2008-2009 Brown Secondary Application Thread

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Anyone use Interfolio for Brown? Not like I have any other choice, but it worries me that they make no mention of it on their app. Congrats to all who no longer have to worry about these essays, ha ha. They're pretty sweet
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iblunk said:
Does anyone know how Brown prefers you enter the courses you took to meet their requirements if your school was on the quarter system, instead of the semester system? For instance, they want 1 semester of math and only allow you to put down one class for that. I would need to enter two math courses I took in the quarter system to make the semester unit requirement but there is only space for one course.

Also, for their social science requirement, humanities doesn't count does it?

Thanks!
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I know, this was kind of strange. I'm on quarters and just put in one course like they ask. I did change the hours, though, from 5 quarter hrs to the 3.3 semester hrs like they did on my AMCAS course listing after it was verified. Don't know how this will turn out, but oh well, seems the only logical way. Any other opinions?

As far as humanities, check your school's GEC list - if it's like mine, it should have a category of "Social Sciences" under which acceptable courses are listed. That's what I used to decide between my courses
 
That second essay is so far the hardest one of any of my secondaries. I'm so used to writing about a particularly powerful volunteer experience, why I want to be a doctor, why X school, etc. I'm really not sure how to answer this one. I know my good attributes (I hope), and I'm pretty sure I'd make a great medical student at Brown and a better doctor, but I'm not sure how this would enhance the student body. Is anyone else having this difficulty or am I way behind in my secondaries?
 
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Redgar said:
That second essay is so far the hardest one of any of my secondaries. I'm so used to writing about a particularly powerful volunteer experience, why I want to be a doctor, why X school, etc. I'm really not sure how to answer this one. I know my good attributes (I hope), and I'm pretty sure I'd make a great medical student at Brown and a better doctor, but I'm not sure how this would enhance the student body. Is anyone else having this difficulty or am I way behind in my secondaries?
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I am riding the same wave as you are and it's definitely not bringing me any closer to completing my brown secondary. I wish I had some advice for you, but as you can imagine, if I did I would be writing my essay instead of browsing SDN. Good luck man, and I wouldn't say we're late, but we are definitely not early. As long as you get your secondaries in by the end of sept I would say we in the middle of the pack.
 
enjoydrywax said:
I am riding the same wave as you are and it's definitely not bringing me any closer to completing my brown secondary. I wish I had some advice for you, but as you can imagine, if I did I would be writing my essay instead of browsing SDN. Good luck man, and I wouldn't say we're late, but we are definitely not early. As long as you get your secondaries in by the end of sept I would say we in the middle of the pack.
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Thanks man, that's reassuring to hear. Best of luck to you as well!
 
Redgar said:
That second essay is so far the hardest one of any of my secondaries. I'm so used to writing about a particularly powerful volunteer experience, why I want to be a doctor, why X school, etc. I'm really not sure how to answer this one. I know my good attributes (I hope), and I'm pretty sure I'd make a great medical student at Brown and a better doctor, but I'm not sure how this would enhance the student body. Is anyone else having this difficulty or am I way behind in my secondaries?
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Brown was the last secondary that I completed and the 2nd essay was the reason why. I approached this question by picking an attribute and then explaining how that attribute led me to have interesting experiences and how the attribute+experiences gained b/c of the attribute would enhance the student body. It seems that they liked it, because I was offered an interview less than 2 weeks after submitting. :D
 
iblunk said:
Does anyone know how Brown prefers you enter the courses you took to meet their requirements if your school was on the quarter system, instead of the semester system? For instance, they want 1 semester of math and only allow you to put down one class for that. I would need to enter two math courses I took in the quarter system to make the semester unit requirement but there is only space for one course.
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I emailed the admissions office asking this same question. Here's their reply:

"You may provide an explanation in the text box below this section of the secondary. You may also submit supplemental materials if you would like to send in a separate list."

I included an explanation (in the "If you believe you have demonstrated competence in an alternative manner" section) and also snail mailed a separate list of courses (listing 2 quarter courses for a 1 semester requirement, and 3 quarter courses for a 2 semester requirement).

If you took courses on the quarter system and already submitted the secondary, without an explanation, you could still snail mail in an explanation + separate list.
 
I just interviewed at brown university. It is truly an exceptional school. The big difference that I saw between this school and the others that I interviewed at was: brown and its faculty is willing to support any worthwhile project that the student is willing to do. There is plenty of funding and lots of encouragement to go out into the community and the world to advance the cause of medicine.

What was a little unnerving was the quality of students interviewing there. It was kind of intimidating. Everyone was TOP NOTCH and had something exceptinoal in their file. I'm wondering how in the world the adcom is going to pick the students they want to admit. All I can hope is that I'm one of em!:)
 
ayushman80 said:
I just interviewed at brown university. It is truly an exceptional school. The big difference that I saw between this school and the others that I interviewed at was: brown and its faculty is willing to support any worthwhile project that the student is willing to do. There is plenty of funding and lots of encouragement to go out into the community and the world to advance the cause of medicine.

What was a little unnerving was the quality of students interviewing there. It was kind of intimidating. Everyone was TOP NOTCH and had something exceptinoal in their file. I'm wondering how in the world the adcom is going to pick the students they want to admit. All I can hope is that I'm one of em!:)
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Ayushman...they wouldn't be interviewing you unless they were interested! Great job!

I'm still waiting to hear back from Brown, although I was admittedly late in finishing their secondary.
 
So I'm getting the following message on the status page:

Your file is in process, thank you for your patience.

It's been like this for a few days... anyone have this happen to them? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
 
Hello everyone! I have one question about the secondary application. If I am a naturalized US citizen, do I upload my naturalization certificate in place of the green card?
 
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Does anyone know the approximate interviewed/accepted ratio for Brown for OOS?

I was in Barnes and Noble today and happened to look at the US News Ultimate Guide, but the number it gave is outrageous and I don't believe it. There are many errors in that book, so my assumption isn't unfounded... E.g. it says that Penn accepted more OOS people than it interviewed in 2007 - doubtful to say the least.

Anyway, the book said that in 2007 Brown accepted 197/212 interviewed, or 93%. This can't be the real figure, right?
 
Morozovo said:
Does anyone know the approximate interviewed/accepted ratio for Brown for OOS?

I was in Barnes and Noble today and happened to look at the US News Ultimate Guide, but the number it gave is outrageous and I don't believe it. There are many errors in that book, so my assumption isn't unfounded... E.g. it says that Penn accepted more OOS people than it interviewed in 2007 - doubtful to say the least.

Anyway, the book said that in 2007 Brown accepted 197/212 interviewed, or 93%. This can't be the real figure, right?
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Its not true. I jsut interviewed there. They over accepted last year. As for regular amcas med students, here is what they said:

Total completed apps: ~4000
Total Interviewed: ~230
Total Available Seats for Standard Route: ~40
Total Offers Made: ~60-70ish to fill those seats
 
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My turn-around time was basically 2 weeks. I'm not saying this to brag, but to give insight into the possible time line of going from C to II. I was complete on Sept. 3 and received an interview invite on Sept. 17 (for an interview in late Nov.). That said, there are a whole bunch of schools that I was complete at in early August that I still have no news from...
 
iheartcats said:
My turn-around time was basically 2 weeks. I'm not saying this to brag, but to give insight into the possible time line of going from C to II. I was complete on Sept. 3 and received an interview invite on Sept. 17 (for an interview in late Nov.). That said, there are a whole bunch of schools that I was complete at in early August that I still have no news from...
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Same here. It was about 2 weeks.

I wonder why brown isn't more popular as a school. It was REALLY AWESOME. Great students, facilities (continually improving), teachers, resources, location. I absolutely loved it there. Really hoping for an acceptance.
 
ayushman80 said:
Same here. It was about 2 weeks.

I wonder why brown isn't more popular as a school. It was REALLY AWESOME. Great students, facilities (continually improving), teachers, resources, location. I absolutely loved it there. Really hoping for an acceptance.
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I've heard it's a great school and I'm hoping for an interview there. One reason it may be less popular is because of the relatively few spots it has open for traditional applicants. I believe Brown med takes a large # of students from their undergradate program...moreso than at other schools that have that type of program.
 
linguini said:
I've heard it's a great school and I'm hoping for an interview there. One reason it may be less popular is because of the relatively few spots it has open for traditional applicants. I believe Brown med takes a large # of students from their undergradate program...moreso than at other schools that have that type of program.
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Right. I think for many prospective students, this is a turn off. I have a friend who went to Brown and was pretty critical of the PLME program. She mentioned that many of the PLME students seemed to take advantage of Brown's very open-minded undergrad curriculum (which is fine, I don't blame them) but ended up not particularly prepared for medical school in terms of coursework, at least relative to the regular-admission MD folks. But that's just one opinion from one person, so I'm not going to let it taint my vision of the school.

Still, in my mind, it really doesn't seem to gel with Brown's uber-liberal arts philosophy to have such a pre-professional program as PLME, and then to fill over 50% of their medical class with these folks... but again, I'll wait to judge the school until I interview there. It's definitely a question I'm going to ask, though.
 
Can anyone who interviewed comment about the process? It says that there are two thirty-minute interviews which is different than the single, ~ hour long interviews I've gone through.
Do the interviewers ask specific questions about your application or is it more of a general, "why medicine, this school, etc..." interview? Any tough questions or is it like Vandy, where everyone is very, very nice?
Any comments on how the day went would be greatly appreciated.
 
Huey said:
Can anyone who interviewed comment about the process? It says that there are two thirty-minute interviews which is different than the single, ~ hour long interviews I've gone through.
Do the interviewers ask specific questions about your application or is it more of a general, "why medicine, this school, etc..." interview? Any tough questions or is it like Vandy, where everyone is very, very nice?
Any comments on how the day went would be greatly appreciated.
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The interview day is amazing. Brown goes out of its way to attract you to its school. Interviewes are only 1/2 hour long and include general and specific questions. It was more like a conversation. Everyone WAS very very nice.

People say that the facilities aren't that great.....But realistically, all the other opportunities that you get instead of the plasma screen in the anatomy lab MORE THAN MAKE UP FOR any minor shortcomings. I didn't really get to tour the facilities (interview scheduling problems), but the other students that I interviewed with did see them and had nothing negative to say. I think you will really enjoy your interview there.

BROWN, I LOVE YOU, PLEASE GIVE ME AN ACCEPTANCE!!!:love:
 
ayushman80 said:
I wonder why brown isn't more popular as a school. It was REALLY AWESOME.
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Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I suspect the ~1% acceptance rate has a lot to do with it. [I'm asking myself why I bothered applying to this school instead of just flushing my money down the cra*per :smack:]
-Roy

p.s. no response secondary complete for two months...
 
Man, i'm starting to get excited. Just a couple more days till Nov 1 till brown releases their first round of decisions:) Hope its positive. Does anyone know if they will be considering all the people from october or just the first two interviews for the first round of acceptances?
 
I am pretty sure that the first round of decisions are made on the 31st, since my group was told that the committee will be meeting on the 30th of October. Also, the 1st is a saturday...
 
AL12s said:
I am pretty sure that the first round of decisions are made on the 31st, since my group was told that the committee will be meeting on the 30th of October. Also, the 1st is a saturday...
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Thats even better:) and more nerve wracking:scared: Here's to me and everyone wanting to go to brown.:luck::luck::luck::luck::luck::luck::luck:
 
yeah - i was hoping to find out today, since we were told that they meet today and post deicisions on the 31st, but so far nothing..I guess we'll all find out tomorrow!!
 
CAN THIS BE TRUE!!??!! I just got a call from barbara fuller saying that I was in!!!!! Someone e-pinch me!!! Anyone else get the good news?
 
hmmm no word here! they arent picking up their phone either
 
If you've been complete forever and haven't heard anything, all hope's not lost! I received an interview invite on 11/3 after being complete in late August/early September. Worth the wait!
 
I submitted on 9/2...and sent letters by 9/19. I have not heard anything - not even a confirmation that my application is complete or anything of the sort. So basically, I don't have a Brown username and cannot check my status. Anyone have this problem? I have sent them an e-mail asking about this, and will probably call them...because I spent a good deal of time on that application.
 
Food said:
I submitted on 9/2...and sent letters by 9/19. I have not heard anything - not even a confirmation that my application is complete or anything of the sort. So basically, I don't have a Brown username and cannot check my status. Anyone have this problem? I have sent them an e-mail asking about this, and will probably call them...because I spent a good deal of time on that application.
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Brown never sent me a confirmation of completion or my username/password. ~2 months after submitting all my materials, I just called the admissions office and she gave me the login information for the status page.
 
Anyone know what days of the week Brown holds interviews?
 
Brown wants me to interview... I am so so happy... Interviewing Feb 12th..
 
I believe I was complete mid-September (at least that's when I submitted my secondary application and paid my fees). I was then mailed the information to check my status which I received much later. My status was on "your file is in process, thank you for your patience" before getting the invite. Wish everyone still waiting luck. This interview is going to cost me the least as Brown is only 10-15 minutes away from my house.
 
Is anyone interviewing next Thursday, Dec. 11th?
 
When I had my interview, they said that they would post their first round of decisions today. Has any one heard anything?
 
FuturDocteur said:
I believe I was complete mid-September (at least that's when I submitted my secondary application and paid my fees). I was then mailed the information to check my status which I received much later. My status was on "your file is in process, thank you for your patience" before getting the invite. Wish everyone still waiting luck. This interview is going to cost me the least as Brown is only 10-15 minutes away from my house.
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Cool, are you a fellow Brown student by any chance?

And congrats.
 
Hey everyone,

I want to write a thank you note to Barbara Fuller after the interview day, but am not sure how to address her. Is it Mrs. Fuller, or Barbara? I know she was very informal, but I don't want to assume she would prefer to go by her first name. For those of you who wrote thank yous, what did you use?
 
FuturDocteur said:
Oh no! Not a Brown student. Go to URI.
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Aww, I was hoping I knew someone on here.

Congrats though!!

I'm still waiting on mine (I only became complete about 2 weeks ago, slacked on that one heh.)
 
waitlist here. :cool:
 
DerrickRose said:
Aww, I was hoping I knew someone on here.

Congrats though!!

I'm still waiting on mine (I only became complete about 2 weeks ago, slacked on that one heh.)
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what year are you? we might have overlapped for a year or two, i was there 2002-2006.5
 
Does anybody know what e-mail address to send an update e-mail too?

I interviewed at Brown a few weeks ago and LOVED it!!!!!
 
I was looking through the US news grad school book and noticed that Brown accepted ~90% of the students it interviewed? Is that right?
 
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