How do I look for Brown?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

I have recently fallen in love with Brown. I would appreciate it if anyone could tell me how I look and everything. I’ll be a high school senior in the fall and I plan to apply to Brown early decision.

GPA: 4.0 (unweighted) / 4.65 (weighted)
Class Rank: 1/180ish
ACT: 34 on second attempt
SAT/SAT2: will not send
AP: World History (5), Computer Science (3), Psychology (5), English Lang (5), Art History (4), US History (4)

7th Grade Schedule: Algebra I
8th Grade Schedule: French I, Pre-AP Geometry
9th Grade Schedule: PE, Pre-AP Algebra II, Pre-AP Biology, French II, Economics, Pre-AP English, World History I
10th Grade Schedule: AP World History, AP Computer Science, PE, Pre-AP Chemistry, Pre-AP English, Pre-AP Calculus, French III
11th Grade Schedule: Calculus I&II (dual-enrolled), Research (dual-enrolled), Physics, AP Psychology, AP English Lang, AP Art History, AP US History
12th Grade Schedule: Computer Science-Python (dual-enrolled), Seminar, Connections in Mathematics, AP English Lit, AP Macro/microeconomics, AP European History, AP Biology, AP Comparative Government, Honors French IV

    • Taken at my local magnet school / governor’s school

Intended Majors or Minors: Art History, East Asian Studies (Japanese), Middle Eastern Studies (Persian), International Affairs

Summer Activities:

  • Boy Scout Camp Ottari (Camper 9, Employee 11-12, plan to be departmental director next summer)
  • JMU Band Camp (10)
  • UVA Summer Enrichment Program (9, 11)
  • 4H Camp Volunteer Counselor (11)
  • NYU Precollege Program (12, taking Elementary Japanese I, Emergence of the Modern Middle East, and Expository Writing for 8 college credits)

Volunteer Positions:

  • Relay for Life (120 hours, 9-12, Team Captain 11-12)
  • Big Brothers Big Sister (100 hours, 11-12)
  • 4H Counselor (120 hours, 11)

Extracurriculars:

  • Boy Scouts (K-12, Patrol Leader 9-10, Historian 11)
  • National Honor Society (11-12, President 12)
  • French Club (9-12, Historian 10, Relay for Life Coordinator 11, maybe Vice Pres 12)
  • FBLA (11-12, Leadership/Competition Teams 11-12, probably Pres or Vice Pres 12)
  • Varsity Scholastic Bowl (10-12, will be captain or other leadership position 12)
  • Varsity Forensics (11-12, Storytelling 11, Impromptu 12)
  • Varsity Tennis (10)
  • History Club (9, 11-12, maybe Pres 12), Book Club (9-10), Creative Writing Club (10-12)
  • Theater (10-12, 10-Alice in Wonderland as Knave of Hearts, 11-Best of Broadway as Various, 12-TBD)
  • Piano Lessons (9-12), Violin Lessons (7-10), Clarinet Lessons (10)
  • Virginia Youth Band Ensembles (9-10, 2nd clarinet)
  • 4H (Livestock Show K-9 + various awards, Teen Leadership 10-12, Asst Group Leader 11)

Awards:

  • Pre-AP Calculus Student of the Year (10)
  • French Alliance Regional Essay Contest - 4th Place (10)
  • Boy Scouts: Life Scout (will get Eagle by application time), World Conservation Award, 56 merit badges
  • FBLA Regional Word Processing Competition - 1st Place (11)
  • 4H: County Science Fair - 1st Place (11), District Science Fair - 1st Place (11), State Science Fair - 1st Place (11), may be eligible for All Star Award (highest honor, comparable to Eagle Scout) but that would be after application time
  • Various other smaller awards

I also have some /excellent/ teacher recs and unique essays lined up.

Thank you for your time! Overall, I hope to show Brown that I am a very self-motivated person with a strong work ethic.

2

You are fine academically, your ECs are weak

3

ECs are weak? That surprises me. What is weak about them? Just curious. I know sometimes people are encouraged to be more focused in their EC’s – i.e., develop one area of interest more intensely than a ‘smorgasbord’ of activities. Is that your point Wje9164be. Not expressing an opinion, just trying to learn your thoughts. Thanks.

4

People on here often have no idea what they’re talking about. Sounds like OP’s done a lot of great ECs, and I’m sure he’ll do just fine when it comes to college admissions.

5

I agree - you look great for Brown!

6

A lot of your ECs look redundant, almost negative. Did varsity tennis for 1 year, didn’t touch it again. piano lessons for 3 years, violin for 3. you’re spreading yourself so thin that you look unfocused, even blatantly showoff-y. What happened to Virginia Youth Band? Why’d you stop? You don’t commit to anything. The theater ones seem on the weaker side, just showing that you played a few roles. they seem like good essay material though. Pre-Calc student of the year and other class specific things should be avoided, those mean nothing. It’s clear you’ll have great essays tho, which is one of the most important parts. Just try to be a little more humble.

7

Your academics and EC’s are fine. I think if you apply ED and show interest you’re in :slight_smile:

8

You are an impressive applicant and you likely have an above-average chance at admission to Brown. ED, you might even be approaching a high match, which is impressive given how selective Brown is. Still, make sure all of your eggs are not in this particular basket: pick a few more reaches, a few matches, and at least one safety.

9

Thanks everyone for the comments!

@Pangwyn - Did you create your account to reply to me? Haha, but I definitely do not plan to put some of the more throwaway activities such as tennis and book club on my application. I quit tennis because I was being bullied, I quit violin for financial reasons, and I quit regional band because it was at 9pm on school nights 1h15m from where I live. I do not feel my post was show-offy or not humble… I just put in most all the extracurriculars I’ve spent a large amount of time on.

My one worry about admissions is that I’ve “spread myself too thin” and that I have no specific “hook.” Honestly, I had never heard of a hook until recently and have just done what things my school has offered that I’ve wanted to do. I generally try to make sure I’m doing an after school activity most days of the week because I enjoy going to clubs and being involved in school in an academic yet extracurricular way.

@prezbucky - WOW! How come I’m a high match? That’s great to hear! :slight_smile:

Does anyone have any suggestions for where I would be a good fit other than Brown? I’m struggling especially to find safety schools. Right now, I plan to apply to Brown ED and at least a couple of the following: Columbia, UChicago, Princeton, Harvard RD as reaches. I have some idea about matches - most likely schools like Brown that do not have a core or else a small number of required classes. This is somewhat important to me as I want the freedom to double major/minor, learn several foreign languages, and study abroad or use the gap year while at university.

Further opinions, advice, etc are thoroughly appreciated! :slight_smile:

10

ED, you might be a high match. In my book that’s a 25-40% chance of admission – probably closer to 25% in this case. You get the ED bump and you are an above-average applicant, I think.

11

IVYs tend to go for national and international award winners-- people with hooks. Published authors and famous people. You look great but keep that in mind.

12

Good for you! That is exactly the way it is supposed to be done. Unlike what researchperson says, there are thousands of kids at the Ivies and other top schools that do not have hooks and haven’t won international prizes or are famous.

Just to clarify, for raspberrys – a hook typically is something that helps a college meet an institutional goal. An example – the college wants winning sports teams, so it recruits athletes. Brown is committed to increasing the number of first-generation students on campus. So being first-gen is a hook. Brown wants geographic diversity – so the Utah applicant will be accepted instead of the New Jersey one with the same stats. The vast majority of hooks are things you have no control over – you can’t change your parents’ education level or where you live or the color of your skin.

What you can do is figure out if you have something that a college wants. If you live in New Jersey and apply to a school in Montana, well, guess what – you have a hook! You seem to be a guy, so apply to schools with an imbalance in their male-female ratio – Skidmore, Vassar, Wheaton, etc. (usually former all-girl schools). Acceptance rates for guys at those schools is much higher than for women.

The question you ask, about match and safety schools for kids who like Brown, has been asked and answered countless times in this forum. So do a search. Typically a safety school for someone like you would be your state flagship, or a small LAC much lower in ranking, in a less-desirable geographic location.

13

You have not spread yourself too thin, I’d say you have a nice range for a humanities kid. 4H is a nice turn, are you in a more rural area of VA? The interest in art history is a help for a male, but I don’t get a sense from your listing how you connect to that- or East Asian- other than classes. Think about it. Make sure the essay topic is well considered. You have the raw stuff, but now need to wrap it up into the right presentation in the common app and supp. Make sure you read all your target colleges’ web sites thoroughly to glean their values and the sort of kids they brag about. Too many kids just assume.

The Ivys do not expect national/intl award winners. In your case, 4H will intrigue. And some other aspects.