The Yearly: Brown student taking questions thread

[emlet]

Are there cable TV hookups in the rooms? And how extensive is the channel selection (i.e. is there HBO and Showtime?)

Thanks! This thread is really helpful.

[paige8]

I agree that this is a really helpful thread.
Are most dorm rooms at brown doubles?

[modestmelody]

The cable here is atrocious. A hook up in every room but only about 18 channels.

http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/CIS/tv/lineup.html

[modestmelody]

Actually I think most rooms are singles, but all freshman live in doubles and probably about a third of sophomores. From that point on it's a bit more rare.

[BillyChang]

Thanks for being so helpful! You're wonderful! Maybe you can help me too! :-P I'm currently deciding between Brown and Cornell and I'm leaning towards Brown on the side of general academics and environment. However, I'm probably going into Engineering and I've found that Cornell's school of engineering gets talked about more often than Brown. This is probably because Cornell has a larger population consisting of more undergrads and grads, so more resources might be available at their school of engineering. What are your thoughts on that? And do you know if Brown have a specific laptop requirement for all students?

Thanks for your help in advance!

[speakerkeyboard]

I guess I could find this info elsewhere, but how well do Brown students fair while applying to top grad schools for physics/math? (like cal tech, stanford, etc...)

[modestmelody]

Brown student in general do well applying to grad school, but I'm not that familiar with physics or math department's specific success.

Cornell's engineering program is better than ours for strictly engineering. There are many reasons why people come here instead and you will still have a great degree coming out here. It's a matter of what's a priority for you and how sure you are about engineering and what type of engineer you want to be. We have no laptop or computer requirements.

It's really a lot more complex sometimes than, "This program is better than that program" though objectively Cornell does have the stronger engineering school.

[ungan]

Modestmelody - I'm an international, aren't there ANY kind of Financial Aid or scholarship I can get? As for a low-middle class student, I'm having a pretty hard time figuring out how to afford the education. No such thing as merit-based scholarships etc??

A personal question: how many Korean students are there?

And, are economics and applied mathematics strong at Brown?

Thanks!

[sid_galt]

@ungan - I am an international and I've got financial aid from Brown. Not as much as I expected but manageable. Note though that the amount of financial aid you need will factor into the admission decision if you are an international. Though if you are admitted, Brown does meet full demonstrated financial need (in other words, you might not get what you asked for but its likely that the financial aid will be enough to make Brown affordable). There are no merit based scholarships for freshmen.

[modestmelody]

Sid got it right.

Our Applied Math department is one of the best in the country, and as for econ, all I know is that we're the number 1 recruited school for Goldman-Sachs.

[i_wanna_be_Brown]

oh my god, goldman-sachs is here like every week looking for new employees, the career center keeps flooding my e-mail box with reminders

[eli19]

I am also not sure about attending Cornell or Brown. I'll be having a concentration in biology for premed, and I'd like to be heavily involved in undergraduate research. I don't know if you know much about Cornell's biology programs and research, but which school do you think would be better for my studies? How do brown undergrads fare in the admissions process to top med schools?

[MovieBuff]

Well, I read somewhere that from all the ivies, Brown premeds have the highest number getting into their "first" choice med school. Their neuroscience and biology programs are top notch...(one of the reasons I decided to enroll there..) I am sure the other ones do welll too, but I found that fact remarkable.

[eli19]

Would it be realistic or easy for me to get a lab position during my first year at brown if I make an effort at finding one?

[modestmelody]

Yes it would be realistic to get a lab position, though I personally don't recommend it even if you've had extensive experience in the past.