<p>i was wondering what other people think about this:</p>
<p>do you think this essay (the where did you hear about brown essay) is really just a normal essay or do you think its something they use to figure out what marketing strategies work the best? i feel like they read this and it is really to tell them whether most students read their mail, or their emails, or check the website or whatever. any thoughts?</p>
<p>How about you just answer the damn questions on the application without thinking about how it affects your admissions chances? They're evaluating you, not the effort you put into filling out applications.</p>
<p>The question CAN be used as a marketing strategy, but I doubt that is what they are trying to do. They are just trying to possibly get a story out of you hearing about Brown. Like the poster above me said, they are focusing on you.</p>
<p>I think it's a gauge to see whether an applicant is applying to Brown because he wants to go to Brown, or if he is applying to Brown because he wants to go to the most prestigious school he can and hence shotgun applied most schools in the T20. </p>
<p>I think they word it this way because its must easier to B.S. a "Why Brown" essay than a "How did you hear about Brown" essay, and A.O.s want to make sure their student body is one that truly belongs at Brown.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure that i answered with just one sentence: "I learned about Brown while attending a college fair at my local hotel." or something similar to that.</p>
<p>oh well, i guess im rejected for being honest</p>
<p>I wrote an essay on it. I wrote how much I love about Brown's viewbook, and I really enjoy Brown's "culture of questioning". My essay revolves around the viewbook and Brown's curriculum. I doubt it makes any difference though. I was just overly enthusiastic.</p>
<p>pFNMCp: im not thinking about my admissions chances. i applied months ago and im just thinking about this now. i answered the question truthfully, not in the way i thought they wanted to hear.</p>
<p>i was really just curious, and you don't need to attack me for wondering.</p>
<p>All of these are possible answers. Some will have more impact than others. I believe all of them (paraphrased and knocked slightly askew) are based on actual answers found on other threads in here on this same topic. </p>
<p>1.) "I first heard of Brown when it was mentioned on the TV show ["Gossip Girl"|"Family Guy"|"America's Wildest Police Chases]"
2.) "I first heard about Brown when I did a thorough college search that mapped my requirements for academic rigor, superb location, high energy students, and general artsy-fartsy-ness, and all arrows pointed to Brown"
3.) "I first heard of Brown when my [high school math teacher|father's friend|some guy at a cookout whose name I can't remember] told me that [he|she] went to [Brown and loved it | Brown and hated it but thinks I may like it | Cornell, but always wished she had gone to Brown.]"
4.) "I first heard of Brown when I searched the internet for "Ivy League" and was surprised to see that one of the Ivy schools is named after [a color | a folk-rock singer-activist from the late 1970's | an urban pop singer recently accused of publicly beating his equally famous singer girlfriend in a very uncool way.]"</p>
<p>No matter what you write for this college essay, or any essay for any school, make it your voice, make it memorable, and make sure it's true. It will be more interesting if it's true, and besides, the adcomm readers can smell a story that's not yours a mile away.</p>
<p>This question was on the Brown application when I applied in the mid-1970s. I don't know why they ask it -- they always have.</p>