What is Brown Admissions Looking For?
Independent thinkers. Risk takers. Experimenters. Unlike the other Ivies, Brown seeks a very specific breed of student that seeks academic freedom and that takes risks.
Since Brown has an open curriculum and concentrations instead of majors, they look for students who are independent and who thrive instead of self-destructing when given unlimited freedom.
Applicants really need to communicate this theme throughout their Brown supplemental essays.
Brown rates every applicant in two separate areas on a 1 to 6 scale (6 being the highest and 1 being the lowest):
- Academic Rating
- Personal Rating
Academic rating
Personal rating
Engineering applicants to Brown get an extra read by an engineering faculty member during the read process at Brown. In addition, all applications at Brown go to the admissions committee for voting.
Brown Supplemental Essays Approach
Since Brown looks for a very specific type of student that embraces academic freedom and risk taking, the supplemental essays at Brown carry a great deal of weight. Solomon Admissions provides an extensive primer on Brown supplemental essays to its clients, and here is a brief excerpt from this primer:
Brown University Application Essay
Why Brown? (100-word limit)
The “Why Brown” question is the most important supplemental question at Brown.
Applicants must address why their learning style and academic interests fit with the academic philosophy at Brown.
Applicants must address why they are risk-takers. Brown’s open curriculum, with no required core, demands that students be independent and can handle freedom. This essay must address a concrete example of an instance where the applicant was given freedom academically and thrived given that privilege.
In addition, applicants interested in designing their own concentration at Brown should discuss their interest in an interdisciplinary curriculum. This is the tip of the iceberg. For more information on how to approach the Brown supplemental essays, feel free to contact us.
For more information about the Brown University application process, contact us at one of the following: