<p>Rabo and Modestmelody-- you have given so much terrific information and we are really grateful! I have a financial aid question, and maybe you can help. While the package we got for FA is not terrific, it is certainly acceptable. However, I know that some schools use the first year package to entice students to enroll and then dramatically reduce the amount offered in subsequent years. While I understand that we must apply each year and that the amount will fluctuate somewhat, is it your experience that it will pretty much stay consistent?</p>
<p>In my case, my financial aid package did decrease slightly (by about $1000) in my sophomore year, but that was due to the fact that my older brother finished college.</p>
<p>Without drastic changes in Financial situation, the FA should remain relatively the same and is often increased through the 4 years. Brown calculates all four years at once, even though they only report to you award amounts yearly after receiving updates. For instance though I received almost no aid my first year, when I went to financial aid, I was informed that the next year I would likely receive at least the subsidized loans and the following two years I'd like get half off since my sister is going into college and all of the money saved for college in my name will be long gone (which significantly lowers my EFC).</p>
<p>Your best bet is to talk with them but it's highly unlikely the package will be reduced unless there is a reason (scholarship award, inheritance, etc).</p>
<p>Yes. The way FA works is that it's designed to meet the expressed need that you have, not to make it easier to pay for school, which is what a lot of people think. Listen-- it's really hard if you qualify for aid to pay, I know that first hand, however, the aid is there only to make it not impossible rather than to make it comfortable or even easier.</p>
<p>Scholarship money that must be put towards your undergraduate education is the same as having money in your name in the bank-- as a student, any money you have in your name should be spent 100% on college, that's the view of the government and therefore most schools. To be effectively using Financial Aid means you'd end up at 0 and mostly likely with some loans. The idea is to put you in a reduced negative balance, not to even break even, and not to be on the plus when you get out. There is some expectation that you will accrue and assume debt. Scholarship money, unfortunately for those who qualify for aid, isn't viewed as extra money earned that should make things easier for you, rather, simply as money to pay towards college.</p>
<p>That's my understanding, though I admit I'm not an expert.</p>
<p>Can I ask where else some of you current Brown undergrads were accepted and why you decided to go to Brown instead? I want to see if there are any overlaps with me (I'm having trouble deciding between Brown, Duke, and Northwestern right now).</p>
<p>All freshman live in dorms and the housing is pretty much completely randomly selected-- and despite what some schools may tell you, you're just as likely to get a great or a **** roommate this way as any other.</p>
<p>Actually I think most rooms are singles, but all freshman live in doubles and probably about a third of sophomores. From that point on it's a bit more rare.</p>
<p>Thanks for being so helpful! You're wonderful! Maybe you can help me too! :-P I'm currently deciding between Brown and Cornell and I'm leaning towards Brown on the side of general academics and environment. However, I'm probably going into Engineering and I've found that Cornell's school of engineering gets talked about more often than Brown. This is probably because Cornell has a larger population consisting of more undergrads and grads, so more resources might be available at their school of engineering. What are your thoughts on that? And do you know if Brown have a specific laptop requirement for all students?</p>
<p>I guess I could find this info elsewhere, but how well do Brown students fair while applying to top grad schools for physics/math? (like cal tech, stanford, etc...)</p>
<p>Brown student in general do well applying to grad school, but I'm not that familiar with physics or math department's specific success.</p>
<p>Cornell's engineering program is better than ours for strictly engineering. There are many reasons why people come here instead and you will still have a great degree coming out here. It's a matter of what's a priority for you and how sure you are about engineering and what type of engineer you want to be. We have no laptop or computer requirements.</p>
<p>It's really a lot more complex sometimes than, "This program is better than that program" though objectively Cornell does have the stronger engineering school.</p>
<p>Modestmelody - I'm an international, aren't there ANY kind of Financial Aid or scholarship I can get? As for a low-middle class student, I'm having a pretty hard time figuring out how to afford the education. No such thing as merit-based scholarships etc??</p>
<p>A personal question: how many Korean students are there? </p>
<p>And, are economics and applied mathematics strong at Brown?</p>
<p>@ungan - I am an international and I've got financial aid from Brown. Not as much as I expected but manageable. Note though that the amount of financial aid you need will factor into the admission decision if you are an international. Though if you are admitted, Brown does meet full demonstrated financial need (in other words, you might not get what you asked for but its likely that the financial aid will be enough to make Brown affordable). There are no merit based scholarships for freshmen.</p>
<p>Our Applied Math department is one of the best in the country, and as for econ, all I know is that we're the number 1 recruited school for Goldman-Sachs.</p>