<p>It's actually hard to say whether it's harder to get into Brown as a transfer than a freshman. The year I applied, it was easier (20% or so accepted -- though the applicant pool is usually of a stronger caliber, so who knows, really). This last year, it was significantly harder. It all depends on how many people they admit, and that's really up in the air. I'd reccomend asking an admin officer if the number will go up from this last year, if only for piece of mind.</p>
<p>Application tips: </p>
<p>TYPE your application. Don't fill in the forms by hand. DL adobe acrobat and fill out the forms. Make sure everything is attractive and impecable. It really helps. </p>
<p>Draw up and send in a mid year grade report, especially if your grades are good. You can get one from a school like Oberlin that requires it and adapt it for Brown (agian, do this on the computer). More good grades can only help. If you do something impressive after you send in your application, or realize you forgot to include it, send an update lettter! I took glass blowing my second semester and was pretty good at it, so I sent in a mini portfolio (I had previously sent in an extensive ceramics portfolio) and I sent in a letter about an everglades restoration trip i went on over spring break and some work that i did with a club that i forgot to mention.</p>
<p>All your ec's, awards, and work experience don't fit on the form you've been given? No worries. Add a sheet of paper or draw up your own form. Include EVERYTHING </p>
<p>Your essays, I think, are the most important, so make them impecable as well. Make them fun and catchy to read, even with something as simple as little line at the end that ties everything together. In your transfer essay, show that you've really done your homework. Expressly say what you're looking for and why Brown has it and Smith doesn't. Mention details, like the neuroscience department's cutting edge research with microchip implants for paralyzed people and partnership with NIH, or the newly expanded biomed center, or things like the RA's not being disciplinary and why that's great for you (those are just some examples I used (and I used a lot more)...you obviously don't have to use them). My point is be specific, very specific, about why you want to attend Brown. But don't just write about changing schools, write about how your school has affected you and what you learned or how you've grown. I also reccomend sending in a supplementary essay that's just a personal statement like you would send in as a freshman. Write them a good while before they are due so you can revisit them and look at them with fresh perspective. That way they will be their best. Get people to edit them, but at the end of the day, listen to your heart about what you really want to say. Also, get rid of lines, even if they are clever or eloquent, that are not directly tied to the point of your essay. Make them as concice as possible (an essay that goes over the word limit is fine if it is concise). Concise essays are easier to read. You never want your essay to be boring or laborious to read!</p>
<p>On the note of supplementary material, send that stuff in! If you have an art portfolio, or did science reserach and wrote up an article/journal about it (I'm presuming your daugther did something special to win that award), or something similar, by all means send it in. Or if your ec's are ambiguous (i.e. their significance is not clearly conveyed by the mere mention of them in the ec section) send in an appendix expalining them. Like I would send in an appendix explaining that the Renesselar Science award and Harvard Book award are such and such...etc. A page from my book would be an appendix I sent in explaining a science apprenticeship I did, (it probably would have looked like science camp if I hadn't explained what I had done and how impressive it was that I did it as a freshman) and a rugby camp I went to (that would have looked like little league camp if I hadn't explained that it was tryouts for the national team for which 50 people nationwide were selected). But don't send in anything repetetive or unimportant as supplementary material (e.g. DON'T send in a resume -- make your ec section your resume). That is of course a judgement call and up to you. But I err on the side of sending in everything possible that showcases who you are and what you can do. </p>
<p>Call in and ask an admin person a question (one of substance) and get their name and number. Next time you have a question, call the SAME person. Build a relationship and you may be more than a name on a piece of paper come to admissions time. I was actually lucky on this front -- when I applied, it was the year they changed the fin aid system to allowing fin aid for transfers, and the system was very unclear so I had all sorts of questions. I called and asked questions and ended up having a conversation with the dean of transfer admissions about it (he actually called me!), and I think he was impressed by me. I think that actually iced my acceptance to Brown. </p>
<p>If there's still time, retake your SATS and ACT's. It can't hurt, and you may even improve your score!</p>
<p>If you're really good at a sport (this may not apply) get in contact with the coach and see if they can vouch for you. I did this with rugby, and though rugby is not varsity and cannot recruit, I think the nudge was helpful and if anything allowed my rugby accomplishments to be clearly conveyed by a "professional" (coach). If you are considering varsity (even as a walk on) DEFINITELY do this. </p>
<p>Now these are obviously just my opinions, but I think they are pretty solid. I applied to college 3 times, and I think by the third time, I finally got it right.</p>
<p>(I applied as a freshman to Harvard, Brown, Pomona, Stanford, Yale, Tulane, Colo St, and U Oregon, and was accpted only to the last 3. I then took a year off (was already planning on it), and applied to Tulane, Wash U in St. Louis, and Brown (rather half-heartedly -- parents didn't want me to...long, mean story) and got into the honors program at tulane and was waitlisted at Wash U and Brown -- and eventually rejected. Then I applied as a transfer from Tulane to Penn (legacy), Oberlin, Vassar (rugby recruit), Swarthmore, Wash U, Yale, Brown, Pomona, Tufts, and Puget Sound. I was accepted to Penn, Brown, Swarthmore, Vassar, Puget Sound, and deffered at Wash U (never followed up). So, in summary, I think I got it right the 3rd time around)</p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>