What qualities would they find in a student that “fits” more with the school?
What does their website say? Superior academic potential is the most important facet. The ability to contribute to a community. Everything else just goes into the blender.
@T26E4 “Superior academic potential” and “ability to contribute to a community” are facets all colleges want though, no? I mean specifically in terms of when people talk about you’re a good fit for this school, you’re not a good fit for this school, etc etc what do they really mean by that?
Yes of course. Brown is no different than that. But you’re on a fool’s errand if you think there’s a formulaic A + B + C = fit for Brown. Holistic admissions, by its def’n, allows colleges to cheery pick and form the entire collection of students. Present your best version of yourself. It might capture their attn. It might not. Trying to see if there’s a “fit” template is a useless endeavor (besides great academics and ability to be part of a community)
One aspect of fitness for Brown is the personality/character/discipline/self-motivation…whatever it is…that enables one to make productive use of the opportunities the open curriculum offers.
As a speaker during Convocation ceremonies last September said…and I am paraphrasing…the people who really succeed at Brown are those who are more interested in drawing a map than reading a map.
The open curriculum can be a precious gift if treated responsibly… too precious a gift to be dissipated.
Don’t have a clue how the Office of Admission divines for this element of fitness from the applications. My opinion is that saying you “like” the open curriculum, or the open curriculum is “great”, or something similar, will not cut it. But that is unsubstantiated opinion.
The open curriculum is such a major feature of the Brown experience that “fitness” for Brown would seem to depend on an applicant’s perceived ability to use it productively, no?
love it
I’ve heard Brown is very liberal
Aha!
It is Maud Mandel, Dean of the College, who deserves credit. The following blurb from the Brown Daily Herald does not include the paraphrased quote I cited, but based on the article I can clearly remember now that it was she who said it.
http://www.browndailyherald.com/2014/09/02/welcome-address-paxson-encourages-student-engagement/
whatsmyname, while it is true that many students who attend Brown are liberal, that does not mean that the admissions office is looking at students’ political views as a component of fit. They do not.
@fireandrain I absolutely agree. I would be against the principle of diversity of Brown only looked for liberal students. Having a diversity of backgrounds AND ideas makes the educational experience so much fuller.
@1whatsmyname1 While Brown likely fits your description of “very liberal” – are you asking for curiosity’s sake? Or are you hoping for a less liberal school or moderate or even conservative school? Why’d you ask?
He’s not asking a question. He is responding to the question about fit by saying that Brown is liberal, thus implying that to fit at Brown one must be liberal. We are trying to disabuse him of that notion.
As for fit, I’ll reiterate that Brown is looking for students who have the intellectual maturity to plan their own course schedules without the guidance of a core curriculum or distribution requirements. That quality is, T26E4, something that makes Brown different than many other institutions.
They look especially for one, two, or all three of the following:
- Unusual independence
- Unusually self-motivated
- Unusual expertise in one academic field
Says a friend of mine who worked in the admissions office.