2009-2010 Brown University Application Thread

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shemarty

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PROMPT

1) Please indicate your activities for the 2009-2010 year. If you are in school, please list your courses. If you are working, please describe your job, including duties and responsibilities. (max 5000 characters)

2) Imagine that it is the year 2030. What would you like to have accomplished thus far in your life, and how did Alpert Medical School help you achieve these goals? (max 6500 characters)

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Am I the only one interested in Brown? I thought the school looked incredible based on their website information, and I am really excited about applying here along with most all of the other schools on my app.
 
Brown generally attracts fewer people because of their large BS/MD program. Only about 50% of their class gets accepted via regular admission.

On a side note, It is a bit unfortunate that such an amazing research schools focuses a bit too much on primary care. I am applying nevertheless.
 
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Actually I think 60% of their class is PLME.:(
 
yah its realllly high which is why i didnt apply there, i just replaced it with dartmouth as my wtf not school :p

brown's stats aren't as uber high as darthmouth. maybe i might get lucky.:xf:
 
I read they have been steadily decreasing the number of people in the BS/MD program over the past few years on last year's Brown thread. I personally don't think the combined undergrade-medical school programs are a smart idea at all. I think some real world experinces away from mommy and daddy help a lot with the decision to go to medical school more than doing well on the SAT.
 
I read they have been steadily decreasing the number of people in the BS/MD program over the past few years on last year's Brown thread. I personally don't think the combined undergrade-medical school programs are a smart idea at all. I think some real world experinces away from mommy and daddy help a lot with the decision to go to medical school more than doing well on the SAT.

i agree, though my PI did a 7 yr BS/MD and he seemed to love it. But i cant imagine anyone at that age truly can know if this is the right path for them, hes probably more the exception not the rule. Hell even at the end of college most of us arent realllly sure lol
 
I read they have been steadily decreasing the number of people in the BS/MD program over the past few years on last year's Brown thread. I personally don't think the combined undergrade-medical school programs are a smart idea at all. I think some real world experinces away from mommy and daddy help a lot with the decision to go to medical school more than doing well on the SAT.

The doctor I shadowed was also from BA/MD program, and he seemed to like it as well. But I still don't like it too much. How is a high school senior supposed to know he/she wants to practice medicine for the rest of his life? The student needs to have some college experience and outside world experience before deciding if medical school is right for her.
 
The doctor I shadowed was also from BA/MD program, and he seemed to like it as well. But I still don't like it too much. How is a high school senior supposed to know he/she wants to practice medicine for the rest of his life? The student needs to have some college experience and outside world experience before deciding if medical school is right for her.

I agree; But brown seems to be very proud of its program because they have an excellent record for residency match.
 
I was worried every one was going to rip me a new one for not liking this kind of program. I agree with one of the above posters who said a high school senior is not really in the position to know if this is the right career for them. The kids applying to these programs are barely even seniors, since they are likely applying in the fall semester. That means most of them are only 17 years old.

I know this program can work out wonderfully for some, but not for everyone. Is there any study of physician satisfaction after being in this kind of program?

Do they even have to show any where close to as much dedication to service and medical experience as the rest of us "regular" applicants or literally just a good SAT?
 
I have been looking at the Brown website, and the PLME students composed about 50% of the 2009 class. The good thing is that of the ~2500 secondary applications received 113 acceptances were given out. That's not too bad.

I also found out the PLME students don't take the MCAT, bastards! They are really only required to do well in high school, take the SAT/ACT, and have an interview. Oh well, if it works out for them, then that's great. It seems like PLME makes applying to Brown by the standard route similar to applying to Mayo with only about 50 seats available to us "regulars."

What factors led the rest of you to apply to Brown?
 
I have been looking at the Brown website, and the PLME students composed about 50% of the 2009 class. The good thing is that of the ~2500 secondary applications received 113 acceptances were given out. That's not too bad.

I also found out the PLME students don't take the MCAT, bastards! They are really only required to do well in high school, take the SAT/ACT, and have an interview. Oh well, if it works out for them, then that's great. It seems like PLME makes applying to Brown by the standard route similar to applying to Mayo with only about 50 seats available to us "regulars."

What factors led the rest of you to apply to Brown?

Yeah, I seriously think the PLME kids are getting through this process way too easily. While the rest of us suffers through college, MCAT, extracurricular, application process, etc.:mad:

I applied here because it is a lesser-tiered Ivy school, and hopefully easier than the likes of Columbia or UPenn. But it's not my top choice.
 
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Yeah, I seriously think the PLME kids are getting through this process way too easily. While the rest of us suffers through college, MCAT, extracurricular, application process, etc.:mad:

I applied here because it is a lesser-tiered Ivy school, and hopefully easier than the likes of Columbia or UPenn. But it's not my top choice.


The only difference between PLME and regular admits is the MCAT and AMCAS process. They go to college just like the rest of us. I'm also sure that they have had their fair share of "activities" at a school like Brown. And the competition to get into PLME is ridiculous. Imagine what these kids had to be like in high school to even get a shot at the few combined programs in this country.


"Lesser Tiered Ivy"???? When you get a little further along in the process you're going to learn that things like location, class size, financial aid, area cost of living, clinical training environment, etc.. matter a lot more than the US News and Report rankings and general perceptions of "prestige". What I've discovered through this process is that if you aren't the right match (figure this out by your lifestyle and goals) for the school then don't apply there. Getting into an "Upper Tiered Ivy" and being miserable for 4-5 years is much worse than getting into "Lower Tiered Ivy," your state school, Caribbean, or your favorite DO program and being happy. Go where you will be happy. If that means Harvard then cool and if it means Brown then its cool and if it means PA school thats great too.

I got accepted to my instate school, which is considered more "prestigious", than Brown. I picked brown because its just an awesome school. The admin is wonderful, the students are friendly and not cutthroat, and you can take your education in whatever direction you like.
 
The only difference between PLME and regular admits is the MCAT and AMCAS process. They go to college just like the rest of us. I'm also sure that they have had their fair share of "activities" at a school like Brown. And the competition to get into PLME is ridiculous. Imagine what these kids had to be like in high school to even get a shot at the few combined programs in this country.


"Lesser Tiered Ivy"???? When you get a little further along in the process you're going to learn that things like location, class size, financial aid, area cost of living, clinical training environment, etc.. matter a lot more than the US News and Report rankings and general perceptions of "prestige". What I've discovered through this process is that if you aren't the right match (figure this out by your lifestyle and goals) for the school then don't apply there. Getting into an "Upper Tiered Ivy" and being miserable for 4-5 years is much worse than getting into "Lower Tiered Ivy," your state school, Caribbean, or your favorite DO program and being happy. Go where you will be happy. If that means Harvard then cool and if it means Brown then its cool and if it means PA school thats great too.

I got accepted to my instate school, which is considered more "prestigious", than Brown. I picked brown because its just an awesome school. The admin is wonderful, the students are friendly and not cutthroat, and you can take your education in whatever direction you like.

Well, at least PLME kids have the comfort of knowing they will be doctors, which the rest of us don't have. This is one of the most stressful aspects of being a pre-med, at least from my own experience.
By lesser tiered Ivy, I meant from admissions perspective, not the quality of the school. You can't argue that Brown or Darthmouth are harder to get into than Harvard or UPenn.
 
Yeah, I seriously think the PLME kids are getting through this process way too easily. While the rest of us suffers through college, MCAT, extracurricular, application process, etc.:mad:

I applied here because it is a lesser-tiered Ivy school, and hopefully easier than the likes of Columbia or UPenn. But it's not my top choice.

They have it MUCH easier. I know students who have been through similar programs at several schools and most of them needed to do one thing besides have a high GPA/SAT, and that was write an essay. No interview, nothing. They were all required to do medically related volunteering (for most of them it was 40 hours), and they usually had an interview for medical school somewhere around year 2. But it was all just non-sense. I've never met anyone that has been kicked out of the program for anything other than not meeting GPA or MCAT qualifications. As long as you do well in undergad, you can pretty much skate your way into medical school without all of the other bs the regular applicants have to put up with.

None of that applies to Brown though. I know nobody in the Brown program.
 
Does Brown screen for secondaries?
 
i don't think that brown screens for secondaries.

i had fun looking through PULSE: http://med.brown.edu/students/pulse/

most of the issues have a report from the admissions office. it seems like to me that each year they receive about 2500-3000 applicants. they interview ~250 of them and accept ~100. 30+ eventually matriculate (as regular AMCAS applicants), which is about 1/3 of the entire class. a trend i've noticed is that they are accepting a lot more regular AMCAS applicants than before. i guess they're cutting down the size of the PLME program?
 
i don't think that brown screens for secondaries.

i had fun looking through PULSE: http://med.brown.edu/students/pulse/

most of the issues have a report from the admissions office. it seems like to me that each year they receive about 2500-3000 applicants. they interview ~250 of them and accept ~100. 30+ eventually matriculate (as regular AMCAS applicants), which is about 1/3 of the entire class. a trend i've noticed is that they are accepting a lot more regular AMCAS applicants than before. i guess they're cutting down the size of the PLME program?

They should do away with their PLME program.:smuggrin:
 
well, that kinda sucks. i didn't know there's a reduced number of spots for us because of the undergrad program. guess i should have done my research before applying... and the secondary isn't too easy, either
 
well, that kinda sucks. i didn't know there's a reduced number of spots for us because of the undergrad program. guess i should have done my research before applying... and the secondary isn't too easy, either

yeah, I'm kind of regretting applying here. I also had no idea that they took so many people from their BA/MD program.
 
yeah, I'm kind of regretting applying here. I also had no idea that they took so many people from their BA/MD program.

It will certainly make it more challenging to get accepted here, but I still think it is a good school worth applying to.
 
I read they have been steadily decreasing the number of people in the BS/MD program over the past few years on last year's Brown thread. I personally don't think the combined undergrade-medical school programs are a smart idea at all. I think some real world experinces away from mommy and daddy help a lot with the decision to go to medical school more than doing well on the SAT.

I don't think it's that crazy that high schoolers decide on a career in medicine at the age of 17. After all, medical school replaces college in many countries. And the PLME's at Brown definitely are very passionate about medicine, so apparently they made the right decision. Some PLMEs also take time off to gain the "real world" experiences you talk about. Otherwise, they are similar to any other student who goes directly from undergrad to medical school. But there is one difference: because PLMEs don't need to stress about getting the grades for pre-med courses, Brown encourages them to pursue a well rounded education (both book learning and socially). I really do think that this system works well, and the PLME students turn out well rounded in their knowledge and with solid experiences outside of the classroom. But yeah, this isn't for everyone.

The reason why Brown created the PLME program to begin with though is because the medical school is new (1975), and they wanted a way to lure intelligent students and quickly climb the school ranks. If you can have students capable of getting into Brown undergrad stay at Brown for medical school as well, then that's a pretty solid foundation for your medical school class. Without the PLME program, it probably would've taken much longer to get the sort of residency matching statistics they have now.

Anyways, thats just my two cents! I went to Brown for undergrad and had a handful of PLME friends, so I just wanted to defend them! Feel free to PM me about what Brown/Providence is like, too.
 
Just got Brown's Secondary!
 
Just got Brown's Secondary!

Any prompts, yet? I don't have time to go through the app right now, but would like to know the questions, essays, etc.
 
Any prompts, yet? I don't have time to go through the app right now, but would like to know the questions, essays, etc.

Not yet, I am answering questions as I go through it.

I am at work right now, so it will take me a little bit to get through the general info questions they have but I will post the prompts when I get to them. Unless some one else gets there first
 
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The prompts are:

1) Please indicate your activities for the 2009-2010 year. If you are in school, please list your courses. If you are working, please describe your job, including duties and responsibilities. (max 5000 characters)

2) Imagine that it is the year 2030. What would you like to have accomplished thus far in your life, and how did Alpert Medical School help you achieve these goals? (max 6500 characters)
 
EDIT: opps lol someone posted prompts before me
 
omg.. this secondary is really long.. 6500 characters? that's longer than PS!!!
 
I'm thinking, is it even worth doing a secondary here? I will be competing for such few spots because of those PLME kids.
 
I'm thinking, is it even worth doing a secondary here? I will be competing for such few spots because of those PLME kids.

I am putting it on the bottom of the pile for now, so I may never get around to doing it. I think it is a very interesting school, but it is a real longshot because of the PLME thing.

FWIW, if I do fill it out, I will NOT use all those characters. Short and sweet is all I am doing for any of these.
 
Hey guys,

I would really urge you to apply to Brown. I was accepted to several better-ranked/Ivy institutions, and up until Brown 2nd Look thought that I was going to be attending Michigan, but ended up completely won over by Brown. Small class sizes and personal attention mean more in medical school than in Undergrad, and their match-list is ridiculous, especially in certain competitive specialties (their Ortho dep. is 2nd best funded in country, etc). Either way, definitely worth a look, and the odds are better than you think (PLME's have been cut to about half the class).

Also, they don't WANT you to use all those characters on the essay (I cut and pasted an essay from a different secondary), its just so you don't feel stifled or that you don't get a chance to say everything you wanted to.
 
Hey guys,

I would really urge you to apply to Brown. I was accepted to several better-ranked/Ivy institutions, and up until Brown 2nd Look thought that I was going to be attending Michigan, but ended up completely won over by Brown. Small class sizes and personal attention mean more in medical school than in Undergrad, and their match-list is ridiculous, especially in certain competitive specialties (their Ortho dep. is 2nd best funded in country, etc). Either way, definitely worth a look, and the odds are better than you think (PLME's have been cut to about half the class).

Also, they don't WANT you to use all those characters on the essay (I cut and pasted an essay from a different secondary), its just so you don't feel stifled or that you don't get a chance to say everything you wanted to.

How long were your essays if you remember?
 
For the first part and those that are working, did anyone just copy and paste some of their verified app to explain their job? think thats allowed? i added to it, but used that to just describe my duties.
 
Monstrous character limit. Mine will easily be 1/2 or less of that limit, no doubt.

"We are delighted to acknowledge receipt of your AMCAS application for admission to The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Soon you will receive a letter and viewbook in the mail inviting you to fill out our online secondary application."

Did any of you get the letter and viewbook?
 
Monstrous character limit. Mine will easily be 1/2 or less of that limit, no doubt.

"We are delighted to acknowledge receipt of your AMCAS application for admission to The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Soon you will receive a letter and viewbook in the mail inviting you to fill out our online secondary application."

Did any of you get the letter and viewbook?

yup, but submitted prior to that

anyone received the email for "activating your brown account?"
 
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This freaking secondary is kicking my butt! I think the character counts are overwhelming me, but I don't know why. Everytime I try to get started, I feel like I need more brainstorming to come up with things to lead to me having closer to the character limit, and I get no where. Any one else feeling the same way?
 
This freaking secondary is kicking my butt! I think the character counts are overwhelming me, but I don't know why. Everytime I try to get started, I feel like I need more brainstorming to come up with things to lead to me having closer to the character limit, and I get no where. Any one else feeling the same way?

I feel you.. i have whole bunch of ideas and paragraphs but only one or two sentences in each paragraph.. not even sure what to write in the intro and conclusion..

so painful!!!! lucky i finished all the other secondaries except for this and duke.. :scared:
 
I received the viewbook from Brown yesterday. The only thing that would have convinced me to want to go there more would have been a personal Brown cheerleader. :love:
 
I received the viewbook from Brown yesterday. The only thing that would have convinced me to want to go there more would have been a personal Brown cheerleader. :love:

so you're going to do the secondary here?
 
I feel you.. i have whole bunch of ideas and paragraphs but only one or two sentences in each paragraph.. not even sure what to write in the intro and conclusion..

so painful!!!! lucky i finished all the other secondaries except for this and duke.. :scared:

I'm glad I'm not alone. This is the only secondary I still have, but I should have four more coming sometime soon so I need to finish it. I feel like the only way I can include enough characaters is to go into detail about everything, but for the first essay I don't think that is necessary. I mean do they want me to explain what each of my classes will cover even though the title explains it? And the research I am going to continue doing I already explained on the primary, but I guess I will re-explain it.
 
so you're going to do the secondary here?

Of course! I'm almost finished with it actually. I've been working on the prompt for a week or so. Seeing the viewbook raised my expectations for a medical school. Why can't I do it all and have a medical school that encourages me to do so?

It remains a long shot though. I'm not delusional. :cool:
 
Of course! I'm almost finished with it actually. I've been working on the prompt for a week or so. Seeing the viewbook raised my expectations for a medical school. Why can't I do it all and have a medical school that encourages me to do so?

It remains a long shot though. I'm not delusional. :cool:

I finally had a chance this evening to read through the viewbook, and I must say I was impressed. It actually makes me excited to sit down and bust out this secondary. Now I just need to find time to do it.
 
So I'm almost done with this one. I just copy and pasted from my Dartmouth and Ohio State and Georgetown secondaries.:laugh:
 
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