brown university essay prompts 2023

Undergraduate Admission

How to apply.

Applications to Brown are submitted online via the Common Application. The online system will guide you through the process of providing the supporting credentials appropriate to your status as a first-year or transfer applicant.

• Applying to Brown

Common Application

Begin by creating an account on the  Common Application  website. Once registered, you will need to add Brown University to your list of colleges by the College Search tab.

The Common Application is divided into three sections:

• Information common to all the schools to which you are applying
• Brown University specific questions
• School forms submitted by your school counselor and academic instructors

Apply Now with the Common Application

Brown University Specific Questions

Questions specific to Brown, including our essays for the 2023-2024 application cycle, are found in the section labeled "Questions." If you are applying to the eight-year  Program in Liberal Medical Education  (PLME) or the five-year  Brown-Rhode Island School of Design Dual Degree Program  (BRDD), you must also complete the special program essays.

Three essays are required for all first year and transfer applicants:

• Brown's Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might pursue them at Brown. (200-250 words)
• Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)
• Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)

First year applicants are also asked to reflect briefly on each of the very short answer questions below. We expect that answers will range from a few words to a few sentences at most.

What three words best describe you? (3 words)

What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it? (100 words)

If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be? (100 words)

In one sentence, Why Brown? (50 words)

Transfer students are also asked to complete the following very short answer question: 

Three essays are required for applicants to the PLME in addition to the three essays required of all first year applicants:

• Committing to a future career as a physician while in high school requires careful consideration and self-reflection. Explain your personal motivation to pursue a career in medicine. (250 word limit)
• Healthcare is constantly changing as it is affected by racial and social inequities, economics, politics, technology and more. Imagine that you are a physician and describe one way in which you would seek to make a positive impact in today’s healthcare environment. (250 word limit)
• How do you envision the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) helping to meet your academic, personal and professional goals as a person and future physician? (250 word limit)

One essay is required for applicants to the Brown|RISD Dual Degree Program in addition to the three essays required of all first year applicants:

• The Brown|RISD Dual Degree Program draws on the complementary strengths of Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to provide students with the opportunity to explore and engage with diverse spheres of academic and creative inquiry. The culmination of students’ five-year program is a capstone project that relates and integrates content, approaches, and methods from two distinct learning experiences. Considering your understanding of the academic programs at Brown and RISD, describe how and why the specific blend of RISD's experimental, immersive combined studio and liberal arts program and Brown's wide-ranging courses and curricula could constitute an optimal undergraduate education for you. Additionally, how might your academic, artistic and personal experiences contribute to the Dual Degree community and its commitment to interdisciplinary work? (650 word limit)

Submitting Material

Within the Common Application, you will be presented with either online or paper methods of inviting appropriate school officials and teachers to supply records and recommendations. We suggest that you begin the process early to give them plenty of time to respond before the deadline.

We recommend having all official documents, including transcripts and recommendations, sent through the Common Application. Brown has also partnered with  slate.org , through which counselors may upload materials directly for applicants. If this is not an option, please arrange to have your materials sent by email to [email protected] . In the absence of other electronic submission options, items may be faxed to 401-863-9300. Please do not mail duplicate hard copies of items that have been sent to Brown, as this can slow processing times.

Application Fee

To apply to Brown you must submit a $75 non-refundable application fee, or a fee waiver. As part of our commitment to make a Brown University education accessible to students from all income backgrounds, Brown is making automatic application fee waivers available to more students.

Brown will automatically waive the application fee for any student who is enrolled in or eligible for the Federal Free or Reduced Price Lunch program (FRPL), as well as students who are enrolled in federal, state or local programs that aid students from low-income families (for example, TRIO Programs). Additionally, Brown will automatically waive the application fee for any student who belongs to a community-based organization or college access organization that promotes educational opportunity for low-income students.

Applicants to Brown who meet any of these requirements should select the "Brown Specific Fee Waiver" in the "Brown Questions" section of the Common Application.   Applicants who do not meet these specific requirements but believe they may qualify for a fee waiver may select the same options in the Common Application supplemented by a fee waiver request. We will accept fee waiver request forms from  College Board  or  NACAC , or school counselors may email a letter of support directly to  [email protected] .

Criminal History

We do not consider information on criminal history during our initial round of admission application review. Only upon selecting a pool of admitted candidates do we learn whether you have reported a criminal history, at which point we will offer you an opportunity to explain the circumstances. With this approach, information on misdemeanor or felony convictions can inform, but not determine, admission decisions. This ensures that applicants are evaluated based on their academic profile, extracurricular pursuits and potential fit - not criminal history - and enables us to continue to review this potentially important information.

Deadlines and Notifications

Complete the Common Application by:

• November 1 for Early Decision
• January 3 for Regular Decision

You will receive a confirmation email from the Office of College Admission confirming receipt of your Common Application. It is best to ensure that all application materials are sent by the deadline. However, if your application and application payment/fee waiver are submitted by the deadline, it is acceptable to have some of your supporting materials (transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc.) arrive within the following week.

Brown University 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 3

You Have: 

Brown University 2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 3  essays of 250 words; 4 short answers

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Why , Community , Activity, Diversity

Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might pursue them at Brown. (200-250 words)

This prompt sounds simple enough: describe what you want to study and why you like it—but not so fast. First things first: the Open Curriculum , a.k.a. the requirement-less Holy Grail, coveted by many applicants. It’s not enough to say, “I want to go to Brown because of its uniquely flexible curriculum.” You need to explore exactly how this curriculum—among Brown’s many other assets—will benefit you specifically. Is it because your areas of interest are so varied? Is it because greater flexibility will help you manage a learning difference? While you might be tempted to get technical or poetic, this essay will be more personal and memorable if you can share a story. What excites you and why? When was the last time you got drawn down a Wikipedia rabbit hole and what was the topic? While you don’t need to recount the unabridged origin story of your interest, try to zero in on a formative experience: the best book you’ve ever read, the first time you spoke French to an actual French person, that one time when you used PEMDAS in the real world! Then marry the concrete details of your story with Brown’s academic offerings, and you’ll knock your response out of the park!

Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)

Brown wants to accept students from a range of backgrounds who will contribute to their University community, so tell admissions about what makes you you and how you will be a meaningful addition to the student body. Think about times when you were challenged by or found strength in your identity, background, or skills. Maybe you were the only South Asian family in a predominantly white area and found inspiration by practicing classical Kuchipudi dance, which you intend to continue at Brown. Perhaps your aging grandparent moved in with you, and the changes to your household prompted you to take on more responsibilities, sparking a passion for leadership. What do you hope to share with others about your lived experience? How will you incorporate this element of your identity into your college experience? Show admissions that you’re eager to make your mark in their community. Bonus points if you can reference a specific component of the Brown experience (think clubs, the curriculum, volunteer opportunities, etc.) to demonstrate your interest and fit.

Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)

Try not to overthink your response to this question. Admissions even goes so far as to say that the focal point of your response can be big or small. So, go with your gut. Maybe, you love watching the sunset on your grandmother’s porch over a pitcher of lemonade and a game of checkers. Or, perhaps, you want to tell admissions about the look on your sister’s face everytime you agree to a custom makeover (neon eyeshadows only). If you want to write about something bigger, maybe it’s the app you’re building to help people find volunteer opportunities in their community or the scientific discovery you made last spring. Whatever it may be, be true to yourself, and you’ll ace this response.

Help us get to know you better by reflecting briefly on each of the questions below. We expect that answers will range from a few words to a few sentences at most:

What three words best describe you (3 words), what is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it (100 words), if you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be (100 words), in one sentence, why brown (50 words).

Short answers like these give you a chance to show something that isn’t apparent in the other parts of your application, such as different aspects of your personality, background, and interests. The key to nailing this section is brainstorming. Free your mind and spend a few minutes jotting down as many answers as you can think of for each prompt. Literally set a timer and force yourself to keep your pencil moving (or fingers typing) for the entire time. The more you go with your gut, the more likely you are to come up with a unique and truly personal answer; in the end, that’s really what admissions is looking for. Sure, many applicants play extracurricular sports, but how is your relationship to your sport unique? For the final question, consider not only the research you’ve done on Brown, but also how you’ll fit in with the unique campus culture. The point is not to waste time agonizing over what you think admissions wants to hear, but to think about who you are as a person. Trust yourself. 

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How to Write the Brown University and PLME Essays 2023-2024

Brown has one of the more extensive supplemental essay packages out there, with three 250-word supplements and four shorter responses required for all applicants. In addition to these seven prompts, applicants to the dual degree program with Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) will need to explain their interest in the program through a 650-word personal statement, and applicants to the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) will need to do the same through three 250-word essays.

Even if you aren’t applying to either of these specialized programs, you still have seven prompts to respond to, so make sure you leave yourself enough time to give your Brown application the attention it deserves. In this post, we’ll break down how you want to approach each prompt, so you can be confident that your essays will help set you apart even within one of the most competitive applicant pools in the country.

Read these Brown essay examples written by real students to inspire your writing!

Brown University Supplemental Essay Prompts

All applicants.

Prompt 1: Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue them while also embracing topics with which you are unfamiliar. (200-250 words)

Prompt 2: Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)

Prompt 3: Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)

Prompt 4: What three words best describe you? (3 words)

Prompt 5: What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it? (100 words)

Prompt 6: If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be? (100 words)

Prompt 7: In one sentence, Why Brown? (50 words)

RISD Dual Degree Applicants

Prompt 1: The Brown | RISD Dual Degree Program draws on the complementary strengths of Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to provide students with the opportunity to explore diverse spheres of academic and creative inquiry, culminating in a capstone project that interrelates the content, approaches, and methods from two distinct learning experiences.

Based on your understanding of the academic programs at Brown and RISD and the possibilities created by the BRDD program’s broadened learning community, specifically describe how and why the BRDD program would constitute an optimal undergraduate education for you. As part of your answer, be sure to articulate how you might contribute to the Dual Degree community and its commitment to interdisciplinary work. (100-650 words)

PLME Applicants

Prompt 1: Committing to a future career as a physician while in high school requires careful consideration and self-reflection. Explain your personal motivation to pursue a career in medicine. (250 words) 

Prompt 2: Healthcare is constantly changing as it is affected by racial and social inequities, economics, politics, technology, and more. Imagine that you are a physician and describe one way in which you would seek to make a positive impact in today’s healthcare environment. (250 words) 

Prompt 3: How do you envision the Program in Liberal Medical Education helping to meet your academic, personal and professional goals as a person and future physician? (250 words)

All Applicants, Prompt 1

Brown’s open curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might use the open curriculum to pursue them while also embracing topics with which you are unfamiliar. (200-250 words) . .

This is essentially a “ Why This Major ” essay, designed to understand your academic interests and how you might take advantage of the Open Curriculum.

The first step is to take the time to ponder what it is about your selected subject that you really gravitate towards, and try to establish exactly why you want to study that subject (or subjects). The prompt urges you to think about why you are excited by your academic interests, so push yourself to think beyond “I’m really good at it” or “I have an excellent teacher.” 

The short essay is only 250 words, so aim to focus your interests on a maximum of two areas. Once you have established your key interests and taken the time to ponder why you’re drawn to them, examine your reasoning and try to find an underlying connection between the two fields. Alternatively, consider presenting an interdisciplinary field that connects the two subjects, and emphasize the opportunities presented at Brown through its particular courses/programs/majors that would allow you to pursue your interdisciplinary interests. If there isn’t a connection between the two subjects, that’s totally okay, too!

While this prompt might appear to only ask about your academic interests, it is also asking what you would like to study while at Brown (it is a Brown supplemental essay, after all). Admissions officers also want to know how you’ll use Brown’s resources (and the Open Curriculum) to achieve your academic goals.

But what about those who are undecided? There’s no need to worry if you’re not sure what you’ll study. You can simply mention your top 1-2 interests and why Brown is a good fit for you to develop those interests. It might be helpful to know that Brown is one of the few universities that allows you to construct your own major; if applicable, you can mention your desire to turn your multiple interests into a unique interdisciplinary major.

Below are several examples to illustrate meshing two seemingly contrasting interests into a potential future academic pursuit at Brown:

Example 1: Perhaps you’re interested in biology and geology. You could weave your interests together by emphasizing your insatiable curiosity for understanding both living and physical systems, and reference an example of something your desire to understand systems-thinking has led you to do in the past, or reflect on how this experience challenged your assumptions, etc. Your narrative could incorporate experiences that illustrate your interest in each subject – you can talk about a science fair project you worked on, a class you struggled in but overcame, a lab experiment you participated in, or a younger student you tutored, etc. Focus on the common reasons you are attracted to both subjects. You can mention the opportunity to pursue the joint Geo-Bio degree offered through the Department of Earth, Environment, and Planetary Sciences at Brown, without abandoning your interests in poetry and anthropology through the opportunities presented by the Open Curriculum. 

Example 2: Let’s imagine that you are interested in politics, activism, or community work, but you also are passionate about music and have been playing piano for many years. You could discuss your experiences on a political internship or your role in your school’s model UN, and discuss the opportunities available at Brown, through the Brown in Washington program or the Swearer Center for Public Service. However, you could also discuss the piano concert you organized and performed in to fundraise for your community’s homeless shelter. Whenever possible, selecting an example that bridges your seemingly contrasting interests can create a very compelling essay. You could conclude by explaining that you are aiming to use the Open Curriculum to explore the impact of music on the influence of political campaigns and a candidate’s perception, or on exploring the connection between music, Alzheimer’s, and memory, etc. 

All Applicants, Prompt 2

Students entering brown often find that making their home on college hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the brown community. (200-250 words).

Brainstorming Your Topic

While the phrasing is a little different, this is essentially a Diversity Essay . You want to share something about who you are that sets you apart from other applicants to Brown, and explain how it would make you a valuable addition to Brown’s campus community.

Before you start brainstorming which part of your identity you want to write about, do remember that the way colleges evaluate race specifically will be different this year, and moving forward, after the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action in June. Schools are not allowed to factor race into their broader admissions strategies, but they can consider it on an individual level through the essay. So, if your racial identity is an important part of who you are, this is a good opportunity to share it with admissions officers.

Of course, you are also welcome to write about a different part of your identity. The things that make us diverse aren’t just race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and the other features that normally first come to people’s minds when they hear the word “diversity.” Even the prompt itself casts a wide net, with the phrase “an aspect of your growing up.” In addition to the features just listed, that could also refer to hobbies, interests, your family culture, and pretty much any lived experience. Less traditional topics in this vein could include:

• Teaching yourself Elvish, the fictional language from Lord of the Rings
• Biking to school every day while your friends drove or took the bus
• Baking all the birthday cakes in your family from the time you were seven
• Raising chickens in the backyard of your suburban house

The only real rule here is that you choose a part of your identity that will help Brown admissions officers better understand who you are, and what you’ll look like as a college student. So long as that’s the case, anything is fair game.

Tips for Writing Your Essay

Once you’ve selected a topic, the thing you want to make clear in your actual essay is how this “aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you .” Like “aspect of your growing up,” “inspired or challenged” gives you a lot of flexibility, but what Brown admissions officers are saying is that they want to understand not just what sets you apart from other applicants, but why that thing is crucial to understanding who you are as a whole.

In other words, you don’t just want to say “I live with my grandparents, who spent most of their lives in Germany, and don’t speak very good English.” You want to go deeper, explaining how this dynamic made you feel, and how it shaped your personality and overall perspective on the world.

There’s no one right way to do that—only you know how this piece of your identity has impacted you. The most important thing is to just be honest, rather than trying to structure your response around what you think Brown wants to see. If you try to force a connection to a particular value, that disconnect will show. To illustrate our point here, compare the following two excerpts from hypothetical essays:

Excerpt 1: “I sometimes felt awkward when I had friends over, as my grandparents could do little more than wave and stumble over a heavily accented ‘How are you?’ But I always got over my embarrassment quickly, because cultural heritage is something to celebrate, since the only way we can learn is from engaging with those who are different from us.”

Excerpt 2: “When I was little, I didn’t see any issue with my grandparents not speaking English: they were my family, and that was all that mattered. But when I got older and started having friends over, their perplexed reactions to my grandpa’s heavily accented ‘How are you?’ caused me to feel a twang of shame—and then, a pinch of anger with myself, for being ashamed of my own family.”

While celebration of cultural differences is of course a wonderful thing, in the first excerpt the writer seems to be skipping ahead to their appreciation of this value, and glossing over a more complicated emotional journey in the process. 

In the second example, on the other hand, they are unafraid to be vulnerable, and share their true feelings about this experience. As a result, we have a much clearer sense of both who they are and how they became that person, which are exactly the questions admissions officers want you to answer in your essays. Plus, if they talk later on about the appreciation for cultural difference they eventually took away from this experience, we will have seen exactly how they developed this appreciation, which will make their connection to this value feel much more genuine.

One last tip here: try to rely on specific anecdotes as much as possible to illustrate your points. Both excerpts above draw on a tangible example of a moment (having friends over and their grandparents being unable to greet them) that made them wrestle with their identity. That specificity gives us a much clearer sense of how this student grew through this experience, whereas a general line like “Sometimes, I was proud of my heritage, but other times I was embarrassed” would leave us with a lot of questions about what caused the student to feel this back-and-forth.

Mistakes to Avoid

The biggest potential pitfall in a diversity essay is only sharing part of your identity, and not taking the next step outlined above of explaining how it’s relevant to understanding what kind of  college student you’ll be. If you don’t get to this deeper level of reflection, admissions officers may find themselves saying “Okay, we know [x] about you, but how does that help us figure out whether or not you’re a good match for Brown?”

All Applicants, Prompt 3

Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words) .

This essay prompt is very similar to the extracurricular essay archetype. However, there is a subtle difference in that this prompt allows you to discuss out-of-school activities and academic subjects. This would be a good place to demonstrate your love for a specific topic or activity that you included in other parts of your application. Or, if there is a very important part of your personality that hasn’t been captured by the rest of your application, you can write about that here. 

Pick a topic that genuinely interests you. Don’t write an essay about how you love titrating acids and bases to sound “impressive” or “intellectual” if you groan every time you walk into the chemistry lab. Admissions officers have read enough essays to tell when a student’s tone and details depict a genuine interest in a topic. You are given so much freedom, so you really should write about whatever brings you joy. Maybe you love trying styling hair and nothing brings you as much joy as when you are backstage at your school show and you are styling, braiding, and pinning all of the actors’ hair. A topic like this is unique to the student, and since they are genuinely passionate about hairstyling, it will shine through in their writing.

A strong extracurricular essay will either show your emotions and state of mind when you participate in your activity, or how that activity has helped you develop new skills and personality traits. A great essay will do both. Like the other prompts, there is a limited word count to convey not only why you enjoy this activity so much, but how you have improved as a result of this activity. Here’s an example that accomplishes both of these:

“It was a hot day in New Orleans and the crowd stuffed together certainly didn’t make things better. Necks were craning to see the spectacle in the middle of the circle. I tugged on my dad’s shirt, and he placed me on top of his shoulders for the best seat in the house. My heart raced every time the daring performer threw a sword up – I really thought he’d eventually slice his hand open. But it was perfect every time. By the end of our trip, I had tried my hand at juggling everything from toothbrushes to balls of socks. My mom was not as enthusiastic when I collected everybody’s knives at dinner to mimic the juggler’s final trick. When I finally got a juggling kit for my next birthday, I devoted every second of my free time to practicing moves I saw on YouTube. With more and more practice, I could tell how long it would take for an object to reach its zenith just by the weight in my hand. At times, the level of control and focus I put into juggling is exhausting, but if I lose focus for one second, I run the risk of serious injury. Some tricks have taken years to perfect, but the gratification when I’ve mastered a new skill makes all my patience worth it. Nothing will be as thrilling as the day my audience’s hearts race with me as I catch a sword in my hand.”

While this example is a little over the word count, the student’s passion for juggling is clearly evident. The reader sees what sparked this student’s interest, how it has developed, and how juggling has affected the student. By tying the conclusion back to the anecdote at the beginning, the essay has a satisfying conclusion that makes the reader feel this student is highly motivated by their passion and dreams, which is exactly what Brown is looking for.

All Applicants, Prompt 4

What three words best describe you (3 words).

This prompt is as clear, straightforward, and short as you could ask for, but with supplemental essays, that unfortunately doesn’t automatically mean writing your response will be easy. Obviously, you have no space to elaborate on why you chose the three words you did, so you need to give yourself time to think deeply about your words.

The best advice we can give is to, as you brainstorm, remember two of the main purposes of the college essay. First, to set yourself apart from other applicants with strong academic and extracurricular resumes. Second, to give admissions officers information that can’t be found elsewhere in your application.

Keeping these two ideas in mind will hopefully help you use your three words as effectively as possible. For example, you don’t want to use flattering but vague adjectives like “smart,” “talented,” “funny,” or “creative” because those are words that most other applicants to Brown would also use to describe themselves. You also want to avoid highlighting a feature of yourself that already comes across in another part of your application—if your activities list says that you’ve earned 10 varsity letters, admissions officers already know you’re athletic, so don’t waste one of your precious three words on repeating that here.

Instead, try to pick descriptive, precise words that pick out some feature of your personality that, for whatever reason, doesn’t yet come across in your application. Only you know how to apply that advice to yourself, but here is a list of words that communicate a clear, tangible personality trait, and thus would teach admissions officers something substantive about who you are:

• Sentimental
• Adventurous

Hopefully, this list gives you a clearer sense of what kind of words you should be considering. You only have three, so use them wisely!

All Applicants, Prompt 5

What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it (100 words).

This is a textbook example of the “Extracurricular” essay , which is one you may well have already written for another school. If you do already have a version of this essay on hand, you are welcome to write about the same topic. However, you will still need to dedicate time to this prompt, as this essay’s word count is likely much lower than that of your other essay (usually, this kind of prompt has a word count in the 200-250 range), and you don’t want your essay to feel like an abridged version of another one. We’ll get into how to avoid that in the next section.

If you haven’t yet written this kind of essay, or if you have but want to write about something new, note that “most meaningful” can be read in a variety of ways. Perhaps you are inspired to write about classic extracurricular activities, like a sport, a club, volunteer work, or a part-time job. Those are all fantastic options, but you can also write about more unconventional activities if none of those things feel quite right, as “extracurricular activity” can refer to just about anything you do outside of the classroom.

For example, you could write about how you make trinkets out of the feathers that get left at your bird feeder. You could also write about your neighborhood’s caroling group, and how going door to door each year is your favorite part of the holiday season. Or you could describe teaching baseball to your much younger neighbor after watching you practice made him want to learn the sport.

While you probably don’t do any of these things, hopefully these examples of more unusual activities help you brainstorm things you do in your own life that could work for this prompt. Remember, like any college essay, the point of this prompt is to help admissions officers better understand who you are, so as long as your activity will help you do that, it’s fair game here.

If you’re writing about the same topic as another essay, you can certainly use that other one for inspiration, and potentially even use some of the same lines. There are only so many hours in the day, and recycling previous work can be a good time-saver.

However, you want to make sure this essay feels like a cohesive, independent unit, not like a Frankenstein’s monster pieced together from parts of another essay. So, don’t just pluck enough sentences to get you to 100 words and call it good. Rather, think about the ideas you express in that essay, and try to capture those same sentiments in a smaller package. 

As noted above, that may involve using a sentence or two from the other essay, but you will almost certainly need to generate new sentences, or rephrase existing ones, and of course pay attention to the structure to make sure the flow, progression from one idea to the next, and so on all make sense.

If you’re starting from scratch, the most important thing to do is make sure you answer the second half of this prompt: what do you want admissions officers to know about this activity? In other words, don’t just tell them “I do [x] in my free time.” Rather, explain how this activity has helped you grow, so that Brown admissions officers can see why your involvement in it is relevant to the kind of college student you’ll be.

Obviously, you don’t have a ton of room to do this, but you still want to rely on the old adage for college essays, “show, don’t tell,” as much as possible. Usually, that means describing specific anecdotes or life experiences in enough detail that you don’t have to tell your reader directly how the activity shaped you, because they can see it for themselves. Here, you don’t have the space to provide a ton of detail, but you still want to at least reference tangible examples to illustrate your points, as otherwise your essay may end up feeling cheesy or impersonal.

To see the difference between the two approaches, compare these two example responses:

Example 1: “ When I started volunteering at the Everett animal shelter, I wasn’t that excited about a lot of the tasks I had to do. I mainly just wanted something to do on the weekends. But as time went on, I started to find joy and fulfillment in duties that had previously just bored me. Now, I have a much more positive outlook when I try new things, because this experience taught me that learning and growth can happen in a lot of different ways–often ways you never even expected up front.”

Example 2: “My first day volunteering at the Everett animal shelter, I couldn’t help but wrinkle my nose and try to hold in my vomit as I scrubbed the cages of kittens and puppies that weren’t yet potty-trained. But gradually, I stopped noticing the smell as much, and instead started paying attention to how joyful the animals were afterward to be able to play freely, without avoiding soiled areas. Today, I try to approach everything in my life with the mindset that even tedious or gross tasks can be fulfilling if you consciously focus on the greater purpose of what you’re doing.”

The ideas conveyed in these two examples are the same. But the second one includes a specific example of a task they found unpleasant (cleaning cages), and describes what exactly made them start to change their mindset (seeing the animals happy in their clean cages). As a result, we get a more engaging story, which teaches us not just what the student learned from this experience, but also how they learned it.

The main thing you want to be on the lookout for here is using your space inefficiently, since you already have so little of it. Specifically, remember that this essay is not the only thing in your application, so you want to give your reader new information about yourself, rather than repeating details that can already be found elsewhere.

For example, if you already wrote your Common App essay about your experiences volunteering at the animal shelter, you’ll want to pick a different topic for this essay. Even if you feel you can shine a different light on the experience, you’ve already spent 650 words on it. Use these 100 to introduce Brown admissions officers to something entirely new about yourself.

Additionally, remember that, if you’re writing about something that appears in your activities list, admissions officers already know how long you’ve been involved in it, and how often you do it. So, an introductory line like “During my sophomore year, I started volunteering at the animal shelter every week,” is a waste of 13% of your space, as admissions officers already know that. 

Even if you choose an extracurricular that doesn’t appear in your activities list, you don’t really need to provide these kinds of factual details unless they’re essential to understanding the point you’re trying to make. For example, maybe you were feeling overwhelmed your freshman year of high school, and teaching your neighbor baseball helped remind you that you do have things you’re good at. Otherwise, those words could be used more efficiently.

All Applicants, Prompt 6

If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be (100 words).

You’re not even a high school graduate yet, and here Brown is dropping you into a professor’s shoes—what an amazing opportunity! As you think about which course you’re going to offer, note that Brown is casting an incredibly wide net with this prompt: you can teach about any subject, even a non-academic one. Admissions officers want to see your creativity, because once you get to college, you will be able to take a much, much wider variety of classes, and admissions officers want to see that you’re ready to take advantage of that freedom.

Plus, like with any college essay, your goal here is to share a side of yourself that isn’t reflected in any other part of your application, and the looser nature of this prompt makes this a great opportunity to share something that wouldn’t appear in a transcript or activities list. So, don’t be afraid to think outside the box and have some fun! Do you have any interests that are a huge part of your life, but unrelated to your academic or extracurricular passions? Tell us about them here! Is there something you’ve always been inexplicably fascinated by, to the point that it’s shaped how you’ve grown up? This is the place to describe it!

To give you a sense of just how creative you can get, here is a list of example topics you could write about:

• Using statistics to account for potential injuries when drafting your fantasy football team
• Theories and conspiracies about how the pyramids were built
• The incredible variation in Italian food from one region to another
• The chemistry behind making the perfect, sticky-but-not-too-sticky, sushi rice
• Extreme climates, like a desert in Chile that hasn’t gotten rain in hundreds of years

While the prompt only explicitly asks what you would teach about, the thing to bring out in your response is the implied “and why” at the end. You don’t want your response to be just about the history of making sushi rice. While that might be informative, it won’t help Brown admissions officers visualize you as part of their campus community.

Instead, use your topic as a lens to shine light on some feature of your personality. In other words, ask yourself what your interest in this subject says about you overall. For example, maybe dealing with the randomness of injuries to highly drafted players in your fantasy league has helped you accept that some things are ultimately outside of your control, no matter how hard you try to account for them. Alternatively, perhaps learning about the most extreme climates on earth makes you feel awe for the variety present in nature, which in turn inspires you to think about the variety of things you could do with your life.

The most important thing is that your interest in this topic is clearly connected to your growth and development. If that connection is vague or doesn’t seem particularly logical, your response may feel disjointed or impersonal. But so long as your explanation is honest and thoughtful, admissions officers should come away from your essay with a more comprehensive, nuanced understanding of what makes you tick, both intellectually and personally.

Really, the only thing you want to avoid in your response is not taking advantage of this opportunity to be creative. Even if you want to write about a conventional academic subject, like math or English, approach it from an unusual angle, like the example listed in the “Brainstorming” section about using statistics to help you in your fantasy football draft. That will prove to admissions officers that you aren’t just smart, but also curious and imaginative, and also show them a new side of you—the side that plays fantasy football—that probably doesn’t show up anywhere else in your application.

All Applicants, Prompt 7

In one sentence, why brown (50 words).

While writing the supplements for the other schools on your list, you have likely come across this “Why This College?” prompt. However, because Brown is giving you only 50 words, the usual approach to this kind of essay—citing several school-specific resources and explaining how they’ll help you achieve your goals—doesn’t work, as you just don’t have room to do that.

That being said, you still want to be precise in your response. The classic rule for this kind of essay, that you shouldn’t be able to swap in another school’s name and still have your response make sense, still applies. And 50 words is more than you think. While you don’t have space to incorporate academic, extracurricular, and social opportunities at Brown the way you normally would, you can still highlight one particular resource at Brown that interests you and give admissions officers a sense of why you’re drawn to it. 

Here’s an example of a response that accomplishes everything laid out in the previous paragraph:

“Brown’s spirit is making interdisciplinary connections, which I would do through the Brown in Bologna program by further exploring the Italian culture my grandparents preserved even after immigrating to Boston, and simultaneously informing myself about another country’s educational system so that I am better prepared to solve global educational inequalities.”

This response is exactly 50 words, and uses them efficiently to show admissions officers this student is a good fit for their school by explaining how they would take advantage of the opportunities available at Brown. To do the same in your own response, just make sure that you choose a resource that directly and concretely connects to your goals for college, rather than something you’re only sort of interested in. If you don’t already have a clear sense of what you want to say, 50 words isn’t enough to explain why you might be interested in something—you need to already know you are, and why.

One last note: “the Open Curriculum” doesn’t work as the kind of school-specific resource we’re talking about. While this is one of the school’s most famous distinguishing features, remember that the point of any college essay is to help set yourself apart from other applicants, and anyone who applies to Brown is at least somewhat drawn to the Open Curriculum. 

To give admissions officers a clear sense of how you personally would fit into Brown’s campus community, you’ll need to get more specific, by instead referencing a research opportunity, particular academic offering, or study abroad program (as in the example above). Then, explain how that resource reflects the broader culture of Brown, and how it connects to your own priorities and hopes for your time in college. Fitting all of this in isn’t easy, but again, it can be done. We believe in you!

RISD Applicants, Prompt 1

The brown|risd dual degree program draws on the complementary strengths of brown university and rhode island school of design (risd) to provide students with the opportunity to explore diverse spheres of academic and creative inquiry, culminating in a capstone project that interrelates the content, approaches, and methods from two distinct learning experiences., based on your understanding of the academic programs at brown and risd and the possibilities created by the brdd program’s broadened learning community, specifically describe how and why the brdd program would constitute an optimal undergraduate education for you. as part of your answer, be sure to articulate how you might contribute to the dual degree community and its commitment to interdisciplinary work. (100-650 words) .

The Brown-RISD Dual Degree program is an intense, highly selective (2-3% acceptance) program in which students must get accepted to both Brown and RISD based on their respective criterion, and then be approved by a joint committee. Students in the program exhibit an intense degree of intellectual rigor, as well as a broad ranging curiosity for both an arts and liberal arts education. The key here is to convince the readers that you are a good fit in this specific program, rather than as a Brown student who takes a few RISD classes or a RISD student who takes a few Brown classes.

In this essay, you must be specific about why you would be a better fit spending five years getting degrees from both Brown and RISD rather than getting one degree from either of the schools. You must show that it is necessary for you to get both degrees, and how you would like to use the knowledge you gain from both schools in your future. It’s incredibly important to highlight the interdisciplinary nature of your goals, as this is specifically called out in the prompt.  

With 650 available words, this essay should feature the same depth as your Common App essay, and should complement it. Although the two should not overlap in content, you can definitely expand on topics you briefly touched on in one essay in the other. Here are a few possible avenues you could explore in this essay:

(1) Students in the program stretch the gamut of possible Brown + RISD major combinations: furniture and applied mathematics, computer science and industrial design, and comparative literature and painting. The program prides itself on this diversity, so explain how your passions and interests are disparate, but also connected to your overall identity. Talk about how being surrounded with other Brown-RISD students will foster your wide-ranging intellectual and artistic curiosities even further.

(2) If you ultimately want to become an artist, you could talk about how important the liberal arts have been and will be for you. Maybe you find literature critical for escaping into the worlds you want to create visually, and you want to dive deeper during your undergraduate years.

(3) Maybe you want to study both biology and industrial design, because you want to base your design work on biomimicry. You could talk about how you would draw equally from both fields, and how you want to design better transportation devices that take from the best methods of nature.

(4) Say you’ve always been interested in your Korean heritage and finding ways to express that through art. As a result, you want to study East Asian history at Brown, where you will understand the context that your parents immigrated out of, and textiles at RISD, where you can craft bojagi (Korean wrapping cloth) with a sensitivity to its historical context.

(5) Maybe you’ve always been passionate about both art and liberal arts, but have no concrete connection between the two, and that’s also perfectly fine. You could talk about how you want to further explore and hone in these passions, so that by your second year of undergrad, you’ll have a stronger idea of what specifically you want to study.

Your art portfolio, Common App essay, and other supplemental essays will also speak volumes about who you are, so make sure to use this essay to highlight parts of yourself previously unmentioned. You’ve also probably spent the previous essays explaining “why Brown,” so use this essay to delve deep into why you would thrive in an arts and design centered environment in conjunction with Brown’s liberal arts curriculum.

PLME Applicants Only

Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) is a prestigious 8 year BS/MD program in which accepted students are automatically accepted into Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School. For more about PLME, check out our comprehensive guide .

PLME Applicants, Prompt 1

Committing to a future career as a physician while in high school requires careful consideration and self-reflection. explain your personal motivation to pursue a career in medicine. (250 words).

The Program in Liberal Medical Education (as well as other accelerated medical programs) is a huge commitment for 17 and 18 year olds, who are essentially saying that they know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. As a result, Brown admissions officers want to accept candidates whom they believe have tangible reasons as to why they want to become doctors. These reasons may include clinical and laboratory experience, as well as a general passion to improve the well being of others.

In this prompt, reflecting on past experiences is critical. Whether that is shadowing a pediatrician at your local hospital for a summer, volunteering with an organization like the Red Cross, or doing lab research on pancreatic cancer, let the admissions team know that you have past experiences engaging in clinical or laboratory work, and that these experiences have increased your desire to enter the medical profession.

Moreover, bring in your past experiences with the healthcare field, such as seeing a loved relation hospitalized, if they instilled within you a desire to eventually enter and better the industry. As a warning, however, it is easy to fall into the cliche of witnessing an older relative, usually a grandparent, pass away due to illness, and afterwards deciding to pursue medicine as a career. In cases such as these, make sure to make the experience as unique to you as possible, and use this experience as a jumping off point to other activities you have done pertaining to the health field.  

Afterwards, brainstorm the key values you hold for your life. If you are not sure of your values, think back to how you have spent your time: if you’ve spent significant amounts of time volunteering out of goodwill, or caring for family members, or tutoring your peers, chances are, your values may center around caring for others in need, and looking beyond yourself, both of which are critical components of good doctors. A love for interacting with other people and learning about them is a key component in being a doctor, so make sure to illustrate this point through your experiences. Using concrete things you’ve done in the past to color your values is much more powerful than just stating “my values are helping those in need.”

You could even talk about other extracurriculars you’ve tried, but simply did not enjoy as much as health-related activities, to further cement how being a doctor is the only foreseeable career route you see yourself being fulfilled and satisfied in. Overall, just go off your past experiences in health related fields, your current ideas and beliefs, and your future dreams and goals.

PLME Applicants, Prompt 2

Healthcare is constantly changing as it is affected by racial and social inequities, economics, politics, technology, and more. imagine that you are a physician and describe one way in which you would seek to make a positive impact in today’s healthcare environment. (250 words).

Your essay should look to the future and answer how you will address a specific issue you see in health care today. Maybe you are concerned with high maternal mortality rates among mothers from lower socioeconomic statuses, and you want to work as an OBGYN in underprivileged areas to provide mothers with more attentive care. Possibly you are interested in developing a pill that will instantly stop bug bites from itching, because after years of your family’s annual camping trip you know how pesky bug bites can be.

Once you identify this specific aspect of health care which you are interested in and why you are interested, you should go into detail about how you hope to improve this issue. A student who already has experience with their issue might write about how in high school she tried to deter students from vaping by forming a Students Against Nicotine club at her school. However, once she has a medical background, she plans to specialize in respiratory illnesses so she can give talks at schools about the science behind what vaping does to a person’s lungs. Another student might not have prior experience with racial disparities in health care, but they know that they want to address the toxic stress minority communities face which contributes to major health complications. This student could discuss their plan to popularize a method for identifying and prescribing toxic stress as a medical condition.

It’s important that your response to this prompt includes what you are interested in doing as a physician, where you learned about this issue or what sparked your interest in this specific topic, and how you plan to make a difference one day. You can further strengthen your response by describing how specific resources and opportunities (classes, researching with professors, clubs and organizations, etc) at Brown will allow you to reach your goals and address the issue. Given the limited amount of space, it’s okay if you aren’t able to include resources at Brown, because a bigger focus should be on your aspirations and how you plan to solve a problem.

One common mistake that students will make when it comes to this prompt is creating a potential impact in medicine that is not strongly reflected in the rest of their application. You don’t necessarily need to have worked in a hospital or a lab to connect the issue you are interested in to your application, but you could have attended lectures and seminars on the topic, taken a class at a university about it, or read scientific journals and papers that discussed it. However, don’t claim you want to investigate the impact of biased artificial intelligence radiology tools in providing care for people of color without being able to explain where your interest and knowledge of this issue came from. 

PLME Applicants, Prompt 3

How do you envision the program in liberal medical education helping to meet your academic, personal and professional goals as a person and future physician (250 words).

The Program in Liberal Medical Education is designed to foster intellectual exploration among its cohort of undergraduates, so you definitely want to talk about how your academic interests don’t simply reside in the biological sciences. Talk about how although you want to become a doctor, there are numerous other facets of your identity that don’t fit in the narrow pre-med curricular path. Explain how these interests can be cultivated at Brown, and how they will ultimately allow you to become a better doctor.

Many of the students in the PLME program don’t major in traditional pre-med fields during their undergraduate years, as they are freed from doing so (outside from a few pre-med requirements). Students can thus craft an interdisciplinary education that allows them to pursue interests outside of the narrow pre-med curriculum. Overall, there are so many different academic fields that tie back to the core of being a doctor, and so make sure to express that fully. Here a few examples:

(1) If you have a strong passion for the humanities, mention that, and then talk about how topics like literature and anthropology allow you to grow in empathy and understanding for the world around you. For example, you could talk about your passion for Hispanic cultures, and how you want to continue learning Spanish to form better patient-doctor relations with underserved Hispanic communities in your hometown.

(2) If you’re interested in computer science, talk about your experiences coding, and how you want to be better equipped as the medicine field ultimately will become more technology oriented. You could talk about how you want to be at the forefront of the burgeoning connection between artificial intelligence and health outcomes, and how being in the program will allow you to do so.

(3) There are plenty of classes you can point to that merge the biological sciences with the humanities. Using Brown’s online course catalog, you can pull up titles such as “Medicine and Public Health in Africa,” “Pain and the Human Condition,” and “Health, Hunger, and the Household in Developing Countries” to find courses that interest you and illustrate how you need these intersectional courses to become the doctor you want to be.

(4) You could even mention interdisciplinary programs at Brown’s Warren Alpert medical school, such as its Scholarly Concentration program, which allows students to pursue areas such as Medical Humanities, Medical Technology and Innovation, and Advocacy and Activism. You could also mention the medical school’s Narrative Medicine classes, or its unique MD-ScM program, which combines primary care and population health.

Personal goals and professional goals are often one and the same, but make sure you have personal goals that extend beyond the confines of a career (as mentioned in the previous prompt). Yes, you’d like to become a doctor, but the PLME environment is exactly the one that you need to thrive as a curious human. Talk about your need for Brown’s Open Curriculum to thrive not just as a future doctor, but as an intellectual being who cares about the world. Talk about how being a part of the PLME would allow you to best prepare for the two halves of your career in medicine, science and human interaction, and why you would thrive in this profession that simultaneously juggles both.

Regarding professional goals, you could talk about how being a part of the PLME would mean the rare once in a lifetime chance of satisfying all your intellectual curiosities in undergrad while being able to go to medical school and become a doctor.

Where to Get Your Brown Essay Edited 

Do you want feedback on your Brown essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools.  Find the right advisor for you  to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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August 11, 2023

2023-2024 Brown University Supplemental Essay Prompts

Brown University has released its essay prompts for the 2023-2024 college admissions cycle. Applicants to the Brown Class of 2028 will be required to answer more essay prompts than applicants to recent Brown classes — significantly more. This year, in addition to The Common Application ’s Personal Statement, applicants must answer three 200-250-word essays, one 3-word essay, two 100-word essays, and one 50-word essay. So what are this year’s Brown essay prompts ?

2023-2024 Brown Essay Topics & Questions

Long response prompts.

1. Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might pursue them at Brown. (200-250 words)*

This prompt is a hybrid question — part Why Major and part Why Brown . Brown’s admissions committee wants to understand the origin story of an applicant’s interest in the discipline they hope to study, not as a child but as a high schooler.

And Brown also wants to know why Brown is the right place for an applicant to pursue that course of study. As such, the essay should be peppered with specific after specific about enduring aspects of Brown that only apply to Brown. And, no, name-dropping professors and listing classes do not count as genuine specifics about Brown.

2. Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)*

Brown wants to understand the community and values that have shaped their applicants. With the Supreme Court recently outlawing the practice of Affirmative Action , this essay prompt presents an opportunity for applicants to share their backgrounds.

As Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion striking down Affirmative Action, “At the same time, as all parties agree, nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.” This essay prompt is one such opening.

3. Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)*

Too many applicants focus on silly things that fail to showcase intellectual curiosity when answering this essay prompt, which has long been a staple of Brown’s application. While the pursuit that brings an applicant joy need not be world-changing, it must demonstrate how a student thinks or it will be a wasted opportunity.

Short Response Prompts

For these shorter prompts, Brown’s instructions read as follows: Help us get to know you better by reflecting briefly on each of the questions below. We expect that answers will range from a few words to a few sentences at most.

1. What three words best describe you? (3 words)*

These kinds of prompts — only three words — might take applicants the most time to consider.   Dare to think outside the box and avoid the expected. Curious, engaged? Applicant can do better!

2. What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it? (100 words)*

This essay prompt presents an opportunity for a student to further demonstrate their hook since Brown admissions officers seek to admit singularly talented rather than well-rounded students . Applicants should make sure that the activity they describe in their answer is included within the activities section of The Common Application. They should also ensure they haven’t previously written about the activity in another essay that Brown’s admissions officers will read. All essays should be considered puzzle pieces — they must all complement one another.

3. If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be? (100 words)*

The class choice will ideally fall within the discipline the student wrote about in their first Brown supplemental essay. The course’s content should be creative, and its title should be pithy. No school in America has more bizarre class names than Brown University. Here’s an applicant’s opportunity to take their best stab at creating a class to join the pantheon of highly unusual Brown classes .

4. In one sentence, Why Brown? (50 words)*

Even in a short Why Brown prompt — and this is the second Why Brown prompt on the application since specifics about Brown can certainly be included throughout the first essay on Brown’s supplement — an applicant can land some punches. In only a sentence, the response should be filled with a specific reference or references that  only  apply to Brown . If one can cut and paste the sentence and replace the specific with another university, delete it, and start anew!

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with Brown University Essays

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Brown Supplemental Essays 2023-24 Prompts & Advice

August 16, 2023

Applicants to the Brown Class of 2027 were greeted with just over a 5% acceptance rate, similar to the year prior. Given that 19 of every 20 applicants are turned away–even many valedictorians with perfect test scores–aspiring Brown undergrads need to find a way to stand out from a pack of similarly credentialed teens. Fortunately, Brown provides exactly this kind of opportunity by offering three 200-250 word essays and a handful of short answers that provide applicants a chance to showcase their writing ability and craft responses that are genuine, compelling, and potentially needle-moving to the admissions staff at this Rhode Island-based Ivy. In the following blog, we will offer a detailed look at each of the Brown supplemental essays.

(Want to learn more about How to Get Into Brown University? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into Brown: Admissions Data and Strategies  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

You’ll find the Brown supplemental essay prompts for the 2023-24 admissions cycle listed below. The College Transitions team will also share their advice about how successful applicants approach each of the Brown supplemental essays.

Brown Supplemental Essays 2023-24

1) brown open curriculum essay.

Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might pursue them at Brown. (200-250 words)

Let’s begin by explaining exactly what Brown’s  Open Curriculum  is…in the university’s own words, the Open Curriculum allows students to “develop a personalized course of study — they have greater freedom to study what they choose and the flexibility to discover what they love.” Getting to be the architect of your own college program is a rare opportunity that few schools other than Brown offer. With this great privilege comes great responsibility and Brown wants to know precisely how you might take advantage of this virtually unparalleled undergraduate freedom.

What topics keep you up at night? Which subject makes you read books and online content until your eyes bleed? Are there particular interests that you’ve started exploring—either in or outside the classroom—and would like to continue pursuing? If you could address one problem in the world, large or small, what would it be? Moreover, if you’re interested in several areas (which is 100% welcome at Brown) how might an interdisciplinary approach benefit you? After you’ve selected your interest area(s), you’ll then want to connect them to specific resources or offerings at Brown, which could include academic departments , classes , professors, research opportunities , study abroad programs , or internships , to name a few.

2) Brown Supplemental Essay – Background

Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)

This prompt asks you to not only share a particular life experience or element of your background/cultural identity but also describe why that experience or element of your identity will help you contribute to Brown in general. Essentially, it’s asking you to take your essay’s reflection one step further—you’ll need to share why the experience or element you’ve chosen has inspired or challenged you as well as why/how you believe it will allow you to positively impact the Brown community.

Brown Supplemental Essays (Continued)

First, choose a key aspect of your experiences, background, or identity that reveals something deep and meaningful about you. (Although you could choose more than one, we’d advise against it, given that you only have 250 words in which to respond.) As you brainstorm, consider the following avenues:

• Your role in your family.
• A challenge you’ve faced.
• A formative experience or realization.
• Important aspects of your upbringing.
• Cultural, religious, community influence.

Second, you’ll need to describe both personal and future impact. Make sure that your answer reveals something about how you will live out Brown’s values or contribute to an academic/social community ( note : this should be different from the offerings discussed in your Open Curriculum essay). For the latter angle, you could name a specific  course ,   research opportunity , or extracurricular club , to name a few—perhaps living in a beach town has heavily contributed to your passion for the world’s oceans, and you seek to bring that perspective to the biology department’s research opportunities. Alternatively, you could discuss something more intangible—perhaps Brown’s mission to create inclusive communities resonates with you, and you hope to bring your experience of growing up with a neurodiverse sibling to on- and off-campus tutoring opportunities.

3) Brown Joy Essay

Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)

What brings you glee, exuberance, jubilation, delight, elation, bliss…joy? There are a multitude of universal and highly relatable experiences that bring joy to one’s soul. For example, it could involve family, pets, hobbies, habits, scenes of natural beauty, literature, travel, etc. However, you could also talk about dreams for the future, more bittersweet moments, abstract thoughts, moments of glorious introversion, or a time that you  unexpectedly  felt joy.

4) Brown Supplemental Essays – Short Answer Questions (new this year!)

Help us get to know you better by reflecting briefly on each of the questions below. We expect that answers will range from a few words to a few sentences at most.

What three words best describe you?

No tricks here—the prompt literally only allows for three words. As such, make sure those three words are pulling their weight. For example, “interesting, hard-working, dedicated” could likely describe any number of Brown applicants. Instead, try to think of descriptive or evocative words that capture what makes you unique or what you most value—perhaps it’s your wit, your bibliophile tendencies, or your generosity, to name a few.

What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it? (100 words)

Out of everything you’re involved in, what stands out? What activity is near and dear to your heart? What activity has enabled you to grow the most or learned important lessons? If you could choose one of your activities to continue doing in college, which one would it be? After you’ve chosen, think about why this activity is the most meaningful or important to you—what it has allowed you to accomplish, how it has brought you personal fulfillment, and/or how it has pushed you outside of your comfort zone, among others.

If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be? (100 words)

Firstly, you’ll want to select a course centered around a topic about which you are an expert or hope to become an expert. The admissions reader is well aware that you are a teenager and not someone who has yet earned a Ph.D. Therefore, being a self-taught, informal expert is perfectly fine. You’ll then want to explain “why”—why will (or should) your passion be made relevant to a wider audience? Here are a few additional tips to keep in mind:

• Quality answers often involve the intersection of two or more disciplines.
• Course creation essays can and should reveal your ability to connect and synthesize information.
• Make sure that the topic of your course is not overly broad or already offered. The topic should not be akin to a 101 college course like Intro to Psychology…be creative (this is Brown, after all)!

In one sentence, Why Brown? (50 words)

Here, think about why you believe Brown is the best fit for you overall . To accomplish that, list every reason why you’re applying to Brown and how you believe Brown will help you reach your goals. There should be at least a few that stand out, which you can integrate into one (very long) sentence. While you can reiterate reasoning shared on other parts of the application (such as how excited you are by the linguistics department) you don’t want this response to be a straight-up repeat. As such, the strongest answers will include academic as well as social or ethos-related elements, and can reference your own short or long-term goals as well.

How important are the Brown supplemental essays?

There are a whopping 7 factors that Brown considers to be “very important” to the evaluation process. These are: rigor of secondary school record, character/personal qualities, class rank, GPA, recommendations, extracurricular activities. However, the most relevant to this blog is, of course, the Brown supplemental essays. The essays undoubtedly play a significant role in the admissions process at Brown University. They can help the committee decide whom to admit when choosing between similarly credentialed (GPA, test scores, etc.) applicants.

Want Personalized Essay Assistance with your Brown Supplemental Essays?

We have over a decade of experience helping students compose essays that help them gain acceptance to Brown. If you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your Brown supplemental essays, we encourage you to  get a quote  today.

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How to Respond to the 2023/2024 Brown Supplemental Essay Prompts

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Brown University is a private Ivy League research university located in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is an extremely selective and prestigious university with an acceptance rate of around 6% . In order to apply, students must complete four Brown supplemental essays.

Before answering the Brown supplemental essays, figure out if Brown is the right fit for you! Spend some time assessing whether Brown is “the place” to spend the next four years. Once you’ve decided that Brown is right for you, it’s time to dig into Brown’s supplemental essay questions. Our guide to answering Brown University supplemental essay questions will help you get started!

Before answering the essay questions 

All Brown University applicants have to respond to three 200-250 word supplemental essays. 250 words is not a lot. Therefore, it is best to be direct and concise with your responses! To ensure you do not drag on, brainstorm! This will allow you to plan out responses carefully to fit your personality into your response without it being too long. 

If your response ends up being too long, try to get rid of filler or transition words. Give your essay to someone you trust to read it over to help get fresh eyes to eliminate words as well! 

Essay question #1 

“Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might pursue them at Brown. (200-250 words)”

Through your research you should have discovered that Brown has something called an Open Curriculum. Essentially, there are not the stereotypical core classes that need to be completed at Brown but rather a more flexible and personalized curriculum. There is no set core class list that you must take. Meaning, if you don’t enjoy reading English literature, you may not have to take an English Lit class. 

Therefore, your response should show that you know this and are excited about it! This is one of the factors that makes Brown stand out from other schools.

Be sure to discuss what specifically you are excited to study using the open curriculum. Brown puts a lot of emphasis on their students choosing their own academic paths. Therefore, you need to specify how this freedom will allow you to prosper in your future goals. 

Think about what you plan on majoring in. How will this open curriculum allow you to gain knowledge on this topic? You need to demonstrate how invested in furthering your education you are. 

Questions to consider

• What do you want to major in?
• Why are you excited to attend a school that has an open curriculum? 
• Why is learning new things important to you? 

Essay question #2

“ Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words) ”

Brown wants to accept students who constantly challenge themselves and their beliefs. Brown wants to see that you are comfortable with your ideas being challenged while attending their university. 

Think about how your unique upbringing has inspired or challenged you and how you can use what you learned moving forward. For example, has your upbringing in a family of religious faith been a positive part of your life? How so? Perhaps your experiences were the opposite in that you felt constrained. How will you contribute to the Brown community by reflecting upon your past experiences? In order to impress admissions officers at Brown, make sure you are being true to yourself. No matter what you talk about, show that you are open-minded and alright with listening to the ideas of others even if they differ from your own.

• How have you been challenged in the past? 
• Have you ever changed your mind on a topic?
• What is a topic you are passionate about? 

Essay question #3

“ Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)”

This essay question is all about you! When you were reading this prompt, what was the first thing you thought of? 

This prompt is very broad which gives you creative freedom in your writing. You can choose to write about an important person in your life, how volunteering at your local shelter brings you so much happiness or how baking homemade cakes to brighten your friends’ days is your favorite thing to do. The opportunities are literally endless. 

Even though there are a lot of options of what you could write about, be sure to stay true to you. Brown wants to learn all about you and your personality. Therefore, make sure you are being unique and true to yourself throughout your response. 

• What makes you happy? 
• Who inspires you? 
• What clubs or extracurricular activities are you involved in? Which do you enjoy the most? 

Next steps after applying to Brown University

Now that your Brown supplemental essays are submitted, the hard part is over. After you submit your fine-tuned application with stellar supplemental essays, there are still a few things you can do to optimize your chances. Continue to show demonstrated interest in Brown University so they know you are committed and prioritizing their school (even if you have a few other top choices.) 

This can be done by:

• following their social media accounts
• reaching out to admissions officers
• scheduling an in-person or virtual tour
• reading up on what you want to get involved in on campus 

Essentially, showing interest and staying connected will allow you to get that extra foot in the door and make your name known. Exploring your interest in Brown will also help solidify if it is the best university for you. 

Additional resources

As a student working on college applications and finishing up high school, you are no doubt busy. Our concise guides on how many schools to apply to and how to find safety, reach, and match schools will help you use your time more wisely. 

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The Ultimate Guide to 2022-2023 Brown Supplemental Essays

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Shane and Vinay will be going through every detail you should know to successfully answer these prompts and be taking your questions along the way. Don't miss this opportunity to receive advice directly from experts!

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How To Stand Out In Your Brown Supplemental Essays 2022/23

The Brown University Supplemental Essay questions allow you to talk about your interests and aspirations so admissions officers can get to know you better and see if you’re a good fit for their school. These questions also give you an outlet to explain why you believe a Brown education will help further your passions and interests.

What are Brown University’s Essay Prompts for 2022/23?

Brown’s supplemental essay prompts remain unchanged from the previous application year.

Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue them while also embracing topics with which you are unfamiliar. (200-250 words)

Brown’s culture fosters a community in which students challenge the ideas of others and have their ideas challenged in return, promoting a deeper and clearer understanding of the complex issues confronting society. this active engagement in dialogue is as present outside the classroom as it is in academic spaces. tell us about a time you were challenged by a perspective that differed from your own. how did you respond (200-250 words), brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words).

My Brown Supplemental Essay

How to Answer Prompt 1

Brown’s open curriculum allows students to freely explore their interests while diving deeper into their academic pursuits. tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might use the open curriculum to pursue them while also embracing topics with which you are unfamiliar. (200-250 words).

This first essay combines two classic admissions questions: “Tell us about your interests” and “Why Brown?” The primary goal of this essay is to show genuine passion or intellectual curiosity in your areas of interest and how Brown will help you pursue these interests. Clarity and concision are critical for this essay.

1. Talk about your experiences

For the first part, talk about the experiences that drew you to your current interests.

Ask yourself the following:

• Did they evolve because you were looking for ways to help or challenge people, or were they strictly personal endeavors?
• Did a particularly inspiring book, teacher, or experience first get you interested in a certain subject?
• How has your passion for this subject grown or developed over time?

It’s perfectly fine to be undecided. Instead, describe specific areas of interest you may pursue.

The focus should be on the reasons why you find a subject so compelling rather than why you’re so amazing at it . Keep your tone humble and self-aware. If you choose to talk about a particular skill you find rewarding or challenging, don’t be afraid to talk about your struggles. Admissions officers find stories and personal experiences interesting. Stories also help them see another angle of your personality and character.

2. Talk about how Brown will further your interests

Now that you have engaged the admission committee with your interests, explain why Brown’s Open Curriculum will help you further your interests. One of the most unique aspects of Brown is that students can choose their own course of study in place of general requirements .

A Brown student might be a biomedical engineer who has taken every Ancient Egyptian archeology course, a comparative literature student who originally intended to study applied math, or a neuroscientist double-concentrating in philosophy. Brown wants to know how you’ll use this flexibility to explore your interests in a way that might not be possible elsewhere .

A solid response to this question integrates gathered knowledge about Brown’s specific offerings into a personal narrative based on your stated interest. Your research and personal insight demonstrate how Brown’s unique opportunities represent an obvious next step in your development.

Utilize Brown’s website as much as possible to brainstorm specific ways the Open Curriculum will help you further your interests. You can even search Researchers @ Brown to connect your interests with the specific interests of professors.

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How to Answer Prompt 2

While the first essay helped Brown admissions learn more about you and how you will benefit from attending Brown, the second essay discusses how Brown will benefit from having you on campus . Admissions teams strive to create diverse classes that come from various backgrounds, but they also seek students who can work together to better the community.

Think about moments in your life that challenged you. Take particular note of:

• the specific time and place in which this situation occurred
• your reaction to the challenge.

The way you react to the challenge shows your thought process and analysis of the opposing point of view.

A complex and nuanced topic that’s not too polarizing is a good choice for your essay . Since you only have a set amount of words, your humility and sensitivity should be paramount. Additionally, conclude your essay by noting how you will bring the skills you learned from this experience into the Brown community.

How to Answer Prompt 3

This prompt gives you several options, including “small, mundane, or spectacular.” Choose something that brings you genuine joy . Your response shouldn’t simply be a play-by-play of your position in a chosen sport or activity. Instead, focus on a specific place in time or memory that stands out. Be clear, detailed, and original.

Think deeply about your life, your family, and your surroundings. If you are having trouble identifying a unique topic, start with the five senses .

• What do you look at that makes you happy?
• Does a particular smell evoke happiness?
• Have you ever touched something that made you smile?

Remember that witnessing the joy of others is also an option, like being a “gift giver” who revels in presenting loved ones with a surprise.

Your focus reveals a lot about you, so think about how you want to be perceived. You can write about a personal experience or how you shared your joy with someone else. Maybe you witnessed something new, or you find joy in your everyday life.

The essay can be humorous or serious, light or dark. You might even describe something seemingly small and beautiful only to you. Whatever you choose, make sure you are humble and that your joy is not at the expense of another person .

How Crimson Can Help You Get Into Brown University

Crimson takes a personal approach when it comes to helping students with their supplemental essays. Advisors get to know their students by talking with them about their dreams, aspirations, goals, and any aspect of their story that’s unique.

Crimson student Rohan recently got into Brown University . See how Crimson helped him with his extracurriculars, test prep, essay writing, and more!

How Crimson Student Rohan Got Into Brown University

Final Thoughts

While writing these essays, ask yourself if each sentence offers unique insight that’s original to you. Admission officers don’t want to read cookie-cutter answers that anyone could have written. The strongest essays prominently feature personal reflections and don’t linger on accomplishments. Only mention your achievements if you can directly relate them to Brown. Write about how these achievements will help you contribute to the Brown community, and how an education from Brown will help you develop your existing skills and thrive in your future career.

Through their open curriculum, Brown University encourages independent thought and academic exploration. They want to see those qualities in their students. Showcase how you’ve explored outside the box and your unique interpretations of the world around you. You’ll catch the attention of Brown admissions with thoughtful answers and a unique perspective.

What Makes Crimson Different

Key Resources & Further Reading

• Harvard Supplemental Essay
• Columbia Supplemental Essay
• Princeton Supplemental Essay
• Cornell Supplemental Essay
• MIT Supplemental Essay
• University of Chicago Supplemental Essays
• Acing your College Application Essay: 5 Expert Tips to Make it Stand Out from the Rest
• How to Tackle Every Type of Supplemental Essay
• What are the Most Unusual US College Supplemental Essay Prompts?

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How to Write the Brown Supplemental Essays 2023–2024

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As a prestigious liberal arts and Ivy League institution, Brown University has high expectations from its applicants regarding the quality of their written essays. However, these supplemental essays are by no means unapproachable. With proper planning and execution, successful essays can reflect extremely well upon an applicant, showcasing multiple facets of their personality and demonstrating the abilities that will help them thrive at this university. In this article, we will guide you through how to write the Brown University supplemental essays. 

Brown University’s 2023-2024 Prompts

Supplemental essay prompts, brown’s open curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might pursue them at brown. (200-250 words), students entering brown often find that making their home on college hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the brown community. (200-250 words), brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words), brief reflection prompts.

Note that these prompts are found in the Common App as part of Brown’s writing supplement, and are required questions, but they are not found in the Common Application section of Brown’s “How to Apply” web page.

What three words best describe you? (3 words)

What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it (100 words), if you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be (100 words).

General Tips

One of the key features about each of these Brown University supplemental essays is their length: they are short. Limiting each response to 250 words maximum can be challenging, especially when discussing complex interests or topics about which you are passionate. The key to writing a succinct yet impactful essay is to limit the words spent on narrative or objective descriptions and instead devote space to emotions, thoughts, and reflections. For instance, compare…

“Painting brings me joy. When I was five years old, my father bought me my first set of paintbrushes. Since then, I have painted every day, joining art clubs in middle and high school and collaborating with peers on projects in the community. We painted murals and posters for events and local exhibitions, learning and meeting new people as we did so. My skills have improved over time, and I aim to continue my development as an artist and a creative in college and beyond.”

…to the following:

“Painting brings me joy. Ever since receiving my first set of brushes at five years old, I have embraced the challenge of setting color to paper to create brilliant images. As I improved over time, I searched for ways to share the satisfaction of art with others. Orchestrating community projects allowed me to connect with peers and express my gratitude for my hometown, and as I continue to develop my skills, I will spread that joy to an even broader audience in college and beyond.”

These two passages have the same word count, but the second much more effectively gives the reader a sense of who the writer is and what they value about their interest in painting. Instead of simply listing the factual details of an interest or event, academic or otherwise, be sure to give the reader a glimpse into your emotions and thought processes. Doing so will increase the impact of each word, allowing you to convey your meaning more succinctly.

Brown University’s Supplemental Essay Prompts

This first prompt is an iteration of the common “why us” essay type. However, Brown’s Open Curriculum, the star of its academic programming, features prominently in this supplemental essay, and students are expected to demonstrate a basic understanding of the core tenets of this curriculum.

Essentially, the Open Curriculum at Brown University allows undergraduates to forego the general education and distribution requirements mandated by most colleges and universities and instead enables students to formulate their own paths of study. Some students even develop their own majors based on personal interests that they enter with or discover along the way. This first essay asks applicants to consider how they would make the most of this unique flexibility.

First and foremost, research the Open Curriculum . Read about how current and past students have approached this opportunity, and consider how you would do so yourself. Then, brainstorm. Write out a list of your academic interests, ranging from your intended major (if you have one—no commitment necessary at this point!) to potential interests that you would like to develop further, and everything in between. For now, the more the merrier!

Consider browsing the academic offerings to find departments, courses, or tracks that align with your interests. Lastly, and arguably, most importantly, look for connections between your areas of interest and explore how you could connect them. This is the greatest and most unique benefit of Brown’s Open Curriculum: the ability to craft your own cocktail of learning experiences.

Be sure to delve into the why: Why combine the interests you choose? What added benefit do you gain by studying simultaneously across disciplines? This interdisciplinary emphasis on exploration is central to Brown’s values as a university.

This second prompt asks Brown applicants to discuss their backgrounds, past adversity, perspectives, growth, and/or community involvement. But 200-250 words is not much room to tell the story of your upbringing! If possible, choose a specific 1-3 anecdote(s) to share. Your anecdote(s) should be from your childhood and involve details about your unique upbringing.

If you have a cultural background, unusual childhood experience, or significant period of growth in your personal history, now might be the time to bring it up in your application. This essay gives you the meaningful opportunity to engage with a part of your past that otherwise wouldn’t have made it into your application; generally, applications focus on high school experiences, but this essay can (and probably should) focus on a pre-high school experience.

One pitfall that many students fall into when writing this essay is cliché. It is really easy to describe your childhood in a generic way, but the more personal and, frankly, odd you can get in this essay, the better. Authenticity and revelation of your quirks will go a long way to helping the reader remember your essay long after reading it.

Consider these questions to get your brainstorming going:

• Did you have a weird childhood habit or hobby that ended up teaching you a life lesson?
• Did you suffer bullying and come out stronger, more empathetic, and/or more sure of who you are?
• Did you have a mentor who shaped you?
• Did your hometown have a unique tradition that influenced your worldview?

Remember, growth is key in this essay. After you’ve selected your specific topic and your discrete, brief 1-3 anecdotes, make sure you clarify at the beginning of the essay who you once were, and by the end of the essay, who you are now. Displaying growth will not only evidence your maturity but also demonstrate your college readiness and ability to answer a challenging essay question.

Lastly, this third supplemental prompt is the most open-ended. This is not just a simple “extracurriculars” or “other interests” prompt, because it is so broad in its scope; as long as it brings you joy, any topic is on the table, academic, artistic, intellectual, philosophical, culinary, athletic, or otherwise. If you feel that your application so far has not done justice to an important part of yourself, then this would be an opportune place to discuss that aspect.

The prompt goes so far as to specify that the topic can be “big or small, mundane or spectacular,” so if something in particular comes to mind as you read this, then chances are it would make a strong essay, whatever it may be. The most important consideration in choosing a topic for this essay is to select something that truly does bring you joy . Readers can tell when the excitement in your tone is genuine, and that realness is what sells your essay.

As you brainstorm ideas for this essay, restrain yourself from writing about a topic that you think you “should” write about. If your true passion is baking chocolate chip cookies for your little sisters when they are feeling down, but you feel like you should write about coding because it seems more “sophisticated” or “academic,” choose the former. A genuine essay will shine through every time.

As you describe what brings you joy, try to draw the reader into your excitement. Invite them to enjoy the activity or the project with you and show them why it is that you love it. Make them love it too! Vivid descriptors and sensory details can go a long way in essays like this one, especially if your passion has a sensory component. Allow yourself and your readers to be swept up in “contentment, satisfaction, and meaning.” Joy is infectious, so fill your essay with as much of it as possible.

Brown University’s Brief Reflection Prompts

This brief reflection prompt asks you to distill your personality into a short list of descriptors: this is a huge challenge if you want to bring any nuance to your three words. However, on the flip side, although there are many “wrong” answers and many “right” answers, you’re more likely to put down a neutral answer than a “wrong” answer. In other words, if you pick three random positively connoted adjectives, for instance, those words’ impact on your application will probably be neutral or positive.

That said, there are things you can do to increase your chances of positively influencing your application with your three words: Be consistent and inconsistent.

Being consistent with the rest of your application is great, and 1-2 of your words should somehow be synonymous or consistent with the rest of your application. If you have an amazing academic record, maybe one of your descriptors is “hardworking” or “driven.” If you’re applying to study English or Creative Writing, maybe one of your descriptors is “writer” or “reader.” These are consistent descriptors, so that your response feels like it is part of the same application as the rest of your materials.

Being inconsistent allows you to add new value to your application. Maybe you’re applying to study Neuroscience, but one of your words is “illustrator” or “artistic.” Maybe your application deals with really serious topics all throughout, and yet you put that you’re “cheerful” or “playful.” Adding dimension to your personality through these words allows you to bring something new to this essay, even though it’s so short: every response on your application can help you out!

Like all of your other essay responses, this brief reflection is another moment to provide something to your application reader that they can’t get from reading the rest of your application. Note the wording of this prompt: “What would you like us to know about [your most meaningful extracurricular commitment]?” This question implies that what you would like the reader to know is something they can’t possibly already know.

In the case of some students, this brief response is the opportunity necessary to clarify something about their extracurricular commitment. For instance, maybe your most meaningful extracurricular has a weird title, and you’re concerned that your activities list in the Common App can’t possibly do it justice. Or perhaps your commitment hours for this extracurricular look strangely high or low, and you’d like the chance to explain it.

In the case of other students, the activities section of the Common App does their activities justice, and thus this essay is a bonus to bring more nuance to their most meaningful activity. If that sounds like you, here are some tips to make this essay response the strongest it can be.

• Answer your FAQ(s). If you describe this activity to your friends, do they all ask the same silly question? For instance, if you’re a coxswain on a rowing team, and people always ask you “What’s the point of your position and why do you need to train?”, you could take this essay as an opportunity to explain the importance of your position and why you train with the rest of the team.
• Make it personal. College admissions officers have seen a lot, and they have probably seen many applicants with the same or similar extracurricular as you. Clarify why you as an individual find meaning in this extracurricular, and how this extracurricular fits into your life.
• how you’ve grown through this activity
• how this activity has changed you
• how you have changed the activity
• how your growth has impacted your relationship with the activity.

This final prompt toes a fine line: many students who answer this question earnestly end up sounding full of themselves. There are three main ways to answer this question. Either you suggest teaching a class on something you legitimately have deep knowledge of, you suggest teaching a class on something you obviously have no knowledge of, or you suggest teaching a class on something you might have some knowledge of.

If you already have deep knowledge of the subject of your imaginary class , then humbly clarify this before listing your reasons for wanting to teach a class on it—specifically, reasons other than just “I am (already) an expert in this topic.” For instance, you might be an extremely talented potter, but your pottery talents don’t come up elsewhere in your application. Thus, you’ll need to discuss your pottery talents briefly, authentically, and modestly before describing why you’d like to teach a pottery class.

If you obviously don’t have knowledge of the subject of your imaginary class , then you’ll want to briefly express why you’d like to know about this topic before delving into why you’d like to teach a class on it. And again, your reasons for teaching this class need to be more than just that you’d like to be an expert who is capable of teaching a class in it. For instance, if you’d like to teach a class on how to safely jump out of a plane, you’re going to first want to clarify why you’d like to be an expert in jumping out of planes before explaining why you’d like to teach other people how to jump out of planes.

If you have some knowledge of the subject of your imaginary class , then you’ll want to clarify the limited extent of your knowledge before explaining why you’d like to learn more about this topic and teach a class on it. For instance, if you would like to teach a class on particle physics, you’ll want to briefly express how much/little you know about the topic. Then, you’ll want to explain why you’re compelled to learn more and to teach people more about particle physics.

When wrapping up your brief reflection, you may want to give an indication of how you will teach the class and/or to whom you would like to teach the class, but this is totally up to you and depends on how many words you have left over.

If you need help polishing up your Brown University supplemental essays, check out our College Essay Review service. You can receive detailed feedback from Ivy League consultants in as little as 24 hours.

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Brown’s Supplemental Essays [2023 Update]

This year, Brown has significantly altered its application essay prompts! Here are the updated Brown Supplemental Application Essay Prompts for the 2023-2024 application season (class of 2024)

Prompt 1: Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might pursue them at Brown. (200-250 words)

Prompt 2: students entering brown often find that making their home on college hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the brown community. (200-250 words), prompt 3: brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words), prompt 4: help us get to know you better by reflecting briefly on each of the questions below. we expect that answers will range from a few words to a few sentences at most..

• What three words best describe you? (3 words)
• What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it? (100 words)
• If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be? (100 words)
• In one sentence, Why Brown? (50 words)

If you’re looking for help getting into Brown, as several of Brooke’s essay coaching students have in the last year or two, be sure to check out our college essay coaching options at   supertutortv.com/tutoring .

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August 12, 2022

Tips for Answering Brown University Supplemental Essay Prompts [2022 – 2023]

Along with the basic Common Application essay , the Ivy League schools require supplemental essay responses. These additional essays help these elite schools gain a deeper understanding of you as an applicant. It’s also your chance to explain how the school is a good match for you and how you can enhance their unique college community. What is important to you? How will an education from their school help advance your goals for the future? 

When addressing each prompt, it is essential to consider the overall character and focus of Brown University in relation to your personal objectives. Visit the school website , read about their educational mission, and think about how the school supports your interests. Did you know that an impressive 100% of Brown faculty teach undergraduates? As the first Ivy League school to accept students from all religious affiliations, Brown is known for its openness. 

It is also renowned for its innovative approach to education and outstanding research. Brown is committed to undergraduate autonomy and the process of free inquiry through their Open Curriculum program. For students, this means that while a framework of specific departmental concentration requirements guides you, you must take responsibility as an “architect of your courses of study.” Take a close look at the distinctive Brown Curriculum on the school’s website and the variety of ways that undergrads have paved their own paths to areas of study concentration. Imagine what it might be like to have this level of control over the content of your studies. As their website states, “At Brown, undergraduates are creators, leaders and doers who are not satisfied with merely raising questions — they learn to confront, address and solve problems facing society, the nation and the world.”

Brown University supplemental essay prompts

Brown university supplemental essay #1.

Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue them while also embracing topics with which you are unfamiliar. (200-250 words)

This is your opportunity to convey how the college and its unique curriculum fit with your interests now and potentially in the future. When answering this prompt, write about how and why the Brown Curriculum appeals to you, and how the Brown Open Curriculum complements your learning style. What attracts you to this approach, and what might you gain through the process? When you read the second sentence of the prompt, pay careful attention that they are asking two questions in one. Make sure to answer not only the first part as well as the second part.

Discuss the subject areas you are interested in studying and what specifically attracts you to explore these areas. You can include examples from previous coursework, volunteer experience, personal research, or any other factors that influence your interests. Check out the short student videos where they discuss the pathways that the Open Curriculum made possible for them.

How you respond to this question demonstrates your potential to succeed in Brown’s independent academic framework. This is a great opportunity to reflect on how you approach learning and discuss which subjects engage you. As you explain the subject fields and scholarly topics you are passionate about, you are providing a context for your interests and offering insight into how you navigate and process your world.

To address the second part of the question, reflect in your response openness to explore new topics via the Open Curriculum. That new area could be either a subject that you haven’t had the opportunity or time to dive into, or an area that previously didn’t engage your interest. 

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Brown University supplemental essay #2

Brown’s culture fosters a community in which students challenge the ideas of others and have their ideas challenged in return, promoting a deeper and clearer understanding of the complex issues confronting society. This active engagement in dialogue is as present outside the classroom as it is in academic spaces. Tell us about a time you were challenged by a perspective that differed from your own. How did you respond? (200-250 words)

How students interact both inside and outside the classroom is important at this school. In an era where college campuses are rife with politically divided points of view, and often, there are attempts to shut down or even “cancel” those with opposing views, this prompt offers you an invaluable opportunity to relate how you have dealt with perspectives that challenged some of your own beliefs. Were you shocked and put off, but then decided to try to hear out the other side? Do you still struggle with hearing opposing points of view? If so, how do you plan to fulfill Brown’s value of active engagement? Have you been shunned for a point of view of your own? How did you handle it? What have you learned about the art of listening, about the art of dialogue? This question may itself feel very challenging to discuss –all the more reason to devote thoughtful introspection about the need to engage with others with civility, respect, even about issues about which you feel passionate. 

Brown University supplemental essay #3

Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)

College is about a big idea: becoming an educated adult. But life is about more than just the “big” things; it’s about thousands of small things that add depth, warmth, color, joy, meaning, and inspiration. What brings you joy could be listening to a favorite piece of music, or writing your own; reading a favorite book, or writing your own story; participating in a meaningful ritual; hiking in the mountains; volunteering to pack up meals and deliver them to the home-bound. Perhaps you found joy when you discovered something important about yourself. Whatever this experience or moment is, writing about it from the heart will help the school get to know you more deeply as a person.

Note: If you are interested in Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Geology, Mathematics or Physics, you must complete additional Science/Engineering statements. Likewise, if you are applying to the 8-year Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) or the 5-year Brown/RISD Dual Degree Program (BRDD), you must also complete additional special programs statements.

Final thoughts on applying to Brown

Brown has a highly competitive applicant pool. While it received 50,649 undergraduate applications for the class of 2026, only 5% were offered admission. Your essays make you more than the sum of your numbers.

Be sure to allow yourself appropriate time to reflect on your educational goals and to convey your most compelling self to the admissions committee through your essay responses. The best approach is to stay relaxed and focused. Keep in mind, while adhering to the designated word limits, your goal is to distinguish yourself from your peers by sharing personal examples, anecdotes, and perspectives. In short, provide sincere insight into what makes you unique and a good match for Brown!

If you’re applying to Brown University, you already know you’re up against tight competition. Don’t be overwhelmed. Get the guidance of an experienced admissions specialist who will help you stand out from the highly competitive applicant pool so you can apply with confidence, and get accepted! Click here to get started!

Related Resources:

• 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your College Personal Statement , a free guide
• Common App Essay Prompts 2022-2023: Tips for Writing Essays That Impress
• Mining Identity for College Essays, Personal Statements

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Brown University presents applicants with prompts to three supplemental essay questions. Here are some tips at how you can answer each one:

Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might pursue them at Brown. (200-250 words)

The goal of this question is for an admissions officer to better understand your academic interests and gauge your fit within Brown’s various departments. What specific academic offerings interest you at Brown? Maybe it is a specific program, subject area or class. Describe why or how you became interested in this subject matter, and how do you hope to further explore it at Brown? Brown, in particular, has a very unique academic curriculum and works well for a specific type of student. You’ll want to make sure that it will be a good fit for you academically and, if so, tell them why with your response.

Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)

Brown University seeks students who are academically curious and open-minded. The admissions committee would like to know more about you and your views on any issue that is meaningful to you, whether it is academic, political or social. In addition, you’ll need to share an opposing view – one that challenged you. The key is to share what you learned from others’ perspectives. How did you respond – as the question asks – but also, how did you change or grow as a result of having your views challenged?

Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)

Although this is a short essay response, you can provide a lot of interesting information about you to the admissions officers! Don’t overthink your response – you want to be genuine, because the university truly wants to know more about you as an applicant, and more so, what sorts of contributions you might make to the university community. Note that your response doesn’t have to be an activity per se . Of course you can talk about joy from yoga or baseball or theater, but you can also talk about being a big sister or brother, or walking your dog daily. The important thing to remember is that you’ll need to describe why this “something” brings you joy, and what you get out of it, and perhaps what you’ve learned from this experience or activity. You can even extrapolate by describing how you’ll continue this activity at Brown, if applicable.

Brown’s culture fosters a community in which students challenge the ideas of others and have their ideas challenged in return, promoting a deeper and clearer understanding of the complex issues confronting society. This active engagement in dialogue is as present outside the classroom as it is in academic spaces. Tell us about a time you were challenged by a perspective that differed from your own. How did you respond? (200-250 words)

Kyle received a BS from Vanderbilt University and a certificate in college advising from Columbia University. Kyle has more than five years of admissions experience, including at the State University of New York as well as Rice University, where she was an Assistant Director of Admissions and oversaw the BS/MD program with Baylor College of Medicine. Kyle manages a caseload of clients as well as a team of AcceptU counselors. She is an IECA Associate Member.

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Writing the Brown Supplemental Essays 2022-2023

Padya Paramita

August 10, 2022

Brown University might be on top of your school list due to its self-directed academics or plethora of clubs and intramural sports. Or you could be convinced that the Modern Culture and Media department is everything your heart desires. Whatever your reason for applying, it’s time to put your impressive knowledge of the institute on paper by capitalizing on the Brown supplemental essays 2022-2023.

The admissions officers at Brown look for students who have a deep love for community involvement, who are keen to make an impact, and who aren’t afraid to explore new topics and interests. These qualities must shine through in your application, and the supplemental essays are the perfect place to show that you’ve got what it takes to be admitted. To guide you through the writing process, I’ve outlined the prompts, the do’s and don’ts of answering each of them, and additional tips for writing the B rown supplemental essays 2022-2023 to the best of your abilities. 

Prompts for the Brown Supplemental Essays 2022-2023

The Brown Supplemental Essays 2022-2023 offer three required prompts for all students. Applicants for the Program in Liberal Medical Education and the Brown/RISD dual degree are required to write additional essays on their interest in the respective programs. Since these questions are all required, you’ve got to bring your A-game to each of your essays. 

Let’s take a look at the prompts below, along with ways you could approach them. 

Brown University Specific Questions

Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue them while also embracing topics with which you are unfamiliar. (200-250 words)

The most important piece of this prompt is conveying your knowledge of Brown’s signature Open Curriculum. Unlike other schools, you don’t need to meet certain distribution or course requirements at Brown. You can select courses that you believe will play an important role in your goals. This is a key reason why many students apply to Brown in the first place. But admissions officers want to know how it can help you. 

Since a 250 word limit isn’t too spacious, focus on one or two of your favorite subjects, followed by a couple of ways you are excited by the restriction-free nature of Brown’s course “requirement.” Is it the thought of taking four classes from four very different departments—Public Health, Physics, Literary Arts, and Archaeology—all in the same semester that draws you in? Does the added flexibility in course selection particularly suit your style of learning? Is it perfect for your goal to combine multiple of your interests? 

The key to writing this essay lies in making it as unique to you as possible. Admissions officers should read the essay and say, “I could definitely see this student thriving at Brown!” or “This student is interested in Archaeology and Computer Science—that’s so cool!” Don’t write a generic answer that will make you easily forgettable. Each sentence should convince the reader that you’ve done the research, have a strong understanding of how the Open Curriculum works, and are confident in your ability to take advantage of it. 

Brown’s culture fosters a community in which students challenge the ideas of others and have their ideas challenged in return, promoting a deeper and clearer understanding of the complex issues confronting society. This active engagement in dialogue is as present outside the classroom as it is in academic spaces. Tell us about a time you were challenged by a perspective that differed from your own. How did you respond? (200-250 words)

Brown appreciates students who are excited to learn from each other. Each accepted candidate should bring something new to the table and be willing to hear out other perspectives. This essay can be tricky, so make sure you don't write about anything too controversial. The main point should be to make sure rather than detailing too much of what happened, you outlined what you learned, how the experience shaped you, and how you've carried yourself forward. Don’t forget to be respectful and conscientious. The admissions officers want to see how you take on being challenged and how you resolve conflicts. Be careful with your answer and be honest. Use your discretion to determine how the essay makes you look and try to portray yourself as a candidate worth attending this prestigious institution.

Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)

This is the most open-ended question among the Brown supplemental essays 2022-2023 . The school values students who are particularly invested in activities and topics that are meaningful to them, no matter what the scale. If you have a meaningful hobby that isn’t a conventional extracurricular per se, or you have a favorite movie that you watch over and over again, Brown is telling you to write about it. Just the introductory paragraph to most essays requires over 200 words—you might find it difficult to restrain yourself while talking about your favorite pastime. In order to get your point across, you need to put less emphasis on describing the activity or object - limit it to one or two sentences - and more on what about it brings you joy. Why is it your favorite? How does it recharge you in a way others may not? Has it shaped your perspective in a significant way?

Since admissions officers will see your activities list through the Common App, you should find ways to include anecdotes that will convey additional information about yourself. While you should not pick a purely academic activity or something that you think Brown wants to hear, you also should think of something beyond sleeping, eating, or hanging out with friends. Your outlook on the activity or subject should be unique and help you stand out among your peers.

Additional Tips for Answering the Brown Supplemental Essays 2022-2023

Now that you’ve gone through the prompts, here are a few tips to keep in mind as you brainstorm your essays.

• Emphasize community - Remember, Brown is interested in students who are determined to make a difference in their communities and in the world. Community comes up constantly in the prompts, and for a reason. You must be a community leader and willing to work with others. Admissions officers don’t always expect that impact to be on a huge scale—they know you’re still in high school. If you’ve made even a small change in your local community, that’s also something interesting you can focus on in your Brown supplemental essays 2022-2023 .
• Avoid repetition - With all of these questions asking you about your interests and favorite topics and activities, it can be easy to want to talk about the same thing over and over again. Avoid that at all costs. Each of the Brown supplemental essays 2022-2023 are meant to add new information about you to your application. And the topic of your essay doesn’t have to stay true to the theme of your application. Brown appreciates multifaceted individuals, so don’t hesitate to write about something the reader might not have guessed about you!
• Connect your answers to Brown - A lot of students apply to Brown because of the Ivy League status or ranking. If you’re actually interested in Brown, the supplemental essays can assist you in proving to admissions officers that you know what you’re talking about. Go through social media pages and the Brown website to jot down what you like and in your responses, show the reader that you’re as good of a fit for the school as the school is for you. Be as specific to Brown as possible, weaving in your knowledge of the school to exemplify that you’re making a well-informed decision.

Since Brown receives a lot of applications, you need to find ways to stand out from the pack—and taking advantage of the supplemental essays is a great way to do so. Answering the Brown supplemental essays 2022-2023 is all about portraying who you are, the communities that matter to you, and the difference you wish to make in the world. So sit down and think about which activities and courses have meant the most to you—and show admissions officers how you will continue to make an impact on the Brown campus. You’ve got this!

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6 Brown Essays That Worked + Why Brown Examples

For students writing the Brown supplements for Fall 2022, here is your guide to successful Brown essays.

In this article, I've gathered 6 essays written by admitted students to Brown.

I'll share examples of how regular high-achieving students who got into Brown recently by having stand-out essays.

Are essays all that matter? No, but especially for competitive and test-optional schools, your essays are a very important factor.

Let's jump right in.

What is Brown University's Acceptance Rate?

This past year, a record 46,568 students applied to Brown and just 2,537 students got accepted. Which means Brown had an overall admit rate of just 5.4%.

Since its known as a top Ivy League school, most students applying to Brown already have strong test scores, grades, and extracurricular activities.

Brown University Acceptance Scattergram

That's why its even more important to write essays that help show why you should be accepted.

Especially for Ivy League and other top schools like Brown, your essays make a difference.

What are the Brown Supplemental Prompts for 2022-23?

To apply to Brown University this year, you are required to write three short essays of 50 to 250 words each.

You can find your Brown writing supplement along with your Common Application essays on your portal.

Here's the Brown supplemental prompts for 2022. The questions on this page are being asked by Brown University:

Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue them while also embracing topics with which you are unfamiliar. (200-250 words)

Brown’s culture fosters a community in which students challenge the ideas of others and have their ideas challenged in return, promoting a deeper and clearer understanding of the complex issues confronting society. This active engagement in dialogue is as present outside the classroom as it is in academic spaces. Tell us about a time you were challenged by a perspective that differed from your own. How did you respond? (200-250 words)

Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)

6 Brown University EssaysThatWorked

Here are 6 of my favorite Brown essay examples from admitted students.

These essays respond to past and current writing supplement prompts for Brown. I've also included some examples of personal statement essays that worked for Brown.

If you need help getting started writing, this is a perfect way to get inspired and see what's worked.

Table of Contents

• Brown Essay Example #1
• Brown Essay Example #2
• Brown Essay Example #3
• Brown Essay Example #4
• Brown Essay Example #5
• Brown Essay Example #6

Prompt: Open Curriculum

Brown university essay example #1.

Prompt: Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue them while also embracing topics with which you are unfamiliar. (200-250 words)

My primary interest is in languages and linguistics, specifically Spanish, Portuguese and the descent of these languages from Latin which I explored in my IB Extended Essay. Thus, something that excites me about the complete freedom of the Brown curriculum is the opportunity to learn about Hispanic and Lusophone culture, literature and language in an intersectional way through a concentration in Latin American studies combined with classes and undergraduate research in Linguistics. I intend to supplement my language acquisition with practical application through study abroad opportunities at PUC-Rio, Brazil and in Santiago, Chile, perhaps through the Engaged Scholars Program which will allow me to forge deeper connections with the communities and cultures I am studying. I am also attracted by the possibility of a 5-year BA/MA course in Linguistics which will permit me to conduct meaningful and extensive research on a topic I am truly passionate about.

However, I also have an interest in Biochemistry and Molecular biology. The Open Curriculum will enable me to pursue this avenue of study and research without detracting from my principal focus on languages. Therefore, perhaps what I am most excited for is interdisciplinary study at Brown and the possibility of forging unforeseen connections between disparate academic areas and weaving them together into a program of study that will engage, thrill, and inspire me towards a lifelong path of academic inquiry. For example, I am interested to explore how languages and sociolinguistics can be used to promote medical research and provision in Latin America.

Why This Essay Works:

Naming things unique to the school shows you have genuine interest. Listing specific programs, courses, or majors shows you've done your research.

The author's reasons for "Why Brown?" fit into their background and identity. This makes their reasons seem genuine and compelling.

What They Might Improve:

The essay is divided into two parts with distinct answers. Showing how those reasons relate could make the essay more cohesive.

Ending with a sentence "For example..." leaves more to be desired and explained.

Prompt: Brown's Community

Brown university essay example #2.

Prompt: 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? (200-250 words)

At my high school, I reinvigorated and reinvented the linguistics society with the help of a friend, transforming it from a dull discussion of past exam questions to a seminar-style session where I have presented and analysed various interesting aspects of language. In a similar vein, I intend to be a leader and an innovator at Brown, and to create opportunities for likeminded people to discuss shared interests such as linguistics. However, other than creating clubs, I hope to use my experience as a camp counselor and a diving coach to support others within the community, and to set a good example of dedication, energy, and compassion.

Additionally, I have volunteered as a Spanish teacher at a local primary school for three years. Volunteer service is something I would definitely like to continue to undertake at Brown, perhaps through the Community Corps that will allow me to help address social inequality within Providence, or as a teacher and classroom assistant in the Elementary Afterschool Mentoring program at D’Abate school. I can draw on my previous experience and knowledge to hopefully enrich the education of underprivileged children in the local community.

Finally, as an international student, I will bring an element of unique culture to Brown’s campus. Having grown up in the buzzing metropolis of London but visiting America frequently to see family, I have the privilege of a truly dual nationality, and the resultant worldview and cultural references that I hope will enrich the diverse Brown community.

• Variety of Reasons Given: Providing multiple reasons for how you'll contribute shows you aren't one-dimensional. People are complex and showing nuance in your character is important.
• Showcasing Past Experiences: With each point, the author gives examples from their activities and resume. Referencing specific extracurriculars helps build their case and is "proof" of how they'll contribute.

What They Might Change:

• Flow and Writing Style: Listing activities can come off as robotic and uninteresting. Rather, try to find a balance between showing off your achievements and writing in an interesting way.
• Structure: The last paragraph is most compelling because it deals with the author's personality and background, rather than just what they've done. Organizing the essay around your character is better than focusing solely on your achivements.

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Prompt: Why Brown?

Brown university essay example #3.

Prompt: Why Brown, and why the Brown Curriculum? (200 words max)

I believe any college should equip you with tools as you embark upon your journey. Brown provides the necessary. That is what the capstone experience does (not to mention the importance of internships given to Brown Students). You can never know everything about anything. But quench the questions is exactly what the Capstone Experience fosters.

The Open Curriculum was obviously the first thing that caught my eye. In school, you are sometimes forced to take the subjects you don’t like. College shouldn’t be the same. It is supposed to be a fresh start and that is exactly why you should be allowed to take the courses that appeal to you. Here is where the S/NC option was interesting. Only if you know perspectives from all subjects, can you determine a solution; S/NC promotes this. Group Independent Study Projects is also unique. Getting into the course is something hard. But creating your own course is amusing.

I would love to be a part of The Society of Women Engineers because I had to fight with my own family to study Computer Science in the United States. If it means providing the help for people I wish I'd got, never better.

• Ideas and Beliefs: Rather than just saying what aspects are appealing, the author explains why they are attracted to those things. By explaining your perspective, admissions officers are better able to understand your thinking and character.
• Specific to Brown: Listing aspects that are unique to Brown is important to show your interest is authentic. By naming things like the Capstone Experience and S/NC, the author shows their knowledge of Brown and makes their reasons more compelling.
• Writing Style: Some parts of the essay are clunky in wording and could be written more clearly. But the author is an international student, so it is understandable and not the end of the world.
• Structure and Conclusion: There isn't a clear conclusion sentence that ties the essay together. How can you relate the last sentence to your beginning?

Prompt: Area of Study

Brown university essay example #4.

Prompt: Why are you drawn to the area(s) of study you indicated? (150 words max)

There was a time when I was low and afraid to be with myself. That’s when I dived into programming. I always sat with my laptop. But unlike others on Instagram or Snapchat, I was coding. I always kept myself occupied so I wouldn’t think about hardships. But as I was solving those little Instantiation and StackOverflow errors, I realized that any problem in my life had a solution. I could either modify the code and right the wrong, or just keep compiling them, producing no output. So, life is not all that different. That is why I want to pursue Computer Science. I know I can work to keep myself happy. Inevitably, what makes me happy is Computer Science, which is what I want to pursue.

• Intriguing Backstory: Telling a compelling story is about setting the scene. This essay creates vivid imagery by naming specific programming-related things.
• Connects to Bigger Picture: Rather than just saying their major or interest, the author connects it to a more universal idea. Showing the deeper "why" behind your interests makes it relatable and more interesting.
• Writing Style and Flow: Some words are unnecessary, and a few sentences could be made more smooth to read.
• Doesn't Use the Full Word Limit: With 23 words left, the author could have included a sentence or two more. Every word is valuable with short word limits, so use them carefully.

Prompt: Where You've Lived

Brown university essay example #5.

Prompt: Tell us where you have lived - and for how long - since you were born; whether you've always lived in the same place, or perhaps in a variety of places. (100 words max)

I was born in California, USA. When I was about 7 months old, I moved to Bangalore, India. I've lived in Bangalore all my life, until two years ago. I started attending a boarding school, in the same state, but far away from my house. I chose to leave everything behind, even my phone, because I didn't want to be pampered. I wanted to fold my own blanket; to wipe my own tears; to carve my own name; to befriend people my way; to create my destiny. My parents weren't happy at first, but I convinced them.

• Poetic Writing: Interesting writing comes from interesting ideas. And the second to last sentence especially is compelling because it expresses their ideas elegantly.
• Answers Prompt Directly: For supplements especially, make sure to answer exactly what the prompt is asking.
• Be More Concise: Use as few words as possible to say the most you can. Especially for short prompts like this one, every word matters.
• Word Choice: Swapping out words like "house" for "home" can make the tone more natural.

Prompt: Communities and Groups

Brown university essay example #6.

Prompt: Communities or groups: pick one and tell us why it is important to you, and how it has shaped you. (100 words max)

My dad lost his parents when he was young. My mom also quit her job to take care of me. So, if you look at it, she should loathe me. But she doesn’t. She has dedicated her whole life to me. That is why I want to provide a purpose to their lives. Every competition I won, even a small word of praise would lighten their mood. When I am happy they are euphoric; when I am sad they are distraught. It's like they (for)give and forget. So why not follow their footsteps and give it all I got?

• Vulnerable and Authentic: Being vulnerable is an important part of great essays. Talking about sensitive, but real and human topics, makes you more relatable and humanized.
• Explains What Motivates Them: Admissions officers want to know why you're driven to do things. Showing your "why" helps give insight into your character more deeply.
• Doesn't Answer Prompt Directly: Make sure to answer exactly what the prompt asks. Although this essay explains their background and motivations, it doesn't answer the question exactly.

If you're trying to get into Brown in 2022, your essays need to make you stand out from the competition. These 6 Brown essays that worked showcase great examples of what it takes to get accepted into Brown.

There are many lessons and tips to be learned from these supplements:

• Being authentic and genuine is key
• Name aspects unique and specific to the school
• Showcase your motivations and the "why" behind things
• Don't be afraid to be vulnerable
• Use every word carefully and make each word count

If you enjoyed reading these Brown supplements, you'll also like the essays for similar Ivy League schools like Princeton and Columbia University .

What did you think of these Brown University essays?

Ryan Chiang , Founder of EssaysThatWorked

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How to get into Brown 2023-2024

How to get into brown university.

Bonus Material: PrepMaven’s 50+ Real Supplemental Essays for Ivy+ Schools

Brown University had an acceptance rate of just 5% according to their 2022-2023 Common Data Set . That’s just over 2500 students who received a coveted welcome letter from over 50,000 applicants!

So, how do you maximize your chances of joining the incoming class of Brown Brunos? 

Over the last 20+ years, we’ve helped thousands of our students increase their chances of admissions success to top universities, including schools like Brown University and the rest of the Ivy League through top tier tutoring, test preparation, and college essay support.

In this post, we’ll go over what exactly a Brown University admission’s officer is looking for and offer actionable advice to help you maximize your chances for admissions success. 

We started by asking ourselves, what does a successful Brown University applicant look like? We’ll provide advice directly from the admissions department and provide examples of some of our tutors, who themselves are current Brown University students or graduates, to give insights and tips about how to become a successful applicant. 

You can also read about our tutors who were admitted to Princeton University, and other similarly competitive schools, here .

We’ll then go over each part of the college application and offer actionable advice on how to maximize your chances for success. 

Keep reading to increase your chances of admission, and download our collection of real supplemental essays that worked to get students into schools like Brown. 

Download 50+ Real Supplemental Essays for Ivy+ Schools

Jump to section: The three pillars of a Brown application What you need to get into Brown: Academics What you need to get into Brown: Extracurriculars What you need to get into Brown: Character The Three Pillars of getting into Brown: Summary The Brown admissions process Next steps 

The three pillars of a Brown application

The best way to think about your application to a school like Brown is as consisting of three pillars: 

• Extracurriculars

In the following sections, we’ll break down exactly what you need in each of these categories for a short at Brown. Here, we’ll explain a bit about each of these three pillars and how they come together to support a viable Brown application. 

Academics refers to everything that’s on your transcript, plus your test scores. In other words, the Academics pillar consists of:

• Rigor of curriculum
• Dual enrollment/college credit courses
• SAT/ACT scores
• AP/IB scores

Extracurriculars are somewhat self-explanatory: these are just about anything you’ve done that isn’t directly connected to your academics. Common examples: 

• School clubs
• Service work
• Research 
• Creative projects
• Paid employment
• Internships

But it’s Character that can be one of the most important elements of a Brown application, and one of the hardest to pin down. What’s the Character pillar? In a nutshell, it’s your story: what kind of person and student are you? What drives you? What do you hope to accomplish?

All of these big and probably scary questions are what we mean when we discuss Character as part of your application. While all elements of your application come together to showcase Character, the single biggest place where you can convey it is in your college application essays. 

Below, we’re going to break down Brown University’s admissions process according to each of these three pillars: what do you need to do when it comes to Academics, Extracurriculars, and Character to have a shot?

What you need to get into Brown: Academics

We want to start with a disclaimer: nobody gets accepted to Brown based on Academics alone . But plenty of applicants do get rejected because their Academics pillar is too weak. 

When it comes to schools like Brown, you should think of Academics as a prerequisite: while there are always rare exceptions, if your GPA and test scores do not line up with Brown’s typical median, your chances of acceptance are very, very slim. 

So, what are the Brown University baselines as far as Academics? Let’s take a look at the 2022-2023 Common App Data set for the stats. 

When it comes to SAT/ACT: 

To put it bluntly, you’ll need near-perfect SAT/ACT scores to have a shot at a Brown admission. We’ll break down some statistics below: 

To break that down quickly: 

• For SAT-takers, 50% of students who enrolled had an SAT Verbal score at or above 760
• For SAT-takers, 50% of students who enrolled had an SAT Math score at or above 780
• For ACT-takers, 50% of students who enrolled had an ACT Composite of 35 or higher

To put that in perspective: these scores are equivalent to a 99th percentile nationally. Meaning that at least half of Brown admits scored in the top 1% nationally on their ACT and SATs.  

But while people often look at percentiles and medians, there’s another crucial statistic people often miss: how many people actually get in with lower scores? The answer: basically none. Take a look below. 

It’s a lot of numbers, but here’s the TLDR summary: 

• Only 5% of Brown admits had an SAT score below 1400. 
• Only 4% of Brown admits had an ACT score below 30. 

The takeaway is simple: it is practically impossible to get accepted to Brown without an ACT or SAT score in the top 1%. 

A note on test-optional policies

Many people see that Brown is test-optional and breathe a sigh of relief: if the policy says “optional,” then surely you don’t have to take the test, right? 

Sadly, that’s not the case. The vast majority of Brown applicants submitted test scores for last-year’s application cycle. The reality of it is that test-optional policies are not meant to apply to everyone.

 If you come from a background where the Brown admission committee could see testing as a real burden—you come from a low-income family or community, you worked a full-time job to support your family, you were dealing with serious health issues in high school, etc.—then test-optional can work for you ( though you would still be better off submitting exceptional test scores ). 

But if you don’t have anything like that to point to, Brown will expect you to submit test scores . They might not say so, but failing to do so when you don’t have a good reason will signal to admissions committees that you simply didn’t do well enough on the test. 

Regardless of application requirements, at PrepMaven we encourage students to still take the SAT (or the ACT, depending on which test suits their skills). 

Doing so will allow them to keep their options open as they navigate future college admissions cycles, and our philosophy as educators is to give our students as many tools as possible to maximize their future opportunities.

Higher test scores will always give applicants an advantage.

When it comes to GPA: 

According to the stats, it’s just as important to have a sky-high GPA:

93% of Brown admits who submitted class rank information were in the top tenth of their graduating class. 

The takeaway here is similar to that with test scores: if you’re not in at least the top 10% of your graduating class, you’re effectively out of the running for a Brown admission.

Other considerations for Academics: Rigor

We want to add a quick note here: colleges like Brown expect you to take the most rigorous courses offered by your school. While there’s not much exact data on this, we can confidently say that if you only took regular or Honors courses, you won’t be considered seriously as a candidate regardless of GPA. 

Though this depends on your school’s offerings, Brown University will expect applicants to take AP courses wherever possible. Many successful Brown applicants go further, taking dual enrollment or additional courses at local colleges. 

Academics Summary: What do you need to do?

If there’s a shorthand, it’s this: Academics won’t get you into Brown, but they can definitely keep you out. Think of this pillar as a hurdle you have to clear before admissions committees even consider your application seriously. Here’s close to the minimum of what you need for a shot:

• Take maximally rigorous courses. 
• Be at least within the top 10% of your graduating class.
• Achieve an ACT or SAT score at least in the 99th percentile. 

We can’t stress this enough: doing all of the above does not make you a strong candidate for Brown . It is effectively the minimum that you need to accomplish to be considered a candidate at all. 

If you’re serious about Brown, you should start building up your Academics pillar as early as possible. There’s absolutely no substitute for expert academic and test-prep coaching: when everything has to be perfect for you to have a shot, you don’t want to take chances. Our tutors can help you maintain that GPA and work your way up to a competitive test score. 

What you need to get into Brown: Extracurriculars

If your Academics are competitive, it’s time to look at the second pillar: Extracurriculars. Just like with Academics, the exceptional is the norm for a school like Brown. 

So, what makes a strong Extracurricular profile for Brown? In addition to the suggestions from Brown’s site above, we encourage you to focus on four key elements to evaluate how competitive your extracurriculars are—and, if you have time, to begin developing a competitive Extracurricular pillar.

Key elements of a competitive Brown Extracurricular profile, in order:

• Initiative 

Let’s take these one at a time. 

Brown isn’t looking for someone who dabbles: they want applicants who have proven that they can excel at what they pursue. Whatever your main extracurriculars, there should be some kind of objective proof that you excelled above and beyond the norm in them. What might that look like?

• If you code: placing high a national or international competition/challenge. 
• If you play sports: being a high-level competitor on a national competitive team. 
• If you write: winning state, national, or international prizes. 

The idea here is fairly clear: it’s not enough just to do : you’ve really got to prove you can perform at an incredible level. 

Note the scale as well: winning a school or local competition simply isn’t good enough to matter in most cases. 

Whatever you pursue, Brown wants you to prove you’re dedicated to it. Having 1-3 core activities that you have spent years pursuing is the mark of dedication. While it’s totally fine to have a few lighter extracurriculars that you don’t dedicate as much time to, you need to have at least 1 thing that you’ve pursued for a long time with (as mentioned above) proven excellence.

Here, the key is really length of time and commitment: the best ECs are ones you’ve pursued for years, with significant time investment each week. 

In addition to excellence and dedication, Brown will expect you to demonstrate some form of leadership in the ECs you pursue. The most obvious example of this is, of course, holding a position like team captain or class/club president. 

While those can serve to demonstrate leadership, it’s clear that you’re able to show what came of that leadership. Many students aiming for Ivies try to join the Executive Boards of as many clubs and organizations as possible in high school, but this is the wrong move . 

Instead of looking like a dedicated, passionate leader, you’ll look like someone who doesn’t care what they do so long as they have a fancy title. What you want is for your leadership to align with excellence and dedication: if you’ve been a member of a nationally recognized robotics team, it’ll be meaningful to show you also captained it. 

If, on the other hand, you joined four clubs senior year and were president of all four, it’ll seem more like you were trying to build a resume. 

This is one people often forget, or misunderstand. When it comes to the Extracurricular pillar, one of the most crucial elements is to show that you sought something out and pursued it because of a real passion. 

In a nutshell, this means that the more work you had to do to pursue your ECs of choice, the better. Joining an existent club at school might show dedication, excellence, and leadership, but it won’t, in itself, show much initiative. Starting a club that grows and becomes self-sufficient, however, does show initiative. Here are some examples of initiative:

• Starting an organization that will continue to thrive after you leave high school .
• Seeking out an unusual service, research, or work opportunity. 
• Making a personal sacrifice to pursue your extracurricular of choice. 

A note of caution: Brown is looking for the exceptional and the unusual. Standard accolades like Merit Scholar, NHS, AP Scholar, or club e-board member are a dime a dozen—in other words, they won’t make you more competitive. Below, we’ve put together a list of ECs that make for a competitive Extracurricular profile for Brown, and another list of ones that don’t. 

Examples of competitive ECs for Brown:

• You’ve pursued music since childhood, practicing 20 or more hours a week and performing at concerts across the country. 
• You fell in love with cooking your sophomore year of high school: first you got a job as a busser at a local diner; by the summer of junior year, you were a prep cook at a local restaurant, working 30 hours a week. You also have a growing Youtube channel where you show off recipes.
• Interested in international relations, you sought out a local professor and helped them as a research assistant for a year. Eventually, you published an original research paper with their help.
• You love visual art, and have dedicated countless hours each week over the last few years to painting and multimedia art projects. While not a member of any club or organization, you have a website gallery of your work and have even sold a few paintings to local businesses. 

Examples of NON-competitive ECs for Brown:

• You started an Ultimate Frisbee club with 10 members your junior year of high school that you were President of. 
• You volunteered sporadically for a local soup kitchen to meet your NHS service hours minimum. You didn’t dedicate a significant amount of time to this activity, nor did you participate for very long.
• You were a rank-and-file member of several school interest clubs (chess club, coding club, book club, etc.), but don’t have any notable accomplishments or results to point to. 

Do you see the difference? It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the activities on the second list. In fact, it’s totally fine if you have a few activities like that on your Brown application, but only if they are small side-projects in addition to your 1-3 main extracurricular activities, which should look more like the things on the first list. 

This probably seems like a lot, and it absolutely is. But this is the kind of excellence that Brown is looking for. So, what can you do to develop the Extracurricular pillar of your Brown application?

• Start early. The earlier you start pursuing an activity, the more impressive your commitment to it will be. 
• Keep a record of your pursuits. Websites, Youtube channels, etc., are a great way to maintain a portfolio of any creative projects. 
• Enter contests and seek out publication/recognition. 

The last point deserves a special mention: as you can see from the list of competitive ECs, most of them take years of dedication. If you’re already a junior, one of the best things you can do is pursue contests, research, and publication, all of which can be accomplished fairly quickly and will add a solid EC to your list. 

On that front, writing competitions and research are great places to start. Many of our tutors come from creative writing backgrounds, and many more are graduate students who’ve published research themselves— by working with one of these coaches, you can develop your own independent creative or research project . 

What you need to get into Brown: Character

This third aspect of your Brown application is perhaps the most elusive—but it can be the most important. 

What do we mean by Character? You can read our full breakdown of the Three Pillars of a College Application here , but for now we can summarize Character as those personal qualities that set you aside from other applicants who have similar grades and extracurriculars. It’s really that ”extra” factor, the one that doesn’t really show up on a transcript or resume. 

So, where does Character appear on your college admissions applications? Mostly, it comes across in the essays! This is where college admissions committees can actually hear your voice, see your thought process, and get an insight into how you view the world. 

Some people tend to write off the college essay, but for an application to Brown or an Ivy League school, it plays a vital part . You can read our post on how important the college essay is here, but for now you can think of it this way: Brown gets so many incredibly talented applicants, so the college essay is one of the main things that can truly help you stand out. 

What is Brown looking for in terms of Character? Key qualities to convey in your essays are things like: 

• Self-awareness
• Community-mindedness

We’ve got an entire collection of blog posts on how to structure the perfect college application essay—if you’re applying to Brown, we highly recommend you start here . At the end of the day, Character is also a way of capturing your entire story, of connecting all of the different threads into one compelling narrative that presents you as someone who will contribute something to one of the most selective universities in the world. 

Brown’s supplemental essay prompts for 2023-2024

In addition to your main essay, the supplemental essay questions are the perfect place to demonstrate Character. Below are Brown’s supplemental essay prompts, updated for 2023-2024:

• 1. Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might pursue them at Brown. (200-250 words)
• 2. Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)
• 3. Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)
• 4. What three words best describe you? (3 words)
• 5. What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it? (100 words)*
• 6. If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be? (100 words)*
• 7. In one sentence, Why Brown? (50 words)*

If you’ve been reading our blog posts, you might notice that we’ve already written extensive guides on how to approach the last two questions, which fall into our “Why major? ” and “Why us?” categories of supplemental essays. 

Communicating how you fit in on campus, core values, extracurricular excellence, voice, and  knowledge of Brown is a daunting task to achieve in a few short essays. That’s why  we recommend working with a college essay coach to perfect your personal statement and supplementals. 

If you want to ensure your answers to these deceptively simple questions actually give Brown admissions officers what they want, make sure to read through our guides, and take a look below for examples of real, successful supplemental essays. 

Character: Recommendations

Letters of recommendation give an admissions officer a clearer view of an applicant’s character. Brown requires that these letters are academic teacher recommendations specifically, plus the school counselor recommendation; the ideal letter of recommendation will be written by someone who knows you well; ideally personally and academically. 

They will be able to dedicate the time needed to writing you a strong, personalized letter so be sure to request your recommendations well in advance of your application deadline.

Brown University requests two letters from teachers in core academic subjects and will accept up to four. This means classes like social studies, science, math, English, or foreign languages.

In addition to being teachers who know you well, try to select teachers who will be able to compliment different parts of you. While you can’t read what your recommender writes, it’s a good idea to sit down with them and talk about things you would like them to highlight.

Character: Interviews

Recently, Brown has moved away from alumni interviews. Instead, students may submit a two minute video as part of their application.

Brown believes that this video introduction allows applicants to show the admissions team who you are and why you are interested in Brown.

You can view examples of successful brown videos introductions here , but the most important thing to keep in mind is to use this video as an opportunity to show your personality and convey passion for something.

When it comes to Brown, every piece of your application has to be perfect. Your Academics are what gets you considered, and your Extracurriculars are what prove you’ve accomplished something unusual. But it’s your Character—exemplified mostly in your college admissions essays—that can convince college admissions committees you’re someone they want to have on campus for the next four years. 

The Three Pillars of getting into Brown: Summary

So, what does it take to get into Brown, really? 

• A near perfect GPA achieved in a maximally rigorous courseload. 
• An SAT or ACT score well within the top 1% of test-takers. 
• An extracurricular profile that shows remarkable dedication, excellence, passion, and initiative. 
• Essays that tie together your story and convince admissions officers that you’re an interesting, unique applicant they want to have around for four years.

If that sounds tough, well, it is! So, what can you do to maximize your chances? Start preparing for all of the above as early as possible. If you want to do everything you can, we strongly recommend our tutors : they can help you ace your courses, prepare for your SAT/ACT, develop interesting extracurriculars, and write the perfect essay. 

Below, we’ll get into some crucial info that can help you prepare your Brown application, including an analysis of a real Brown application (from one of our star tutors) and a breakdown of the Brown application process. 

The Brown University admissions process

From years of experience, we know selective schools like Brown generally follow the four steps to how admission officers read applications . 

• Screen and sort
• First readers take notes and assign rankings
• Applications go to larger committees for group review
• Final decisions are made 

While they read applications, they are looking to identify students who they believe will be great contributors to the Brown community; “we look for intelligent, highly motivated students from all walks of life who may come from diverse backgrounds and cultural heritages, who represent different academic and extracurricular interests, who bring a spectrum of ideologies to Brown.” (FAQ brown admissions)

Brown has a holistic admissions process meaning that all parts of the application inform the admission committee’s evaluation of candidates.  

“Brown’s admission process is holistic, and we review every application. The admission statistics available may help provide a broad perspective of the academic strength of our pool of applicants. However, please be aware that these data points are not a set of requirements and should not be used to predict odds of admission.”

In addition to being holistic, their review process is contextual . Brown University takes into account “what you have accomplished with the resources and opportunities available to you in high school.”

This means that while Brown is searching for students who excel, they understand that excellence looks different based on the opportunities a student has access to.

They are searching for clues about your “ potential to thrive within the unique offerings of Brown university. ” Asking themselves questions such as will this student take advantage of the extracurricular opportunities presented to them at Brown? Will they be an active member of the Brown community? Is this student not just equipped to manage our curriculum, but will they thrive here?

Therefore, when you are putting together your application to Brown, know that every part counts! A successful applicant will use the application to demonstrate excellence within their unique set of circumstances, painting a picture for the admission’s officer that describes what future you would look like as a Brown student.

With an acceptance rate of just 5% , getting into a dream school like Brown University is no easy task. Here are some next steps you can take to better navigate the application process and improve your chances of getting in. 

• Overall academic success is critical to admissions at Brown college. Check out academic subject tutoring for your student here .
• Having a top performing SAT or ACT score can only make you a more competitive applicant. We can help you reach that score, consult with a test prep expert to see if individual tutoring or prep courses would be right for you. 
• Your personal essay can demonstrate your character and highlight your skills better than any part of your application. Our top tutors can also help your students perfect their personal essays. Schedule your initial consultation here.

If you’re in the process of applying, there are few better resources than real sample essays that worked to get other students into Ivy+ schools. Fortunately, we’ve got over 50 real essays for you to use as examples: click the link below to download them for free. 

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Mike is a PhD candidate studying English literature at Duke University. Mike is an expert test prep tutor (SAT/ACT/LSAT) and college essay consultant. Nearly all of Mike’s SAT/ACT students score in the top 5% of test takers; many even score above 1500 on the SAT. His college essay students routinely earn admission into their top-choice schools, including Harvard, Brown, and Dartmouth. And his LSAT students have been accepted In into the top law schools in the country, including Harvard, Yale, and Columbia Law.

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Practice Essay Prompts #2 - Spring 2023