Hey there everyone! I am really interested in applying to the Brown PLME program as it seems like such a great opportunity. Of course, it is an extremely competitive program, and on their website, they mention that the majority of those accepted were in the top 1-2% of their class. Since 8th grade, my best friend had cancer, and sadly he died 6 months ago. I spent a great deal of time with him despite my busy schedule because honestly, he took precedence over everything else and even after he passed away, his death took a huge emotional toll on me, which greatly affected my schoolwork. As luck would have it, I go to a competitive public high school and so I am only in the top 8% of my class. I talked with a local college admission advisor about this and he said that Brown is only going to look at my mediocre numbers and not care about my story. As much as I hate to think that I am somehow using the death of my closest friend to somehow boost my chances, I want to know if by giving this context, Brown PLME is going to be a little bit more lenient of this weak point in my application (I’m still maintaing a 4.0 GPA and got a 2330 on my SAT).
If your high school is very competitive, and that is backed up in the HS profile, than Brown looks at your grades/rank in context.
I’m really sorry about your best friend, and I’m sure this has been a very painful time for you. But unfortunately most of the most selective schools are rarely “lenient” about components of your application UNLESS you offer something they really really want (i.e., if you are the star football player destined to lead the team to victory, they will overlook a low class rank). When they can turn down 95 students for every 5 they take, they can have the luxury of not being “lenient.”
None of us here sit in on admissions decisions so no one can give you a definitive answer. You’ll only know if you apply.