<p>coming from a lower-middle class background, i think my parents are concerned because they feel that there are a lot of people from richer backgrounds at brown and they don't want me to feel out of place. i was wondering if there are many people at brown who do have a lot of money and show it, or if it really isn't something i would be affected by. thanks!</p>
<p>The Queer Alliance is the umbrella organization that sponsors both activist groups and party/social-type groups. Here's their website: <a href="http://queer.brown.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://queer.brown.edu/</a></p>
<p>although there are some very wealthy people (like there are at every private school), most are middle class (most people qualify for some type of financial aid to pay for college), and many are not particularly well off. the average family income of the 100+ Sidney Frank Scholars from last year was less than $25,000/yr</p>
<p>Is it true that Brown doesn't require students to do work-study as part of the financial aid package? That's what I read on the website.</p>
<p>It's true that freshman get their work study as a grant. For upperclassmen, they have to work, if work study is part of the package.</p>
<p>Oh ok, that makes more sense. Thanks.</p>
<p>i know people have been talking a lot about this, but after reading everything, i still don't quite understand the gpa system @ brown...bottom line, being an average 4.0 student in high school, how hard is it to get a good gpa and how competitive/difficult is it for graduate school acceptance?</p>
<p>oh, and also, how hard is it to double major @ brown, i'm still in high school, but i have a "unique" career plan, and want to do both biology and economics. at most schools, people tell me double majoring in two subjects like that is near impossible/takes the fun out of college...is that true @ brown?</p>
<p>You can do it, but it probably won't be that fun or allow you to take many electives</p>
<p>It is easier at Brown to have a double concentration, because there are no distribution requirements to meet. If you go to each department's web site, you should be able to see how many courses you need for each concentration and any ones in particular that are required. Generally, a concentration takes 8 - 10 courses (sciences may take more if you need to take math, entry level courses in other sciences, etc.). Taking the usual number of courses each semester and going for four years, this would be 32 courses.</p>
<p>It can be really hard to do a double concentration if one is a science and the other isnt. I know that my Chem major alone takes 20 courses. Most humanities are closer to 12 classes for a major, add that up, and every course I ever took would have had to be for my major.</p>
<p>ScB/AB is generally considered a 5 year study, and in fact, to actually get the two degrees and not just fill the requirements, it's necessary to stick around for a 5th year at Brown.</p>
<p>It's not harder here than any other school, really, but anywhere it's a real pain in the ass if you have any interest in expanding outside of those two areas.</p>
<p>What about science and math? Is it still hard to do a double concentration in those subjects?</p>
<p>double concentrating at in areas with little overlap is much easier (and therefore more common) at brown than at other places.</p>
<p>i chose not to double concentrate because i wanted a wide breadth of courses outside my primary concentration. however, many of my fellow neuroscience concentrators also concentrated in other areas including computer science, religious studies, visual art, and comparative literature. a few people a year even triple concentrate. the beauty of brown is that it is up to you.</p>
<p>i also know for a fact that biology and econ isn't an uncommon combination. you're likely to find several others with the same plan</p>
<p>My suggestion to anyone looking to double concentrate, or even concentrate in some area is to go to the Brown webpage, get on the departments page, and take a look at the requirements for your major and figure it out.</p>
<p>For instance, chemistry ScB is four semesters of math. An AB in math is 3 semesters of calc, 1 semester linear algebra, and 6 100 level Math courses. Those first four classes are required for chemistry, 6 more and you have the math AB. Look it up, you'll get far better answers than our non-specific ones.</p>
<p>Also, as a point of note, double concentrating in a science and a humanities subject is much easier if you get an A.B. in the science rather than an Sc.B.</p>
<p>To clarify the work study thing.....for freshmen, the work study part of their financial package is covered by a grant so that no freshmen have to do any work study. Work study is part of a financial aid package after freshman year, and not covered by a grant. However, you do not HAVE to work. You can decline that part of your financial aid package if you do not wish to work. My child is on financial aid and would not have time to work given her involvements. We do not opt to take that part of the aid package. Parents have the option to take PLUS loans to cover anything that the grants/loans do not cover in the cost of attending. Work study need not be a part of the package you accept. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>prabz21 --</p>
<p>There is no "gpa system" at Brown. Brown does not calculate students' gpas. You can calculate your own, if you want to, based on your numbers of A's, B's, and C's, and submit that to grad school, and they'll consider it. Right now, Brown is considering adding the traditional + and - to our grading system so that Brown students' gpas will, in theory, be more "accurate" or whatever. This is contraversial among both students and professors, but my (uneducated) guess is that it will be implemented at some point within the next two years.</p>
<p>As has been said on this board before, getting a "good GPA" at Brown depends on what kind of classes you take. Just like at any other school, some classes are an easy A, and in some classes you may struggle to even pass. If you take every course for a grade (as opposed to S/NC, what we call pass/fail), then you will almost definitely not have straight A's for your four years at Brown unless you decide to take only easy classes and not dedicate any of your time to other activities.</p>
<p>Biology and economics is definitely possible in 4 years if you decide to take an AB in Bio as opposed to an Sc.B. If you want a Sc.B., you'll have to stick around for another year.</p>
<p>Here are the requirements for the different biology majors:
<a href="http://bms.brown.edu/bug/conc3.html%5B/url%5D">http://bms.brown.edu/bug/conc3.html</a></p>
<p>and here's for economics:
<a href="http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Economics/undergraduate.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Economics/undergraduate.php</a></p>
<p>thanks ilovebrown, that helped a lot, lol, you guys rock</p>
<p>I know the +/- system with the grading is controversial, but why? Wouldn't you rather get the distinction of a B+ over simply a B? Or an A+ over an A for that matter?</p>
<p>Kind of an odd question, but do most of the dorms have a common room or something along those lines? If so, do people ever actually use them?</p>