<p>Thanks for all the advice, and especially about just writing to professors. I was wondering whether I should do that, but felt a bit awkward. This is the only department I've ever seen that claims to prohibit prospective student contact, so at first I assumed they must be very serious about it. You're probably right about just writing to them and seeing what they say; after all, I don't know that I'd want to attend a program in which the teachers avoid the students...</p>
<p>You must really like Brown if you've attended for both undergrad and graduate level. Hope you're still enjoying it :)</p>