<p>From what I know, schools such as Brown WILL accept at least 7 or 8 % Hispanic students. Does that mean that admissions will create a “separate pile” of applications for Hispanics and then choose the best 160 from that “pile” ?</p>
<p>Most definitely not. If more than 160 students were qualified, why would they not admit them? Brown does not have quotas based on ethnicities. Readers keep diversity in mind when reading applications, but they do not set explicit quotas.</p>
<p>So how much does URM status actually help if you aren’t actually economically disadvantaged? Assume SATs, ACTs, GPA, and ECs are on the high average end of the range.</p>
<p>Some schools take economic status into account, others don’t. Remember also that even if it is taken into account, rigor of curriculum is also taken into account. Economically disadvantaged communities may not have as strong schooling systems. Thus while URM s from less privileged backgrounds may get more credit, they may get less credit for their curriculum.</p>
<p>Regardless, policies regarding recruitment are largely unknown. Some institutions are more known for giving preference than others, but policies everywhere are mysterious. It definitely helps, though.</p>
<p>Thanks, floatingriver! But I thought that they would put the student in the context of his school? That’s only fair…It doesn’t apply to me, though; my course load is very rigorous. Does anyone know how Brown specifically deals with URMs?</p>
<p>well i dont know what you consider economically disadvantaged. my parents make under 100k and i have a twin sister going to a university too so i applied for financial aid. i was accepted ed. these are some my stats. </p>
<p>User Name: j0em4d
Gender: M
Location: Long Island, NY
College Class Year: 2014
High School: Public
High School Type: rarely sends grads to top schools
Intended Major: Engineering (subject to change)
Ethnicity: Puerto Rican</p>
<p>Academics:</p>
<p>GPA - Unweighted: 3.80
GPA - Weighted: 4.00
Class Rank: top 5%
Class Size: 13/314</p>
<p>Scores:</p>
<p>SAT I Math: 710
SAT I Critical Reading: 620
SAT I Writing: 640
SAT II World History: 700
SAT II Math Level 1 (IC): 720
SAT II Biology - M: 690
SAT II Physics: 670</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:</p>
<p>Significant Extracurriculars: National Honor Society
Foreign Language Honor Society
Athletes Helping Athletes
Protein Modeling Challenge
Athletic Status - list sport and your level: Soccer- 9-12
Basketball- 9-10
Winter Track- 12
Volunteer/Service Work: Basketball camp for younger kids
Religious Summer Program Aide
Peer Tutoring
Honors and Awards: National Leadership Forum on National Security (Nominated)</p>
<p>AP Scholar With Honors
Principal’s Honor Roll
Scholar Athlete</p>
<p>You are placed in the context of your school, but certain schools are seen as more rigorous - this doesn’t mean how many APs they offer; it means how they are taught. While in the public school system economic status is associated with rigor, it is not necessarily in the magnet and charter school system. Stuyvesant High School in NYC is one prime example. One of the best high schools in the nation, because it is a magnet school, attracts students from all different socioeconomic backgrounds. There are many people at Stuy whose parents don’t file tax returns, others whose parents file millions worth.</p>
<p>Floating River, how much does your intended major affect admissions?</p>
<p>Oh, and congrats j0em4d! Brown is my dream school.</p>
<p>It really depends what your major is and how much experience you have in that field. This being said, Brown is gunning for Sc.Bs. Brown is very, very strong in the sciences, yet A.Bs outnumber Sc. Bs 4:1. This is why they give Sc. Bs an extra essay. Every non-athlete, non-legacy applicant admitted ED from my school applied for sciences. Coincidence? Probably. Yet if you can demonstrate considerable experience in a science and are applying for an Sc. B then Brown may pay extra attention to your application. Personally, I believe was admitted partly because I applied for Computer Science. My essays weren’t that good but I had work experience in the field. Overall though, this is only one factor in the application process.</p>
<p>So Cog Sci/linguistics would be a plus?</p>
<p>It’s a plus to apply with what you’re passionate about. If there’s no extra essay for your “intended” concentration, then it’s unlikely that it’ll increase your chances by applying for that major. Likewise, if you apply as a sciences concentrator, but you don’t show that you are in fact passionate about it (people who are will write great concentration essays), you’re not doing yourself a favor. And to Floatingriver: while you may have been accepted ED partly because you put CS, it would be due to your love of programming/web design. We don’t really struggle to get a strong CS class, and a lot of seats in the CS undergrad program are filled by people who originally put something else as their concentration. Brown CS is very good at “internal recruiting.”</p>
<p>Of course, I would never say that I was going to concentrate in an area just to give myself an advantage, but I am looking at Brown specifically for their Cog Sci program. I am VERY interested in linguistics especially as it pertains to language acquisition; I believe that a scientifically rigorous program having to do with linguistics would prepare me for a PhD program (and eventually a career as a researcher/professor or something). I am looking at majoring in Cog Sci with a concentration in Neurolinguistics.</p>
<p>yeah i believe its a plus. this year brown put a focus on minority recruitment and B.S. what a time for me to apply! lol.</p>
<p>@chsowlflax17: I think it was due to my love for Computer Science, not just that I applied for CS. Brown notices a strong passion for all subjects, but not all subjects are created equal when it comes to balancing a class and fulfilling institutional goals. </p>
<p>@chaos: Brown’s linguistics department is one of the best in the country. If you are passionate about Linguistics, you cannot go wrong there. It is also another department that Brown is looking to recruit for.</p>
<p>@floatingriver: I just want to know where you’re getting this information about what Brown’s “recruiting” for? Brown always has good applicants in pretty much everything you could imagine. I’d like to know where you’re finding your info on which departments Brown wants stronger applicants in. It just doesn’t really make a ton of sense to me for Brown to be “recruiting” applicants for departments it’s already really strong in (like linguistics and CS), as opposed to those departments it’s not well-known for (like physics and pure math).</p>
<p>Correction: social science and humanities combined out number sciences by 2:1. I don’t think half the people with degrees in the sciences have A.B.s, and even if they did, I don’t think Sc.B. to A.B. is what matters.</p>
<p>Also, intended concentration helps very little. Demonstrated passion in whatever area you’re interested in helps a lot.</p>
<p>Your intended concentration helps little – with the exception of students applying for a “hard science” - physics, chemistry, geology, computer science, engineering (but not cog. sci/inguistics) - who can demonstrate their interest and ability in those areas.</p>
<p>chsowlflax17 – if you dig deep in the Brown website, you’ll find evidence that Brown wants those students, and that the acceptance rate in those fields is higher than for students interested in humanities/social sciences.</p>
<p>Thanks fireandrain. I’d heard about the hard sciences (not CS, but now I know), but I wasn’t sure how people were finding this information besides the authority of you and modestmelody, and I’d never heard of cogsci or linguistics being one of the concentrations with a higher acceptance rate.</p>
<p>@fireandrain
why are they looking at the hard sciences so much?</p>