Chance me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

I’ve held back from these for so long, but finally figured it was worth another one’s opinion on my chances.

SAT I (breakdown): Math: 740, Critical Reading: 720, Essay: 22/24
ACT (breakdown): 33 (34 reading, 31 english, 36 science, 31 mathematics)
SAT II: 700 math 2, 690 Bio M (not good, I know)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Weighted GPA: 4.288
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 4%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus AB: 5, Bio: 4, US Gov:3… Planning on taking: Psych, US History, German, Literature… School only offers six AP’s
IB (place score in parenthesis): not offered at my school
Senior Year Course Load: Jazz, AP Lit, AP Psych, APUSH, German 5, Anatomy/Physiology, Debate/Forensics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, Received a “Sprach-Diplom” by passing the Deutsches Sprachdiplom Stufe (allows the study at any German Fachhochschule for free)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Boy Scouts of America (Eagle Scout) Jobs included Chaplain’s Aide and Troop Guide

-Research Assistant (11,12)
Research Assistant for an undergrad at Columbia.
~20 hours a week spent on the project
Assessing the policymaking aspect and influence of the meat industry

-Canvassing Director
Directed canvassing for a 2016 campaign for my state’s House of Representatives
Major role in assisting with campaigning.

-Model UN (9,11,12)–School did not offer it my sophomore year
Outstanding delegate in council (9,11)
Runner-up in overall conference (11)
President of Political Council (12)

  • Debate/Forensics Captain of Debate and Forensics Team 2-Time member of the 3rd Place Kansas 4-Speaker team Two-time national tournament qualifier
  • Varsity Cross Country (9-12) Varsity all four years Captain (11-12)
  • Various Honor Societies National Honor Society (11, 12-Secretary of service), German National Honors Society (9-12), NHSHSS

-Various Club Officer Roles
Founded the KEY Club at my school, President
Health Occupational Students of America (9-12), President
German Club (9) Rep
Student Council (9,10,12)

  • HOSA Two-Time state champion in biomedical debate Two-Time state runner-up in researched persuasive speaking

-Boys State
Senate minority WHIP
First-Runner-Up for Boys’ Nation

Job/Work Experience: Canvassing director, local store
Volunteer/Community service: Habitat for humanity, Various Boy Scout projects, Chief juror for a local court program that allows minors to get felonies off their record.

Rate out of 10
Essays: Common App: 9/10- Well-written about challenges encountered, along with tying in parts of application that aren’t highlighted in other sections
Supplement: 9/10- very very solid and well-written… Extremely specific to the school
Teacher Recommendation:
APUS Gov Teacher- 10/10 very specific about my character and my accomplishments
AP Bio- 9/10 Well written, lots of praise, and specific.
Counselor Rec: 9/10- Great. Had a fantastic relationship with him throughout high school.
Additional Rec: German Teacher 8/10, English Teacher 8/10
Interview: Went great. Casual conversation that highlighted my interest in Brown
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Cognitive Neuroscience, International Relations, German?
State (if domestic applicant): KS
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Right at $100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

2

@theoriginalbrown : Trying to get in Brown via RD is similar to playing the lottery game with sub-7% admit rate. Your file looks like an average excellent candidate’s file. IMHO, the strongest part of your file is “Received a “Sprach-Diplom” by passing the Deutsches Sprachdiplom Stufe (allows the study at any German Fachhochschule for free)” and you are from KS. You are “top 4%” of your class. It is important to look at the past record of the average number of students from your school who got into comparable colleges at this level in the past few years. That can give you a context to your file. Best wishes.

3

I forgot to add this (@TheOldTimer), but I was deferred by Brown ED. I don’t know if that helps at all that I applied ED

4

@TheOldTimer : I forgot to mention that I was deferred ED for Brown. I don’t know if that shuffles my chances at all.

5

@theoriginalbrown : Deferred ED is not a problem. Plenty of deferred candidates got admitted in RD. How is your school’s past record of getting students admitted into elite schools?

6

@theoriginalbrown : Only two students from Kansas are in class of 2020 ??? (click First-Year Class Geographic Profile tab)

https://www.brown.edu/about/administration/institutional-research/factbook/undergraduate-admission-and-financial-aid :-/ :-/

7

@TheOldTimer : the problem is, many students at my school do not apply to elite schools. We have had a girl get into UChicago through questbridge match this year, and have had students get into Columbia/MIT in the past. Usually only 1-3 students apply to these schools a year though.

8

@TheOldTimer : Also, I wonder how many students APPLIED to Kansas from that year. Because if 50+ applied, and only 2 got in, I don’t see my geographic residence having much of an advantage.

9

Sorry to nitpick, but how did you only score a 3 on AP US Government with all of your related activities & apparent interests ?

10

@Publisher : a question I often ask myself. Our school only spends a semester on it, and the class named “AP Government” really only covers about half of the material the college board requires. I figured this out two weeks before the test when I bought a prep book. Lame excuse, I know, and certainly doesn’t help my chances.

11

@theoriginalbrown : The 5 students from Kansas who got into Brown in 2014 are going to graduate this year. Only 5 from 2015 and 2 from 2016. Last year at least a few matriculated. I suspect AOs would particularly welcome candidates from KS this year to make up those 5 spots from 2014. Keep your finger crossed. People from both coasts usually need a lot of APs, all with 5/4, in order to get into Brown. But from KS, you are probably OK.

12

@TheOldTimer : That’s what I assumed, however the 3 is still most likely a weak point. Also, as stated above, my school offers only 6 APs total. I’m even taking one or two my school doesn’t offer this summer, so hopefully they take that into consideration.

13

You have as good a shot as anybody - - better than most. Brown will be lucky to get you. As with all of these highly competitive colleges, there are more qualified applicants than there are places in the freshman class, so work on that safety. Best of luck to you!

14

@glido : Thank you so much!

15

@TheOldTimer hm…i assumed that APs were only important in terms of awarding credit and nothing else…

16

@nrtlax33 : I got in! Just wanted you to know in case you do further analysis for other threads down the road.

17

@theoriginalbrown : A BIGGGG CONGRUTULATION! I was hoping you could get in and I was felling sorry that I did not see you on the Ivy night. You have a hidden spike (German). I have found that a lot of Brown’s admits have a hidden spike which adds to the talents on campus. Also I believe this year applicants from KS have an advantage. Thanks so much for letting us know. I am so happy for you.

18

This information has been posted before. For completeness of this tread, the question asked on #7 – "how many students apply to Brown from Kansas can be answered by reading http://www.browndailyherald.com/2017/03/21/class-2021-applicant-profile/

90 from Kansas for the class of 2021. I have suggested that this kind of information might induce lawsuits. It looks like someone notices the risk. No information for this year.