Brown, is it a reach too high?

Colleges & Universities Brown University
1

<p>I have always been against the Ivy-track. I saw the schools as cut-throat environments filled with elitists and well-to-doer’s. Which is why falling in love with Brown surprised me. </p>

<p>I never even planned on visiting the college. It just so happened that Brown existed in the very same town of my brother’s school (RISD). As I stayed an entire summer at his apartment, my initial dislike of the school (because it was and Ivy) lessened and I began spending more time on on the Brown campus. Ultimately, I realized that the school had everything I wanted in terms of people, education, and beliefs.</p>

<p>Now here’s the conflict in this love story. Brown is an Ivy. And with that comes thousands of applicants. Selectivity is key here. I’m a fairly strong student. High school for me was more of a growing experience to develop myself as a person, an experience I want to build on in college. And though I never fully pushed my limits, I still got decent grades. Here would be my resume in one nutshell. </p>

<p>GPA: 100.91 Weighted out of 106.
SAT: 2210 / CR:690 / M:800 / W:800
Math II: 790
Chemistry: 750
Physics: 730
All AP’s : 5’s on Calculus BC & Physics B, 4’s everything else, 3 on English.
Boy’s Varsity Swimming (4 years)
Tutoring (4 years)
Soup Kitchen (2 years)</p>

<p>So my academics are above average, but on the lower end of the Brown/Ivy spectrum. Looking at these grades, anyone can tell that I’m very biased towards the Math & Sciences, and of the two, even more for math. I love math. Simply put, if I could be anything I wanted, I would be a high school math teacher. Unfortunately, happiness does not “make end’s meet” in today’s society, so I’m going to need a back-up plan, probably Engineering. </p>

<p>Yes, anyone who is anyone applying to college will and can tell me that my EC’s are very weak. I’m sorry, but as a person, I’m simply cannot work for something I don’t believe in. A lot of volunteer work in my community is trivial. Our hospital volunteers, for example, only clean tables for about 30 minutes, yet get 5-6 hours recorded. In my mind, I couldn’t bring myself to do that, knowing that it was only for the hours, and not for service. That’s why I began working at the Soup Kitchen. I actually helped people, developed one-to-one connections with families, and even practiced some Spanish. The other EC that I’m very proud of, and has had the biggest effect on who I am is tutoring. I love helping others. I’ve always believed that the academic talent I was born with was wasted on me since I’ve never felt the ambition to use it to it’s full potential. I really regret that. Not the fact that I’m not using it, but that I have no need for it whereas others would kill. It’s wasted on me. In a way, helping others is sharing what I never fully used. That’s why, in a perfect world, I would do my best to become a teacher. </p>

<p>What makes me so sad though, are the other applicants. At least 40 people from my school are applying to Brown. Almost all of them have the superior grades and EC’s. That’s not what upsets me though. I’ve talked to most of them, and only about 5 TRULY want Brown for what it is. The rest are only applying because of it’s affluent Ivy status. Brown isn’t even a top choice for them, it’s either Yale, or Harvard. And once all of our applications go through, theirs will shine with their stellar grades and activities while blowing mine out of the water. </p>

<p>So yes, this is me in a brief rambling rant. And maybe I come off as snotty, or self-righteous, but I just would like feedback on my situation. I’m sorry I had to vent out on here, but I just wanted someone to see how I felt about this and maybe to provide an opinion. And am I being unreasonable about Brown? Is it out of my league? I’m applying regardless, because the idea of “what if” would kill me, but it’s always nice to have an idea before getting that rejection letter in the mail.</p>

2

<p>All of these chances threads that I’m actually interested in responding to lately – what gives? :)</p>

<p>First, the Ivy League is a sports league. It’s a diverse set of 8 schools that are not unified in any meaningful way. This is the lesson that you learned over the summer. There are non-ivy schools that are more selective than ivies, and there are non-ivies that many people would consider to be more prestigious than some of the ivies. The sooner this whole omg-Brown-is-an-Ivy thing stops hanging over your head, the better – trust me.</p>

<p>Second, you are extremely qualified. I’m gonna give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you weren’t humblebragging. It seems like you’re suffering from a dual case of College Confidential Syndrome and Fancy High School Syndrome. You’re in the ‘qualified’ range of applicants – once you’re up there, it’s more about making yourself stand out, and about luck. Stop focusing on the little things that seem to give others a leg up on you, and focus on what makes you great.</p>

<p>Third, if you want to distinguish yourself from your peers who don’t love Brown as much, then consider applying ED.</p>

<p>Finally, your attitude about EC’s is the right one. If you can take what you wrote about EC’s and remove the negativity and self-deprecation from it, it’d make the beginnings of a good essay.</p>

<p>Edit: Also, this post should really be in the main Brown forum, not the Class of 2015 section.</p>

3

<p>Yo your ECs are probably stronger than mine… I didnt volunteer because i never learned the importance of it/viewed it all as trivial. My only ECs were basketball and swimming, because that’s what I love to do. Though I’m not a playing for Brown, they respected what I did. Your academics & test scores are superior to mine as well; I’m an Asian from California w/ 1870 SAT. If I can get in ED with all this, then you have a chance! :slight_smile:
(though the low acceptance rate does mean its hard to have any outstanding chance)</p>

4

<p>And don’t give up on the teaching idea. My kids were fortunate to have 3 science/math teachers who all were all superb engineers, etc. in their “first careers” until they realized that teaching was their passion. My student at Brown loves the tutoring volunteer program, and is tutoring HS math to a dedicated recent immigrant student. There are many similar “teaching” opportunities for you at Brown.</p>

5

<p>On a more general note, college doesn’t have to be about building an immediate path to a career. Just sayin’.</p>

6

<p>Thank you everyone for what you all have said. This past week has been awful as I have been just starting at the common app and unable to continue because I really thought I was completely out of my league. Your responses inspired me and made me realize that I do indeed have a fighting chance. And I’m ready to give Brown’s admissions the best possible representation on paper of me as a student, and even more, me as person. If I do get rejected, then I get rejected knowing I did my best.</p>

7

<p>i have a feeling you’ll get in by the way you’ve written that.
Best of luck!</p>