<p>First of all, Congratulations! You’ve got into one of the best universities in the world.
Okay, Brown is on my list of dream universities, especially because I heard that it is extremely liberal.
When you applied, did any of you have something that was really special?
I’ve been hearing that the most important thing is something that would “wow” the admissions office along with good marks. I agree that good marks are sometimes not enough to get into top universities… but what can i do to wow the office?
What was special about you when you applied?</p>
<p>I didn’t have a hook when I applied to Brown, but I think I did play up my quirkiness. I wrote an essay about reading under tables and I think my teacher recs reinforced it. I think that teacher recs are reallly important, especially for Brown, because the school looks at you holistically and what better way to do that than through recs? It’s true that all teacher recs put the student in a favorable light, but when they add specific instances of what you did that was so special, it gives you a +1. </p>
<p>Lulz, with that being said, I could have been picked through a random draw from a hat. Admissions are such crapshoots</p>
<p>I think that the personal, revealing essays are very important. Try to think about what defines you and your high school career. Try to make an essay that reveals your character and passions, so that when the adcom reads it, he can feel the personality in the essay and remembers you!</p>
<p>FWIW, my Brown-specific essays were somewhat irreverent and humorous, but I used the same Common App essay at all of my schools (did not tailor it). My stats (SAT, SATII, GPA, EC mix) were pretty much in the sweet spot for what Brown looks for, and I had no tip or hook like legacy, URM, 7-fingered oboe player, etc.</p>
<p>If I had to guess, I’d say Brown really reads their essays closely to get a sense of who you are. And I was lucky that whatever off-kilter approach I took in my essays ended up aligning with the mood or wit of the poor adcomm reader who got my packet as an assignment. It could have just as easily exploded in my face like a backed-up commode. But I guess I got lucky in that regard.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I agree with Shnazzy’s evaluation of the impact teacher recs have.
My recs were from two of my senior year teachers who liked me and thought I was smart, but obviously didn’t know very much about me as I had known them for two months when they wrote my recs. I would assume the recs ended up being rather mediocre and lacked significant personal insight, and yet I got in.<br>
That being said, definitely try to cultivate a few junior year teachers who will be able to write you glowing recs come application season, is will certainly be an advantage over people who find themselves in situations such in which I found myself.
My essays really brought together my impressive but not spectacular extra curricular activites and created a cohesive story about what my interests were and why Brown was a perfect fit–I think my ability to create a niche for myself was my major selling point. So I would agree more with BrownOrBust’s statement that essays are critical in your application.
Of course none of this changes the fact that applications are still a complete crapshoot and even if you put together a perfect application you only have a 50/50 shot at acceptance. Best of luck, though.</p>
<p>I had a definite hook.</p>
<p>Shady, share it with us :P</p>
<p>I am a junior in canada who wants to get into the top universities.
As I said, i have “extraordinary” experiences 
I’ll just list some of them… (it’s not in a chronological order)</p>
<p><em>-Immigration</em>: I have immigrated to Canada from Korean about 2years ago. We were poor so I never thought of comming to Canada but my dad is a skilled-worker (carpenter), so we were able to move here.
<em>-Cave Life</em>: In Korea, my parents and I lived in a mountain cave for 2months. There was no electricity, toilet, kitchen, heat, etc. We were pretty much isolated from the world for a couple of month.
<em>-Special Need School</em>: okay, it’s not a special need school that you think. It was more like a school with students who wanted to homeschool. You know how competitive the schools in asian countries are. I was one of the top students but I felt like I was wasting my time in school so i decided to go to this “special school”. But… after I went to this school for a while, I realized how unorganized and not prepared the school was. So I went back to regular school.
<em>-Going into a Buddhist temple to become a monk</em>: This sounds weird, doesn’t it? yes… but i was only in grade 4 or something. I am really “spiritual” and have always been searching for truth. So I went into a Buddhist temple to learn more about the spiritual things and achieve nirvana But soon, people around me, even the other monks in the temple, started to advice me to go back to school. I thought for quite a while and concluded that going back to school was necessary.
<em>-Moving/Transferring A LOT</em>: I have been moving around the country for like thousand times… actually like 20 times… (in korea). As a result, I’ve transferred many many times. The reason? I’ll just say that my dad is a person who does everything he wants (in a good way) and who is very passionate 
Yes, so the school that I go to right now is my 10th school.</p>
<p>And here’s some general information about me.</p>
<p>STATS:
Asian Female from Canada
Public School with 1500+ kids
GPA: 90% so far (hope to get 93+)
<em>My school only has bio, physcis, chem AP so everything i take is regular</em>
Rank: my school doesn’t rank but probably top 10%
SAT: writing on May 2nd (expected to get 2200+)</p>
<p>EXTRA CURRICULARS:
please note that I have transferred numerous times so I couldn’t keep my volunteer position and school clubs for many years.</p>
<p>Yoga club (we invite yoga teacher and pay her-1hour and half every week)
Social Amnesty club
School Leadership
Global Cultures club
Model UN
Destination Conservation
<em>Most of the clubs except for one or two don’t really have any leader position</em></p>
<p>Volunteered as assistance teacher at Korean Language School
volunteering at Local Food kitchen
Volunteering at World of Science (local science centre for kids)
Volunteering at Calgary Public Library
(Total of 250+ and i will do more volunteering)</p>
<p>Raised $700+ on Save Darfur campaign.
Raised $300+ on Water for the World campaign.</p>
<p>High commitment in Drama/Theatre
(I am directing a show-classical comedy- and involved in play that will be performed in public. and I have taken 4 drama courses at 4 different schools)
Volunteering at 2 Local Theatres</p>
<p>OTHER:
-Teacher Recommendation: very good
-Essay: i’m pretty confident. Essay will really help me get in.
-I am not a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant or an international studnet.
it’s kinda hard to explain but we’re asking for permanent residence card and hopefully we’ll get it soon.
-I’m a bilingual (English+Korean). and i hope to be trilingual soon (learning spanish)
-I’ve been in Canada for about a couple of years only so i have korean education experience</p>
<p>Oh, I just didn’t say it because I figured people were sick of hearing it–I have two books published, one with a small press and one with Simon and Schuster coming out this summer.</p>
<p>wow you are amazing! i was thinking of publishing a book as well… about my 16-year life, haha.</p>
<p>haha Shady Lane, I think I know who you are from the facebook group :)</p>
<p>And no, I had no hook and was sure I would be rejected because of my boringness. Surprisingly, I was not. But I’m not sure I’m going to go because I feel extremely out of place among all these amazing people!</p>
<p>I’m Hannah Moskowitz ;)</p>
<p>Yep, thought so, lol</p>
<p>I don’t think I really had a hook, but my application was definitely geared toward my interest in Classics, something not so common. My essay was about how I became interested in classics and also highlighted my senior research project, which tested the various effects of taking classical languages in middle school. As a senior, I am enrolled in both AP Latin classes and exams and also last summer I studied a semester’s worth of Greek at Brown itself.</p>
<p>Beyond this, I was able to show that I really enjoy science as well and that I am considering a profession in medicine. The other course I took at Brown was Human Physiology and this past fall I took pre-med Organic Chem in the afternoon at the University of Delaware.</p>
<p>My advice to you would be to bolster your application with your interests. Stand apart from others applying who would be interested in concentrating in the same area as you. Find unique opportunities that interest you, challenge yourself, and try things that other high school students wouldn’t normally be involved in. Being a “wow” applicant or being “different” is not as hard as it may seem, it just requires a little bit of effort and a ton of work and commitment.</p>
<p>Gamedude, thank you for sharing your story and giving me advice.
For me, I’m really interested in “spiritual” things including all the religion and wisdom. Also I’m really into social, world, politics, etc, which explains why i’m involved in clubs such as social amnesty, destination conservation, model UN, global cultures… I’ll try my best to not only show my interests and passtion to the universities but also actually enjoy the activities I do. Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m not sure which I want to send in, my essay about my passion (cycling and urban transit) or an extenuating circumstance about my father and how it affected me. </p>
<p>The way I have it written (I’ve been working on it for ages) really shows my personality, but I’d really like to show both sides, the good and the bad. Which would be the wiser choice?</p>
<p>i’m not completely sure what i want to write my essay on. could i possibly read some of yours. i’m not sure how to incorporate myself into the essay. everything i think of it too generic or not personal enough.</p>
<p>Does Brown accept peer recs?</p>
<p>thunder: Go to the library or a bookstore and look at the books about admissions essays. One of the most well-respected was written by Harry Bauld. </p>
<p>iwanna: Not that I’m aware of.</p>