<p>I study CogSci here, and it’s fantastic. If you want the intersection of CogSci and Linguistics, you’re probably talking about Psycholinguistics or Neurolinguistics. Psycholinguistics is more or less how the brain thinks about language, whereas neurolinguistics deals with the underlying neural substrates.</p>
<p>The two overlap in the obvious ways described above, but you can also do CogSci-Theoretical Linguistics. There are fields such as decision-making and brain damage that can combine the two as well. Don’t bother doubling in ling and cogsci; CogSci already makes you focus in a specific area, which could be any of the ones mentioned above.</p>
<p>The DUG is fun! The CogSci DUG kind of died, but I’m going to try to restart it next year. In the mean time, there’s the wonderful lɪŋgwɪstɪks DUG, which you should definitely check out. We have a few events each year, and it’s a good way to get to know other concentrators (if you don’t know them already–the department isn’t exactly massive).</p>
<p>Uroogla, from what little I know, I get that too. Which is why I’m not 100% sure if I really wanna go into it as a career. But you know, change from the inside and all that. I feel like there must be a way to do computation non-statistically, hence the interest in cogsci.</p>
<p>thefunnything, thanks for the advice! Psycholing is SO not for me. It’s a bunch of angry linguists coming up with models and trying to prove that theirs is the best of all the models (but then again, that’s science).</p>
<p>I read somewhere that the neuro concentration has nothing to do with linguistics, but are there specific classes one might want to take to get some insight into neuroling? Oh how exciting.</p>
<p>Not sure about the neuro, but the CogSci department has several. There are a number of (typically intro-level) courses that cover the neural substrates of language. Also consider Language and the Brain.</p>
<p>@Dudboi: I think your exposure to psycholinguistics might be a bit unfortunate; it can be a very satisfying discipline, and it’s a lot closer to ‘neurolinguistics’ (which I prefer to call ‘the cognitive neuroscience of language’) and computational linguistics than is theoretical linguistics. To the extent that your exposure to psycholinguistics has been accurate, you might find yourself equally uninterested in those other fields.</p>
<p>A word of warning about theoretical linguistics at Brown: Much of modern theoretical linguistics consists of the sad, toilsome development of Chomsky’s latest (insane) theoretical conjectures re: syntax. For better or worse, there are no Chomsky-loving syntacticians at Brown, so you won’t be able to get that sort of ‘linguistics’ there.</p>
<p>As between psycholinguistics and the sort of career-wasting theoretical syntax present in most linguistics departments, I would say that psycholing is clearly more satisfying. Luckily, because of Polly Jacobson, I didn’t have to make that choice. I very nearly majored in CogNeuro and Ling, but ended up not completely pursuing the Ling major because there was no real reason to get the extra designation on my transcript.</p>
<p>Would it be at all possible to triple concentrate with two being very similar, like neuroscience and psychology and one completely different like Brazilian studies? All A.B’s of course</p>
<p>This has been discussed elsewhere, but triple concentrating is basically useless and silly and a confusion of how the open curriculum works, although it is occasionally done. The departments decide how much overlap you’re allowed in terms of courses that count toward two concentrations. </p>
<p>Incidentally, Neuro happens not to have an A.B. option, and there’s not actually that much overlap with Psych (or, I should say, there doesn’t need to be).</p>
<p>That article shows that it does happen. A triple concentration seems like something you’d need a very strong reason to do, though, and you’ll want to keep in mind the extent to which this may keep you from taking courses outside of those fields. Not <em>as</em> bad with 3 ABs, though.</p>
<p>My son was accepted as a sophomore transfer for January 2012. He’s trying to choose between Williams and Brown. He wants a diverse group of smart kids who do NOT make drinking or partying the focus of the weekends. . . do you think there are enough people like that at Brown, or will he have to search hard for that?</p>
<p>Another question: what do most kids do who are accepted for January admissions? Do they do a program in the UK, or just travel/work on their own until then?</p>
<p>I think that your son will have a very easy time finding people who aren’t focused on partying or drinking. Though that’s part of campus life for many people, there is a significant population at Brown that chooses to go sub-free.</p>
<p>I only know one student who started in January, and he worked for the summer and fall before he matriculated.</p>
<p>There are tons of people who are not focusing on drinking and partying. My daughter was in a sub free dorm freshman year, but found it unnecessary to continue that. She did go to parties later, but more on an occasional basis. Mostly she was studying and working. She just spent the first year meeting people, then hung out with a tight group of friends and later with her boyfriend, her department, grad students. Outside of class she enjoyed the indie rock concerts available on campus and nearby, films at the 2 close little Indy theaters, eating out on Thayer street and a couple of the other nearby streets when she could, Waterfire when it’s on, talks from political figures and other visitors, hanging at the Ratty. I think people just continue to hang out with similar types they were attracted to in high school, but there are just more of them because it is a larger population. There’s lots to do at Brown so it isn’t like there is no social life if you aren’t at a party.</p>
<p>I didn’t even know that they have January admissions, but I’d look at study/research/internship in an academic area of high interest or persuing an EC in depth not matter what it is–take a cooking course if you like. Are you familiar with Imagine Magazine? Each issue has an area of study and shows a page of listings of organizations that you can get involved with. Mostly, enjoy the free extra time if you can.</p>
<p>Summer before college, my daughter was able to get paid work at a little internet startup company, but that was from a connection, some luck and her impressing them.</p>
<p>Jubilant, I can’t really answer your question, but I can say that my son (rising senior) thought UCAAP was great, beginning with those first few days of pre-orientation. From the get-go, he felt like he really knew Providence.</p>
<p>I have a new question.</p>
<p>Can someone please talk about English Department and the Literary Arts Program? How do they relate to one another and must students be “careful” as they choose their courses? What’s the history behind their separate existence? Is there tension that incoming students should know about?</p>
<p>jubilant: I did both programs during my freshman year. It’s completely doable to do TWTP first and then to catch up with the UCAAP people when that program starts. I ended up splitting my time between the two; the first two days at TWTP and the rest of my time at UCAAP. I really enjoyed both for what they were worth and continue to talk to the people I met there when ever I see them around campus–it’s definitely a nice way to get to know a group of people before classes start.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything more specific, but English deals with what generally would be considered the study of literature, while Lit Arts deals more with writing and composing, be it fiction, plays or poetry.</p>
<p>Does anyone know of any good/cheap hostels/hotels in Providence that my parents can stay at a few days before the Orientation starts? I don’t think they’ll be hiring a car, so I guess it has to be within walking distance of Brown
Thanks!</p>
<p>keynesian: Unfortunately, there aren’t very many hotels within walking distance of Brown, especially ones that are cheap. The closest hotels are about a mile away. There are a couple bed & breakfasts, and you can search for those online. The one I once stayed at closed, and I remember there was another near campus that got some poor reviews. The cheapest hotels are in Seekonk, Mass., for which you would need a car. I’m sorry I can’t help more – maybe other people have some inspiration. What is your price range?</p>
<p>As for Verizon or AT&T – for a long time AT&T was better, but I think Verizon works fine now.</p>
<p>I use AT&T and have no problems. My friends seem to be split down the middle on the two, and I haven’t heard complaints about either, so I’d just go with what’s cheaper/gives you a better plan.</p>