Typical, cliched chance! Por favor!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
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<p>This will be a pretty typical post and I’m too tired/lazy to spice it up so please bear with me guys haha. So for years I’ve been dead-set on applying ED to Penn (I’m a legacy), but recently I’ve fallen a bit out of love with it. I’m very social in high school so I thought Penn was the perfect school for me (party atmosphere, big city life, etc.), but I’ve realized that it would be better for me to branch out/have a change of pace. Brown seems to be a really intellectually stimulating place from what I’ve heard/read on CC, and I think the homey-ness of the campus and the intellectualness would be good for me (in contrast to Penn’s cliqueyness and pre-professionalism). It’s not what I was originally looking for in a college but as time goes on, I’m realizing that those things are more important to me than I thought, mostly because I haven’t experienced either at home so I don’t really know what I’m missing. K I’m rambling SORRY!</p>

<p>WARNING: Sorry if my stats are long lol
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
School Type: Highly competitive public school in a suburb of NYC, sends plenty of kids to Ivies each year, ~280 students in my class.
<strong><em>Brown seems to hate our school recently and hasn’t accepted anyone ED in 2 years. An alum from the area that I know told me that the students she interviews rarely get in :frowning: So I’m not really sure if it would be even worth applying ED because it might just be a waste - so any tips to make my app more Brown-oriented and less typical middle class suburban?</em></strong></p>

<p>GPA: Unweighted is 95 point something; Weighted is 101 point something (number grades)

  • all grades are in the 90s except three difficult research classes in the high 80s (I tried doing behavioral research, ended up not being my thing) and an 89 in Precal Research Honors.
  • all honors/AP
  • so far, 5’s on Euro, APUSH, Bio, and BC Calc</p>

<p>Senior Course Load: AP Lit, AP Spanish, AP Macro, AP Gov, AP Physics B, Multivariable Calculus/Differential Equations, Chorus</p>

<p>Scores:

  • SAT I: 760 CR, 720 M, 800 W (12 essay) first time; 800 CR, 750 M, 800 W (9 essay) second time. So basically my superscore is 2350. You’re welcome, I did the math for you!
  • SAT II: Bio E - 770, Math II - 800, U.S. History - 800</p>

<p>Awards (mostly minor stuff): Honorable Mention at a regional research competition, silver medal at a local math fair, All County Chorus since elementary school (hopefully All State this year), local Heroes of Autism award, chosen as one of 2 students to represent my school in a national essay competition (didn’t win haha), National Merit Commended.</p>

<p>EC’s:

  • Drama Club for four years (Membership Coordinator)
  • Lacrosse for four years (varsity for two years)
  • Athletes Helping Athletes (athlete leadership club - “don’t drink! respect each other!” etc)
  • Student council rep for two years, Jr. Prom Committee
  • School’s special chorus for four years
  • NHS (treasurer)
  • FLHS (secretary)
  • Tri-M
  • Speech and Forensics for two years, qualified for States soph year
  • Columnist for the school newspaper
  • Singing lessons for like 10 years</p>

<p>Volunteering: I think I’ll have over 200 hours by the time I graduate. Mostly autism related things.

  • On the board of a charity that organizes an annual basketball tournament for kids to benefit autism.
  • Involved with groups that help autistic children in the area learn to play baseball and basketball. I’ll be the student head volunteer of the baseball league this year.</p>

<p>Work Experience: Working this summer at day camp for two months - I’m a “shadow” for an autistic child (basically a one-on-one counselor).</p>

<p>I think my essay will be very interesting and unexpectedly intellectual compared to my extracurriculars.</p>

<p>I’d probably major in either Modern Culture & Media (most practical), Literary Arts, or History (least practical). I’ve always been passionate about culture and history, and I love the art of storytelling, so I’m kinda split between them.</p>

<p>Let me know what you guys think! Also, any tips on like how to frame my app and passions? I know it seems like I just have a long list of activities but I like keeping busy and trying different things so I hope it doesn’t work against me haha</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

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<p>Your stats are great and you could probably write a stellar essay on your experiences dealing with autism. Your interest in the field shows a high level of empathy and acceptance of those less fortunate than yourself; it’s particularly notable because you seem to have no interest in pre-med, so you’re not pursuing it as a possible future job opportunity.</p>

<p>Brown adcoms seem to have a preference for candidates with strong community service projects, and dealing with the autistic is one of the tougher challenges in this area. If you feel that Brown’s current relationship with your school is not at its best, you might be better off focusing on your outside-of-high-school interests and accomplishments as much as possible.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the response! I’m also a little bit concerned that my unweighted GPA is inflated by non-academic classes like phys ed and chorus, so does anyone think it’s an issue that my core classes would average at about 93.5? </p>

<p>I wasn’t really planning on writing about autism for the personal statement, but I think I could easily find a way to write about it on the supplement, so thank you LoremIpsum!</p>

<p>Anyone else have advice/thoughts?</p>

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<p>Let your love for the art of storytelling come through in your essays, and you could be in good shape. This can be a challenge with Brown’s short essays. And… make sure you are not too tired/lazy to spice it up. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Haha, thank you thumzup!</p>

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<p>Do you know what the stats were like of those students in your school who were accepted RD? If you’re close enough to them you could have a great shot ED, I think.</p>

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<p>The ones who were accepted RD were like HYP-status kids, so I’m not exactly on that level hahaha</p>

<p>BUMPPPP</p>

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<p>I think you have an excellent chance, you have really great stats and EC’s! Apply to Brown ED if it’s your top school, it can only help your chances to do that.
Good luck!</p>

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<p>would you mind if I posted your stats on the brown ED thread?
I’ve already “chanced” you, though! :)</p>

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<p>I’m not sure if I’m applying ED yet! I’m visiting the campus in like 3 weeks!</p>

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<p>You have a great chance at both Brown and Penn!</p>

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<p>Thank you so much!</p>

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<p>Well, I’ll put it this way.</p>

<p>I’m almost too depressed to even want to apply to any school with a caliber anywhere near that of Brown after seeing this.</p>