is an Ivy League school that is located in Providence, Rhode Island. Just over 7,000 undergraduates attend the school, and the acceptance rate for the class of 2024 was 6.9%. Brown is known for its open curriculum, but there is a common misconception that it’s an ideal fit for students who want to figure out things along the way. This is false, and you certainly shouldn’t mention the words “open to exploring Brown’s many options” in your supplement. To succeed at Brown, you need to be a self-starter who can think ahead and structure their education in a meaningful way.
Before you start the first prompt, read the second. Brown is asking two versions of the ever-popular “Why Us” question. The first is academic, and the second should relate to extracurricular activities. Keep reading for our tips:
Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about an academic interest (or interests) that excites you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue it. (250 words)
Lots of words here! This is the first of many blog posts in which we’ll advocate for streamlining the wording of the prompts. To be fair, the second sentence is fairly straightforward and where you should focus. Think of it like this: what do you want to study, and what resources will you take advantage of at Brown to do so? Remember, your goal is to make it clear that Brown is the only place where you can fully pursue your interest or interests. You need to get specific here because Brown is trying to build out a balanced class. If everyone says they’re undecided it is feasible that they could admit a group of students who all end up studying English. There’s no way to predict what they’re looking for, but you can assure them that you’ll be starting at Brown next year with a clearly defined academic plan.
Start by looking through Brown’s list of undergraduate programs, aka their concentrations. . Look for concentrations that align with the classes that you’ve performed well in during high school AND loved. Let’s say that your eventual career goal is to start an environmental non-profit, and you’re striving to attend Brown so that you can study and “That’s a good start, but from there you should research the class offerings in both programs. What specific class would you take that will help you master both disciplines? You should write about 2-3 classes.
While it’s fine to visualize yourself working towards your career goal, you should be writing strictly about how you’ll spend time while at Brown and why you’re dying to take certain classes. Make sure that they are upper-level classes, as they are more specific to Brown than introductory courses that can be taken anywhere. In terms of writing about the classes, you need solid reasons for wanting to take them. For example, you might write that you want to take GEOL 0300: Sustainability of Earth Resources because you just finished a summer program related to similar subject matter. Avoid writing that you want to a class because you’ve “always want to learn more about” the economics of global warming. You should also aim to explain why taking both courses simultaneously will bolster your knowledge in a way that helps you understand the duality of the subject matter. If you want to study two completely unrelated disciplines, that’s totally fine, but make your goals in doing so clear.
After you’ve woven the classes together, take a look at the list of professors for your concentration or concentrations. Research their expertise and then pitch yourself as a research assistant for someone. Just like before with the classes, you should have already been exposed to an aspect of their work.
When you think that you’re done, edit! In addition to explaining what you want to study, it should be clear that Brown is the best place for you to pursue your passions. And sure, there will be an alumni network eventually but you want to remain focused on what you’ll do at Brown, not who you might meet. Leave the network out of this supplement.
At Brown, you will learn as much from your peers outside the classroom as in academic spaces. How will you contribute to the Brown community? (250 words)
While this prompt will be copied and pasted into a separate dialog box in your common app account, it should be considered a continuation of the first prompt. This question is asking how you’ll spend your time outside of the classroom at Brown. We’re hoping that you’ve already done at least some of this research, but you should start by spending time on Brown’s website. The “ tab will be especially helpful. You just waxed poetic about how you’ll be spending time within the four walls of the classroom, and this response should be entirely dedicated to the things you’ll be doing when you’re not in class. You absolutely must write about a that you plan to join once admitted to Brown. IMPORTANT: Should you get in, you can join any club that you want. But for the purposes of this supplement, you need to write about something that makes sense within the context of the rest of your application. In other words, it should be an extension of an activity that you did in high school. BearSync is bursting with unique activities that might pique your interest, but don’t write about your desire to join the Animal Rights Coalition if you aren’t already doing a similar kind of work. Find something that you’re qualified to participate in, and then explain how what you’ve done in the past makes you a good fit. This is where you’ll address the part of the prompt that asks what you’ll contribute to the community at Brown. You might have another Brown specific reason for wanting to apply. It could be a special program, something related to Providence, or an interest in a recurring . If this is the case, include that here as well.
Keep in mind that when the admissions team at Brown reads your supplements, everything should make perfect sense. If you did well in STEM and were on the Rugby team, it won’t make sense if you apply as a History major who plans to join the finance club. Once you’re in you can break the mold, but your final edit should include a check for alignment with your resume.
Tell us about a place or community you call home. How has it shaped your perspective? (250 words)
The most valuable piece of advice that we can provide for this prompt is that there is no one way that this supplement should look. The mention of community can be overwhelming because A) it’s a huge concept and B) not everyone feels safe in their given and/or inherited community, therefore it might not be something they want to write about. That’s okay! Whenever prompts mention community, we like to think small.
Think about a place where you feel the best. Maybe it is your house (wherever you grew up is fine) or maybe it’s when you’re with the three people you museum hop with every Sunday, or perhaps it’s when you’re meeting up with your friends to bake. Those are all communities. Instead of writing a two-paragraph response, with the first about the community and the second about how it’s shaped your perspective, try just thinking about how it might have influenced the way you think and see the world. Use that information to inform what you write, but don’t include it as a standalone paragraph.
Your job is to tell a story about the place or community that you call home. Drop the reader right into the scene by telling them what it’s like to be there. Using the baking example from above, let’s say that you and friends started an informal baking club a few years ago. Your story might start on a Wednesday evening when you’re scouring the web for a new recipe. You text your friends and everyone decides what’s on tap for the meeting, and the rest of your response paints the scene vividly for Brown. Don’t break form! This prompt will add color to your application, meaning that it’s an opportunity to have some fun. Brown wants to know who you are so that they can bring together students from different backgrounds, so think about where you feel happiest and most alive and invite them in.
Supplements are often initially overlooked in the college process. People tend to focus heavily on the common app essay only to later discover that supplements actually aren’t that easy. We’re here to tell you that the supplements are AS important as the common app essay. And they’re hard. Let us know how we can help.
We’re starting to work on supplements with our 91Ě˝»¨ clients. If you’re looking for help, contact us here.