<p>I've found my dream school and its an ivy league school. I have a rigorous course load with many advanced placement courses and y grades are about A- to B+ with a pretty good GPA but my SAT scores are not too good. Just based on academics it seems like my chances are slim to me but I am very involved in my school and community from student government, community service, sports, and holding many leadership positions. It seems that I fall short compared to others when it comes to my academics and that's where I am really concerned because I have my heart set on attending Brown University. I am entering my senior year this fall, I am really working hard to keep everything together and pull up my GPA, but what else can I do to take it further and really make sure I have a good chance at Brown? What else can I do or should I do to make Brown less of a reach school and more of a match school for me?</p>
<p>Try raising that SAT score (what is it?), if you think you might do better with a retake. Work hard to get straight A’s first semester.</p>
<p>Do something meaningful now (over the summer). </p>
<p>Start brainstorming essay ideas. Reflect upon your life and all the things that have happened to you - for me, the best time for doing this was lying in bed before I fell asleep, or while in the shower.</p>
<p>Get lucky, be an academic abnormality (as in bright above the brightest), be an underrepresented minority, be an athlete, or play bassoon (or equally off instrument needed by orchestras). Unfortunately quotas exist and you need to fill one.</p>
<p>Sorry to be harsh - but an A-/B+ student with a mediocre SAT stands next to no chance at Brown. </p>
<p>You need to concentrate your college admissions strategy around schools you have a better chance of getting into. And you need one safety - a school you know you can get into, can afford under the most pessimistic financial aid assumptions, and would be happy attending.</p>
<p>annasdad^^^
I think that if the op , attends a non ivy, they will find the world does not revolve around those schools!
great happiness can be found at many many schools!</p>
<p>Agreed! I swear, people care about Ivy League way too much for name alone. I’d bet if someone had designated a trash dump as an Ivy school people would flock to it by the thousands.</p>
<p>There are many schools similar to Brown that are not nearly as competitive. Liberal arts colleges like Wesleyan and Vassar and many others have a liberal environment and pretty loose, artsy student body like Brown.</p>
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<p>It’s a reach for just about every applicant. Unless your family can afford to donate very large sums of money, or you are a recruited athlete. </p>
<p>Figure out what it is that you love about Brown, and then look for those things at other schools where you’re more likely to get in. Some helpful threads:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/386122-schools-similar-brown.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/386122-schools-similar-brown.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/563867-schools-like-brown-but-easier-get-into.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/563867-schools-like-brown-but-easier-get-into.html</a></p>
<p>Research the school and the department that you want to be in. Determine why you are truly a perfect fit to attend Brown University. How will your educational experience at Brown be significantly different than if you were to attend another university, whose program for your major, is similar? What about the student life and other extracurricular opportunities that it offers? Do certain professors in your field of study have interesting research interests that align with your interests? Does it provide unique opportunities (study abroad, etc.) that other universities would not offer, or would not offer in the same capacity? Does they financial aid package suit your family’s financial situation? Do they have opportunities for certain scholarships? How does attending this university play into your overall academic/career plan? Do you want to attend grad school after graduating? </p>
<p>Ask yourself all of these questions, and then express that in your essay/personal statement. Good luck</p>
<p>Please don’t ignore the advice received from others to look for schools that are a better fit for you. Based on your own description of your grades and test scores it really does not sound as though you are a statistically competitive applicant for Brown. Of course apply, if that is your dream. But you need to be realistic, and being realistic means investigating schools that are an actual match, and several schools that are admissions and financial aid safeties. And, really: it is a bit late the summer before senior year to decide that a certain school is your dream and determine that you will become competitive, if you have not been competitive throughout high school, especially junior year! Becoming a competitive applicant to schools like Brown should ideally be the work of an entire high school career, not the work of the summer before applications are due.</p>
<p>Sorry to be tough, but you do need to be realistic. Brown seems slim based on what you have told us. So be realistic: get a list of matches and safeties. Of course apply to Brown, anyway!! But don’t pin your hopes on it. It is iffy for all applicants, even for ones with top grades and scores.</p>
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<p>After what, a thoroughly extensive search? Brown is a reach for almost everyone, and a dream for everybody, but there are certainly schools like Brown out there that you can go to, because at the moment, you don’t seem to have done anything substantial and therefore you aren’t very competitive for Brown. Continue your college search and look for things besides a nice name and a neat description and eventually you’ll end up finding a college right for you.</p>
<p>If you wanna Brown to be a match for you, try curing cancer.</p>
<p>thank you for all of the advice, i really appreciate it! at first i was disappointed but its starting to make more sense and im glad all of you shared your input otherwise i would have had my dream set on brown for the next 6 months and it would’ve caused me to see all other schools with a closed mind</p>