<p>Well, I guess that depends on how social you are and how good your memory is (or how good your memory is on the occaisions you meet people...). There's about 1400 students per class. In my own experience, its just enough that walking up Thayer Street or to Pembroke you'll probably at least see someone you recognize, if not well enough to stop and say hello to then at least someone you've seen or met before. I almost always see someone I recognize well enough to wave to, but that may be because I ended up following the same path/schedule and just recognized people from that. Probably at least half the time you walk across campus you'll see someone you know well enough to wave, and maybe a quarter of the time you'd run into someone you know well enough to stop and chat with...it all really depends on the kind of person you are I guess. But you'll always be meeting new people from your grade at parties, etc, up until the time you graduate I'd bet. Plus there's always new people coming every year. I think Brown's size is perfect because its small enough that its warm and you don't feel like a number and you see people you recognize and know often enough, but not so small that you don't get to meet new people all the time and that you'd feel claustrophobic or high schooly. Did that help?</p>
<p>definitely. you've been incredibly helpful. thanks so much.</p>
<p>Hopefully people have more questions? I'm anticipating another slow day at work tomorrow.</p>
<p>Do you know anything about the french and physics depts?
D may want to maj in physics and study it abroad--Brown does have a detailed study abroad brochure on line for sci. students. Do you know anyone who has this? Do you know anything about the french lang. house? Lets see what else I want to know-how far a walk from amtrak sta. to admissions office? (Hey dont want you to be bored!)
What other schools did you consider that are like Brown in terms of student body and vibe. I will try to keep them coming. Thanks.</p>
<p>Hahaha great thanks a lot. Those are good questions.</p>
<p>French. Yes I know a lot about the French department as I am a French student. From what I hear compared to other schools we're pretty incredible. If you ever look at grad school rankings, whenever Brown is up there it should be very impressive since we are such an undergrad focused school, but our French department I believe still does pretty well on a grad level, if that means anything. The teachers I've had have all been wonderful, etc. We have an exchange program with the SciencePo of the University of Paris, which is probably the best political science program in the world. There are many different French language courses (at certain levels, for instance, French 50, you could chose to focus on literature or on speaking/writing and then pick from two different classes depending) and a bunch of 100 level classes, taught in French, on advanced literature, history, culture, music, art, etc. There is a French film festival every year right off campus at the Cable Car Cinema that is affiliated with the University's French department which is pretty popular among students. The French department building is an old mansion that is gorgeous, it looks like the house from Madeline a little bit, its really amazing. A beautiful staircase in particular. The French Lang. House (right across the street from it) is also great. Its also an old mansion with big gardens and an old wall and gate, I think it houses about 150 or 200 students total (half is spanish and half is french). They throw a lot of parties during the year (Mardi Gras and the Sangria party are usually their most popular, but there's usually a couple per semester) that are very popular and get a lot of people interested in the house from the beginning. I've been inside and its very very nice. Students can apply at the end of the year regardless of language level and I think that they are pretty lenient about letting people in. Its called Machado house if you are interested in googling it.</p>
<p>I don't know too much about study abroad for sci. students unfortunately, but I do know that Brown has specific programs for science concentrators abroad, or you could do another school's science abroad program. There is a saying at Brown, there aren't a lot of rules and the one's there are you can break. I'm pretty sure that you could probably do a science concentration and a regular study abroad program and if you absolutely had to you could just manipulate and bend the rules a little. Shouldnt be a problem.</p>
<p>Its about a 5 minute taxi ride from the amtrak station to the admissions office, and maybe a 15 or 20 minute walk (only because its uphill!). The other way it would probably only be a 10 minute walk. Still I recommend walking as its very scenic and nice. Were you able to reschedule to visit during the school year?</p>
<p>Other schools that are like Brown that I considered. Well, I'll just name a few schools that are like Brown even if I didn't consider them, so that will give you a little bit of a longer list. I'd say Vassar, Weslyen, and Oberlin are all like Brown in study body and vibe but without the old stuffy Ivy League traditionalist thing that sort of balances Brown out. They are sort of like Brown to the extreme. If you had a spectrum (this is way over simplifying but go with me here) you could put Harvard on one end and Vassar/Wesleyen/Oberlin on the other, Brown would be probably in between the middle and the Vassar/Wesleyen/Oberlin side. On the other hand, Yale would be way closer to the Harvard side, but not completely. Maybe 95% of the way there? I have no idea its so hard to generalize, but basically Vassar/Oberlin/Wesleyen are like Brown without all of its Harvard-like qualities, and Yale is like Brown with WAY more Harvard-like qualities. Stanford is also like Brown in terms of laid-backness but is far less intellectual and artsy. Penn is very social like Brown but is a lot less laid-back and a lot more preppy and preprofessional (I know this since I'm from the area and have been there several times). When I got to Brown my first couple weeks I didn't notice a distinct study body or vibe, I figured that our reputation was a little undeserved. However, after visiting and partying and socializing at other schools, I definately appreicate "what makes Brown "Brown"" a lot more. Hope that helped. Keep them coming.</p>
<p>hey moatToMoat, do you know if the admissions at Brown prefer SATs over ACTs or vice versa. Also, is there any sense in sending in both scores?</p>
<p>okay last one. Can you tell me more about Greek life? Which are the frats/sorrorities with the best reputation or do they just have a really bad reputation altogether?</p>
<p>Merci, Monsieur Moat2Moat! We are visiting in August since they have special science tours then. If my D is favorably impressed we will return in the Fall after the students have returned to check it out further.
It sounds fantastic! So glad to hear that the French dept. excels.</p>
<p>RosiePosie - I have no clue about the ACT vs the SAT. I reccommend just calling the admissions department and asking them. I'm sure they'd be glad to talk to you. I don't know if its better to send both, I'd say its better to send the scores of the test you did better one but I really have no clue.</p>
<p>Red92: More about Greek Life? Ok lets see. So like I said, about 10% of Brown students do frats/sororities, but that figure is a little skewed because many sports teams have houses off campus that sort of also act as frats. So maybe in reality it should be a couple percentage points higher. There are about 7 fraternities, 2 sororities, and 2 co-ed fraternities. They all have pretty good reputations and all throw popular parties. Some people prefer to ONLY go to PhiPsi parties or only Sigma Chi or only AEPi or only Zete, but most people just skip around and try to find the best parties that they can, or just go whenever there's a big official party or something. PhiPsi is sort of famous because its the frat that JFK Jr. joined and also was featured prominently in the biography of JFK Jr. that his friend wrote about him. AEPi is the Jewish frat, though at Brown its not really that Jewish and in fact this year they had a "Muslim Bar-Mitzvah" for one of their Muslim members. Its probably one of the least Jewish AEPis you'll find, but then again there are some very observant members. SigmaChi has a lot of members of the crew team but also just people who are interested in the frat, DTau is the football frat, and thats not seven so I definately forgot some but you get the idea. They all have pretty good reputations and their own styles. The two co-eds are a little more crazy. One (I think) was the frat that John D. Rockefeller Jr was in, though it was all male back then. The other, Zete, is famous for their "Spagfest" party on spring weekend where they have a HUGE all you can eat spaghetti party with tons of wine and other drinks and its very hyped and very well attended. The sororities are way more low-key at Brown than at other schools. All the frats at Brown are actually pretty cool, very different from the frats I've encountered at other schools in that they WANT you to like them, not the other way around. They have to let everyone into their official parties, are extremely generous with drinks, and generally throw really great parties. They're also very involved with campus life. There was a dilemma about the date of Spring Weekend this year and the Greek Council was a major player in figuring out a solution. They also do a lot of community service, sponsor a lot of speakers and non-party events (like Super-Bowl watching get-togethers, video-game nights, other random nights), and are also sort of famous for many pranks they've pulled on campus throughout the years. There is a rumor that theres a secret network of tunnels connecting all the frat houses and the cafeteria, but I don't know if thats true or not. If you want community life but not frat life, you can always join a theme house, which also throw parties, sponsor different activities, etc. Basically like a frat without the frat guys. But really the only Greeks that people ever get annoyed with are the sports teams houses, and those are easy to ignore since they're off campus. Plus, people looking for a more "typical" frat atmosphere can find it there. At any given night there will probably be about four parties that you know about around Wriston, and 4 others that you'll hear about while you explore around, and thats just on the frat/program house quad. I've never had a problem getting into any of the frat parties. How was that?</p>
<p>Thats a great idea mommamia, just make sure to stress to her how different the environment will be when there are students around.</p>
<p>Hi well I have a question regarding the probability of me getting admitted to this great school.
I am an Intl student from India.The main point is that I need finaid. My stats are as follows:</p>
<p>GPA - 3.9/4 (school does not weight as every student takes the same difficulty)
SAT I - 2320
maths-800
verbal-750
writing-770
SAT II
Math II -800
Physics -800
Chemistry -780</p>
<p>school does not rank but top 2% (as told by counsellor)
Will get good recco's as I have good relationship with my teachers.</p>
<p>Awards
1st National Cyber Olympiad (state level)
8th i.e. silver merit National Cyber Olympiad (National level)</p>
<p>Participated in a National Computer Olympiad COFAS (70+teams) all four years of high school. (Have won programming in C++,a jingle competition and a Software competition here)</p>
<p>Participated in a National Computer Olympiad sponsored by microsoft in Delhi called MODEM.This too all four years of high school (won programming,Digital video editing and group discussion)</p>
<p>Techno computer whiz Kid 2002- till date (for four consecutive years winner of this award which checks knowledge related to computers)
Here,in my grade 9 I defeated all the students in high school (i.e. 10,11,12 graders)</p>
<p>Activities
Co-Founder (2002) and current president of the computer club of my school
Student Council: School captain (just 1 out of only 16 in whole high school of about 2500)
Debating Society: Panel Member
School Magazine Editorial Board
School Choir-Lead Singer (for 10 yrs,lead for 5yrs)
Participated in a grand musical Peter Pan in grade 11</p>
<p>Research projects
Devised a programme for graphing an exact speed of a moving motor on a computer screen using C++.</p>
<p>work experience
Store Technician at reliance web world (since Dec 2004)abt 6hrs a week.
Pro gamer and have started own league for training pro gamers while charging little fee from them.</p>
<p>Community Service
Tuitions for underpriviliged children during school holidays
In the summer did my school SUPW with mentally underpriviliged children.
Teach general usage of computers to underpriviliged children.</p>
<p>So can anyone tell me what would be my chances if I were RD. I would really appreciate it.</p>
<p>I have no clue about what your chances would be. It would probably be better to post this in another thread. I'd rather this not get cluttered up with people discussing chances based on someone's stats. Brown does give aid to internationals so you could still receive aid. Good luck.</p>
<p>Hey, I was wondering how the course registration process works, especially for classes where written permission is required. Do you find it hard to get into the classes you want to take?</p>
<p>Also, how easy/hard is it to find a job on campus? Will I be able to find one first semester? And do freshmen have the opportunity to do research in professors' labs?</p>
<p>BTW, this post has been extremely helpful - thanks a lot!</p>
<p>Also about jobs...we get the work study money as a grant for the first year, right? But can we have a job anyway if we want, or would we have to find one off campus?</p>
<p>Here's a question to current students: How do you deal with the administration and facilities at Brown? Maybe it's different during the school year, but its been incredibly difficult for me to get anything taken care of this summer (I'm a visiting undergrad). Everytime I call either Reslife, the Bursar's office, the Registrar, and Summer Studies, I'm continually referred to another office...not a single office knows the extent of what to do. I've been here for over three weeks and I still haven't sorted out my billing information because each office tells me a different amount. For example, Summer Studies processed my check but the Bursar's office is sending me bills for a couple thousand dollars b/ Summer Studies billed me for two classes instead of one...this is just one of the many issues. </p>
<p>Here's a funny aside...during one particular call (I was frustrated but trying to be pleasant) an administrator for Summer Studies put me on hold. Expect I wasn't REALLY on hold so I overheard the office conversation. Basically, the guy put me on hold and proceeded to talk with his co-worker about which cookie was the better tasting one, the one with strawberry filling or the one with chocolate filling.</p>
<p>I've been calling everyday for over a week and I finally got someone in financial accounts to help me. Obviously I'm frustrated and I apologize for using this post to vent but I just figured a big-name school like Brown would be more together with this sort of thing.</p>
<p>BTW: My room didn't have a chair and I had to hound 4 or 5 offices (over 4 days) to finally get one. A CHAIR! Each office directed me to another office, which redirected me back...</p>
<p>Crap, I was deathly afraid of red tape surrounding administrative offices. I was contemplating that when I applied because Brown is one of the bigger schools I applied to...crap. Quick, Moat! Dispel this myth!</p>
<p>To liquidpaper and others, I really didn't mean to discourage people from applying to Brown. Brown is an AMAZING school, really. I was just hoping to get some feedback about facilities, etc. from current students.</p>
<p>It really depends on who you talk to, how, and what the issue is. My experience has been that people make mistakes iin the administrative offices sometimes, yes. Two of the ones I encountered were mistaken tuition billing (for a scholarship payment that had not yet come through) and a transcript mistake. Yes, sometimes these issues take a little while to sort out because there are a lot of students who have concerns all the time and yes, you'd probably have more trouble during the summer because people go on vacation, offices tend to slow down, etc.
Generally, if you are patient with the people you're talking to (which I have no doubt that you were, but just saying in general), things sort themselves out. In fact, I think a lot of the thing that makes some of these issues slow to fix is that brown is a SMALLER school (in population) with the facilities, resources, and responsibilities of a large one--the really big state schools and such probably have better systems of cutting through red tape and such, but at a school like Brown, fewer staff members have their fingers in more corners and they also like to handle your concerns in a personal way, and so it takes a little longer, but your problems get handled, and often in a more pleasant way than they might have otherwise. I remember a time when a student group I was in was mistakenly charged an exorbitant amount of money to pay facilities management to clean up after an event we held. it was a crazy amount--like $500 or something, so clearly a mistake. It took a ton of communications back and forth with one of the women in the facilities office to sort it out, but in the end, she actually ended up removing our ACTUAL charge of about $50 as an apology and a measure of good will.
Moral: the administrative offices have a lot on their plates, and while there are some things that could run more efficiently (res life is one of these, as MoatToMoat discussed), it's just the nature of a large institution trying to handle so many things at once. I can't speak to whether Brown is better or worse about this stuff than other schools, but I can say that the people who handle these concerns are WAY more down to earth and willing to LISTEN to students in due time than in a lot of other schools I've encountered. If you have a problem, just relax and know that it will be handled in time.</p>
<p>Hahahahaha. Wow a lot of questions. I'll go through them all.</p>
<p>Course Registration Process:
Brown is the only Ivy League school besides Harvard to still not have online course registration. Some people prefer it because it makes it more personal and makes it way easier to bend the rules, others hate it because its less efficient. Either way I believe that in Spring '06 all course registration will be online, so that should take care of some of Liquid's worries. I know that some classes say written permission required but I've never heard of students actually needing it. I think its there so if a professor really wanted to limit the size of the class and there were WAY too many people he or she could just say, written permission required! But I have never heard of it being an issue. I know I've taken classes that say written permission required without bothering with it, but that may not always be the case. You can pretty much get into any class you want. I mentioned earlier about Brown, "There aren't a lot of rules, and the ones there are you can break." I think that sort of sums up everything essential about us, and it applies to this situation. Even if a course is capped at 20, if you keep showing up, the professor will eventually let you in. You could probably even just approach them the first day and get let it. This also applies to prereqs. One of my friends is an Environmental Science major but is not taking Intro to Environmental Science because she already knows all that stuff, she talked to her professors and worked it all out. So long as you can fit the class into your schedule, you can pretty much always get in. Unless its a class where you have to take an exam or a lottery to be admitted (very rare, a few writing courses).</p>
<p>Jobs: Yes work-study is replaced with grants for freshmen, but you can still find a job on or off campus. Its pretty easy to find jobs, there is a forum for it on the brown daily jolt I believe.</p>
<p>Research: I know many freshmen who are involved with research with their professors. Because Brown is so undergrad focused professors are always happy to help out their students and involve them in their research projects. With Brown's new 70 Ship St. lab (completed two years ago I believe) its even easier. I know several freshmen who did scientific research with their profs this year, some who did humanities work, and many who are doing summer research.</p>
<p>And the last issue, the Brown Bureaucracy. Well yes, Brown students do sometimes complain about all the bureaucratic stuff that one has to go through to get things done. However, Liquid, don't panic, because most people regard it as a blessing in disguise. Its partly because of this bureaucracy that its so easy to do whatever you want and break what rules you need to in order to get what you want at Brown. For instance, say you are majoring in IR, and you have a list of certain courses you have to chose from to fulfill a requirement. Then you see another course that you really want to take, thats not on the list but really would fit perfectly. There are so many people involved in concentrations and departments, and its so person to person and not just automatic and computer run, that you could go talk to your concentration advisor, or the advisor for that concentration, or professors, until you figured out a way to get that course to count for the requirement. This rule applies in a ton of other ways too. What I mentioned in the course registration process earlier, my friend who didnt take intro to environmental science and isntead skipped right to the hard stuff, would have been unable to do that had she not manipulated the bureaucracy. I was in a play that secretely got practice space in similiar ways. The list goes on. My high school was quite small, and it was easy to get shot down quickly by the person in charge. In a more complex place like Brown, where people are maybe less sure of authority, or more willing to let students bend the rules, you can get around things. Brown is really a place for self-motivated and determined and directed students. We've learned not to rely on authorities to take care of us and if things aren't working out right we take charge and do it ourselves dammit! My room was missing its trashcan when we arrived. We listed it on the room condition form and they didn't do anything about it, so my roomate went and took a trashcan out of the trashroom, and that was our trashcan for the rest of the year. It ended up being better because it was way bigger than the standard cans. Thats a stupid story but it illustrates a good point. Sure it can be annoying to have to deal with bureaucracy sometimes, but instead of getting in the way, it actually makes it EASIER to do what you want. So don't worry Liquid, you'll actually benefit from being able to break the rules to make your education more YOURS. Hope that helped.</p>
<p>Sweetsangria, I don't know what you mean about facilities, I've found them all to be very nice. In regards to bureaucratic stuff, I suggest a detached sense of humor. Very popular thing at Brown.</p>