2012-2013 Brown University Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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Congrats to the acceptees!

Sorry to hear about the waitlist for some of you - but remember, depending on how the PLMEs fit into the statistics, there's a fair amount of waitlist turnover, so things may work out well for you all 🙂 There's hope so long as you're not rejected 🙂
 
Bearstronaut said:
Congrats to the acceptees!

Sorry to hear about the waitlist for some of you - but remember, depending on how the PLMEs fit into the statistics, there's a fair amount of waitlist turnover, so things may work out well for you all 🙂 There's hope so long as you're not rejected 🙂
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Ditto. In all seriousness people. Don't get too discouraged; there'll be a good deal of movement but you might have to wait till a little after the May AAMC 1 school date since a lot of people tend to hold onto multiple acceptances until that point. In the meantime, just be sure to send updates with anything new going on!

To those accepted, much congrats! Definitely come to second look!

And to those who were rejected, the admissions process is frustrating and much more random than anyone would like. I know that the adcom members here pour a great deal of effort into making the process as fair and considerate as possible (in all seriousness, I have seen them come out of evening meetings looking pretty exhausted and beat up) but the process will always have its flaws. That said, I wish everyone the best of luck getting into other awesome schools and if you don't get an acceptance elsewhere this cycle, don't give up hope; there are plenty of things you can do to increase the strength of your application for next time.
 
Iorek Byrnison said:
Ditto. In all seriousness people. Don't get too discouraged; there'll be a good deal of movement but you might have to wait till a little after the May AAMC 1 school date since a lot of people tend to hold onto multiple acceptances until that point. In the meantime, just be sure to send updates with anything new going on!

To those accepted, much congrats! Definitely come to second look!

And to those who were rejected, the admissions process is frustrating and much more random than anyone would like. I know that the adcom members here pour a great deal of effort into making the process as fair and considerate as possible (in all seriousness, I have seen them come out of evening meetings looking pretty exhausted and beat up) but the process will always have its flaws. That said, I wish everyone the best of luck getting into other awesome schools and if you don't get an acceptance elsewhere this cycle, don't give up hope; there are plenty of things you can do to increase the strength of your application for next time.
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I hope I get the chance to meet you someday, fellow bear 🙂 couldn't have put it better myself.
 
my hold status has vanished...
i'm now bracing myself for a rejection email anytime soon. :scared:
 
Hold status also gone for me, gahhhh :scared:

tumblr_m3s3d...wpp9o1_500.gif
 
Iorek Byrnison said:
Ditto. In all seriousness people. Don't get too discouraged; there'll be a good deal of movement but you might have to wait till a little after the May AAMC 1 school date since a lot of people tend to hold onto multiple acceptances until that point. In the meantime, just be sure to send updates with anything new going on!

To those accepted, much congrats! Definitely come to second look!

And to those who were rejected, the admissions process is frustrating and much more random than anyone would like. I know that the adcom members here pour a great deal of effort into making the process as fair and considerate as possible (in all seriousness, I have seen them come out of evening meetings looking pretty exhausted and beat up) but the process will always have its flaws. That said, I wish everyone the best of luck getting into other awesome schools and if you don't get an acceptance elsewhere this cycle, don't give up hope; there are plenty of things you can do to increase the strength of your application for next time.
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At what point should we send updates/brown is the best school ever letters? I have one written just now that contains both updates and letter of interest. should I wait to send them? also should I split them up into two letters?
 
my hold status is gone too - i wonder when we'll start hearing back re. rejecitons and interviews!
 
med144 said:
my hold status is gone too - i wonder when we'll start hearing back re. rejecitons and interviews!
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+1. Now comes the waiting and incessant SDN checking. And sweating. And teeth grinding. Etc. Etc.
 
umt433 said:
+1. Now comes the waiting and incessant SDN checking. And sweating. And teeth grinding. Etc. Etc.
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Can anyone explain how you knew you had a hold status? I'm trying to figure out if I ever did.
 
fourhumours said:
At what point should we send updates/brown is the best school ever letters? I have one written just now that contains both updates and letter of interest. should I wait to send them? also should I split them up into two letters?
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In my opinion you should leave them together, as an update already signifies you're interested enough to follow up. If you're pre-interview, you don't have too much basis for comparison on the whole "this school is the best school ever" thing, because you haven't been there - too much interest pre-interview can make your words seem less than genuine. So I would caution you on that.

If you're post-interview, a letter of interest may not be very strong when people are sending in letters of intent, and it's a careful balance between demonstrating interest without making them wonder why, if you think so highly of the place, you're not writing a letter of intent.

I hope it works out for everyone though! 🙂 good luck!!
 
Bearstronaut said:
In my opinion you should leave them together, as an update already signifies you're interested enough to follow up. If you're pre-interview, you don't have too much basis for comparison on the whole "this school is the best school ever" thing, because you haven't been there - too much interest pre-interview can make your words seem less than genuine. So I would caution you on that.

If you're post-interview, a letter of interest may not be very strong when people are sending in letters of intent, and it's a careful balance between demonstrating interest without making them wonder why, if you think so highly of the place, you're not writing a letter of intent.

I hope it works out for everyone though! 🙂 good luck!!
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I meant Letter of intent, the one where I say I am going there if I get in off the waitlist. the problem is the letter is over a page long with updates/why brown is the place above all else and how I fit in there.

I just feel like a letter over 1 page is generally a no-no
 
fourhumours said:
I meant Letter of intent, the one where I say I am going there if I get in off the waitlist. the problem is the letter is over a page long with updates/why brown is the place above all else and how I fit in there.

I just feel like a letter over 1 page is generally a no-no
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If all your information is genuine, then I don't see why you should cut some of it out. However, if you can decrease unnecessary wordiness in any way to shorten it, I'd do that. In my opinion, LOIs don't have "rules" and they should be written in a way that express your interest in the most genuine way possible. If it's longer than 2 pages, though, that's another story 😛
 
drd714 said:
If all your information is genuine, then I don't see why you should cut some of it out. However, if you can decrease unnecessary wordiness in any way to shorten it, I'd do that. In my opinion, LOIs don't have "rules" and they should be written in a way that express your interest in the most genuine way possible. If it's longer than 2 pages, though, that's another story 😛
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Agreed. Personally I don't see the need for paragraphs of reasons on why you like it - an LOI is all but a binding contract, so it's obvious you've chosen them. Now, any reasons you want to point out on why they should take you, that's another story, but my understanding is the only thing an LOI adds to your app is the knowledge that you'll definitely matriculate, which is only useful if the adcom is concerned with having all their offers accepted and minimal turnover. Otherwise, they likely have already rated/graded/scored your application, and short of an update...
 
fourhumours said:
At what point should we send updates/brown is the best school ever letters? I have one written just now that contains both updates and letter of interest. should I wait to send them? also should I split them up into two letters?
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Going to respond to this in the order asked.

A) Don't wait unless you're just giving yourself a day to put your letter aside and to re-read it with fresh eyes when you do your final edits.

B) Keep it to 1 letter and if you can, put it all out on one page unless you are a really eloquent and succinct writer (or the reincarnation of Hemingway) to begin with and it simply requires 2 pages (best bet here is to have a good writer to review it). As always, ignore everything I've written here if it ends up countering any thoughts by aloepathic or ayushman as this is just from my own experience.

To go on a tangent about the nature of LOIs. It is a commitment so take it seriously. The major exception of course is if a school is your top choice but they are offering you significantly less financial aid than another institution or emergent life circumstances (e.g. you just found out you or your wife is pregnant and you want to stay close to extended family so that they can help you raise your kid). The medical world is a very tight-nit one and your integrity counts for a lot so be true to your word.

And as always, remember that LOIs and update letters won't make or break an application but they can push it right over the edge if you're already there. As with all things, it depends on the institution and just how things are going that particular application cycle.

Cheers and best of luck!
 
Iorek Byrnison said:
Going to respond to this in the order asked.

A) Don't wait unless you're just giving yourself a day to put your letter aside and to re-read it with fresh eyes when you do your final edits.

B) Keep it to 1 letter and if you can, put it all out on one page unless you are a really eloquent and succinct writer (or the reincarnation of Hemingway) to begin with and it simply requires 2 pages (best bet here is to have a good writer to review it). As always, ignore everything I've written here if it ends up countering any thoughts by aloepathic or ayushman as this is just from my own experience.

To go on a tangent about the nature of LOIs. It is a commitment so take it seriously. The major exception of course is if a school is your top choice but they are offering you significantly less financial aid than another institution or emergent life circumstances (e.g. you just found out you or your wife is pregnant and you want to stay close to extended family so that they can help you raise your kid). The medical world is a very tight-nit one and your integrity counts for a lot so be true to your word.

And as always, remember that LOIs and update letters won't make or break an application but they can push it right over the edge if you're already there. As with all things, it depends on the institution and just how things are going that particular application cycle.

Cheers and best of luck!
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Are you sure about the financial aid thing? My understanding was that an LOI requires you to withdraw all other applications upon acceptance, thereby precluding the possibility of receiving financial aid information from other schools/having multiple offers open at the same time. That's the inherent danger of an LOI - you leave yourself with no options.

Am I mistaken?
 
Bearstronaut said:
Are you sure about the financial aid thing? My understanding was that an LOI requires you to withdraw all other applications upon acceptance, thereby precluding the possibility of receiving financial aid information from other schools/having multiple offers open at the same time. That's the inherent danger of an LOI - you leave yourself with no options.

Am I mistaken?
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No worries, happy to clarify. As you know, LOIs are typically sent after an interview (either while waiting for your decision or after a waitlist) to let a school know that if they accept you, you intend to matriculate at their institution. Regardless of what the school decides to do, you can hold as many acceptances as you want until the May 15th AAMC deadline at which point you can only hold one acceptance at a time (which is why it's wise to have financial info ready for schools you've been waitlisted at so that they can quickly come up with your package if they decide to give you an acceptance). If you have submitted an LOI to a school and they either accept you outright or accept you off their waitlist, it is understood that you are planning on matriculating but this agreement is bound only by your word (again, integrity matters!). If fin aid is important to you, you can keep other applications in play and see what offers come your way. Of course if you know you don't plan on going somewhere, please be kind to your fellow applicants and withdraw your acceptance so that they can maybe get off that same schools waitlist.

You should of course only really write the LOI if you will be thrilled to attend that school regardless of any minor variations of Financial Aid but if another school comes in with an offer that makes a major difference in the amount of tuition you're paying (enough to have a significant difference on your ability to afford med school and make the career choices you want), it's my understanding is it's acceptable to mull it over as admissions understands that sometimes no matter how much you love a school and would be thrilled to go there, it just might not be posible without the aid to make sure you can focus on your studies instead of worrying about paying the rent. Again though, you should only go counter to an LOI for a really good reason such as if you quite literally cannot afford to go to your preferred school(the one your wrote an LOI for) with the fin aid package that they have given you or you have had a major change in life circumstances in the period since you wrote the LOI.
 
Iorek Byrnison said:
No worries, happy to clarify. As you know, LOIs are typically sent after an interview (either while waiting for your decision or after a waitlist) to let a school know that if they accept you, you intend to matriculate at their institution. Regardless of what the school decides to do, you can hold as many acceptances as you want until the May 15th AAMC deadline at which point you can only hold one acceptance at a time (which is why it's wise to have financial info ready for schools you've been waitlisted at so that they can quickly come up with your package if they decide to give you an acceptance). If you have submitted an LOI to a school and they either accept you outright or accept you off their waitlist, it is understood that you are planning on matriculating but this agreement is bound only by your word (again, integrity matters!). If fin aid is important to you, you can keep other applications in play and see what offers come your way. Of course if you know you don't plan on going somewhere, please be kind to your fellow applicants and withdraw your acceptance so that they can maybe get off that same schools waitlist.

You should of course only really write the LOI if you will be thrilled to attend that school regardless of any minor variations of Financial Aid but if another school comes in with an offer that makes a major difference in the amount of tuition you're paying (enough to have a significant difference on your ability to afford med school and make the career choices you want), it's my understanding is it's acceptable to mull it over as admissions understands that sometimes no matter how much you love a school and would be thrilled to go there, it just might not be posible without the aid to make sure you can focus on your studies instead of worrying about paying the rent. Again though, you should only go counter to an LOI for a really good reason such as if you quite literally cannot afford to go to your preferred school(the one your wrote an LOI for) with the fin aid package that they have given you or you have had a major change in life circumstances in the period since you wrote the LOI.
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thanks to drd714 (i hop I got those numbers right), bearstronaut and Iorek for the advice. Brown is far and away my top choice regardless of anything else so I am planning on sending one in.
 
Anytime fourhumours 🙂

Anyone know if students at Brown have the ability to audit, etc., courses at the undergraduate level? I'm specifically thinking of languages.
 
Bearstronaut said:
Anytime fourhumours 🙂

Anyone know if students at Brown have the ability to audit, etc., courses at the undergraduate level? I'm specifically thinking of languages.
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Someone asked this question to several current med students. The students said that technically, it is possible, but it will likely be difficult considering everything else you will have to juggle. Again, if you can make it work, they're fine with it.

What language btw?
 
BurghStudent said:
Someone asked this question to several current med students. The students said that technically, it is possible, but it will likely be difficult considering everything else you will have to juggle. Again, if you can make it work, they're fine with it.

What language btw?
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I'm maintaining a few European ones at the moment, but probably one of the Asian languages. They're hard to self-study before you get the pronunciation down, and a teacher (or a native operated restaurant) helps a ton with that
 
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Rejected pre-interview 12/13

First rejection this cycle. At least they tell you instead of keeping you in the dark
 
blondiellie said:
Do you mind sharing your stats?
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32P (12.9.11)
uGPA: 3.1
grad GPA 3.8+
URM
NY resident

Complete 11/24. I applied here pretty late. It was kinda an afterthought. I want to stay in the NYC-LI area, but figured I might as well.

My undergrad GPA is going to kill me 🙁
 
Hey guys sorry haven't written anything in a while. Residency interview season has kept me busy. Trust me when I say that I completely understand what you guys are going through. Lorek is exactly right and what he said. This is a long frustrating and sometimes random process. Just keep your heads up. And remember no matter where you guys end up you're going to Physicians! We all certainly hope that you end up choosing Brown has your place for education. As always if you have any specific questions for me I would be more than happy to answer them on this form.
 
ayushman80 said:
Hey guys sorry haven't written anything in a while. Residency interview season has kept me busy. Trust me when I say that I completely understand what you guys are going through. Lorek is exactly right and what he said. This is a long frustrating and sometimes random process. Just keep your heads up. And remember no matter where you guys end up you're going to Physicians! We all certainly hope that you end up choosing Brown has your place for education. As always if you have any specific questions for me I would be more than happy to answer them on this form.
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Thanks! How are your residency apps going? Any advice for us just starting out?
 
Bearstronaut said:
Thanks! How are your residency apps going? Any advice for us just starting out?
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Going very well. I'm applying to a very competitive field but my training and background and support from Brown have really set me up for success. Starting out advice:

1. Figure out how you study best.
2. Don't feel intimidated by med school. If you have made it this far you are good enough to do very well.
3. Relax and don't study before you Matriculate. Go to tour Europe or something.
4. If in doubt about anything refer to bullet point number 3.
 
Sounds amazing! 🙂 hope your app process is going well!
 
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I just dug through the thread to find the last reported II was 2 months ago. Does anyone 'on the inside' know if Brown is going to send more IIs? The interview season is quickly winding down 🙁
 
Ruhroh said:
I just dug through the thread to find the last reported II was 2 months ago. Does anyone 'on the inside' know if Brown is going to send more IIs? The interview season is quickly winding down 🙁
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I don't like being the bearer of bad news but Barbara did mention that they might cut down a few interview dates from the end.
 
Ruhroh said:
I just dug through the thread to find the last reported II was 2 months ago. Does anyone 'on the inside' know if Brown is going to send more IIs? The interview season is quickly winding down 🙁
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I just checked last year's app thread since I got curious too. The last II in that thread was December 12 I think, and it was someone who was complete in August. So I think those of us who still have silence are realistically out of the running for this school. Of course there might be a few exceptions, but yeah... :-(

Ugh just wish I could go back in time and submit everything a month earlier
 
JFK90787 said:
I just checked last year's app thread since I got curious too. The last II in that thread was December 12 I think, and it was someone who was complete in August. So I think those of us who still have silence are realistically out of the running for this school. Of course there might be a few exceptions, but yeah... :-(

Ugh just wish I could go back in time and submit everything a month earlier
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To be fair, Brown interviews less people than pretty much every other school, and they're very specific about what they're looking for. I wouldn't blame anything you did.

That being said, there's hope so long as you're not rejected 🙂 they're not shy about rejections, so perhaps they're still considering some groups of people.
 
Quick question for those involved with the admissions process:

Would it be advisable to send an LOI to one of my interviewers? I really enjoyed talking with her, and we even had a brief back and forth conversation over email post interview. Or should I send it directly to Barbara? I was waitlisted btw.

Congrats on surviving the apocalypse everyone!
 
Remedies said:
Quick question for those involved with the admissions process:

Would it be advisable to send an LOI to one of my interviewers? I really enjoyed talking with her, and we even had a brief back and forth conversation over email post interview. Or should I send it directly to Barbara? I was waitlisted btw.

Congrats on surviving the apocalypse everyone!
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My advice is to send the actual LOI to Barbara but also send an update to your interviewer just to thank them again, let them know your status and how much you'd love to come to Brown, and just any updates pertinent to your past convo.

Hope everyone is getting the chance to enjoy a well deserved break from school/work! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, a Joyous New Years and all that jazz to you all!
 
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