Hi, I am a rising senior at a competitive public high school in the bay area who is interested in applying Early Decision to Brown hopefully next school year
Interested Major: Sociology/ Public Health
GPA: 3. 93 (UW)
ACT: 35
APs:
My school limits our APs and we cannot double up on sciences.
AP CALC AB, AP Chem, AP Lang and Comp
Next Year - AP Biology, AP Gov and Econ H, AP Stats
Honors Classes (my school does not have honors for most classes except math): Algebra 2 Trig Honors, Chem Honors, Pre-calc Honors, Spanish 4 Honors
Concurrent Enrollment Classes:
Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
Physics A and B
Extracurriculars:
Violin for 9 years - won 2 regional and state competitions
Concertmaster at California philharmonic youth orchestra Senior symphony - 3 years
Public Relations director for Paper Airplanes ( a club that raises awareness for the refugee crisis) - 2 years
Tutoring refugees through Paper Airplanes - 3 years
Started a nonprofit to introduce low-income BIPOC middle school students to STEM using a hands-on approach in the Bay Area (helps about 200 kids as of now). We also raise awareness about the racial achievement gap in the Bay Area and have started 2 clubs at local high schools (I am the president for the one at my school) to teach privileged teens about the education gap through our cultural competency course. The nonprofit has about 40 volunteers now.- 2 years
UCSF Lab intern - helps postdoc with Data Analysis and Project - 1 year
Stanford Lab Intern - project on mental health destigmitization in different demographics (will have published a paper on it by college Apps season) - 1 year
Bollywood Dance team member - 2 years
Studygram with some amount of following(lol)
What should I do in the summer before senior year other than continue my nonprofit and research to help my chances for Brown?
Hey! Iâm also in the class of 2026 and planning on applying to Brown(not ED tho lol).
I love your extracurriculars, and you are so accomplished. Good luck! As long as you build a cohesive narrative, I think you have a strong chance:)
You certainly look qualified, and besides brainstorming ideas for essays, I would enjoy your last summer in high school. At this point, any new involvement/awards would make a marginal difference at best (aside from a Nobel Prize) and I would focus on simply doing what you enjoy.
Parent to D at Brown here, I recommend working on essays and ensuring your LORs are top-notch. At that level, essays, ECs, and LORs are what make or break an application (which Iâm assuming you already know given what youâve mentioned above). I recommend getting the letters from core teachers who you are sure will speak very highly of you (beyond a template, admissions officers can see right through those). You clearly have incredible stats, but donât want to seem like you wore yourself out a few months before applications. Similarly, expanding your EC category and developing a strong personal statement (well ahead of time) is the best thing you can do right now. Youâre in very good shape right now but it is by no means time to slow down! I wish you the best of luck next year!
" * Public Relations director for Paper Airplanes ( a club that raises awareness for the refugee crisis) - 2 years
Tutoring refugees through Paper Airplanes - 3 years"
Obviously a minor point, but as an interviewer who has read a lot of Brown applicant resumes, put quotes around Paper Airplanes: âPaper Airplanesâ. They keep my brain from going in the wrong direction as I read that and then having to backtrack. Thatâs especially useful in an interviewing context, where Iâm usually having to multitask â skimming the resume while the applicant is talking.
Beyond the above low-hanging fruit, order you ECâs (IMO) based more on relevance to your intended area of study rather than years spent. An AO might reasonably see âPaper Airplanesâ and the internships as relevant to and demonstrating an interest in Soc/PH. Violin, not so much. I see one resume after another with âLevel 10 violinâ listed, and donât give it much thought except in rare instances where it relates to the academic plan.
â(my school does not have honors for most classes except math)â Normally there will be in your Brown application file something from your HS guidance counselor stating whether you took the hardest level of courses available at your HS. That way Brown can account for differences in opportunity between say a rural HS and a big-city magnet school. In either case, of course, they want to see evidence of the applicant making the most of what was available⊠same as they would presumably do if at Brown.
As for your stats relative to applying ED, no reason not to if you are certain thatâs where you want to go. Keep in mind that a lot of ED apps are deferred to RD â most of them, in fact, at least until recently. That said, almost everyone with good stats like yours, including many whose are stronger, are not admitted. Just how life goes in the single-digit admit rate world. I say this (to you or to pretty much anyone) because being realistic about it maybe mutes the disappointment a bit? But hey, theyâve got to let somebody in or the place shuts down, and all of the hard work youâve been doing at least gives you a shot.
Oh okay.
but i also find it weird that Brown has not been sending me the usual promotional emails (not related to admission results) that colleges usually send out to mailing listsâŠ
Lots of kids get into Brown having never received any marketing material just as many kids get rejected by U Chicago having gotten near daily encouragement to applyđ
It is indicative of nothing. Donât let your nerves get to you!!
Agree here. I donât think my son got any Brown material. He just went to a virtual session prior to applying.
You shouldâve gotten an email confirming they got your app and that they will need info like mid year report, and I believe the first email giving you access to a portal shouldâve also had a link for you to upload the optional 2-min video portfolio.
I actually donât even remember that! I just knew we had to pay and got approval from my son to access the bursar office . Iâll look for semester 2âs email, though!!
S19 was accepted to Brown ED1 three years ago. D22 (class of 2026) applied ED1 this year.
With 3 years of Brown exposure as parent of a student and two applicants, I can tell you that Brown is almost always quiet to a fault. Communication is very ârelaxedâ. Donât expect to hear anything between application and decision.
âThe only âofficialâ communication we have consistently received is when tuition is dueâ.
A form of that will continue in perpetuity, at least for your kid and starting toward the end of their senior year. When Brown rejiggers one of its (alumni) web pages, it seems like something often goes wrong⊠except that the GIVE NOW button always works : )
. Iâll look for semester 2âs email, though!!