<p>I’ve heard that competition for engineering majors is high at Brown, but I’ve also heard that females applying as an engineering major get treated as somewhat of a minority. Is that true? Are my chances higher because I’m a female going into engineering?</p>
<p>I also looked at a breakdown of the engineering concentrations off of Brown’s website. Civil had the least amount, and seemed to be shrinking through the years. Environmental wasn’t even on the graph (it’s a new program at Brown).
Would the small pool of people looking to go into this specific concentration increase if they had a small turnout?</p>
<p>Also, does anyone have any statistics for admission rates of women in engineering at Brown or a statistic for civil/environmental acceptance rates? </p>
<p>-2040 sat
-4.7 gpa weighted
-3.8 gpa unweighted
I also did formal research in a civil engineering lab this summer, and have taken ~10 AP/ above AP classes, including college articulated calculus my junior year (although I made a B in it)</p>
<p>Brown doesn’t admit based on intended concentration. From Brown’s admissions web site: “We do not attempt to regulate the number of admission offers according to quotas for degree programs or academic fields of concentration.”</p>
<p>Brown doesn’t admit based on intended concentration. … EXCEPT for engineering.</p>
<p>Engineers (and other STEM concentrators) have to complete a separate application that is reviewed by faculty. While it is absolutely true that if you get into Brown you can decide to ditch engineering and major in literary arts, applicants who apply as engineers have an additional hurdle to jump to be accepted.</p>
<p>Jed: I know that a few years ago, it was advantageous to apply as a woman interested in engineering. I haven’t seen recent numbers for gender in Brown engineering, so I don’t know if it is still an advantage. I’m pretty sure it still helps to be a female interested in computer science. </p>
<p>Here’s the thing – it is quite possible that the acceptance rate for female engineers is higher for women than men. However: You must have the stats and background to get accepted. Faculty want to admit students who can do the work, whether they are male or female. So, your civil engineering research this summer is a good thing. But what is your math SAT, and your SAT II scores in math and science? If your math SAT is less than 700, that raises a red flag that you might not be able to handle the work. </p>
<p>The type of engineering you express interest in as an applicant is probably irrelevant in admissions. So many entering engineers either don’t know what they want to do, or change their interests after taking freshmen-year courses, that there is little connection between your stated interest as a HS senior and what you end up studying. </p>
<p>@fireandrain do you think a 760 on Math II and 5 on AP Calc AB would compensate for a 680 on SAT Math for a CS concentrator?</p>
<p>We are trying to decide whether she should take the SAT for the third time to get math in the 720 range. This is really the only low point in her application from a CS perspective.</p>
<p>Thanks for replying about the supplement, I did not know about this and I think it works in a female student’s favor.</p>
<p>ormdad: Good question; I don’t know the answer. I’m not an admissions officer and I don’t recall this specific question being addressed by admissions in the various sessions/workshops I’ve attended. It partly depends on the rest of her application. </p>
<p>Did your daughter take the ACT? Might be worth having her do at least a practice test to see what she gets. </p>
<p>Only have her retake the SAT if she does some targeted studying and gets her practice math SATs higher. It’s much easier to raise the math than the verbal scores – look at the SAT forum here on CC for advice on how to do that.</p>
<p>Thanks @fireandrain, studying is the key issue I think. She’s in a full day program this summer and she’s got essays and subject tests to study for. I think we’re just going to have to go with the 680 and hopefully her interest in CS (that’s what the summer program is in) will compensate.</p>
<p>Edit to say she is actually not highly motivated, and would far rather watch reruns of Dexter at night than study for the ACT or a third SAT. So I guess we’ll just see where that gets her. :-)</p>