College Spotlight: Brown University

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by Bhageerathi Ganesan, Katherine Hancock, and Michelle Zabat

Today's College Spotlight post features a college that is a JIF summer program partner and which JIF alumni are currently attending​. The JIF blog​ ​team also releases posts detailing colleges that will be attending the Joyce Ivy​ ​College Admissions Symposium (JCAS)​.

Statistics 

Location: Providence, RI

Acceptance Rate: 9%

Tuition & Fees: $50,224

Website: www.brown.edu

Facts 

  1. Brown is known for its open curriculum, which allows students to study a subject area in-depth, but also to diversify in other domains; you could (like me) meet a neuroscience major with a penchant for Archaeology!
  2. (From an informational interview I conducted when I was in Brown) Brown's research opportunities are "incredibly easy" to get involved in according to Mollie Koval, chemical engineering concentrator. "I was able to get involved in a materials science lab right out of my second semester as a freshman for the summer!" she said.
  3. Brown's mascot is a bear, originally introduced in 1905 to students at sporting events...as a live bear!
  4. Brown is also known for their a cappella groups. Reports in 2011 suggest that Brown has/had the greatest number of a cappella groups per capita of any university.
  5. The introduction of new Wintersession courses for a compressed Winter term allows the philosophy "Learning is play if you love learning" to be taken to a whole new level; topics range from philanthropism to Hawaiian colonization this year.

Thoughts from current students

Katherine second from left
Name: Katherine Hancock

Current Year: sophomore
Major: Public Policy and Applied Mathematics

What is your favorite part about this school? 

The community -- every student is different yet we all have things in common.

What has been your favorite class(es) and why? 

I started out as a computer science concentrator but took a public policy class to see what it was like and I absolutely loved it -- I have loved all my public policy classes since! This is just one example of the beauty of Brown's open curriculum.

Why did you choose this college over others? 

Actually, my Joyce Ivy scholarship allowed me to go to Brown for a summer and I fell in love.


Name: Michelle Zabat
Current Year: junior
Major: Health and Human Biology

What is your favorite part about this school? 

My favorite part about Brown is the ease with which you're able to pursue a wide variety of interests and passions. I can take a food studies class at the same time that I'm taking organic chemistry; I can work in a microbiology lab but also have time to play on the club volleyball team; I can find a stimulating academic environment on Brown's campus but easily escape to explore the city of Providence. There are boundless opportunities available here, and I feel constrained only by the limited time I have to take advantage of them.

What has been your favorite class(es) and why? 

My favorite classes have been organic chemistry 1 and 2. Crazy, I know! I only took them in the first place in order to fulfill pre-medical requirements, but they quickly became the most enjoyable, rewarding classes I've taken at Brown. That's not to say that organic chemistry isn't terribly difficult and time-consuming--believe me, they can easily take over your life--but the satisfaction I get out of putting time and effort into studying it is so worth it. A lot of the time, I don't feel like I'm doing anything academic when I'm studying; instead, I feel like I'm doing logic puzzles on the back of a newspaper. It definitely makes for a long, tough semester, but it's incredibly rewarding in the end.

Why did you choose this college over others? 

Brown seemed to boast the perfect combination of qualities that I was looking for in a school. It was away from home (Michigan!), but not too far from home, and campus was close to family. The Open Curriculum had opportunities for me to explore outside interests, but my intention to pursue pre-medical studies ensured I wouldn't get too lost in the (sometimes overwhelming) sea of courses available. Campus is relatively defined, but it's very easy to go out into the surrounding Providence neighborhoods or to head downtown. And, of course, my time spent here as a JIF Summer Scholar had left me with such fond memories. I was hopeful I could continue to make similar ones as an undergraduate student--and, indeed, I have.


If you have further questions about Brown University, feel free to contact Katherine Hancock at katherine_hancock@brown.edu or Michelle Zabat at michelle_zabat@brown.edu.

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