Chance Me for Brown ED1 (UW 4.00, 1540 SAT, intl gap year student, economics)

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Demographics

  • International student
  • Eastern Europe
  • Top private high school
  • Upper middle class
  • No hooks

! Important to note !

I was rejected from Brown among other schools last year, since I started my applications in December, leading to incredibly generic essays, LORs and no clear narrative. The awards/activities/LORs I have marked with an asterisk are new developments and I will continue to improve them. Rest of gap year (from Oct.) will be spent in Australia selling investment products and travelling.

Cost Constraints / Budget
Will need 90%+ Financial Aid

Intended Major(s)

Economics

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.00
  • Weighted HS GPA: N/A
  • Class Rank: 1/60
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1540 SAT

List your HS coursework

  • English: C2
  • Language other than English: French, B2; Russian, A2
  • All coursework falls under national/school curriculum [Hardest track possible – Science track]

Awards

*EFL Champion, Uhuru Worlds (world’s largest BP debate tournament; 500+ teams)

BAFF Leadership Academy, selected from a pool of 1,600 students

*National English Public Speaking Competition, 1st place, commended and invited by U.S. Embassy

*ESFUSA, awarded $4,000 Merit Scholarship for academic excellence

Junior Achievement Student Company, finalist and 4th place (top 1%, 408 teams)

Extracurriculars
*World Schools Debating Championship 2025, one out of 5 selected for national team. Trained 30+ sessions, sparred with intl teams, researched motions, competed at WSDC 2025, Top 5 EFL speaker at pre-WSDC tournaments

School’s debate club, Member (9th, 10th), Judge and Captain (11th, 12th). Competed in national and international high-level tournaments, mentored 20+ novice debaters, organized team logistics, secured city funding

*[Name] Charity app, Co-Founder; CFO; Head of Campaign & Partners. Co-developed charity app; partnered w/ 4 top NGOs; organize one [Country’s] largest charity campaigns; devise financial plans; search for sponsors

Student Company, Co-Founder, CEO, Head of Finances and Sales. Generated €3,000+ revenue with 250+ customers, organized meetings, built and designed webstore, partnered with biggest [Country’s] influencers

1st [Country’s] Youth Investment Camp, Participant (1 out of 30). Studied portfolio management, applied investment strategies with expert [Name], led team to 1st place, awarded dinner with top investors

*School, Graduation Trip Organizer (Class of 2025). Collected & managed €50k trip fund; raised €500 extra; handled bookings, transport & activities; grew funds via High-Yield Savings

[Country’s] Football Association, Licensed Soccer Referee. Officiated 117 matches across 3 yrs; assistant ref for premier division team; nationally recognized for dedication in 2023 & 2024

*[Name] real estate firm, Intern (Summer 2025). Researched 5+ vacant rental properties, applied Excel for financial analysis, supported client outreach/communication

Essays/LORs/Other
*WSDC team coach – We grew very close, he is excellent at writing, 10/10

*Social Studies teacher/Debate club coach – I am one of his favourites, we know each other really well, 9/10

Homeroom/literature teacher – She wrote a very good LOR last year, expecting the same this year, 9/10

*English teacher – She’s very fond of me, had 100% grades in English, 8.5/10

Schools
Brown ED1

2

It’s highly unlikely you’d get in a year after not. Make sure you have other schools. Getting $80k in need in the U.S. will near impossible. Apply to the schools that meet need and are need blind.

Amherst

Bowdoin

Brown

Dartmouth

Harvard

Princeton

Yale

MIT

Georgetown

Notre Dame

Just because you need aid doesn’t mean the school will agree.

Your odds are very low, so please take that into account and find a school somewhere that you can attend so you don’t have another gap year.

Good luck.

2 Likes
3

Yep, will definitely consider other schools for RD, and I’ve got a few in Europe as well. Thank you for the feedback!

4

By all means apply and give it your all but the odds are stacked against you as: 1) you were rejected last year; 2) Brown has an exceeding low acceptance rate; and 3) I believe Brown is need aware for international students (you can check this).

Be sure to spend time and energy seeking out schools that are safeties both in terms of admission and financials.

6

Brown recently became need blind for international applicants. The down side to this, of course, is that there will be more international applicants and the acceptance rate will be even lower. I think this is only the second year of their need blind policy.

1 Like
7

Thanks for the update and FWIW I agree with your comments.

8

And with foreign visas “up in the air” and Duke Stanford opening wait list in august this year, I believe schools will take as much ED and ensure they are “done”; this is the flip side of being international now. Apply to UK and Canada..as you have a clean slate there (ie not one year old rejection)

9

Wesleyan is known as the “mini-Brown”. You might want to consider them as an alternative.

1 Like
10

And Brown is one of those. Apply and see. You might get accepted this time. But you need to have other options ready to submit.

11

With respect to your interest in economics, these analyses may offer you ideas for your greater college list:

12

I don’t know how 90+% need works with upper middle class.

2 Likes