Is a Campus Tour Really Necessary?

Colleges & Universities Brown University
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<p>Your thoughts about Why Brown (post 37) are the right start, but you’ll need more depth and some connection to it. Eg, what “different areas of study” you might explore under the open curriculum and why; why you love the IR and poly sci depts and what you’ve done so far that reflects an academic interest (or experience) in these areas. Etc. </p>

<p>There’s a thread- something like, what’s wrong with Brown. I haven’t checked it lately, but some kids do have issues with the open curriculum. Some kids experiment to the point where they scramble to make the min number of classes in their “concentration.” So, use this time now to think wisely about how you would approach course selection. Check the course catalogues to understand what’s offered in your interst areas. And, know that, because navigating the o.c. requires some maturity, Brown adcoms will look for evidence of this.
Also, Brown likes some community involvement. So, take a look at your vol efforts and polish now, while you can. Good luck.</p>

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<p>I really liked post 37, Why Brown. It came off as a spontaneous, heartfelt statement – one that was not overthought or overwrought. </p>

<p>As for community involvement – Brown and other colleges like students to find activities that they enjoy and devote time and energy to. It can be community involvement or sports or composing music or student government. Doing something like volunteering in your community just because you think it improves your resume is not a good idea.</p>

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<p>Agree that doing something just because you think it improves your resume is not a good idea. But, enjoying doing things that help others can be a plus. A hs junior still has time to explore.
I did like 37- and on first read, did think she was half-way there. But, I advocate not just writing, I love, I like, I love. Agree that one shouldn’t get mechanical or self-conscious.</p>

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<p>fireandrain: Thanks! I just thought of stuff off the top of my head. I think it needs to be revised, though. </p>

<p>I’m involved with 4-H and we do some community service projects. This is random, but we go pick up walnuts at the local cemetery and we make Valentine’s Day cards for people at the nursing home. They’re just little things, but they do make a difference, I think. </p>

<p>I don’t think that I would do things just because they would look good on my application. I have to enjoy something to really do it well.</p>

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<p>lookingforward: So, should I expand my vocabulary?</p>

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<p>lookingforward: If I do get to visit the campus, do you think I could sit in on a class or two? That way, I could get a feel for what it’s really like.</p>

<p>I hope I don’t abuse the Open Curriculum or anything. I’ll definitely check the course list. Normally I like structure, but I think I can handle that freedom. If I do what I love and what I’m interested in, I should be fine.</p>

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<p>At least last year, Brown’s AO had a list each day of classes that welcomed visiting students to sit in, and their locations. These are likely to be lectures and for first or second years, not senior seminars.</p>

<p>We have been doing that at most of the schools we have visitied, for years. It is way more important than things like the tour, imo.</p>

<p>You sit in the back and pay attention to not only what the prof ois saying, but to what the students in the rows below you are doing. In some schools, the amount of texting, and computer game playing on those laptops, rivals what happens in high schools!</p>

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<p>I think Chelsea needs to let B know she is from a school where the first kid ever to take the SAT did so only last year. Loads of applicants say they are wowed by the curriculum; she should not hide that she is but it hardly sets her apart.</p>

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<p>The admission rep for MO will likely know the demographics in Chelsea’s area- incl possibly details about the hs (avg scores, any APs offered, whether kids go to college and etc.) If not, they have many resources to turn to. It’s also common to include a hs profile with the GC letter. But, posters are advising some sort of early contact with the regl rep- and I agree.</p>

<p>As for vocab- it’s never a bad idea to improve vocab, esp if you will take the SAT. But, the essays/supps need clear, focused writing more than fancy wording. There is no one formula for the Why Brown. I’m only suggesting you consider, over the next few months, something that allows the reader to envision you as a student there.</p>

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<p>JRZMom: Most of the people that graduate from my school end up going to community college. I’m not saying that that’s bad or anything, but nobody tries. I know, for a fact, that when I’m a senior, I’ll be the only one from my school (maybe even from the district) who applies to Brown. </p>

<p>Should I ask my guidance counselor to help me get in touch with the Missouri admissions rep?</p>

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<p>JRZMom: I really hope that if I did go and sit in on a class, the students aren’t texting or causing trouble. If I were in class, I definitely would be paying attention, but I guess it depends on what your major is. Biomedical engineering is more difficult than English Literature.</p>

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<p>Since you are a sophomore, I’m not sure it makes sense to contact an admissions rep now. They sometimes change from year to year. And Brown isn’t as locally focused as some other colleges are. A really good plan is to try to go to a college fair next year that Brown is attending. They usually travel around in the fall; I’m sure there will be one in St. Louis, if you could go there. Come back in late summer/early fall, and we can give you some good advice on how to handle those.</p>

<p>I do think you should spend as much quality time with your guidance counselor as possible without overdoing it. Make sure s/he knows you well.</p>

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<p>Chelsea–commuinty colleges are great places! They provide a very affordable path to an associate’s degree, and they offer many people classes that help them get a leg up in their jobs, or change to a better paying career.</p>

<p>My daughters have used the local one to take keyboarding classes at night, instead of at school, freeing up class slots for “better” classes—to take figure drawing, drawing and oils classes (also at night) in order to learn techniques better and beef up the protfolio for application to art school (middle child), to take summer classes to get certain math classes out of the way. I know many families who use classes in summer to move their kids ahead in the h.s. curriculum. </p>

<p>In our state, several colleges/universities have signed agreements with our community college to accept students coming from there for the 3rd & 4th yrs of the bachelor’s degree, as long as the right courses were taken for the major & a certain GPA was maintained. That makes college really inexpensive! Yes, you don’t get “the full college experience,” but if this was the only way you could afford a bachelor’s degree, it would look pretty good. It’s especially good for the older student who is retiurning to education after a number of years. </p>

<p>Students at Brown will not be “causing trouble” although they are like 18 - 22 yr olds anywhere, and some do not always have their full attention on the class. </p>

<p>I took a certain class for my major, which was an “intro to” class ---- and there was this one guy who always came in about 15 min into the lecture, and got glares from the prof. Week after week.</p>

<p>One day the guy sitting next me leaned over and whispered “I can’t believe that guy always comes in here late. He is costing his parents $35 (or whatever the number was) for every minute he is late!” </p>

<p>I felt exactly the same way – but I was putting myself through. My neighbor had actually divided the tuition per course by the number of minutes the class met during the semester to arrive at his number. Or maybe his father had, before saying goodbye in early Sept.! And he had no intention of “wasting” a penny of it. </p>

<p>The Biomed Eng students probably feel the same way abt Engl Lit as you do about their topic! (What kills them is they have to write papers instead of take exams, haha)</p>

<p>Do what fire&rain says and attend a college fair or two. If you want to talk about the schol, esp with recent alums who live in your state, follow those links and track down members of the local Brown Clubs. They will very likely be more than willing to answer ques.</p>

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<p>JRZMom: I meant that my school doesn’t send graduates to top schools. My friend applied to Yale and she was the first one from my school to do so. I probably should obey my parents’ wishes and go to the local university, but I just want to prove to myself and others that it’s not just a dream. </p>

<p>I’ve also heard that Brown’s focus is mainly on the undergraduates. I don’t know for sure whether or not that’s completely true. </p>

<p>By the way, you might have mentioned this at one point, but which state are you from? I know that Brown accepts a greater number of applicants from, for example, Massachusetts than it does from Oklahoma. </p>

<p>If I do get into Brown, I’m not going to be late. I already freak out if I’m late for classes in high school.</p>

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<p>fireandrain: I’ll definitely do that. My mom said that we could possibly go to an info session in St. Louis or Kansas City next fall. I emailed my counselor over the summer and asked about my class schedule for my junior year. Hopefully he will remember me.</p>

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<p>Brown accepts more kids from Massachusetts than Oklahoma because many more apply from Massachusetts. However, there’s a very good possibility that the acceptance rate is higher for Okla applicants than Massachusetts. </p>

<p>Brown historically does have a focus on undergraduates, although Ruth Simmons has been paying a lot of attention to the graduate school. This bothers some people, but others feel that Brown undergraduates benefit from a strong graduate school.</p>

<p>Meet your school counselor in person. Pop in and say hi. Ask questions. Let him know your ambitions, and what you are doing to attain them.</p>

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<p>That’s what I was thinking. Hopefully, not very many people from Missouri will apply to Brown, so maybe I’ll have a better chance. I’m not anything extraordinary, but people from New England would probably say I’m a hick. I really hope my accent isn’t that bad. </p>

<p>My counselor seems nice enough, so I’ll just say hey. He knows what I’d like to major in and he knows I’m interested in Brown. So, it’s a start.</p>

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<p>Chelsea—New England has hicks, too! </p>

<p>Everyone has an accent! Some folks have NY accents, some have Missouri ones, others have NJ accents, then there are RI accents, etc. </p>

<p>If you do go to RI, a cabinet is a milk shake, and the bubbla is the water fountain. No, the wawtah fountin. </p>

<p>J-R-Z Mom means Jersey Mom! I don’t pump gas!</p>

<p>(That is an inside joke — for New Jerseyans — NJ is one of 2 states that makes it illegal for customers to pump their own gas when purchasing. It is partly a safety thing, left over from days when gas-pumping was much messier—and also the Full Employment Law for All Cousins of the Station Owner. I don’t mind it one bit–no gas smell on my hands, no standing out in the rain or snow in my nice clothes).</p>

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<p>Another thing you’ll discover in Rhode Island is the state drink, coffee milk. It’s basically coffee-flavored milk, and it’s really good.</p>

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<p>Not to mention, Josiah Carberry.</p>