1.) I’m a high school junior and currently have a 3.3 GPA due to my slacking off in freshman year. I think I did well with my application (brief) essays and my recommendation was very flattering. Is it possible for me to be accepted and get financial aid?
2.) I’m interested in taking the Social Psychology and Music & Politics: From Mozart to Arcade Fire courses that run at the same time. I would say I can handle a medium amount of workload before I get overwhelmed. Would the workload be too much for me? Should I consider changing my course choices?
3.) I’m also interested in taking a math course, but I know that I can’t take three courses and I couldn’t find one I liked. Are there any math course recommendations?
4.) What is the social scene like? Is it easy to make friends? Are there a lot of romantic relationships? Are there parties?
5.) What are the dorm rooms like?
6.) My friends tend to call me a social butterfly. I know it sounds lame, but I actually want to be friends with as many people as I can from Summer @ Brown. I want to be able to hang out with tons of people, have a nice group of friends, and be able to keep in touch with people from across the globe. Any tips on making as many friends as possible? Including simple ones! I’ve heard that keeping your room door open is welcoming and people will just randomly pop in and say hi, is that true?
7.) What is the best way to organize… your things? class schedule? notebooks? free time?
8.) What should I expect?
9.) How strict is the program? Are the curfews enforced?
I know this was a lot, but thank you if you actually take the time to answer all of these questions… hell, thank you if you even answer one!
Hi! I applied for this summer too (and got in), but beforehand I was nervous too. I saw in some other forums that usually it seems like they accept kids with at least some As and Bs. Seeing as your essays were great, then you’ll most likely get in.
I would recommend sticking with one or two classes, as I read somewhere on Brown’s website that you can get up to 3 hours of work per night per class (I don’t know if that is true or not.) Also, the dorms are older and don’t have AC so just be prepared for that.
If anyone else has answers to the rest of these, please respond! I also want to make a lot of new friends and I’m curious as to what the social life is like.
Hope to see you there!
Hey, I applied for this year too and got in. I heard you can do whatever you want when not in class, but they do have activities all the time. What course are you doing?
hey there! I went last summer (and might go again this summer) so I’ll try to answer your questions as best as I can…
Social Scene: Honestly, everyone is looking to make new friends and we all know that we’re only at Brown for a short amount of time. That means its so easy to make new friends and the program has scheduled activities every day and you can meet people through that. There are NOT many romantic relationships, at least I don’t think so. People are more into hooking up but even that isn’t much of a big deal. So if you’re not looking to get involved you and you’re friends should just not go to the Main Green at night and there are a TON of other things to do!!
Dorms: I stayed in the quad where the freshman usually stay (forgot the name) and they were really nice!! They were spacious and although the layout for each room varied a little, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Each floor has 2 bathrooms and each floor is divided in half so each group is able to bond better with your RA. However, some people stay in the grad dorms and I heard those were pretty crappy…
Question 6: Yes keep your door open! Especially in the beginning when youre getting to know your hall mates! In fact my RA made it a rule to keep our door open
Q7: Honestly organization is all subjective… Some classes have more HW than others, some people do their HW right after class or wait, and some people even double up on classes! So approach it like school in a way but know that its not as serious and you’re here to have fun
Q9: the program is not strict but the few rules they really do emphasize are not that big of a deal. This means DON’T drink or do drugs as you will have to report it on your Common App and you’ll be sent home… AKA a waste of time and money and you don’t want to miss out on Summer@brown!!! Curfew is at 11? but some RA’s are less strict so I ended up sneaking into a room down the hall every night which isn’t a big deal
Overall, expect all different kinds of people (wealth, races, nationality, personality) and be open to doing new things. Personally, I held back a bit last year during my first week and I really regret that.
That was a lot, sorry… so let me know if you have more questions!
I’m in almost the same exact situation as tswizzle here. I went there last summer too and I am going there again this summer for sure. If there is one thing I can tell you it is that you should most definitely not hold back. The people you meet there are amazing. Everyone goes there for different reasons. Some to simply get away from the people they know, others for the academic experience. No matter what you go there for, you will have a blast. It is worth every single dollar.