<p>Ok so Brown sent me this letter from its president, an african american woman named Ruth Simmons. I kind of got excited and this is why: “Your record of accomplishment to date convinces us that you have the talent and initiative to be a very strong candidate for admission to Brown…” Now i’ve gotten letters from Yale, Harvard, and Princeton saying how my ACT scores and such make me a competitive applicant blah blah blah, but i know those don’t mean anything. However, THIS letter emphasized Simmons’s successes at the university and i felt like they send it to black students who score well. Is it just another one of those insignificant letters like the other one’s I’ve received? I hope not. lol</p>
<p>From the sound of it, my suspicion is that the letter is going to students who represent some aspect of Brown (like where you live, or your school etc.) that isn’t as well represented as they’d like, so they’re trying to get more students like you to apply this year. Although it could just as easily be a mass letter sent out to everyone with high scores, so that Brown gets more applicants this year than last.</p>
<p>So is there anyway of finding out if its good or insignificant?</p>
<p>I’d say it’s good that Brown’s spending some of their resources on you. Some people won’t get any college mail from top-name schools. But as far as being good/insignificant when comparing your application to other high-scoring kids, there’s not really a way to find out. Unless that signature from Dr. Simmons is real. That’d be a good indication, as I didn’t get a real signature until my acceptance letter. And that was from the dean of admission, not Dr. Simmons.</p>
<p>i got one of these too, and i was surprised because my score was pretty mediocre for brown. i was very happy though. brown is my top choice (:</p>
<p>I got one too earlier this month. Does anyone know how they find people? Is it through collegeboard or something, or is it from some mailing list that we signed up for? And the signature was definitely stamped/printed on.</p>
<p>I got one too–and I really would like to know if it’s a good sign.
:)</p>
<p>If you took the PSAT: did you check the box saying you want colleges to give you mail? if so, the PSAT people give universities a list of contacts for students who did well (without giving actual scores). I believe the ACT does the same thing. So it’s a good thing you’re getting the mail, because you’re seen as someone, based on your score, who could potentially fit. But it’s not an AMAZINGLY good thing, and it probably doesn’t mean your chance of getting in is >50%. But your chance is probably higher than if you checked the box and didn’t get any mail from Brown. Then again, maybe they’re only sending mail to certain locations, so what do I know?</p>
<p>Gah! I want answers! This whole process is quite annoying.</p>
<p>I hate to be downer, but I’d put it in the same category as the letters you mentioned receiving from Harvard and Yale :/</p>
<p>My friend who hasn’t taken the PSAT, ACT, SAT, or done anything notable got one of these as well. Although it did mention he was a URM (not in those words of course). Maybe brown is scouting URMs?</p>
<p>It can’t be exceptional PSAT scores, because when you check that box off on the test, the schools are given a list of names. However, your scores are not released with your name, nor is there any sorting or distinction.</p>
<p>I sometimes wonder how random the “who gets letters from which schools” aspect is. I remember receiving letters from Harvard, Princeton, and U. Penn, even though I’m by no means Harvard quality. Yet I never got a letter from Brown, and it is my first choice.</p>
<p>Heey I got one too 
does it really gve us a better chance ?</p>
<p>I got this same letter about a month and a half ago. By the looks of this thread, it is nothing special. Every other poster here says they got one too XD</p>