<p>On the brown essay, they make you write an essay if you think you might apply as a chemistry major</p>
<p>What if youre not sure yet? Since i did not write this answer, does that mean I cannot ever think about majoring in chemistry at brown?</p>
<p>No one cares what you apply as, it's just an extra way for science students to talk about accolades and interests in those areas as further opportunity to "sell yourself". When you get here no one is keeping track of what you applied as, etc etc.</p>
<p>no, it doesn't mean that. So just save yourself a lot of trouble and put undecided down as your major since you're not sure, so you don't need to write an essay about how much you want to major in chem :)</p>
<p>I disagree with that advice, Ailey.</p>
<p>I think if you're interested in the science it's worth mentioning since Brown has been bolstering it's science programs the last few years and have been particularly interested in attracting promising science students. I knwo of many things that have been done to this end, and though I don't think admissions is sculpting a class with more prospective science majors (they fo course would never be able ot publicize this) it definitely doesn't hurt. Beyond that, these applications give you so little opportunity to try and give the admissions officers a true glimpse into your character and who you are, and any opportunity that can be taken to "sell yourself" is one that I feel should be.</p>
<p>I don't advice lying, and if you legitimately can't write a solid few hundred words on why you may want to do something then there is little chance you'll ever end up wanting to do that, IMO, but if you think that's a path you may want to go down you should certainly apply that way.</p>
<p>This is especially true if your ECs/transcripts reflect strong interests in the sciences, it acts as a way for you to really "own" the things you've done above and beyond and make clear they're truly passions and not just hoops you've jumped through to look better to colleges. It also frees you up to discuss non-science achievement/EC in the regular essay.</p>
<p>FWIW, I'm a chemistry concentrator and knew I wanted ot be one. I didn't write my essay about chemistry because I didn't feel I could do my own thoughts justice in the space provided for chemistry. I instead wrote about engineering because I could think of some pretty good reasons to study that (a second choice at the time) and could describe them well while still highlighting things I did in HS to show it, etc in the essay and it definitely worked out for me.</p>
<p>My admissions counselor quoted that essay when responding by hand on my acceptance letter.</p>
<p>Just an example of another student's experience-- My kid was undeclared on the application and did not submit a sciences essay. But had strong science background and some research. Started at Brown taking some Chem and Physics classes and would have been able to concentrate in those, but now declared a Math/Comp Sci major.</p>
<p>ModestMelody, I agree with you completely IF one is sure, but the question was from someone who didn't seem to be sure. Your advice is certainly the way to go, as long as one has something strong to write there. </p>
<p>The problem is for those who think they like a field that requires the Science form (specifically Physics, Chem, Computer Science or Eng but not Math or Bio), but haven't spent their summers and free time on science, which is more or less what that form asks you to list - all the ways you have demonstrated your devotion to that subject. It doesn't just ask you about your love of science. In that case, filling out the form may, I believe, hurt one's application.</p>
<p>btw, my daughter did exactly that - she wants to major in Chem, but didn't think the essays and answers she would have needed to fill out would help her case, since she hasn't done research etc and she didn't want to be judged narrowly against a subset of the applicant pool that had focused their summers and their ECs etc on science activities. She wanted to be judged as a renaissance student :) so she put down Undecided but said in her personal statement that she liked math and science. </p>
<p>So I think the answer is pretty applicant-specific - for some applicants, my sense is that filling out the science form is likely to weaken their case, and for those who have spent a lot of time on it, it will strengthen it. (As an electrical/computer science engineer myself who didn't enjoy 'tinkering' but loved the conceptual level of engineering, I can see how people who enjoy science may nevertheless not want to devote most of their spare time to it.....)</p>
<p>Put, i love science</p>
<p>in 11th grade, i took AP Chemistry and Physics
and currently in 12th grade, i am taking AP biology and am a teaching intern for a 9th grade biology class</p>
<p>i have the highest scores in the science courses, as well as SAT IIs</p>
<p>does that mean i should write a science essay?</p>
<p>however, my ecs and awards strongly STRONGLY reflect my keen interest in the arts</p>
<p>I think you will need to try a draft of what you would write in answer to all those questions, and see if it makes you look good compared to the hundreds of applicants who will write about their Science Olympiad participation, their summer research, their Robotics and Science Fair, etc.</p>
<p>(by way of full disclosure, my daughter, in a very similar situation with main ECs of photography and journalism, and with an 800 in Math IIC and Chem, and a score of 5 in AP Physics, Chem and Calculus decided after this excercise that she should NOT put down her intended major as Chem, though that is what she plans to study, but put down Undecided. But it's a judgement call each applicant has to make ...)</p>
<p>I know that this thread is over a year old, but I am in a similar situation. Just wondering Ailey, if you still come to this site, did your daughter get into Brown after declaring undecided?</p>
<p>asd1asd1-- Brown doesn't have preference for those who are coming in with a concentration in mind or undecided.</p>
<p>i remember when i took a tour at brown, the guide said something about a fairly large majority of people applying undecided.</p>
<p>i applied undecided and got accepted ED :D</p>