Take a chance? Chance me, plz :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
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<p>Hey folks, this is my first time posting on CC and I’m pretty psyched about joining this neat community :slight_smile: I’ve been browsing the site for a while and it seems like a lot of people have a good sense of what colleges look for in students…which leads to this question that I’ve had for a while…I’m planning to apply to Brown University this fall (Early Decision) and I just recently started preparing my applications. It’s pretty nerve-racking to apply to Brown, since it’s been on the top of my list for a while. Anyways, I was wondering what my chances are of getting in to Brown???</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 unweighted and 4.16 weighted (my school only offers IB courses and the highest possible weighted GPA is probably around 4.2(?))
SAT’S: 2240 (cant remember exact stats for each sub area, sry :frowning: )
SAT2: I’m planning to take 2 this October, Math 2c and Chemistry. Then, in November I’m taking Literature…I know I’m such a procrastinator when it comes to this :frowning: Just to get a basic gist, I score around 750~800 in practice tests for those 3 subjects.
Class Rank: Not sure yet…But I suspect its around 3~10% of my class? around 100 ppl in my class. btw I attend an international school in Asia
IB Classes: 3 Higher level classes including English A1 Biology and History
3 Standards…including Math, Spanish, and Chemistry
We’re only allowed to take 3 higher levels max in my school, sadly…:frowning:
Languages: I speak 3 languages, 2 fluently. :)</p>

<p>Extra Currics/Leadership Positions/Work Experience: Hmm let’s see,</p>

<p>Competitive Cheer for 3 years(captain next year)
Volunteered at a center for the disabled over the summer. 2 times a week for 3 hours. REALLY enjoyed it there :wink:
Red Cross for 2 years(president)-I’m planning to arrange service trips to the center I mentioned just above & I’m pretty excited for that haha
School Newspaper for 2.5 years(copy editor for this past year, not sure what’s gna happen next year, though.)
Creative Writing Society 4 years(president)- I got 4 of my work published in the club magazine
NHS 2 years(president)
Spanish Society 2 years
Speech and Debate 3 years: competed in National competitions and a Pacific Asia tournaments. Made it to finals in the Pacific Asia one and won 3 awards in national competitions.
Competitive Fencing 5 years (currently at a level equivalent to a black belt in taekwondo)
Internship at an Advanced Science University in Asia (2 summer internships)
Flute (5 years): Currently tutoring 2 elementary kids, high school band
Piano (8 years): i just like to practice alone…
National Merit Scholarship Candidate…Semi Finalist results come out in 2 months
All in all, I have 200+ hours of volunteering.</p>

<p>Essay:
I wrote 2 essays so far and I’m pretty confident about them both. I tried to show my crazy/creative side and talked about important activities in my life.</p>

<p>Recommendations:
I’m planning to ask 2 of my core subject teachers to write recs for me. I’m asking them because I consider them my favorite teachers, and they seem know me the best as a student and a person. Both of them, I suspect, will be veryyyyy personal, maybe even emotional. </p>

<p>I can’t think of anything else… I think that’s all I got. Soooo, what are my chances? Be honest in your responses, pwease :). Graciassss, amigos!</p>

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<p>no offense, but you seem like a normal, paranoid, over-achieving asian. it’s possible, but difficult to get into top american schools as an international with nothing that really stands out. Have other people read your essays. the brown supplement is brutal…make sure your short answers aren’t generic (make sure only you could write them). Why do you want to go to brown?</p>

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<p>haha thanks for being honest, even though it did sting a bit. i might come off as a typical azn, but i definitely have special reasons why i aspire for brown. yup, i’ll start looking at the supplement essays. thanks, zonis</p>

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<p>So… I usually hate these “chance me” posts/threads. But I was in exactly the same position you’re currently in a year ago, so I’d love to try and help as you work your way through the dreaded CommonApp. I had forever dreamed of Brown and was wanting to tear my hair out from fear that I wouldn’t get in about a year ago. In fact, the discouraging numbers almost caused me not to apply.
In any case, I applied ED last October and was deferred. I got in RD and am now happy to announce that I’m part of the Brown Class of 2015! (The deferral acceptance rate, mind you, is 5%. Never in a million years did I imagine that I would ever make a cut of 5%, but I did! So stop looking at numbers, in case they’re causing you great distress like they did to me.) Enough about me… just wanted to give you some background.
In any case, I think Zonis’ comment is completely moronic and racist. So you’re a “normal, paranoid, over-achieving asian”. His (her) comment really disgusts me. People frown upon Asians as a whole why? Because they’re… “over-achieving”? Honestly, he (she) has no business posting here. I am NOT Asian, and I find his (her) comment to be of extremely poor taste. Please ignore moronic people like him (her) and anyone else who tries to discourage you because you’re Asian. I know plenty of Asians coming to Brown next year, many of which are international, so ignore him/his (her/her) comment.
So, I’ll tell you what your assets are:
You have good, if not great, test scores. They’re much higher than mine were. You are an international student, and thus you would allow Brown to announce to the world that they have a student (you) hailing from such-and-such country (wherever you’re coming from). Always a plus for Brown! You seem of sound mind (not too over-the-top), as you mentioned that this is your first time posting. Over zealous kids who post beginning in their freshman year of high school go to Harvard… and we all know that is not a happy place for undergrads… (Only kidding. But Brown is better! Duh.) You seem very involved and highly accomplished with your clubs and competitions. Always pluses!
All in all, I surely think you’re qualified.
BUT, many kids are qualified. Assuredly the 8.7% accepted from my class last year were not the only kids who were qualified. I’m sure over 50% were qualified. Now it comes down to one factor: whether you’re a good fit for the school.
One of the unique admission factors at Brown is the applicants “level of interest”. Essentially, the more enthusiasm you demonstrate towards the school, the better your chances. This means you should be attending info seshes in your area (if they have any, which is unlikely), emailing your admissions reader (if you can locate him/her somewhere on the web), visiting the school (if you can) to hopefully meet with an admissions person. If you can’t find your area’s admission reader on the web, I might even consider calling the admissions office at Brown and asking who the admissions reader for your area is (just say you have some questions you’d like to email him/her about, push for his/her name and email). I corresponded at least 3 or 4 times back-and-forth with my reader before any decisions came out. While it may be hard to find out who he/she is, I would seek him/her out to the best of your abilities. Forming that personal connection is VITAL. If they get to know you more personally through a few emails (NOT too many, you don’t want to seem overbearing), it will boost your chances. In fact, my reader actually greeted me at the admitted students days Brown hosted a few months ago (having remembered me from the info sesh I attended and the emails we exchanged).
So demonstrating your enthusiasm is just one factor. Your essays are of course key! Make sure to highlight your diversity/wordliness in them. Also, be creative. Both my essays were extended metaphors. Try not to regurgitate the accomplishments you filled in elsewhere on CommonApp. Try to show the readers that you can be humorous (though tastefully so). Show them that you can think out of the box and that you’re not afraid to write an essay that may be slightly outlandish, but that is articulate/informative/relevant nonetheless. If you can in one of your supplements, try to talk about your varied interests. Maybe you like English and Economics. You’ll want them to know that your academic interests lay in all different places, because that lets them know you’ll use the Open Curric to your full advantage. While it’s great to be passionate about one subject, displaying a passion for 2+ might be even better.
God, this is getting long, so I’ll end here. You’re more than welcome to read a couple of my other posts that talk about getting into Brown as well. They may prove helpful. You’re also free to email me on here if you are really looking for some serious guidance. I know the position you’re in. It’s uncomfortable and nerve-wracking. But know there is hope! Best of luck.
(For my other posts, see the post below this!)</p>

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<p>My other responses to a couple posts:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-2015/1132123-should-i-even-bother-wasting-75-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-2015/1132123-should-i-even-bother-wasting-75-a.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1113075-official-brown-university-class-2015-rd-results-8.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1113075-official-brown-university-class-2015-rd-results-8.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I just came upon this and had to respond. First, how were you in the exact same position as sammylee? Maybe similar, with not being sure about your chances, but He/She is an Asian international and you are white from SoCal. Second, it’s not racist to say he/she sounds overachieving. Why do Asians do better academically than other races? Are they smarter? I really don’t think any race is smarter than another. It comes down to effort, and Asians “overachieve” by emphasizing academics over other things. Anyway, you got in b/c you had the weird, creative essays that Brown likes and you worked in other countries. I’m just saying it seems it will be difficult for this Asian international with nothing that stands out to show the same quirkiness that you did. The test scores/grades are good, but there will be loads of Asians with better ones AND better EC’s so it all comes down to essays.</p>

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<p>@zonis20, you took me too literally. Of course I’m not Asian/international. I merely implied that I am able to empathize with sammylee because I applied such a short time ago, so I understand where she’s coming from.
And again, you’re generalizing. Asians don’t “emphasize academics”. All the more often they merely excel more than other races. But even then, not the same can be said for all Asian people.
You seem all too high and mighty with everything that you say… Who’s to say there will be other kids with “better” e/c’s/test scores. Hers are all pretty respectable, so I can’t say I agree with that. There’s a South Korean international that lives down the hall from me who got a 2170 on her SAT, so I don’t know where you’re gathering your information. Surely, the essays will be important, but I’m sure she’s well aware of that. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.</p>

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<p>Hi, This is my junior year schedule:
AP Biology
AP Lang
AP US History
AP Economics
AP Calc AB/BC (counts for 2)
Honors Spanish IV
Newspaper</p>

<p>I am worried that competitive colleges will see newspaper as a blow off class even though at my school it is like a real working bussiness…Help!</p>