Hey everyone! sorry if i get this wrong this is my first post. I am a junior in high school and im stating to put a college list together and realized that Brown is everything that I want out of a school. What are my chances? im aware that my gpa isnt the best but i’m hoping to make up for it in other areas. If not Brown, what other schools would my stats take me?
GPA: 3.5
ACT: 34
SAT II: (i havent taken them yet but will update when i do)
ECs: ASL club founder and president, 200+ volunteer hours at a hospital, i put together a major fundraiser at my school that raised $1000+, stage manager for my school musicals for the past 3 yrs, MUN best delegation winner 2yrs in a row
Hooks: I am a Sudanese/egyptian immigrant
I forgot to add that im on a leadership council at my school.
What do you want to study?
All Ivies are reaches, even with perfect stats. Brown is harder to get in as female. I think your race would be considered “white mix” and not URM, unless you were part southern Sudanese and very dark.
To round out your list, tell us what about Brown makes it feel like “everything you want”. There are so many amazing schools…
I visited there last month and i honestly fell in love with everything. its the size that im looking for, its on the east coast and north (which is what im looking for), the campus “vibe” i guess fits perfectly with me. id say im very liberal and the atmosphere there is liberal as well. the students there don’t seem extremely stuck up, they are really accepting. and ofc its reputation is a bonus but its not what im looking for the most. And im not quite sure what I want to study and I know that brown is also perfect for me in that respect because it’ll allow me to basically try everything.
I am dark skinned but im north sudanese not southern sudanese.
and itsatruth im certain that there are many other amazing schools and i will definitely keep my eyes open for those, but when I visited Brown I felt like it’s where I am meant to be.
If you look black/African American, then you should probably call yourself that. American racial categories are very arbitrary, but I think being black would be your biggest hook. Another reach school to consider might be Duke, if you don’t know yet what you’ll be studying.
That’s great, just keep in mind that 35,000 people feel the same way.
I would take a look at a Vassar. Poughkeepsie is a far lesser city than Providence, but you are an easy hour to NYC. The vibe of the two schools is very similar as are the flexibility of the curriculums. A little bit smaller than your ask but fosters a great sense of community and tradition.
Sorry but I don’t chance people. Given Brown’s 7% acceptance rate I think it impossible to accurately predict.
I am very familiar with both schools and you can’t wrong with either or a multitude of others. Try not to get caught up with just one school although I share your enthusiasm for Brown. FYI @Itsatruth this year Brown received 38,640 applicants so your advice is sound.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments! I will take a look at Vassar and Duke
I’d recommend that instead of focusing on Brown as your dream school that you work to create a solid college list that includes reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (find out your parents’ budget and run the net price calculator for each school) and that you would be excited to attend. The people I see who get hurt by the college admission process are the ones who focus on one or two hyper-competitive schools and then don’t get in. Cast a wide net and recognize that (assuming no major hook) Brown is a reach for pretty much everyone. Expand your horizons and recognize that there are many wonderful and liberal minded schools out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life.
A couple of ideas offhand might be to look at Skidmore, Reed,and Goucher (a safety but you might get a lot of merit aid). If you are female look at some of the womens colleges out there (ex. Mt. Holyoke, Smith etc.) But IMO what you should do is get your hands on a good college guide book (ex. Fiske, Princeton Review) and start reading up on the many different colleges out there.
“I would take a look at a Vassar”- I would reiterate Nocreativity1’s earlier post. I am familiar w both institutions as my oldest daughter graduated from Vassar last spring and my youngest is a sophomore at Brown. I would agree that both schools have a very similar vibe with Vassar having a more “intimate” feel because of its size. If you have a strong interest in music and the performing arts, specifically classical music, I would recommend Vassar. My youngest has difficulty finding pianos and rooms to practice in at Brown while each Vassar dorm has a Steinway. If you are interested in engineering consider Brown