What are my chances getting into Brown?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

<p>I’m a senior and plan to apply to Brown to study pre-med with a concentration of either human biology or psychology. I plan to become a doctor later on too and am pretty confident I’ll follow through with this goal.</p>

<p>Race: Asian
High Schools: Thomas Jefferson for Science and Technology (2011-2012), Langley High School (2012-2013), Flint Hill School (2013-2015)</p>

<p>Weighted GPA: 4.11 before senior year, probably be higher after first semester
Unweighted GPA: 3.78</p>

<p>SAT: 2230; Writing 710, Math 800, Reading 720
ACT: n/a
SAT Subject: Math 2 790, Chemistry 740, Biology M 760
APs: Biology 4, BC Calc 5, Lang 4, Chemistry 5; Senior year: Statistics, Physics 1</p>

<p>6 APs, 9 honors</p>

<p>Awards:
Headmaster’s List
AP Scholar with Honors
President’s Award for Educational Excellence
National Merit Letter of Commendation
President’s Volunteer Service Award</p>

<p>EC:
5 years of Taekwondo Sparring (Co-captain, won gold and silver medals at local, state, and national tournaments; also competed in US Open in Las Vegas)
280+ hours of volunteering at the hospital
Doctor Shadowing and Observed Surgeries
Involved with NIH Research for two years (recorded data, made graphs, and wrote a paper)
10 years of piano (I quit when I was 16)
Organized free clinics (plan to organize more this year)
Attended NSLC for medicine summer before junior year</p>

<p>Employment:
Assistant at a real estate agency 3 hours per week</p>

<p>Personal Statement:
Wrote about how I lost a Taekwondo match, how it devastated me, and I learned self-confidence is more important than how others perceive me and stuff like that.</p>

<p>I’d say my writing supplements were pretty average. I wrote that I fell in love with human biology after I witnessed a surgery. For the one about what community that influenced me most, I wrote how influential the twitter and tumblr community were to me. For the “why Brown?”, I wrote about the unique, in-depth human biology classes offered there, some specific research projects I wanted to be involved at Brown, and joining the Taekwondo club.</p>

<p>Reason why I attended 3 high schools was that Thomas Jefferson (TJ) was too stressful of an environment and my grades plummeted beginning of sophomore year, so I transferred out. I wanted to go to Flint Hill, which was a private school, but they didn’t accept applicants mid year, so I just attended Langley for the rest of sophomore year. I was happy at Flint Hill because of the family-like community, actually helpful teachers, and the environment had a college-like feel to it.</p>

<p>Overall, I made it pretty obvious that I’m convinced that I wanted to become a doctor. I’ve also applied to a bunch of accelerated med programs at other schools (way harder to get into than many top schools), but I doubt I would get into those. I just want to know what are my chances of getting into UPenn or other top schools and what I can do to improve my application.</p>

2

<p>You seem like a typical applicant for these schools excepting the weak sophomore year, so look to the admission rate. you have 10 pct chance at Brown, likely.</p>

3

<p>Though it may seem absurd for me, a high school senior, to contest BrownParent’s opinion, here’s my two cents:</p>

<p>Your scores and GPA might be “average,” but I would hardly call them “typical” for applicants. Both fall relatively close to the 50th percentile for <em>admitted</em> students, with your SAT being slightly above, and GPA being slightly below par. Furthermore, your subject tests and AP scores are strong. You certainly won’t be overlooked because of your scores.</p>

<p>That being said, Brown gets a lot of applicants with equal or better scores, so ask yourself, “What sets me apart?” Its hard for me to gauge exactly how “good” you are at Taekwondo from your post, but if you have won medals at national tournaments, that might help differentiate you. Or maybe Brown just isn’t looking for that at the time when they read your app. </p>

<p>Besides Taekwondo, nothing seems particularly noteworthy. Your awards are mostly generic; for example, I don’t expect Brown to be impressed/surprised by National Merit Commended or AP Scholar with Honors, given your scores discussed earlier. </p>

<p>If I could give any advice, it would be this: work on your essays. When I wrote mine for my ED app this year, I poured by heart and soul into talking about why I want to go to Brown. I can only hope that my passion came across to the admissions committee through my writing. With an admission rate of 10%, and with less than a month to go, that’s probably the only thing you can do at this point to help your chances. </p>

<p>You seem like a very smart and passionate applicant. The better you show Brown this, the better your chances. </p>

<p>In conclusion, I think you have much better than a 10% chance. </p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

4

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<p>Work on them until you feel they are your very best work. Don’t submit pretty average essays.</p>

<p>Here is some good advice from a Brown student who worked in admissions:</p>

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<p>Source: <a href=“Stage Write: What Auditions Taught Me About Admissions – The Bruin Club”>http://thebruinclub.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2011/12/04/stage-write-what-auditions-taught-me-about-admissions/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Learn as much as you can about the schools you’re applying to. Look well beyond the rankings. Brown and UPenn are more than just ‘top’ schools.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

5

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<p>Well said @Tman1005‌ ! </p>

<p>Excellent advice!</p>

6

<p>Thanks a lot for the advice! </p>