Get the inside scoop on jobs and careers with Vault career guides. Brown University Buzz Book is your complete resource to jobs, careers, interviews and recruiting.
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Brown University Buzz Book Get the inside scoop on jobs and careers with Vault career guides. Brown University Buzz Book is your complete resource to jobs, careers, interviews and recruiting. |
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Brown University Buzz Book Welcome to the first edition of Vault's Brown University Buzz Book. In this new and unique guide, we publish extended excerpts and sample admissions essays from surveys of students and alumni from Brown to bring you the inside scoop on its undergraduate program. The survey comments cover the following areas:
The guide is intended to serve as a complement to other references to colleges and universities currently available that utilize school-reported data. Unlike those guides, Vault's Buzz Books (which also include the College Buzz Book, Business School Buzz Book and Law School Buzz Book) are composed almost entirely of information provided directly to Vault from students and alumni.
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Status: Current student, full-time
Dates of Enrollment: 9/2003-Submit Date
Survey Submitted: August 2006
The application includes a personal statement and a few shorter essays, all of which must be written in your own handwriting, so write neatly! There is also a mandatory interview that can do a lot to get you in if your interviewer really takes a liking to you. Brown likes to see passion, dedication, ambition and self-direction. It is a very selective university with an admissions process that is not easily predictable. It may seem random who gets in and who doesnt. They want personality, originality and spark. Be yourself and be different. Stand out in your essay and in your interview.
Academics: Students Speak
Status: Current student, full-time
Dates of Enrollment: 9/2003-Submit Date
Survey Submitted: November 2005
The undergraduate programs at Brown are INCREDIBLE. A student can do anything from choosing his/her own major to taking any class pass/fail. This supports a students ability to take challenging courses without being fearful about the manner in which the grade could affect his or her overall ranking. In addition, Brown does not calculate a GPA, and does not require that any general education classes be taken. Grades are single letter (A, B, C) and there are no pluses or minuses. I did Biomedical Engineering, so the flexibility in courses was less relevant for me. For others, though, they had a major that required only eight courses, so 24 courses were available for ANYTHING that they wanted. Its amazing--never again will you be able to take a class about something youre interested in without having to worry about requirements.
Employment Prospects: Students Speak
Status: Alumnus/a, full-time
Dates of Enrollment: 8/1999-5/2003
Survey Submitted: July 2004
The Career Development Center is helpful--they host multiple career fairs every year, and they have special programs for every grade level. In addition, they have great resources for alumni. Several Boston and New York companies interview on campus, and there is a wide array of careers to choose from (although it seems like there are two popular career tracks--I-banking and consulting, or else public-service/volunteering). Many of my friends had internships around Providence (although there are limited opportunities compared to bigger cities), and lots of people had cool summer internships. I interned with a U.S. Senator the summer after my junior year. Brown also provides many resources if youre looking into grad school or professional school--they have special deans to help guide you through the process.
Quality of Life: Students Speak
Status: Alumnus/a, full-time
Dates of Enrollment: 8/1999-5/2003
Survey Submitted: August 2004
The quality of life is generally high because the administration actually cares about your happiness. First-years are randomly placed in double rooms and organized into units (like a house at other schools); they generally have a great time, even if they are placed in the crappiest dorm on campus. Seniors and juniors get preference in housing, so sophomores sometimes get stuck in doubles and singles rather than suites.
The Brown community is tight-knit without being suffocating. You will meet new people up to the day you graduate. The non-gated urban campus is Ivy League-ish with some crazy new architecture popping up. Brown is located in the rich people part of Providence, a cute little city an hour away from Boston. Crime has gone up in the last three years, but campus police are always around. A shuttle and student escorts are available at night.
The campus could use more student activity space; currently people generally hang out in study spaces, on the Green, and at campus eating establishments. The food is pretty all right and includes special vegetarian, vegan, kosher and halal menus.
Social Life: Students Speak
Status: Current student, full-time
Dates of Enrollment: 9/2004-Submit Date
Survey Submitted: September 2005
The social life at Brown is varied, ranging from alcohol-free get-togethers (a cappella concerts) to hard-core drinking and drug use. Its probably not remarkable in that regard, except that it is probably one of the few schools where you will regularly hear two drunk kids arguing over Kierkegaard. The Greek scene is relatively small, but lively.
