<p>From whatever I hear about Brown,I’ve fallen in love with it.
However,I have a few questions about the not-so-attractive things I have also come across during my college research-</p>
<p>1)I have heard the math Deptt. is pretty bad.For intro classes it’s pathetic and it doesn’t get much better from there on.Comments?
Talking about math classes,how is the Math-Philosophy concentration at Brown?</p>
<p>2)Is the college academically challenging enough?I keep hearing about how its the most laid back ivy.Now,while that might not be a bad thing,I would protest if it means that affects my studies/the quality of education I would gain.Ive also heard about Brown being at the bottom of the top-tier bracket it falls in,in terms of academic strength,the Prof’s just aren’t interested enough.Is this true?I hope not!!</p>
<p>3)Is Brown composed(mainly) of rich kids?</p>
<p>4)For an international applicant requiring a full ride,how much does applying for aid hinder me in the admission process?</p>
<p>5)How good are the Deptt’s in Chemistry and physics compared to say Columbia,Dartmouth and Yale?On a tangent,how would they compare with colleges like say,Mount Holyoke/Wellesley?</p>
<p>I have a few more questions,which I’ll get back with later.
Thank you everyone who actually spent a bit of their time reading this and please do answer :)</p>
<p>I keep taking math courses, hoping to have that idea disproved, and I keep being disappointed. Some of the professors are good, at least, so it’s not completely bad. I know nothing about philosophy, though.</p>
<p>It’s as challenging as you want it to be. Don’t take anything S/NC, take 5 courses that require 12-15 hours of work a week, work 10+ hours a week, and you’ll likely be challenged (I don’t recommend this, though). Brown is routinely ranked very high for undergrad education (but not so for graduate because of the size of the program, though that varies by field), so it seems the professors care.</p>
<p>Define rich - more than half of students are not on FA.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about chem or physics either.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Don’t know enough about math, but I’ve heard applied math is very good. </p></li>
<li><p>Ditto Uroogla. A lot depends on your high school experience - some students who go to very rigorous high schools find Brown – and just about every college – easy in comparison. Depends on your major – as in every college, some fields of study are easier than others. Like every college, Brown has some amazing awesome professors, and some duds. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>When you go to Brown, you can carefully pick your classes, using advice from students and the Critical Review (an online resource that reviews classes and profs) to make sure you take classes that work for you. There’s a two-week “shopping period,” so you can check out the syllabi and profs before committing to the class.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>There are some rich kids, and some kids whose parents make a lot of sacrifices to afford the school. There are some ostentatiously rich kids, and a lot of kids who are comfortable financially but still thrifty and don’t flaunt what they’ve got. If you are surrounded by the uber-wealthy in your dorm, it’s easy to find middle-class students to hang out with.</p></li>
<li><p>Brown is need aware for international students. So if you need a lot of financial aid, it could hurt you. How much? Only the admissions committee knows for sure. </p></li>
<li><p>Physics and chemistry are pretty good, no idea how they compare (and whether it’s even feasible to do a comparison like that).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Uroogla and fireandrain,Thank you for answering my doubts!
Im really sorry,but I didn’t understand what you mean by S/NC.
So,the math deptt is pretty much hopeless?All the Prof’s?I ask because I am very interested in math as a major although Im applying as undecided.
I asked the question about academic rigor because I come from India and the academic standard is is pretty high.I want to continue challenging myself in college,and not get laid back.
About the comparision b/w B and C,why not?I really want to know which college has the better academic strength in the aforementioned subjects.</p>
<p>I didn’t say that all of the professors were. Some are very good. I just haven’t had the fortune of taking classes with these professors. The people I know who are happiest with the math department are the ones who are taking a mix of upper level undergraduate and graduate math courses. I’m also more of a malcontent than many other Brown students at times (though it’s pretty well agreed that the professors I’ve had have been poor). With that said, the quality of math professors don’t matter as much as that of many discussion class professors - they almost exclusively repeat what’s in the textbook, meaning one can just read the textbook if one doesn’t understand the professor.</p>
<p>It’s rather difficult for us to compare departments at Brown to those at schools we don’t attend and so know little about. It’d be hard enough to compare between departments at Brown, honestly. All one could go by effectively is hearsay, which is sort of silly to use as a basis in these matters.</p>
<p>Might I ask what you’ve heard about Brown that makes you like it? There are plenty of great things about Brown, and it might help us get a frame of reference for your questions.</p>
<p>1) I haven’t taken any math courses yet but I have heard that the professors are not that good</p>
<p>2)Is the college academically challenging enough? It’s Brown, which means it’s up to you how challenged you want to be. My coursework was moderately challenging Freshman year, but this year I’m completely flooded with work and hardly have any time for breaks. I advise against 5 classes unless you’re a complete a genius lol (I know some people that are). Also if you take all the classes for a grade and aim high (an A), then it’s definitely challenging.<br>
-Brown is ranked 6th I believe for best undergraduate school.<br>
-There are always going to some professors that are not as good. So far, I’ve had amazing professors. If you come to Brown, I’ll give you a list of amazing professors you have to take :). </p>
<p>3)Is Brown composed(mainly) of rich kids? No, it’s more like 50/50. Someone told me about 55% do not need financial aid while the rest do. </p>
<p>4)For an international applicant requiring a full ride,how much does applying for aid hinder me in the admission process? Sorry, can’t help here</p>
<p>5)How good are the Deptt’s in Chemistry and physics compared to say Columbia,Dartmouth and Yale? As said before, it’s hard to compare to schools we’ve haven’t been to. I have pre-med friends who have taken chemistry and physics at Brown and the classes seem pretty decent.</p>
<p>Be wary of making too much of comparisons of various departments at top schools. It would be easy to fool yourself into thinking that that any perceived differences matter more than they do. You can get an excellent education at these schools, and be well-prepared for whatever is next. </p>
<p>You might have 1/3 of your classes in a single department, and I think that would be on the high end. So look at the bigger picture, including life outside class.</p>
<p>FWIW, my daughter had one math class she didn’t like (or didn’t like the professor) and one she did (or at least like the grad student instructor). Physics was challenging and enjoyable, though in one class challenge overcame enjoyment.</p>
<p>Rich kids? Maybe comfortably well-off-- many can buy many of the things they want but don’t seem to flaunt it.</p>
<p>All my worries about the academia at B are now ground to nil.</p>
<p>Now only one thing is holding me back from applying ED to Brown and that is the financial aid thing.
The admit rate for international students applying to Brown must be much lower than the 20% they had for students applying early for the class of 2014.
Would a student like me,who cannot attend without full fin. aid be better off applying early to need blind colleges(Yale/Dartmouth) as their admit rate would be comparable to the actual Brown admit rate for Int’l’s seeking FA?
I would really like to have opinions on this,as Im very confused over where I should apply early.I love Brown,but if it’s not feasible for me,then I would like to go to Yale(which is also of course a crapshoot,but Brown’s acceptance rate for Intl’s{i dont know it,but Im guessing} makes it a crapshoot for me doesnt it?).And it would be better for me to know if Im accepted to the college I want to attend this year only.</p>
<p>If you are a student needing financial aid, you probably should not apply anywhere early decision. So perhaps applying to Yale SCEA is a good choice, because if you get in you can still apply other places regular decision and then compare packages if you get other offers.</p>
<p>Of course, if you don’t want to go to Yale, you shouldn’t apply there.</p>
<p>The only places where I’ve seen Brown called the “worst” Ivy are from ignorant people on CC and at football games where name-calling is common – and done as a joke. For a student who hates snow, Cornell and Dartmouth are the “worst” Ivies. For a student who hates the inner city, UPenn and Yale and Columbia are the “worst” Ivies. For a student who hates the idea of a core curriculum, Columbia is the “worst” Ivy. All these are excellent schools. Period.</p>
<p>“The only places where I’ve seen Brown called the “worst” Ivy are from ignorant people on CC and at football games where name-calling is common – and done as a joke. For a student who hates snow, Cornell and Dartmouth are the “worst” Ivies. For a student who hates the inner city, UPenn and Yale and Columbia are the “worst” Ivies. For a student who hates the idea of a core curriculum, Columbia is the “worst” Ivy. All these are excellent schools. Period.”</p>
<p>^eh, applying to brown ED as an international needing aid MAY make sense: figure out how they figure out aid, and whether you’ll get what you need. I’m not entirely sure, but depending on where you’re from (i.e. Canada has very similar requirements to the US), your documents are a little different, and how you report what you need is different. By applying for aid you reduce your chances on a sliding scale, so I think Brown does offer you what you ask for as an international (not ENTIRELY sure, though, and if your parents’ income suddenly skyrockets, this could change), but yeah. Someone correct me if I’m way off base here.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how much the acceptance rate decreases by applying ED as an Int’l requiring Fin. Aid?</p>
<p>oh and chsowlflax17-I do know people who got full ride to Brown from my country.They give people all the amount they need if they are admitted but the admit rate for such students must be pretty teeny?</p>
<p>Yea, someone who works in admissions. Us hoi polloi – no. Brown releases a fair amount of admissions stats, but you really are asking for data that it has never made public – and info that Brown may not even calculate itself. </p>
<p>You seem to be splitting hairs here. The overall acceptance rate is 9% – that means 91% of the applicants are rejected. That’s so low, does it really matter what the rate is for internationals who need financial aid? If I told you it was 4 percent or 6 percent or 8 percent – would it really affect your behavior?</p>
<p>Well,I think so.Yale’s acceptance rate for internationals is 0.5% or something,and Wesleyan’s for Int’l’s asking for aid is 3%.When I emailed a few colleges asking them about theirs most of them replied with the information too.It’s good to know the info so that I can really evaluate where I stand.
Brown hasn’t replied to a single of my emails,so I thought of asking it here.</p>