illinieng24

I was looking through the computer science department and saw a concentration that interested me (Computer Science-Economics). When I apply to Brown, do I put down computer science as my intended major, and then take the pre-req courses and fill out a contract for the CS-Economics concentration?

Sorry about the "there" error in the title.

renix

you write down whatever you want on the application. I think you are getting ahead of yourself worrying about filling out contracts when you haven't been accepted yet.

modestmelody

You don't declare until the end of your sophomore year, and what you apply with interests in doesn't really matter except to compare to things like, if you want to do science, did you do some extra curricular that pertains to science etc etc. Also, if you choose a science you write a short paragraph on why you want to do that kind of science and get to submit an additional recommendation letter from a science teacher.

Once here, you can change your concentration at any time up until the end of your 7th semester at Brown (halfway through your senior year). The document, including a page for basic information, is only 3 pages long and very easy to fill out. Not a hassle, and not a big deal.

ele

Hey modestmelody!

I read one of your other messages and learned that you are a chem concentrator at Brown. I am also planning on concentrating in chem or biochem at Brown, and I was wondering if you could tell me more about it. How are the classes/professors? Are you involved in any research with your professors? What do you plan to do with your degree in terms of a career? I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do. =) Thank you so much!!

modestmelody

I have found all of my chem professor so far to be fantastic. I'm doing research in Amit Basu's lab group-- we mostly deal with chemical biology and with carbohydrate chemistry and cell membranes/interfaces primarily. My particular research is a new avenue in the research group, and is a joint project with Mark Johnson in the Bio department. We're essentially looking to find novel inhibitors of pollen tube growth as a means to determine what is going on in the pollen during this stage to mediate growth, and maybe even chemotaxis.

We have 25 professors in the chem department and between 10-15 concentrators each year.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to grad school and then going on to become a professor,but I'm keeping my options wide open right now.

theodorant

Actually, I think applying as an intended CS major puts you at a sort of advantage over other applicants especially if you've shown dedication in CS. You'll have some extra questions in your application where you'll have go into detail about what you've done in CS (courses you've taken and your biggest achievement in CS), but it's worth the hassle. I know that I had far worse stats than many, but got in b/c I applied as a potential cs major.