Hi!
I am an ED applicant to the Class of 2022. Obviously, since I applied ED, I am quite fond of Brown; however, sometimes you build a school up to be absolutely perfect in your head and that’s just not the case. Honestly, come December I will probably be deffered/rejected so I guess I just want to shatter that image that I have of Brown being a “perfect” school, because there’s no such thing. Even if I do get in, it is probably unhealthy to go into Brown with such ridiculously high expectations. I know Brown is an outstanding school, and the positives outweigh the negatives, but I would like to know (especially from Brown alums) what is it that you hate about Brown–this can be anything (dorms, professors,etc. etc.). Don’t be afraid to go down hard on the school; it’s for my own good ;). You probably love Brown, but this is your time to vent!
This would actually be unexpectedly useful. I’m also an ED applicant, and I’ve felt for a while as if my infatuation with Brown has gone so far that the probable outcome of being deferred or outright rejected in December will be devastating. I, too, am looking for reasons to hate Brown! So far I’ve heard:
-Dorms are sub-par/poor maintenance after Freshman year, especially sophomore dorms
-Parties get shut down constantly (yes, I understand it’s a safety issue, but it’s aggravating nonetheless)
-Brown is stingy with the heating; often the heat is activated in the dorms a few weeks later than most people would need it
-Providence really sucks in the winter (but that’s nothing I haven’t seen before, being from Boston)
Generally, it seems that most complaints pertain to housing and the social scene.
Any current students or alums care to input?
This would actually be unexpectedly useful. I’m also an ED applicant, and I’ve felt for a while as if my infatuation with Brown has gone so far that the probable outcome of being deferred or outright rejected in December will be devastating. I, too, am looking for reasons to hate Brown! So far I’ve heard:
-Dorms are sub-par/poor maintenance after Freshman year, especially sophomore dorms
-Parties get shut down constantly (yes, I understand it’s a safety issue, but it’s aggravating nonetheless)
-Brown is stingy with the heating; often the heat is activated in the dorms a few weeks later than most people would need it
-Providence really sucks in the winter (but that’s nothing I haven’t seen before, being from Boston)
Generally, it seems that most complaints pertain to housing and the social scene.
Any current students or alums care to input?
Not a Brown student but I did a summer program for four weeks there and it is still very high on my college list, albeit not my ED.
Since it was a summer program and in no way representative of what the univ would look like during the school year, take this for what you will :).
The campus is definitely not the beautiful I’ve ever seen. After seeing so many strategically posed photos on the official website, I had an unrealistic expectation of the campus. It is rather spread out over several city blocks and there is not really as strong of an Ivy or typical college feel as a UChicago or Yale.
The food is quite horrendous. I’ve heard this is also a problem during the school year. Providence, being a smaller town, definitely offers choices for food but not as many and not as accessible as a bigger city. So, you are pretty stuck with mushy, tasteless veggie stews. (One of my biggest reasons that I haven’t applied ED, I am a foodie, haha).
It is not rural by all means but getting to Boston is definitely something to be planned in advance. If you want a school with a more convenient big city access, it definitely is not comparable to a Columbia or even a Tufts.
The weather is quite humid and I sweated buckets. (Ya, the winter is not the mildest either).
After all these, I still love Brown quite a bit but you are definitely right about managing your expectations, no school and nothing, for that matter, is perfect.
I find this pretty funny since I was actually employing the exact same technique (of trying to get myself to fall out of love with the school) for my top choice school I applied SCEA too (not Brown). Nevertheless, I am also applying to Brown so let me see if I can help.
I spent a week at Brown in the spring for a pre-college program and absolutely loved the school so this will be hard for me, but one thing I can definitely point to is the weather. Of course this goes for all school in the Northeast but if you’re from the South/West like me, it definitely will be a change to attend Brown. Even in the spring around April the skies were gray and overcast and it rained quite heavily almost everyday. It was also pretty cold, considering it was April (but maybe that’s just me).
I don’t think safety is a HUGE issue but I know one day I was walking around downtown Providence with a few friends and noticed several cars with smashed windows. Shards of glass were strewn everywhere on the sidewalk, so that leads me to believe that some minor crime is present here.
Personally, I love the city of Providence. It’s a quiet but urban seaside town (I cannot live without the ocean and seafood) with quaint red brick buildings and small businesses. That said, it definitely is nowhere near New York or Boston in terms of how urban or accessible it is. Some people would prefer a more bustling city to live in during their college years and if that sounds like you, it may be a problem. I, however, would not mind.
That is my attempt at listing all the imperfect things about Brown University, and I hope it helped at least a little 
@Quiches yeah I hear the food is bad. I honestly loved the campus though. I thought it was really pretty and I found all of the strange statues to be endearing so I’m sold there lol. I also loved Providence.
@tripledouble2000 Also loved Providence! I prefer it to a much larger city. I hear you about the weather, but I’m from Maine so I’m more than used to it lol. Plus it’s something that I’m going to have to live with anyway because my parents want me to stay in New England for college.
@iwannabe_Brown probably the thing I’m most worried about/surprised by. I honestly consider myself to be very liberal but it is sad to see that students are silencing others because they believe in different things. Even if I don’t agree with someone, I wouldn’t yell at them/insult them without hearing them out. Debate is good!!
@Quiches @sciencenerd123 I have a sister who is currently a student at Brown. She and I are both foodies, and she has said that, while some dining halls are better than others, the food during the academic year can most definitely be quite good depending on where you go.
She has been especially impressed with Andrews Commons (campus restaurant, takes meal swipes), which offers Poke bowls and Vietnamese Pho. Conversely, The Sharpe Refectory (“Ratty,” dining hall) is definitely sub-par compared to the rest of the dining options, despite it being the biggest (and often most convenient) campus eatery.
I believe I heard on a campus visit that the University has heavily revamped its dining services within the last few years, so reports of horrendous food may come from before this overhaul.
See specifics on the various campus eateries (including menus) and Brown Dining services here: http://brown.cafebonappetit.com/
Additionally, there are lots of non-University dining options available on Thayer Street, and Providence has a considerable “gourmet” food truck culture, many of which park on Brown’s campus around lunchtime during the week.
@jrdsnw Thanks for the update! I went to Brown for a summer program in 2015, so a lot has probably changed. I ate at Ratty all of the time since it is the closest to my dorm and that’s probably why I had such a bad experience. And a pho bar? I am sold!!!
I have fallen in love with the school, too and it is so hard to see the negatives. So thank you for doing this thread because or else my dreams will be crushed come December. I think one thing I hate about Brown is there grading system - only A’s, B’s and C’s. I don’t know how comfortable with that so any input is helpful/continuing to rant about Brown.
@jellyjam123 I personally like the grading system because it encourages exploration–you aren’t afraid to try new things because you know that if you end up failing it won’t show up on your transcript. Also anything between a 90 and a 100 shows up as an A and I think that’s beautiful lol.
I’m a current freshman at Brown and while I definitely love it here overall, there are many imperfections (true of any school). Brown is definitely one of the most academically free schools, which is amazing but also overwhelming at first when you’re trying to pick your first 4 classes out of an insane list of thousands. Also, and this may be because I come from a public school, I was shocked by the amount of people here that got in off connections and not merit. Again, this is something you’ll find at any elite school, but I wasn’t expecting to run into it as heavily as I have. Overall though I love it here, and I know that this is the best place for me, yeah the food in the Ratty isn’t always the best, but as others have said the other eateries (Andrews, Blue Room, Jo’s especially) are great! Also freshman housing is very nice (I’m in Keeney which was redone recently, but this is the case for most freshman housing), and there are some great options for upperclassmen (not as nice as freshman housing though), but these are more trivial things and I haven’t found myself thinking too much about them! So awesome to hear about such passion for the school I love from you guys Feel free to message me with any questions!! I know this time is stressful and scary but you will all get through!! Good luck!!
I am not a current or former student, but I am surprised no one has mentioned the big blue bear that is temporarily in the middle of campus!
@TheGreyKing because Blueno is beautiful.
I love Blueno!!! is he really there temporarily?
Installed in the summer of 2016, this means he’ll be removed (shiver) in the summer of 2021.
NO!!!
@bluekou23 are you making assumptions about people’s applications and just assuming that if they have connections that means they got in without merit? The person with a connection but also a high gpa/sat didn’t really get in “without merit” even if connection is what tipped the scale. For every student at Brown there are easily 3 or 4 kids who were rejected for mostly arbitrary reasons. I can think of only one student I met at Brown who truly would never have gotten in without connections - in talking sub 1200 SAT (maybe sub 1000, I forget, but it was BAD) but father on the Forbes billionaire list.