<p>Trying again…</p>
<p>You can’t go to Brown, take only 12 classes for a grade, get a 4.0 and get into Harvard Law. It just doesn’t work. You have to take most of your classes for a grade. It doesn’t matter to the student striving for an A that there are 5 students in his class of 20 who took the course for a S/NC and aren’t factored into the median GPA for that class. However, it does make the median GPA for the class higher. At most other elite schools, those students would end up with grades ranging from C to B+. They bring down the median GPA. </p>
<p>I’m not denying there are guts at Brown; there just aren’t as many.There is no equivalent to Rocks for Jocks (Geology) or Clapping for Credit (Music) or Astronomy 101 or Physics for Poets with 400 people taking them to meet distribution requirements because there aren’t any distribution requirements. It has always dumbfounded me that students who took real science courses in high school and did well enough in them to get into top schools then take gut courses designed for non-science majors in college. And, despite the fact that these are guts, at most top colleges, the median GPA in these courses is appallingly low and they help bring down the median GPA in science courses overall. </p>
<p>One of the most popular Brown guts, which many students still took pass-fail, was an engineering course. It was taken almost exclusively by non-science majors. The prof was very beloved by students; he was a great teacher. Yes, it was a gut in terms of other science courses, but at most colleges non-science majors aiming for law school would never dream of taking an engineering course because they would be scared of getting a lousy grade that would impact their chances of getting into a top law school. At Brown, over 10% of the student body took the course with the thought that “you know, to be an educated person, I really should have SOME understanding of basic engineering concepts and this is my chance to learn some.” </p>
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<p>There are some guts at Brown, but it’s impossible to take enough of them to graduate. There are some smart jocks, even a surprising number who have gone on to med school. The ones who aren’t all that interested in academics take the same courses as everyone else but take them S/NC. If you read the link to the Brown Daily Herald in the other thread, you’ll note that 12% of all S/NC grades are NCs, the equivalent of a F. NCs don’t show up on your transcript, BTW. And if you take 4 courses each semester, you can fail 2 and still graduate. Yes, that may seem ridiculous, but the fact is that anecdotal evidence and that 12% figure suggests that Brown faculty are more likely to actually FAIL students than faculty at other elite schools where a F shows up on the transcript. </p>
<p>And, yes, there are some concentrations–Brown’s version of majors–that are easier than others. But, the hockey and football players take the SAME courses as everyone else. They just take a higher percentage of them S/NC. So, do the theatre types. </p>
<p>The real advantage of attending Brown for students who are aiming at top law schools is the chance to take a limited number of REAL courses outside your comfort zone on a S/NC basis INSTEAD OF searching for guts you can take for a grade to meet distribution requirements at other top colleges.</p>
<p>As a parent, I’d much rather have my kid take a REAL course S/NC than have my kid take some stupid science course with only non-science majors at another college because (s)he was afraid to take a REAL science course and risk law school admission.</p>
<p>Again, choose the college you like more for UG. Don’t pick Brown because you think it will be easier to get a high GPA.</p>