Do I have a chance for Brown?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

I’ve found Brown in my college search, and I love it. I love the liberal atmosphere, and I think I could really find a home for myself there. That being said, I don’t want to get attached if it’s not possible. Right now, I’m about to start my senior year, and I would appreciate a few opinions on my likelihood of being admitted in the fall of 2016 as an undergraduate freshman.

1.) I have a weighted GPA of 4.33 after my junior year, and an unweighted GPA of 3.87. I had a few B’s freshman and sophomore year, but my grades have an upward curve and I have no B’s junior year. I go to a college preparatory school, and the cutoff for an A is 93 (instead of a 90 like many schools). My school does not offer class ranks, but I would estimate that I’m in the top 10%.

2.) ACT: 32
SAT: 2140
(I am going to retake both)

3.) I have maintained a difficult class schedule of all possible Honors Classes in every subject, and I’ve had at least one AP class every year.

4.) I am in the International Baccaulereate (IB) Program as a diploma candidate.

5.) I have done service activities every year.

6.) I did a summer pre-college program at Brown that was not for credit. (I know this is supposed to express my interest or show anything special about me except that I paid for it… But I really enjoyed it :slight_smile: )

7.) While I don’t know for sure yet, there’s a strong chance that I’m going to be a national merit scholar.

8.) I’ve been involved in lacrosse since freshman year, but never at the varsity level. I’ve also been in math club, a student government club, and I am president of the history club. I’m in NHS, too.

9.) I am currently on track to becoming a licensed private pilot, possibly within a few months.

10.) I am a white female who lives in Indiana. I am not the first in my family to attend college.

While my family members (who have have not applied to college recently, or one with such a low acceptance rate ever) try to encourage me, I don’t think they’re being fully realistic.

I know I have some qualifications that a lot of colleges look for, but I’m still not confident in my chance of acceptance there.
The things I am most worried about (for hurting my chances) are:

1.) I will not greatly add to the diversity of the school.

2.) I have had a few leadership positions, but not the most comparitivley.

3.) I’ve spent high school exploring my interests, so not all of my activities have been continuous since freshman year. Some of them I just started junior year, and I’m afraid this will cause them to appear to be superficial resume-builders.

4.)There are so many other smart and talented kids, and while I’m not trying to put myself down, I’m just not sure if my qualifications are competitive enough for this school.

Thanks for any honest input! :slight_smile:

2

Hey there. The beauty of holistic admissions is that you’re viewed as a whole rather than someone with a checklist going through your application like, “At least x number of leadership positions? At least x score on x test?” Don’t beat yourself up or try to take yourself out of the running before you even enter. You have good scores, certainly nothing to raise any negative eyebrows, and the upward curve on your grades will definitely help. People with grades/scores far higher than you have gotten in, and people with lower grades/scores have gotten in (although these cases are rarer). I believe you’re well within the middle 50 for both SAT and ACT.

It’s also good that you don’t want to get attached - these schools are an absolute crapshoot and it doesn’t do anyone any good to fall in love, because it very well could end in heartbreak. But please, don’t think you have zero chance. You’ll be a competitive applicant anywhere. Obviously you’re aware of the fact that the applicants to Brown are crazy competitive, so it’ll come down to what makes you stand out; what makes you unique. Out of curiosity, what field or concentration are you interested in?

3

Hi there, parent of a student going to Brown next year. Great school! I agree with bwulv24, it is a definite crapshoott but you have good chances at good schools. My advice to anyone is don’t fall in love with one school and increase your chances by broadening the schools you are applying to. My daughter’s “hook” was probably that she was an Intel STS semifinalist and published. We are from medium midwestern town and large public school not sending many people to selective schools. I think you have to stand out and show some kind of passion. Can you get your pilot’s license and emphasize that in your essays? That’s unique.

My daughter loved Yale, applied EA, was deferred, then rejected. She was accepted to Cornell, WUSTL, Smith, and of course Brown. Also state school. Rejected Harvard, Yale, Case Western (!). Waitlisted Swarthmore. Cornell and Harvard were last-minute add-ons and we had not been to Brown prior to acceptance. After attending ADOCH, though, she was hooked and is so excited. So keep all your options open and apply to a lot of schools. In retrospect, it worked out well, but she might have applied to a few more to be safer. Good luck!

4

Brown can be one of the few dream schools you apply to! It’s so important to do that. I think your scores are good, not extraordinary. You have a chance if you have a reason that Brown is IT for you.

And you might be a NMF!!! Congrats, one to another! That means you can get a free or almost free education at some seriously awesome schools. Baylor, a lot of state schools. Then, you can do what I’m doing… use my undergrad as a springboard to my dream school(s); Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, UCSF, UW, and Vanderbilt is the list for grad school. You don’t have to do it, but you can certainly look into it.

Don’t go and lose your heart to Brown, but remember! If you don’t end up living your Ivy dream for undergrad, no one is going to limit your grad school choices.