<p>i’m applying for the 7-week pre-college summer program. has anyone been to it? what are your opinions? what other programs did you look at? and how hard is fin. aid to come by? also, do you think it gives a boost if you do well and are applying to the school.</p>
<p>thanks!
-andi</p>
<p>I spent 2 summers doing the 7 week program. It was an absolutely wonderful experience and I didn't want to come home. </p>
<p>You'll be taking classes with actual Brown students. Last summer, the majority of my classes were composed of Brown upperclassmen. </p>
<p>You'll have a tough time getting financial aid, especially if you're not from Rhode Island.</p>
<p>I will NOT give you a boost in admissions, no matter how well you do. However, many professors will offer to write you a recommendation at the end of the summer.</p>
<p>If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them.</p>
<p>Thanks so much..</p>
<p>How hard is it to get into the program?
What classes did you take and what would you reccommend? I'm interested in poli-sci, international relations, and the like.</p>
<p>Oh, and I've heard that 7-weekers are anti-social and all you do is workworkwork. Is this true? I obviously am going to work and do well, but I want to be able to have a good time.</p>
<p>It's not hard at all to get into. AT ALL. If you wanna pay them, you'll be there.</p>
<p>I took: Intro to Neuroscience, The Nature of Cognitive Development, Medicine, Law, & Morality, and the History of the Modern Middle East. </p>
<p>The last two classes were AMAZING. I believe that Professor Appel who taught ML&M is now at Columbia Medical School and I don't think the class would be the same without him. However, I HIGHLY recommend the Middle East class. Professor Doumato is an amazing woman who is highly educated and makes the class wonderful. </p>
<p>As far as how much work you do, that totally depends on your personality, learning style, and the classes you end up taking. The Middle East class requires a lot of reading and a major paper (15-20 pages). For the most part, I did spend last summer being antisocial and reading for my classes. However, that's the way I am and I loved every second of it. That being said, lots of the kids in my classes didn't do most of the reading and started their paper the night before it was due. Most 7-weekers I knew weren't antisocial and had a good summer. However, the 5-weekers were less work-oriented and had more of a "summer camp" than a "college" experience.</p>
<p>By the way, in case my previous post came across as though I didn't make any friends and ate by myself in the dining hall, etc..., some of my best friends are people I met during my summers at Brown. I talk to my roommate from my first summer there pretty close to everyday and we exchange Christmas/birthday presents, etc., and I talk frequently with undergrads and high school students I befriended last summer too.</p>
<p>Another cool perk is that since you're in classes with Brown students, you're also in classes with students visiting from other colleges. It's pretty likely that you'll find students from other classes that you're interested in applying to, in addition to Brown.</p>
<p>thanks so much for responding.. this really helped! </p>
<p>do you think it's important to do the optional essay? i was considering doing it because i'm applying for aid, but i have a feeling aid is strictly need-based.</p>
<p>Nope, its not at all important, unless you have some awful (D's or F's) grades on your transcript that you want to explain.</p>
<p>My roommate last summer (whom I got along with very well) was a B/C student and didn't do the optional essay, and I never did them either.</p>
<p>Good luck though! However, I'm sure you won't have any problem getting in. Let me know which classes you choose. I know some about the other classes, too, since my friends took a large variety of the courses. I'd be happy to pass along any info I have -- I even have a big list of stuff that's important to bring along with you that you wouldn't typically think of; I made it after my first summer there :)</p>