The Yearly: Brown student taking questions thread

<p>There is no network throttling or monthly limits at Brown.</p>

<p>Negru, I don't see a huge seen for metal at Brown. I'm a guitar player into a mix of rock and some pretty heavy stuff though not really into metal but I don't know more than 2 full on guitar playing metal heads. You're not going to ifnd anything with amps or loudspeakers equipped but there are practice rooms you can get in Steinert where oyu can lock your **** up to practice with a band. I wish I could find a damn band...</p>

<p>You're going to want ot bring your own amp. 22w Tube combo + attenuator FTW.</p>

<p>Is there a lot of smoking (cigarettes/pot) at Brown? (should it be a cause for concern for an asthmatic?)</p>

<p>Also, is it an advantage/disadvantage to have a mac/PC, particularly for engineering?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>There is no network throttling of any kind? Do they take kindly to people taking up lots of bandwidth using torrents and p2p?</p>

<p>No network throttling of any kind. If you're caught downloading (which happens, as I said, very common), they give you a 3 strikes deal before you lose network privileges for good at brown.</p>

<p>There is a lot of pot smoking, not as much cigarette, but it's often restricted to weekends and it's only in personal spaces 99% of the time so I wouldn't worry about it at all as an asthmatic.</p>

<p>Though I tend to be more of a Mac guy (well, I use Linux personally), my understanding is that for engineering PC is the way to go as there are a lot of specialized programs that are used. To what extent that is true I'm not sure and considering you could run Windows on a Mac if you want I think that it depends on your own willingness to put up with issues.</p>

<p>For those who applied for financial aid, is it possible to get more aid than the amount that's on your statement because your expected family contribution is still impossibly high??</p>

<p>You can talk to them and try. Remember that the EFC adjusts year to year based upon the amount you spend. Whereas my first year I received nearly no aid, by my second year when I had spend a ton of college savings, I started to receive aid. By next year, when my sister also goes to college, I will be receiving almost half off. None of this is discussed in the initial letter but was discussed when I sat down with Financial aid.</p>

<p>Not only that, but if you got another, better Financial Aid offer, especially from an Ivy League school, Brown will certainly readjust. Maybe not from other universities, but from "peers" they almost always budge.</p>

<p>Would they consider Cornell CALS (state subsidized) a "peer?"</p>

<p>Despite being from NY, I don't know too much about the state subsidized half of Cornell. My guess is, they're not going ot be able to make it as affordable as a school that's lower in tuition because they receive state funding, but they may be able to adjust and would consider somewhat adjusting what they can offer you.</p>

<p>FWIW, I have major problems with Cornell's whole state subsidized thing-- I blame Cornell for screwing NY out of having a fantastic land grant university like many other states. Considering how good our K-12 is compared to the rest of the country and how many students here go to college it's a crime we don't have the best state university or one of the best-- oh wait we do, it's Cornell and they're still getting paid for it basically.</p>

<p>What's the best advice you would give to us as incoming freshmen? :)</p>

<p>Advice for freshmen? Well this isn't Brown specific, but learn how to communicate with your roommate very early on! School is hard enough without having to go home and deal with lots of passive/aggressive drama. A good roommate can make your life so much better and a bad one can make it hell, and while roommate selection at Brown is random, communication really helps everyone make the best of things.</p>

<p>Here is some advice from a blog post I made here:
<a href="http://realivy.com/main/2006/08/10/my-true-introduction-a-bit-of-advice/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://realivy.com/main/2006/08/10/my-true-introduction-a-bit-of-advice/&lt;/a>
* Be yourself, but not too much. Realize that lying, pretending to be someone or something your not, and a false smile will only take you through orientation. Be cautious enough to get off on the right foot, but do so while remaining who you are. Realize that everyone you now meet has no idea what your life was like before and who you were– share what’s necessary, but drop the baggage. You’ll be happier as a person and be far better equipped to find real friends, and not fake hellos.
* Don’t try and remember every name, you’ll never need them again. The first week of school you will be confronted with several hundred names– it’s not important you remember and Facebook them all. Don’t worry, the people who are going to be around more often will mention their names again (and if they don’t, feel free to ask), and those that won’t probably forgot your name already too.
* Talk to your roommate, be fair, but be firm. Talk about what it is that you think will bug the hell out of someone living with you. Find out their pet peeves and difficulties as well. Discuss what you’d like the environment in your room should be like and establish a middle ground. This brings me to my next point…
* I understand the need for personal space, but… an open door can go a long way. Just having an open door and an inviting feel/attitude will bring in all kinds of people, at all times, all throughout the year. My roommate and I were fine with people coming in and spending sometime with us even if we didn’t really know them. This happened frequently straight through the year– if someone was in the room the door was open and all were welcome, period. This created a fantastic social environment as our room became a hub for people in our dormitory, making finding friends and easy task.
* But lock your door when you’re not around! If you don’t want someone to steal your stuff, don’t give them a free pass. I wouldn’t be wrong to say that over 95% of all thefts on college campuses occur when people leave their room open. Suck it up, learn how to take your key, and lock the door behind you at all times. Be friendly, but make sure you’re stuff is safe.
* Get over your grades. Yes, college is important. Just like high school, it can be treated as simply a stepping point to the next challenge– an obstacle which you must overcome to prove your worth to medical schools, business schools, graduate schools, and commercial industry alike. This does not mean that the best approach for you is to push for a 4.0. If you’re driven, and that’s all that matters to you, go for it and don’t look back. For me, the best advice I can give is realize that college is a place of learning. Todays top universities can be viewed as strongholds of knowledge– soak up all of the knowledge you want. Find subjects and courses you’re motivated by and take them. I am at Brown University specifically for the freedom it provides in choosing my course load. Engage in your personal curriculum, be active in your learning. Recognize that the Law of Diminishing Returns can be applied to that MISERABLE class, Introduction to Literature of Post-Feminist Native American Culturalist in Translation, and that a B will not be the end of th world. Let college not be a place where you seek great success through grade assessment, rather, let it be a place where you see great success through learning.
* College is about the next four years… not the years after that point! Learn what fascinates you, figure out a job later. Don’t justify with money, justify with desire. It’s important not to preoccupy yourself with fears of the real world– that’ll come whether you like it or not. It’s now time to plan your life at college, slowly, as it is necessary. My personal approach to choosing a concentration involved reading quite a bit about courses and looking at all the concentrations even remotely close to something that I liked and choosing the path that included the most courses I would like to take at some point. I dubbed this, “The Path Of Least ****ty-ness”. This is the path least likely to make me miserable in the next four years. Beyond that, who the hell knows what I am going to do.
* Enjoy. This is your last chance to be stupid, your first chance to live independently, entirely surrounded by friends. Make mistakes, screw up your priorities, have a good time. Don’t fear taking chances. Remember that students, especially at school that fits you well, can, and most likely will, be far more interesting than any professor you meet. Learning happens constantly, whether you’re studying for Organic Chemistry or drinking your Friday to oblivion. Experience it all, get a taste for life and bask in it. You’ll be surprised what becomes the most important and defining moment of your year.</p>

<p>Wow modestmelody you should be a meiklejohn?!! Way to represent the Brown family!</p>

<p>Thanks, Brunonian. I really love Brown and I love to talk about Brown with people because I feel like every time I explain what it is about Brown that is so special to me, I learn a little bit more about myself and the school. It helps me put daily concerns into prospective and allows me to idealize my world a bit. I can't feel that same sense of idealism and hope when talking about things on a larger scale (government, for instance), but I still feel like there is something wholesome and above that in academia and especially at Brown and that's what I try to present.</p>

<p>I actually never wanted to write the essays to be a Meiklejohn and still haven't become a tour guide (due to scheduling) despite really wanting to do that. If you have any questions...</p>

<p>When you mean "catch you download," do you mean like the RIAA comes in and sends a letter, or just that the IT department monitors how much you download on a weekly basis?</p>

<p>RIAA. Brown's not monitoring your traffic. When the RIAA or MPAA contacts them with an IP that was found to be downloading something illegally, they forward a mail message to the "owner" of that IP on campus referencing the policy and that you were caught, the file you were caught on, and basically slap you on the wrist until strike three when they'll cut off your network privileges on campus.</p>

<p>Ok, the following was posted in another forum and i would like to hear what Brown students have to say about these comments about Brown. Would you guys share with us some first hand information, ?? Thanks !!</p>

<p>"I didn't apply to Brown, and I don't know a huge amount about it. I have to say, you sound as if you would really find what you're looking for at the U of C. I think that you would enjoy the core curriculum since you have an interest in philosophy and in physics. The core exposes you too all subjects and disciplines while giving you a very solid educational foundation, which is something I personally valued when looking for a school (I wanted to know that at the end of four years I would truly be on the path to being an educated citizen in the way I conceptualized). At Brown, of course, you would have the freedom to take more electives in random subjects. I personally value the fact that Chicago expects students to form a broad educational foundation before going into specific subjects, but you may not agree.</p>

<p>There is a very strong community atmosphere. This is in part a bond among students at a very difficult institution, but it also includes professors and graduate students who all feel that this is a special place--something similar may be true at all Universities, I'm not sure. The students here are very cooperative. They are not competitive, and students are always willing to help out people in their classes or house who are having trouble. Problem sets are often completed in groups, and it's not unusual for students in a humanities class to "trade" paper to edit before turning them in. The advisors here are much better than advisors I've heard about at any other schools my friends or family members have attended. You keep the same advisor all four years, and you're required to meet with your advisor three times the first year and once every following year, though many students go in much more frequently. The classes here tend to be small, and the humanities core classes are discussion-based and tend to max out around eighteen students. Those professors will get to know you whether you want to or not. It's very easy to keep up relationships with most professors; they hold office hours, and they're very willing to talk. </p>

<p>Socially, the scene is whatever you want it to be. Some people party all the time, some never do, but most do something in between. There are movies, coffee houses, restaurants, the city, frats, apartment parties, casual get-togethers, and anything else you can think of. There's no stigma attached to not partying. Obviously the atmosphere at Chicago is quite intellectual, which results in people being open-minded to anything as long as you can back it up. If I remember correctly, Brown's student body is particularly politically active. You should know, I've heard that many Brown students are not accepting of political viewpoints that vary from the campus mainstream (which is very liberal). I'm not sure how true it is or how much it would bother you, but I've heard it multiple times. That's something I haven't seen much of at Chicago in any direction. People respect the thought process going into beliefs, so as long as that is solid, people tend to let you go without making a big deal out of it. </p>

<p>They are both great schools. From your post, you sound like a U of C student all the way, but I'm sure you'd succeed and be happy at Brown, as well. Good luck."</p>

<p>I know it's been said a million times on this board, but for crying out loud, the majority of Brown students are not rabid liberals who don't respect any other viewpoints. There are conservative groups on campus, and there are many people who don't really talk about politics at all. </p>

<p>I'm not sure why everyone assumes that because there is no core, Brown students are not educated citizens. Most brown students complete the requirements for a basic core on their own anyway. In the end, you decide what makes an educated citizen and you find your own way to get there. And you don't have to take anything you don't want along the way. This makes for happier students who are passionate about all their classes and are willing to do the work and contribute to discussions, and basically get the most out of their education. If you don't think knowing some art history is essential to being an "educated citizen," then don't take it. </p>

<p>Brown collaborative nature has already been mentioned in this thread. You hardly ever hear people talking about grades. Instead, people tend to mention their professors' comments on their papers. </p>

<p>U of Chicago might be better than Brown for you, who knows. But certainly not for those reasons.</p>

<p>Rabo's got it.</p>

<p>Take it in context when a UChicago student talks about their core. They're very defensive of the 18 classes forced upon them to make them "educated intellectuals" and are rabid about how this creates common experience and well-rounded individuats.</p>

<p>That is true, but just because you don't have to doesn't mean you won't or can't take just as wide if not a wider scope of courses at Brown. I'm at Brown not to take all courses in my concentration, but because I could have just as much breadth as a core but I'd get to choose my way through it. There are far fewer, "Chemistry for Poets" type classes at Brown because if you take a class it's because you want to learn about the subject-- there is no dilution, there is no understanding because it's not your topic and you're only there to gain breadth-- you're there to learn what that course is offering in its entirety. It's simply wrong to say that Brown students cannot be well-rounded, well-versed, diverse learners. In fact, that's exactly what Brown produces in 99% of cases.</p>

<p>UChicago is a great school but the above poster clearly knows very little about Brown and what it is. How hard is it to understand that you can take physics and poetry and philosophy and political science (to stay with "P" courses) in one semester because you want to not because you have to?</p>

<p>^^^^ Fully agree with you guys. I have already some very heated discussions with the U of C people beofe and did not even want to get into this one. Defensive is just a fraction of how they behave, especially the parents...!!</p>

<p>I know U of C first hand ( legacy ). I found the comments about "political intolerance" at Brown totally ridiculous also.</p>

<p>Here is a huge piece of advice:</p>

<p>Use the Brown webpage. I love answering questions here, but it's amazing how much of this information is at your finger tips on our poorly designed POS webpage. Definitely try and browse as much of it's nooks and crannies as possible as there is a seemingly infinite amount of information to be found there.</p>