Chance me for Brown ED?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

Hey y’all!

I know that college admissions are very tricky to navigate and that it’s close to impossible to give an absolute answer. But, I figured that I’d give it a shot lol

To start off, I am an Indian female who goes to a very big, competitive public school in CA. I’m currently a second-semester high school junior. I’m trilingual (English, Spanish, and Hindi), and I’m planning to concentrate in Cognitive Neuroscience/Cognitive Science/Neuroscience (Pre-Med).

Stats:
SAT Reasoning: 2400 Superscored (2320 highest sitting, but since Brown Superscores, they’ll be taking the 2400)
Math II: 750 (retaking)
Chem: 730
USH: not released yet
Bio E: not released yet
Weighted GPA: 4.47
UW GPA: 3.94
At the end of senior year, I would have taken 9 APs from sophomore to senior year.
My school doesn’t rank (so, no, we don’t have valedictorians either), but I’d most likely be in the top 9-10% of my class.

EC/Leadership/Volunteering/Awards:
-Piano: 12 years. I’m an Advanced Level 8 (yes, there are 8 levels) student affiliated with the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music.
-Fundraising: I give piano lessons to kids in my community and send that money to a blind school in India (my picture is on their website too!).
-Choir: 9th - 11th grade.
-I’m an officer for the Pledge to Humanity club at my school.
-Speech and Debate Club: I’m the Prepared Speech Captain of the school team (so yes, I am a club officer). I’m also directing this year’s Speech and Debate Senior Showcase. Here’s a list of awards~
GGSA IE 1 2014-2015: 2nd place, Varsity Original Oratory
GGSA IE 2 2014-2015: 2nd place, Varsity Original Oratory
GGSA State Qualifier 2015, Original Oratory
GGSA IE 1 2013-2014: 4th place, Varsity Original Oratory
GGSA IE 2 2013-2014: 6th place, Varsity Original Oratory
GGSA IE 3: 2013-2014: 5th place, Varsity Original Oratory
GGSA State Alternate 2014, Original Oratory
GGSA IE 1 2012-2013: 7th place, Novice Original Oratory
*Of course, this will be condensed in some way on my Common App.
-Writing: I’ve had my poems published in anthologies such as Creative Communications.
-2nd place at the CCCSEF Science Fair under the Math/CompSci division
-Volunteering: Member of CSF. 300+ volunteer hours
-Summer Internship: This summer, I will be working under a Harvard professor in his lab working on research about stem cells and Alzheimer’s. I’m the only high school student there; the rest are undergrad.
-Summer Courses: The summer after sophomore year, I completed a Cognitive Neuroscience course at UC Berkeley through ATDP.
-Sophomore year, my Spanish teacher awarded me the Student of the Year award (read: kissup)
-Created and actively maintaining a music/feminist blog

Courses:

Freshman Year-
English 9
Biology
Algebra 2
Spanish 2
World Geography/Health (both semester-long)
Women’s Ensemble Chorus
PE 9

Sophomore Year-
AP Euro (4)
Honors Chemistry
Honors Pre-Calculus
Spanish 3
English 10
Treble Chorus (advanced women’s choir)
Yoga (yep, this exists)

Junior Year-
AP US History
AP Lit
AP Calculus AB (took the BC test though)
AP Biology
Honors Spanish IV
Oral Interpretation
Concert Choir (highest choir, advanced mixed chorus)

Senior Year:
AP Lang
AP Stats
AP US Government/Politics
AP Macroeconomics/Microeconomics
Honors Physics
AVID Tutor (I’m a peer tutor)
Advanced Speech and Debate

Thanks <3

2

I don’t do chances. But I don’t understand at all why you feel the need to retake the Math II SAT. That would be a waste of time and money. Do you think getting a higher score will be the key to acceptance? That’s not gonna happen. Admissions officers won’t look beyond your 2400.

3

@fireandrain Knowing Brown’s holistic admissions, I understand that an 800 on the Math II won’t make or break my admission into Brown because after all, numbers aren’t everything. I’m only retaking the Math II because I feel like I can do better. Had I felt like I had done my best the first time I took it, I would have been satisfied with the 750.

4

You’re good. Just remember, quality of EC’s over quantity. No admissions officer wants a laundry list.

5

Thanks! Of course I’m going to condense my ECs down because the Common App restricts you to a few.

6

I repeat, a total waste of time and effort. Do you really have nothing better to do than take a test?

7

I see your point. I’ll rethink my decision. Thanks.

8

After just coming from a meeting with my Ds college guidance counselor, I’ll say a few things that I see in your current portfolio that was told to us: 1) you are Indian–that’s not good (we are Asians also, so my D is in the same boat); 2) if you have to retake anything, it might be your Chem Subject test, not the Math 2 test, although I would also think twice about this; 3) your ECs, although many are not quite “original”. Having said that, it is good that a couple of them are at least “deep” such as your Speech and Debate, you should focus on this in your application; 4) compared to your Junior year curriculum, your Senior year curriculum appears a little “light”. Although 4 are APs, 3 of them are considered not too difficult (in general).

My suggestions: If you can take Multivariable Calc (or Calc 3) instead of AP Stats, that would be better; you have 2 social sciences, both are known to be “easy”, if you can substitute one to AP Spanish 5, that might show more commitment and might complement your “best in Spanish Award”. Finally, show a different (unique) side of you in the essays (anything to make you look more interesting). Make your essays really nice. Good luck!

9

@ohiopop Thank you! I’m actually trying to see if my Bio E score can compensate for my Chem score as a “science” SAT II, if you know what I mean. At my school, AP Econ is considered the harder of the two social science APs. The issue is that at my school, AP Econ and AP Gov are both year-long and Reg Econ/Gov are semester-long, so I can’t switch out AP Gov with AP Spanish since Regular Gov still takes up a spot in my schedule. (And Gov/Econ are mandatory.) That being said, I was planning on taking an AP Spanish course online and/or taking the AP test through self-study. Multivariable actually sounds like a much better option compared to AP Stats, in my opinion. Thanks once again, and good luck with your daughter as well!

10

OP, you look very strong to me but with the very selective schools (especially an Ivy) you just never know. I am curious though- what does the rest of your list look like? What are your matches, safeties? Do you know for certainty that applying ED to Brown would give you an edge? IDK, that’s

11

… why I’m asking. (for some reason didn’t post the entire sentence)

12

I wouldn’t be so specific if I were you. By knowing you compete in GGSA, I can easily go and look up the schematics of the tournaments you went to, match the record you put here with those online, and then find your name.

Which, in the course of 57 seconds, I just did. I won’t post it here, but your initials are SJ.

Also, Brown is subjective when it comes to admissions. Your essay has to show WHY the open curriculum is for you. Having extremely high SAT scores and GPAs won’t be enough, but being able to link your academic interests with your career interests will, on the other hand, make you a very likable candidate.

Good luck.

13

Right now, for my matches, I’m looking at Vassar, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Scripps, Tufts, Oxford/Emory, USC, UCSD (it’s kind of the odd one out of the list, but it’s mainly because it’s a phenomenal place for medicine). My safety schools are Brandeis and U of Miami. I was actually debating between my three reach schools (University of Pennsylvania, Brown, and Georgetown) for ED, but I’m leaning a little more towards Brown because of its liberal atmosphere and learning curriculum.

14

Oh dear. Cagedbird – you need to rethink this.

Vassar, Haverford, USC (the one in California I assume) and Tufts ARE NOT matches. They are reaches. Brandeis IS NOT a safety. It is a match.

Vassar has a 22.5% admit rate; Haverford 25%; Tufts 16%; Scripps is 27%; USC (Cal) 17.5%. These schools are not matches when they have such low admit rates.

Brandeis, Bryn Mawr and Emory/Oxford have acceptance rates in the mid to high 30s, so it might be fair to say they are matches, but if you are not a risk taker, rethink this position. UMiami is 40%. UCSD is 33%.

What I’m not seeing is any slam dunk. You need to apply to at least one school where you are guaranteed admission – which means an acceptance rate north of 80 percent, possibly even higher than that, or where the acceptance is not done holistically so you really know that your grades and scores will guarantee you admission. Your other option is to apply to one or two schools early action – so that if you get in, then you can relax and know you are going to college. University of Miami has early action – apply there EA.

There are kids on CC every year who lament that they got in nowhere, or they were only accepted to their safety school. Some of these kids have great stats. Some of them were shocked they didn’t get into their matches – remember that a match school is NOT a safety, so there is a 50% chance you might not get in. I’m urging you to rethink this list, because I don’t want you to be one of those students come April.

15

@thenextcolbert I don’t really care if you know who I am; thanks for keeping it anonymous for everyone else. That’s what I’m aiming to do in my essay, since Brown is holistic in its college admissions and I want colleges to see beyond my academic record.

@fireandrain Thank you so much for your advice! I’m a risk taker by nature, but I shouldn’t let that get to my head. This actually isn’t supposed to be a final list, so I’m going to do some more research and revise my college list a lot further.

16

Being slightly contrarian, I actually like your debate v. science duality and think you have some good stories to tell- you just haven’t refined and focused that story yet (which is entirely fair- that’s what this summer is for ;-)).

IMO, every “pre-med” student should be looking at what they want from the UG experience, not just “I want to go to med school”. Same as you did other things in HS that were not just about getting into college (right?). Do you want to be the all-science all the time pre-med student? do you want to be the ‘major in a different subject but get all the pre-reqs done’ pre-med student? do you want to be in a college that is known for it’s tough ‘pre-med’ process (weed-out courses)?

I agree with ohiopop on your senior year courses- it looks light, esp compared to junior year, and at least 2 of the colleges on your list specifically say that they look at the rigor of your senior year course load. Also, note that your self-study plan won’t carry much weight admissions-wise.

17

@cagedbird I had the same reaction that @fireandrain did to your reach/match/safety classifications. What you have to understand is that while you are a great candidate, you are not unique in this position.

More importantly, something like 30-50% of accepted applicants represent a demographic that top schools are eagerly recruiting (athlete, socio-economic/ethnic diversity, first gen students). Unless you meet such a need for selective schools, your chance could even be lower than the aggregate acceptance rate (in your case I would say slightly higher, but still nowhere near a sure thing).

My advice would be to focus your selection efforts more on your safeties/low matches than your matches and reaches.

As for ED, pay close attention to the ED stats- Penn accepts 50% of their freshman class ED, Brown is much lower (I forget % of incoming class, but accept rate is around 18% and they defer ~70% ). If you would be happy going to Penn, I would recommend doing ED.

Also, my opinion is that a 2400 is not much different than a 2250+. Consider the fact that Brown rejects 80+% of applicants with 2400s:

http://www.brown.edu/admission/undergraduate/explore/admission-facts

I actually do not think that EA is really that important- what I’ve found is that if you are stuck with your safety/match schools that you got in to in December, it is a little more disappointing. Chances are you’ll get in to your safeties in the RD round and in some cases, merit aid is a little easier to come by because the RD round is less competitive. (Northeastern)

Again, you are a great candidate, but the game has changed dramatically in the last 10 years due to the common app and increase in financial aid for needy students at top schools and there are very few sure things any more.

Good luck!

18

Hello - I’m the mom of an Indian female who will be attending Brown in the fall. She applied regular and was fortunate enough to be accepted to many great schools including Brown and Penn.

A word of advise – focus on your essays – your personality and passion must shine through! Your SAT is higher than my daughter’s ACT equivalent. Your SAT subject scores are in the same ballpark. I am sure your grades are fine if you are taking the most rigorous schedule offered at your school.

Your admittance will turn on your essays, the depth and passion of your ECs and your recommendations. Don’t worry about your scores at this level.