Would I get into Brown in 2017 if I apply early decision?
Here is detailed information about me
Any advise would be appreciated!
Thanks!
Academics
-International Student from Hong Kong and came to NY last year
-Sophomore year GPA 3.4 (It was hard for me since it was the first year that I studied in US)
First trimester 3.0 Second trimester 3.5 Third trimester 3.7
Junior year GPA 4.0 till now (The maximum is 4.0 since the school does NOT provide any APs)
-PSAT 2014 167
CR 50 M 70 WR 47
-Toefl 103, Speaking 29
-SAT November 1810 (First time taking it without preparation)
CR 540 M 710 WR 560
Planning to take 3 more SATs in January, June and October with INTENSE prep
-Will be taking 2 SAT Subject tests in June
Math II Physics
-Taking 4 APs this year independently and will take the exams
Microeconomics Macroeconomics Psychology Human Geography
-Will be taking Calculus AB and Physics next year
ECs
-Soccer
Captain of Varsity Soccer team in our school, with several awards given by the county
-Saxophone
Level 6 proficiency of Saxophone (Nationally recognized in China)
Had performed publicly several times
-Swimming
National second level swimming athlete (China)
-MENSA
Has been a MENSA member since August
-FIFA 15 (Electronic Sport)
Top 4 player in NY State
-Modernity Project and Senior Project (Incomplete)
The two most important projects in my high school
I will be doing something cool and they will be done before applications
-School newspaper
Has been the vice president of school newspaper since this school year started
-Mathlete
Will have some kind of national competition next year
-Volunteer Activities
60 hours
-WeChat(Social Media) Platform Public Account
I created this account with 2 of my best friends. We are generally writing about aboard study
It has been 3 months and we have 650 followers currently
and we will probably have around 2000 next year, as anticipated
I have visited Brown twice already and I certainly found it is the right place for me.
I am also thinking about attending the summer school at Brown next year to gain more experience.
What should I do before applying to it?
Any advise would be appreciated!
Probably not. The acceptance rate at Brown is less than 10% for both ED and regular decision. Most students who apply are qualified, so your chances at best are about 1 in 10. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply, you just need to realize the odds are not in your favor. Your CR score is likely to be an issue. Going to Brown for summer school is probably not the best use of your time. These university summer schools are just ways for the colleges to make money, they don’t give you a special edge. There are usually better things you can do in the summer.
You might want to post this in the Brown discussion board. Honestly, it looks like it is a reach, but you have time to improve. Still, your projected scores fall into the bottom quartile of Brown applicants, and your GPA is also below the targets. Brown admissions makes clear that ED doesn’t give much of a boost at all, so I wouldn’t place your bets on that. You didn’t say whether any of your athletic pursuits may be good enough to get you recruited by Brown but I would assume not, as those contacts would normally have already happened by now. It’s tough to say, but you might want to be realistic that your chances are very, very slim. My D was accepted to Brown ED but she had a 3.9 GPA and 2370 SAT1.
OP–why Brown? I don’t think it’s wise to fixate on an Ivy League, especially as you are still working to pull your stats up. I think you can find schools that fit your scores better (which are not bad scores, just not Ivy League high) that you have a better shot at, especially for ED. But you could likely find other schools that share some of the traits you like about Brown. I wouldn’t “blow” your ED app on Brown (as another poster said, it doesn’t boost your chances of admittance there), but you can certainly apply RD and see what happens.
Also very important to know: are you applying as an international, and will you be full pay or seeking financial aid? Both of these would effect/change your application strategy, and there are many posters on here who are knowledgeable on the best options for internationals.
Otherwise, just one note from me on your ECs: I don’t think being “ranked” in a video game counts as an EC, unless you are going to actual competitions and that’s a real title. But even then, I find it to be a slightly dubious EC! I also don’t think that WeChat blog is notable unless you absolutely explode–like hundreds of thousands of followers, etc. Anyone can blog; that’s not an EC. Your other ECs are much stronger.
As @mathmom says, the summer programs do not help at all with admisisons.
It is just too early to say what could happen. How well did you speak English when you arrived?
That you arrived in sophomore and are captain of the varsity team as a junior is an impressive EC.
=On thee other hand, being a top FIFA15 player in NY is impressive but possibly not in a good way to adcomms.
=Your Modernity & Senior projects are part of school, not ECs.
=As you aren’t swimming in the US, it is a one year EC for you, so I wouldn’t recommend adding it to your list of accomplishments (not to mention that even in the US people know about students buying ‘National second level certificates’ in China- not saying you did at all- just that it is a tarnished credential and since you aren’t using it not that helpful to you).
=The fact that you qualified for Mensa won’t impress adcomms by itself- it will only help if you are actively involved in the organization.
=Having a lot of followers on any social media platform is not in itself interesting. Not to be unkind, but given that WeChat is the main platform available in China, having 600 or 2000 followers is not that dissimilar to somebody in the US having 600 or 2000 WhatsApp/FB/SnapChat/Instagram/Twitter/etc contacts- which is not uncommon.
Remember that adcomms read thousands of laundry lists of ECs every year. The ones that count show depth and commitment- not that you did it / had the experience, but what you turned it into. For example, a sport is good, a varsity sport is better, a leadership role is even better, achieving that leadership role early (captains are more often seniors), better again, achieving it early and as a newcomer puts it in the ‘hey, look at that category’.