<p>as someone who lives and goes to school in providence, i have seen dozens of kids apply to brown every year and have realized that these people who think they’re giving an accurate “chance” at admission don’t know their asses from their elbows. not to mention most of them don’t even attend brown, which makes their predictions rather dubious.</p>
<p>you cannot “chance” someone at a school like brown, and basing someone’s prospects solely on academic merit is arbitrary at best. there will be tens of thousands of applicants more qualified than you academically that will get REJECTED from brown simply because they aren’t a “good fit.”</p>
<p>in fact at my school in particular, in two of the four years that i have been there brown has passed up people in the top ten students for people who were ranked in the 20’s. my sophomore year they flat out rejected the salutatorian for someone who was in the late teens. brown could easily create a new freshman classed filled with valedictorians and people with perfect SATs. fortunately for us, they don’t. </p>
<p>if ab2013 gave you any helpful advice it would be to find something you are passionate about, and convey that in your application to the best of your ability. don’t worry about having to be member of everything and the president of everything else. brown likes to see dedication and commitment, because not only is it indicative of how you will perform in college but it helps them paint a picture of what YOU can offer to the brown community.</p>
<p>and for the record, 4 ap classes can be “enough” if that’s all your school offers. mine only offers 4, and brown usually accepts 3-4 of our students a year.</p>
<p>and you only have to take two sat IIs to apply. they’re used more as placement exams than anything else, but they also help show your expertise in a subject that you enjoy/are passionate about.</p>
<p>/rant</p>