The Yearly: Brown student taking questions thread - Page 8

eli19 · 04-03-2007, 03:52 PM

Why not? Do you mean just for freshmen?

modestmelody · 04-03-2007, 04:00 PM

Yes, just for freshman I don't recommend it. There will be enough on your plate class wise, friends wise, life wise-- enjoy yourself, spend your time exploring things you're less sure about being interested in, give yourself time to settle and time to look around and different subjects and to read and to talk to people, etc. Research it's great-- my interest and experience is what got me into Brown-- but you're not going to be that far ahead of the game by going in as a freshman (even if you have experience the difference between what you can do and what you know in just one year will have a huge effect on the kind of research you'll be capable of doing on your own) rather than a sophomore and it's a huge time commitment that I wouldn't jump to so quickly. Worry about your classes, adjusting to college, challenging yourself, having a great time, taking advantage of a ton of other thigns being offered that you may not experience if your spending your time in lab. You'll have plenty of time in labs over the next 4 years and beyond. There is just too much going on, too much to do, too much worth experiencing before jumping into a lab for the sake of doing research as a freshman and even for the love of tackling a research problem. If you take a solid course load, believe me, you won't be bored.

monosierra · 04-04-2007, 04:47 AM

Do people do internships at Providence? I guess that's possible for internships in public services. But what of internships in, say, finance & investments? Do BOA and Providence Equity Partners have internship programmes?

emlet · 04-04-2007, 10:30 PM

How easy is it to be healthy at Brown? Are there a lot of healthy foods (read: delicious veggies, high-quality salad greens, whole grains, etc.) available in the dining halls? How are the gyms/workout facilities for non-athletes?

(I'm really stressing about this freshman 15 thing. Kinda hoping for a freshman -5, honestly.)

alvyy · 04-04-2007, 10:32 PM

Lol I'm going for a freshman -15

Eating healthy is a mindset. If you put your mind to it and are determined, you'll find the right things to eat.

ClaySoul · 04-05-2007, 12:28 AM

alvyy is right. but the problem is that it's hard to do.

monosierra · 04-05-2007, 01:28 AM

Its all in the mind - really. Put your heart to it and you can resist the most sumptious meals.

Having said that, what is the most popular meal plan? 20-a-week standard?

letsgetin05 · 04-05-2007, 02:25 AM

go for the highest flex plan, its a lot better than the standard 20-meal a week plan.

also, its easy to be healthy at brown, but its also easy not to be. youll always have your pizza and burgers and french fries, but youll also always have your salad bar and vegetarian line.

siserune · 04-05-2007, 02:28 AM

Quote:

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...)

Brown is not a machine the way some other schools are, sending large numbers of people every year to the top 4 grad programs. The level of undergraduate instruction is set to some extent by your peers, who are as a population weaker than at Harvard, Princeton and MIT (so there will not be the high-powered first year math class or a lot of undergrads taking graduate physics courses). In that respect the level is lower. But it would also be easier to stand out in that environment and develop your own program if you're good, and get recommendations from faculty who could hook you up with a PhD admission at a top school at the end of 4 years. It would take some concerted effort rather than being a routine side effect of riding the local wave, but is doable. All in all I would think that in math and even more so in physics, there's some disadvantage to not applying from the leading research departments, but not so large that you can't account for it and get in where you want.

monosierra · 04-05-2007, 03:51 AM

The statistics for grad school admission is pretty good, IIRC. Impressive by most standards. But then grad school admissions has always been a pretty level playing field for all. Students from lesser known and smaller colleges often make their way to HBS and co. if they're good enough.

ungan · 04-05-2007, 08:36 AM

Im have been admitted as an international student.
But I did not apply for blind-Financial Aid since I thought applying for it would hurt my admission.
Now that I have been accepted, how can I earn aid from Brown or other outside places?
Should I contact the Financial Aid office now? Can I earn money at this time?
Money is forcing me to let go Brown...I need it desperately

wonderwoman · 04-05-2007, 11:37 AM

i know this a totally random, but what is the health insurance fee like : $2500 for a year, or 4 years. if its for a year, isnt it a little too much ? some colleges want $600 !!

eli19 · 04-05-2007, 01:46 PM

someone has said that brown has the highest percentage of people who are accepted to their first-choice med schools, but are those schools top ones? would it be easier to get into a good medical school through brown or through cornell?

modestmelody · 04-05-2007, 03:23 PM

Ungan, I think unfortunately, the time has passed for you. Going around the system is definitely not going to get you aid because the reason we take aid into consideration for international students is we simply don't have the money to give to everyone who demonstrates from the international community who we want to admit. The awards have already been determined and budgeted and I doubt that you will receive any or any sympathy from the Financial Aid office. As with most of these questions, your best bet is to try, you've got nothing to lose.

If you currently have health insurance, wonderwoman, than as a full time student you can continue to receive the insurance through your parents and not pay for Brown's health insurance. I hvae no idea how much other places charge or even how much it's costing my parents other than that it's less than 2500...

Eli-- Brown students get into good med schools and they also just get into med school which is important. FWIW, getting into a top med school doesn' matter much if you want to do primary care, I'm not sure what your aspirations are though.

Also, if you're coming to Brown because you want to get into a good med school, please go somewhere else! There is so much great and unique about this school that when I meet students who are just here to ignore the wider world around them and to plow through and get good grades in the classes they have to take to be premed and make hte rest of their schedule as easy as possible and are only concerned with their GPA and MCAT score I always think that their spot should have been used for someone who is here to take advantage of what makes this place different, unique, and wonderful.

I'm not assuming that's who you are, but the bottom line is -- if you do well at a top school and score well on your MCATs you'll get into a great med school. Go to the place that fits you well, the place where you feel you can flourish intellectually and socially, and the place where you see yourself being happiest while you're there. Students who are in the right place and happy do better than students who are not, in life and in school.

eli19 · 04-05-2007, 03:45 PM

ouch! i aspire to go to med school some day, but i'm also aware that it's important to love the next four years of my life. the main reason brown became one of my top choices is that I attended a summer program there this past summer and thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent there.