I was at a Brown Graduation - they emphasized that: at Brown you create your own syllabus.

This was echoed both by the: Profs and the student speakers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of whst people post on this site is no real.

I could falsely claim my unhooked asian male kid got into MIT with a 3.75 and 1300 SAT, and no one would be the wiser.

You can't really trust claims made here about admissions. There are a lot of trolls on this forum.

On the other hand, a lot of people here love to push conspiracy. I have a DC who goes to an Ivy and had a 3.6 w/ great stats and people were trying hard to get me to admit there was some silver lining or that we are URMs, when the facts are he just got in as a white male and his friends of color definitely had higher stats than him.

+100

But most people in this process with “luck” also have enormous resources/college packaging by a private counselor. As I’ve gotten deeper into this, I see how much is manufactured (passion projects/published/start-ups/summer stuff/awards) by these Uber pricey counselors. A $25-50k counselor can really move the needle.

Anonymous wrote:A lot of whst people post on this site is no real.

I could falsely claim my unhooked asian male kid got into MIT with a 3.75 and 1300 SAT, and no one would be the wiser.

You can't really trust claims made here about admissions. There are a lot of trolls on this forum.

On the other hand, a lot of people here love to push conspiracy. I have a DC who goes to an Ivy and had a 3.6 w/ great stats and people were trying hard to get me to admit there was some silver lining or that we are URMs, when the facts are he just got in as a white male and his friends of color definitely had higher stats than him.

Anonymous wrote:Brown looks for kids who are self-driven and aware and will thrive in the open curriculum.
They need to have evidence of the drive and their own intellectual awareness.

Brown is looking for: (1) Unusual independence; (2) Unusually self-motivated and (3) Unusual expertise in one academic field.

And joy.

You don't have to declare until sophomore year and - guess what - the Admissions office isn't going to track your son down and rescind his acceptance two years into college.

As others have said, I would absolutely highlight his unusual experience/interest, particularly if he can craft a narrative about why it matters to him, how it ties into his past experiences, and how he will pursue it at Brown. The second he walks on campus, he can do whatever he wants to

Brown looks for kids who are self-driven and aware and will thrive in the open curriculum.
They need to have evidence of the drive and their own intellectual awareness.

Brown is looking for: (1) Unusual independence; (2) Unusually self-motivated and (3) Unusual expertise in one academic field.

Anonymous wrote:Intrigued by humanities boy who got into Brown despite DCUM predicting he wouldn’t. Do you have to declare a major when applying to Brown? My DS has strong credentials in unusual humanities area. Not necessarily what he wants to study though. Can he apply as the unusual major and then switch if he wants?

If he has top stats, hire a college counselor to help you with narrative & strategy.

Anonymous wrote:My kid was admitted to Brown this cycle. Their application asks for 1st and 2nd choice concentration (their word for major), but they do not admit by major. It’s purely to show current interests and how they tie to your extracurriculars and story. I’m not a fan of gaming acceptances. Brown encourages exploration so I would answer truthfully and show other various interests in supplemental essays.

Brown maybe more than other ivies is really focused on the applicant’s story or narrative.

Anonymous wrote:Intrigued by humanities boy who got into Brown despite DCUM predicting he wouldn’t. Do you have to declare a major when applying to Brown? My DS has strong credentials in unusual humanities area. Not necessarily what he wants to study though. Can he apply as the unusual major and then switch if he wants?

Yes you can do this almost everywhere if it’s in humanities/arts & sciences.

People do this all the time at Stanford.

My kid was admitted to Brown this cycle. Their application asks for 1st and 2nd choice concentration (their word for major), but they do not admit by major. It’s purely to show current interests and how they tie to your extracurriculars and story. I’m not a fan of gaming acceptances. Brown encourages exploration so I would answer truthfully and show other various interests in supplemental essays.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, there’s a lot about that thread that doesn’t ring true (or may be omitting crucial info). It felt fake from the beginning.
But no, you don’t declare a major till end of sophomore year. But many other ivies are the same.

+100

Yeah, there’s a lot about that thread that doesn’t ring true (or may be omitting crucial info). It felt fake from the beginning.
But no, you don’t declare a major till end of sophomore year. But many other ivies are the same.

A lot of whst people post on this site is no real.

I could falsely claim my unhooked asian male kid got into MIT with a 3.75 and 1300 SAT, and no one would be the wiser.

You can't really trust claims made here about admissions. There are a lot of trolls on this forum.

Anonymous wrote:Intrigued by humanities boy who got into Brown despite DCUM predicting he wouldn’t. Do you have to declare a major when applying to Brown? My DS has strong credentials in unusual humanities area. Not necessarily what he wants to study though. Can he apply as the unusual major and then switch if he wants?

Yes. Go ask for tips from all the Classics majors heading to Ivies from the Big3 this year.

Intrigued by humanities boy who got into Brown despite DCUM predicting he wouldn’t. Do you have to declare a major when applying to Brown? My DS has strong credentials in unusual humanities area. Not necessarily what he wants to study though. Can he apply as the unusual major and then switch if he wants?