Hi. I’m looking to live there next year, and was wondering if anyone could explain it? I realize it’s a residential college, but I can’t tell if it’s a lot of single rooms, or suites, or just like First Year Dorms? Are there doubles or triples? And if so, can you choose your roommate or suite-mates? Thanks! Can upperclassmen live with those in other grades as well?
I gottchu. For context, I am in my second year of living in Brown.
The facilities: Brown is all single rooms. Rooms are connected in pairs (it’s kind of hard to explain), so you get the best of both worlds by having a roommate but also a single room. Four room-pairs are centered around a bathroom, so eight people share a bathroom (usually). As for common areas, there are two lounges, a kitchen, and several study spaces.
The people: students of all years live in Brown, including fourth years. I believe you can place a roommate request, as with other housing options.
Let me know if you have any other questions. I also suggest you search the forums for “Brown College” and for “hazelorb” (a user who has posted a lot about Brown), because much has already been written.
Brown college is an alternative dorm
experience. Any prospective residents submit an application which has non-typical questions on it. Current residents read all of the applications and choose who they want to live with. Once you are living in BC you pay an activities fee of $100. BC has a governance board which directs the spending of this $30k on dances, technology, party food, trips, etc. The activities range from re-enacting Gladiator in the amphitheater to building legos to building ginger bread houses to attending ballets downtown. Because many people choose to live in Brown for multiple years it is a close knit, off beat, somewhat nerdy group of friends.
It is definitely not like first year dorms.
You will sort of have a roommate. Each room consists of an inner room with one person’s stuff and both persons’ closets; there’s a door you can close between the inner and outer rooms; then a door to a shared bathroom. I always shared with 4 people total but some share up to 8 which the bathroom is bigger then. The outside room connects to the stairwell and then to the inner room. So you sleep by yourself in your half-room with doors closed/locked BUT to go to the bathroom you go through the inner room; to get outside you go through the outer room. I always thought of it as the best of both worlds-- a roommate when you want one and a door when you don’t. Haha.
You can choose your roommate but not your suitemates. Upper classmen cannot live with first years. Everyone requesting roommates must be accepted to Brown. Typically you do the first year random then request after that. 4th years typically request the corner rooms which are larger. I got a corner room 3rd&4th years. I lived both inside and outside.
Let me know if you have more questions.
What is the purpose of the Interdisciplinary Studies course? What do you do? Is it work it? I think it is called INST 2570