stipend + laptop. Not to mention I got an additional $2500 for majoring in computer science (engineers get the additional stipend).
  • The dorms at Southwestern just can’t compare to the honor dorms at UA. They’re just about unbeatable. While most of my friends are sharing a tiny prison cell with their roommate, I’m getting an apartment style four bedroom suit for free. Bam :slight_smile:
  • UA was further from home.</p>

<p>Other perks in hindsight:

  • I felt like the Southwestern campus was tiny. It seemed like I could walk the grounds in 20 minutes. My campus tour lasted 15 minutes before we ended up where we started. Not only is the UA campus huge, it’s also gorgeous. My tour guide commandeered one of the campus buses and we still couldn’t cover the entire campus.
  • There’s so much school spirit at UA. Everything is Roll Tide this or Roll Tide that. Seems like all of the students and faculty honestly love their school.
  • UA is also very generous when accepting AP credits. Even though half of my credits don’t count toward my major, it’s still nice to have them around :)</p>

<p>Although, everyone at UA seems to be gorgeous. I feel like I’m going to develop an inferiority complex attending, haha :slight_smile: </p>

<p>On the other hand, Southwestern is definitely a good school. I sat in on two classes during my visit. One humanities (I think it might have been anthropology or sociology) and one computer science. The former had an amazing teacher, very enthusiastic and insightful. The latter was just interesting because I like computer science. And it seems like while Southwestern might not have the abundance of resources UA does, I got the impression that the Brown Scholars were probably the first ones notified of any opportunities floating around. So success is definitely possible at either school.</p>

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<p>^Curious about something … Do you know if this Brown Scholars program is sponsored by the same people as the Texas A&M Brown Scholars? Is it the Craig and Galen Brown Foundation?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>