2009-2010 Brown University Application Thread

[RSwim]

Sounds like a great time. Keep us up to date regarding your decision. I am really curious to find out how long it takes from interview to decision.

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[roaming]

I was originally set on not applying to Brown because of the % of students from PLME, but now I'm re-thinking adding brown. Is it too late to add Brown? I don't think it's rolling, so does it matter?

Thanks!

 

[BlueElmo]

I was originally set on not applying to Brown because of the % of students from PLME, but now I'm re-thinking adding brown. Is it too late to add Brown? I don't think it's rolling, so does it matter?

Thanks!

go ahead. but it's tough to get interview here, they interview so few, so few.

 

[premad]

I was originally set on not applying to Brown because of the % of students from PLME, but now I'm re-thinking adding brown. Is it too late to add Brown? I don't think it's rolling, so does it matter?

Thanks!

It is rolling, but they said that they make a point to leave places open so that those at the end of the cycle aren't at such a disadvantage. Also, waitlist seems active. Definitely apply if you have the cash, but Elmo is right, not a ton of interviews because not a ton of slots.

 

[Question123]

Yeah, I love it too. So, so much. Interviewed yesterday and it was G-R-E-A-T. First interview where I really, really liked both interviewers equally, and wanted them to invite me over for lunch and be my personal mentors, which I felt like they totally would do. Barbara, the assistant dean of admissions, is also amazing and keeps you laughing throughout the entire day. She brought up cool points about each of the 13 applicants during breakfast.

Only downside is that the day is really packed, and the folks who weren't Brown alums said that it was disorienting at times. Like, you start at the Hope Club with med students (sweet/fancy), then Barbara's overview, then FinAid talk (strangely fun for once), go to Rhode Island Hospital/Hasboro Children's for a tour, have lunch there with med students, splinter off for two interviews at the hospital and/or back at campus, then a med/undergrad campus tour.

And, I guess sometimes the other admissions dean can be a bit of a bear, so just tough it out if you get him as an interviewer (I did not). He's nice, but it seems like he's trying on the kind of 'tough attending' role. You wonder if he's wearing the bow tie ironically or non-ironically...I actually asked him basically that question once, and he said that he was "more proletariat" than a bow tie.

Anyway, this is all just to say, you all will love it. But archimedes already knew this.

What sort of questions did they ask you? Was it open-file or closed?

 

[Infinitydrop]

Did anyone else write a pretty ridiculous 2030 essay here? I am afriad I may have read one too many science fiction books.....

 

[premad]

What sort of questions did they ask you? Was it open-file or closed?

Super open file. Well, let me take that back...not sure if they have your grades and MCAT, because this was not something that we talked about at all. But, both interviewers really, really knew my application, both the PS, activities (even read the descriptions closely), and the crazy 'in the year 2030' essay. So, the questions were like "Tell me more about...," "How do you think you'll be involved with X in the future?" But very conversational, me saying a few things, them bringing up additional questions or mini-stories. They really seemed to key into what I myself felt was most important about my application, which was impressive, because often interviewers seem to want to talk about what is most important to them. The only real way to prep for this interview would be to re-read that 2030 essay, be ready to clarify/contextualize anything that you put there, and be your best self. They made it so easy to do that.


Definitely a "Why Brown?" and maybe a "Why Providence" question as well, so know something about why you'd pick the school and how you'd make it in little Rhody and littler Provy. PM me if you'd like more info on why I think school, state, city are great.

 

[Infinitydrop]

Do you get a complete email? how do you know if they got your letters if you send them electronically since they don't take AMCAS

 

[BlueElmo]

Do you get a complete email? how do you know if they got your letters if you send them electronically since they don't take AMCAS

it shows up on your status page.

 

[FutureDoc17]

Interview in early January! Very excited.

 

[lrkoehle]

Interview in early January! Very excited.

Are they already booked until January? I guess that means my rejection should be in the mail.

 

[FutureDoc17]

For what it's worth, there were a couple of open dates in December early last week as well.

 

[BlueElmo]

Are they already booked until January? I guess that means my rejection should be in the mail.

Yeah, I know.

 

[sunshining]

For those of us who still haven't heard from Brown, let's stay optimistic - being negative certainly won't do us any good! The wait is painful, but hopefully, it will be worth it!

 

[He2]

its just not that sunny in this office....sigh

 

[djherse]

Does anybody know if they place any preference on in-state applicants? I have the secondary done just don't know if submitting this late is equivalent to burning $100.

 

[BlueElmo]

Does anybody know if they place any preference on in-state applicants? I have the secondary done just don't know if submitting this late is equivalent to burning $100.

Private school so no state preference. But they got over 6000 applications last year and interviewed little less than 250 couple years ago. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[RSwim]

Round 1 decisions come out November 6th in the afternoon by phone, email and status update! The interview session is very relaxed and the people are amazingly nice! Good luck to everyone!

 

[Omar Gooding]

Do you think the November 6 notifications apply to those interviewing on Oct. 22?

 

[RSwim]

Do you think the November 6 notifications apply to those interviewing on Oct. 22?

From what I understand the first 4 rounds will get their decisions on Nov 6th. Which is the Oct 8, 15, 22 and 29th.

 

[Omar Gooding]

Thanks, man I really want to get into this school, I hear so many good things

 

[premad]

From what I understand the first 4 rounds will get their decisions on Nov 6th. Which is the Oct 8, 15, 22 and 29th.

First round was October 1st, so maybe just through 22nd or the first five rounds?

 

[Omar Gooding]

anybody else going to be interviewing on the 22nd??

 

[kayakingaddict]

..

 

[Omar Gooding]

Just interviewed here yesterday and LOVED it. Everyone was super nice and they knew each person's file surprisingly well. The hospitals were very nice and the campus was beautiful. I really hope I get in here. They said we'd know on November 6.

 

[aloepathic]

Does anybody know if they place any preference on in-state applicants? I have the secondary done just don't know if submitting this late is equivalent to burning $100.

Actually, Brown does place an emphasis on in-state applicants. I'm guessing you missed the boat on the EIP program, but just being from Rhode Island (or close to it) will get you a boost from Barbara (Dean of Admissions), especially if you can really talk about why you want to stay in area. I know at least 10-15 people in the class who didn't submit until late October, btw, so don't lose hope.

 

[aloepathic]

Just interviewed here yesterday and LOVED it. Everyone was super nice and they knew each person's file surprisingly well. The hospitals were very nice and the campus was beautiful. I really hope I get in here. They said we'd know on November 6.

Glad to hear you liked it! Since Brown takes so few standard applicants, Barbara (who is sort of a mini-celebrity here) really gets to know everyone's file intimately. What's even better is that she'll remember you years down the line too!

In general, the fact that Brown is so small means that the staff and administrators actually form a pretty close relationship with the students, which translates into increased personal attention and help (and apparently also pays off in the Deans Letter too).

 

[Doc Of Life]

The secondary app says this:

Will you submit a composite recommendation from your school's premedical committee? *

[] Yes [] No

If no, please list the name and title of each of the three individuals who will be sending a recommendation on your behalf.

My college doesn't have a premed committee, but they are sending out a letter packet containing 5 individual letters of recommendation that professors and doctors wrote for me. So should I:

1) Check 'yes, my school is submitting a composite recommendation'

2) Click 'No' and then list 3 of the individual professors' letters that I want them to choose from within the packet that they are being sent

3) Same as above, and then ask my college to send only those 3 letters individually rather than the normal letter packet?

I tried calling their admissions phone number to ask this, but I just got a prerecorded message that didn't help, and there was no option to speak to an operator. So, do you have any idea about what is the correct way to do this? And/or do you know how I can reach a live admissions operator?

 

[Omar Gooding]

Glad to hear you liked it! Since Brown takes so few standard applicants, Barbara (who is sort of a mini-celebrity here) really gets to know everyone's file intimately. What's even better is that she'll remember you years down the line too!

In general, the fact that Brown is so small means that the staff and administrators actually form a pretty close relationship with the students, which translates into increased personal attention and help (and apparently also pays off in the Deans Letter too).

That's the impression that I got throughout the day. Do you by chance know if a person's chances are any better by interviewing early at Brown? or is the acceptance/rejection ratio about the same throughout the cycle?

 

[archimedesxx]

Just to give y'all a heads up, Barbara Fuller said that the decisions were gonna come out after 1pm this coming Friday, Nov 6. How manyof you are psyched up?

 

[Omar Gooding]

I'm pumped, a little nervous too, I'm glad you gave us a timeframe otherwise I would've been slightly worried to say the least.

 

[panda25]

I thought I'd posted this earlier, but I guess not.

Secondary Submitted: 09/09
Interview Invitation: 09/16
(strangely enough I got the complete email after the interview invite)

Very excited to be interviewing next month!!

 

[redsquareblack]

So am I to assume that Brown is one of those schools that issues those lovely "silent" rejections?

 

[jla314]

So am I to assume that Brown is one of those schools that issues those lovely "silent" rejections?

lol i've been sitting here complete since 8/3 and not a peep from brown...

they took my money and ran with it! i'm assuming rejection at this point.

 

[Question123]

Ha, looks like every other school responded to you though!

 

[paki20]

lol i've been sitting here complete since 8/3 and not a peep from brown...

they took my money and ran with it! i'm assuming rejection at this point.

seriously?? would u even go to brown over the rest of other schools like hopkins (and looks like you'll get an acceptance at harvard also)...so why not do the rejection yourself before they decide to do it

 

[Dr. Pepper]

seriously?? would u even go to brown over the rest of other schools like hopkins (and looks like you'll get an acceptance at harvard also)...so why not do the rejection yourself before they decide to do it

They are still giving out interviews and, regardless of how many other interviews one has, Brown is a great place and withdrawing your application (aka rejecting Brown) is a cardinal sin in my book.

Considering how few people Brown interviews, I'm pretty sure everybody walked into the application process assuming that they were rejected, but you have to remember the "perceived 0" effect of probability: If you have a set of infinite numbers between 0 and 1 and you pick one number, the chance of picking 1.10 (or any number for that matter in the set) are literally 0 to any significant figure, but there's still a chance that you picked the right number, by definition of the parameters of the situation.

This is more a post for everybody, not just jla (though she seems rather nice, so I definitely wouldn't want her to drop her app to Brown), so don't give up hope!
-Dr. P.

 

[Question123]

I'm confused? Does Brown give out less interview invites than most? It seems about the same as the others?

 

[jla314]

seriously?? would u even go to brown over the rest of other schools like hopkins (and looks like you'll get an acceptance at harvard also)...so why not do the rejection yourself before they decide to do it

i get a lot of crap for trying to keep my mind open about the schools i've applied to. but don't you worry, at the end of all this i can only make one decision, and i'm just trying to make the best one possible for me.

 

[Dr. Pepper]

I'm confused? Does Brown give out less interview invites than most? It seems about the same as the others?

Question,

I think I may have misspoken. Brown gives a decent amount of interviews, but they interview a very low percentage of applicants, at least according to USNews.

Total admissions data
5902 applied
209 interviewed

In-state admissions data
105 applied,
13 interviewed
Out-of-state admissions data
5797 applied
196 interviewed

Only about 3% of OOS applicants receive an interview. This is significantly lower than most schools, as far as I know. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Hope that clears things up.
-Dr. P.

 

[Question123]

Thank you. I guess this explains why no one from this year has commented in interview feedback...

 

[panda25]

this issue was discussed in depth earlier in this thread. I noticed a few weeks back that the Alpert FAQs had been updated:

How competitive is Alpert Medical School?
For the Fall 2009 entering class, Alpert Medical School received 2,517 secondary applications for 40 openings. 231 applicants were interviewed, and nearly half received offers of admission (including those originally wait listed.)

hope that helps!

 

[paki20]

i get a lot of crap for trying to keep my mind open about the schools i've applied to. but don't you worry, at the end of all this i can only make one decision, and i'm just trying to make the best one possible for me.

i was just kidding..but amazing job on getting interviews at such amazing schools..and hope you get an interview at brown also..i wish you the best of luck!

 

[archimedesxx]

You guys should check your Banner pages. Decisions are out

 

[premad]

Just got the decision via email...Accepted! This is my undergrad, so happy. Good luck to those still waiting.

 

[redsquareblack]

Just got the decision via email...Accepted! This is my undergrad, so happy. Good luck to those still waiting.

Congrats, premad!!

As for me, I'm really hoping Brown likes something in my app and decides to offer me an interview. As it stands, I'm starting to feel decidedly ignored.

 

[Toadsworth]

Blah, waitlisted. I kind of expected it because I thought one of my interviews was mediocre. Definitely my top choice as well.

Stupid questions that I'm sure have been answered:

Does anyone know how many get off the waitlist?

What exactly should I do to show them my interest?

 

[Question123]

Congrats to all of you! Does anyone want to share feedback on interviews? I know one person did, but in general, no one from this year wrote on the interview feedback wall and I know Brown is fairly dynamic so old feedback is not quite the same. Just want to get an idea what to expect!

 

[lrkoehle]

Just got the decision via email...Accepted! This is my undergrad, so happy. Good luck to those still waiting.

Geez, how many schools does that make it for you? Weren't you also accepted at Mayo? You should be jealous of me, I don't have to make a difficult decision about where to go to medical school (because no one has accepted me...).

Congrats!

 

[premad]

Congrats to all of you! Does anyone want to share feedback on interviews? I know one person did, but in general, no one from this year wrote on the interview feedback wall and I know Brown is fairly dynamic so old feedback is not quite the same. Just want to get an idea what to expect!

I shared a bit of info on the interview day earlier in this thread, please PM me or I'm happy to post a more detailed review here. I can definitely fill out the interview feedback form as well, I've just been a negligent, non-responder on those so far.

Geez, how many schools does that make it for you? Weren't you also accepted at Mayo? You should be jealous of me, I don't have to make a difficult decision about where to go to medical school (because no one has accepted me...).

Congrats!

Thanks so much, I really feel extremely lucky, and I hope that soon I will no longer be so darned jealous of you because you will have your choice of medical schools when all is said and done.