<p>I am currently a high school student working on the Brown supplement, and I need urgent help.
I came across the “Anticipated Degree Program and Academic Interest at Brown” section and it asks that you just list your interests for now.
But I have a few questions:</p>
<ol>
<li>Does this mean if I get accepted to Brown, I will be put into those fields for the start?</li>
<li>If I put undecided, how should I write my “Why are you drawn to the area(s) of study you indicated?” response?</li>
<li>At the bottom of the supplement, the “Academic Essays For Applicants To Specific Programs”, it asks that you write a response if you chose a specific program. It makes it sound like even if you are undecided and just have a tiny INTEREST in, lets say, engineering, and list engineering in the Anticipated Degree Program section, you still have to write a response.</li>
<li>In the “Academic Essays For Applicants To Specific Programs”, at the bottom of question 1 for all essays, it states “Feel free to elaborate on your response to question 2”. Please explain this to me!</li>
</ol>
<p>Sorry if this makes no sense at all, and ask for more clarity if necessary.
I need a response ASAP!!!</p>
<p>I have the same question!!! I wanna put undecided for “Anticipated Degree Program and Academic Interest at Brown” too! I don’t know if I should write an essay for specific program such as engineering, since my transcript, EC, and everything else reflect that I will most likely major in something related to science, engineering instead of liberal arts majors. But I don’t wanna bind myself to engineering…</p>
<p>Will it look bad if we don’t put down anything?</p>
<p>“Brown students choose a degree and concentration (major) by the end of their 2nd (sophomore) year at Brown. We are not asking you to make a final decision now, but take a look at Brown degrees and fields of concentration shown in the Guide for Applying to Brown, and tell us which two areas of study seem most attractive to you currently. (We know that with about a hundred choices it may be difficult to select just two, but give it a try.)”</p>
<p>It is clear they don’t need you to decide until end of year 2.</p>
<p>If you want to put down two undecideds, you better write a nice blurb about making full use of their open curriculum. A disadvantage to that is they ask you about their curriculum further down and your answer might seem repetitive.</p>
<p>"1. Many applicants to college are unsure about eventual majors. What factors led you to your interest in Engineering? (Feel free to elaborate on your response to question 2.)</p>
<ol>
<li>What experiences beyond school work have broadened your interest?"</li>
</ol>
<p>It assumes you can write more about question 1 as part of question 2. You loved doing robotics outside of school and so you really like computer engineering or mechanical engineering. </p>
<p>Bottomline - supplements are a window to your interests at a specific school. If you don’t pay attention to these questions and give them some thought, you might as well forget the school. They are asking you to get a feel for your interests and if you say undecided to two specific interests despite knowing it is not binding, what do you think an adcom thinks about you?</p>
<p>If you have no inkling of at least some interest in some area in college, should you be going to college?</p>