when do brown supplemental essays come out

How to Write the Brown University Supplemental Essays: Examples + Guide 2023/2024

How to Write the Brown University Supplemental Essays TABLE OF CONTENTS

• What are the Brown University supplemental essay prompts?
• How to write each supplemental essay prompt for Brown
• Prompt #1: "Why us" essay
• Prompt #2: "Community contribution" essay
• Prompt #3: "What brings you joy" essay
• Prompt #4: Short answer question
• Prompt #5: Extracurricular activity essay
• Prompt #6: "Create your own class" essay
• Prompt #7: Short answer "Why us" essay
• PLME Program Prompt #1: "Why major" essay
• PLME Program Prompt #2: "Positive impact" essay
• PLME Program Prompt #3: "Why us" essay
• RISD Dual Degree Program Prompt #1: "Why us" + "community contribution" essay

Brown University is perhaps most famous for its Open Curriculum and the freedom and opportunity that it provides students for charting their own academic journeys.

Unlike colleges with a more structured academic curriculum (For example, Columbia University, St. John’s College, and University of Chicago), Brown provides optimal academic flexibility to the right type of student.

Let’s take a look at the required prompts, and how to make the most of these questions.

Before you begin writing, you may want to get deeper insights into the kind of student Brown is looking for, and how it views itself. You’ll find an extensive, by-the-numbers look at its offerings, from enrollment and tuition statistics to student life and financial aid information, on its Common Data Set . For a better sense of how Brown envisions its role in academia and how it wants to grow and evolve, read its strategic plan here .

What are Brown University's 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)

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)

Brown PLME Prompt #1

Required for applicants to the PLME (Program in Liberal Medical Education) Applicants

Committing to a future career as a physician while in high school requires careful consideration and self-reflection. What values and experiences have led you to believe that becoming a doctor in medicine is the right fit for you? (250 word limit)

Brown PLME Prompt #2

Health care is constantly changing, as it is affected by racial and social disparities, economics, politics, and technology, among others. How will you, as a future physician, make a positive impact? (250 word limit)

Brown PLME Prompt #3

How do you envision the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) helping you to meet your academic personal and professional goals as a person and as a physician of the future? (250 word limit)

Brown RISD Program Prompt #1

Required for applicants to the Brown|RISD Dual Degree Program:

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. (650 words)

How to Write Each Supplemental Essay Prompt for Brown University

How to write the brown supplemental essay #1.

This prompt is your classic “Why us?” essay, with a Brown-specific twist that asks you to focus on one aspect of Brown: its renowned Open Curriculum program. Before you start brainstorming, we recommend checking out this complete guide on how to write the “Why us?” essay . Pay close attention to the “Why Cornell” and “Why Penn” examples, which are our favorites.

Here’s the short version of how to write the typical “Why us?” essay:

Spend 1 hr+ researching 10+ reasons why Brown’s Open Curriculum might be a great fit for you (ideally 3-5 of the reasons will be unique to the school and connect back to you).

Make a copy of this chart to map out your college research.

Create an outline for your essays based on either Approach 1, 2 (recommended), or 3 in the full guide above.

Write a first draft!

Here’s a great example. Note how it starts with a very specific interest the student would like to pursue at Brown. 

After growing up on diplomacy and a love of politics, I am eager for a college experience that would allow me to decipher the complexities of foreign relations negotiations, while also being able to specialize in Middle Eastern politics.  Brown’s Open Curriculum would feed my inquisitive mind, allowing me the flexibility to pursue the International and Public Affairs concentration while also exploring a wide range of interests. For example, in Making Decisions, I’d learn the factors that impact choices, helping me to analyze negotiation tactics. In Spain on Screen: 80 Years of Spanish Cinema, I’d continue to pursue my love of Spanish by learning about its cultural landscape in a fun, unique way. With the Development track and focus on the Middle East region, I’d have access to an exciting combination of classes. With economic diplomacy becoming a powerful tool in international relations, I could better understand the power of economic influence through Diplomacy, Economics and Influence, while The Making of the Modern Middle East would strengthen my understanding of the region’s historical evolution and the associated political and economic implications. I’d also capitalize on the Watson Institute’s resources, especially the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance, attending workshops and researching Middle Eastern developmental challenges.    After being able to explore a wide range of interests at Brown, rather than having to choose one narrowly focused concentration, I’d build important skills like assertiveness and empathy that could assist me as a compassionate diplomat. (250 words) — — —

Tips + Analysis

Embrace “and.” A big selling point at Brown is its open curriculum, which allows you to take classes across several disciplines and explore outside your major. Brown shows how important this flexible approach to learning is by devoting a whole supplemental essay prompt to asking what you’d do with the opportunities the open curriculum offers. A key part of acing this prompt is to think expansively rather than in the confines of a single academic interest. If you’re primarily interested in biology, also consider other classes you might want to explore out of sheer curiosity. Don’t feel like you need to lay out a hyper-specific career path. Brown is all about embracing the “and” of learning, and it’ll serve you well to take a similar approach in your essay. Notice that, in this example, the student notes a primary interest in Middle Eastern international relations but also demonstrates excitement for Behavioral Science, Spanish language, and film. This makes his response more multi-faceted and shows that he really understands Brown’s approach to education.

Get specific. The great thing about this essay is that it’s clear the student has done his research. Take a close look at Brown’s course catalogue and list of majors to see what you’d actually want to take if you ended up going there. Citing specific classes, professors, and areas of study is a great way to show your dedication to the university and how you’d make the most of what Brown has to offer. This student highlights a specific concentration/track (International and Public Affairs/Development with a focus on the Middle East), some classes (Making Decisions and Spain on Screen: 80 Years of Spanish Cinema), and some campus resources he’d want to make use of (Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Rhodes Center, etc). If you need help brainstorming these kinds of details, check out our BEABIES Exercise to get started (Tool #2 on this post ).

Highlight connections. Although Brown wants you to have fun exploring outside the confines of a specific major, it also wants to see that you’re not choosing topics randomly. In the meat of your essay, demonstrate how your interests connect. This student does a great job of sharing his understanding of how Behavioral Science would help him with negotiation tactics,while a Spanish language class would give him a greater grasp on different cultural landscapes. The key is that when he mentions an interest, he always explains the why behind it.

Because this prompt takes such a unique approach to the “Why us?” we figured we’d gift you with a bonus example.

After seeing The Vagina Monologues, I began exploring gender independently. From watching Mrs. America to reading The Second Sex, I sought solidarity and inspiration in art, media, and literature that shed light on marginalized voices. Studying an online course on international women’s health, I became more informed on topics such as female circumcision, son preferences, and domestic violence – and more enamored of the process of self-directed, interdisciplinary learning.  Brown’s Open Curriculum would allow me to double concentrate in Gender and Sexuality Studies and Economics while exploring other areas such as Modern Culture and Media. The S/NC option will encourage me to take courses such as The Late 60's: Film Countercultures, an area I am deeply interested in but new to.  Brown will allow me to build an interdisciplinary understanding of gender and economics with a classroom of self-driven students. Through Inequality of Income, Wealth, and Health, I will explore the causes of inequality, and how poverty can be addressed by economic policies and public education. Through A Gender Perspective on Women and Enterprise, I can examine gender inequality in economic areas including property ownership, capital, and markets. In addition, I am fascinated by the differences journal’s approach to gender studies --- analyzing it with race, culture, and art.  I am excited to become the architect of my own education at Brown, realizing my academic vision with a group of passionate and motivated students. (234 words) — — —

How to Write the Brown Supplemental Essay #2

At first glance, this prompt may seem slightly similar to prompt 1, and you’d be right in the sense that both are asking for you to take parts of your past and connect them with your Brown future. But one important difference with this prompt is its focus on your contribution to the larger Brown community, not just the academic one.

Another detail to note is Brown’s encouragement to show where you come from—the people, places, and things that have shaped who you are today. This is your chance to connect your unique upbringing, in a very broad sense of the word, with what has helped make you unstoppable. So take it.

While there are many things outside of “community” that might fit this prompt, if you’re looking for a way to brainstorm ideas, that’s a good place to start. (But keep in mind that you’ll want to include some “how will you contribute” details in your essay—this isn’t just a “tell us about a community” prompt.)

For a full guide to “community” essays , head there, but here’s the short version:

STEP 1: DECIDE WHAT COMMUNITY YOU WANT TO WRITE ABOUT

Create a “communities” chart by listing all the communities you’re a part of. Keep in mind that communities can be defined by...

Place: groups of people who live/work/play near one another

Action: groups of people who create change in the world by building, doing, or solving something together (Examples: Black Lives Matter, Girls Who Code, March for Our Lives)

Interest: groups of people coming together based on shared interest, experience, or expertise

Circumstance: groups of people brought together either by chance or external events/situations

STEP 2: USE THE BEABIES EXERCISE TO GENERATE YOUR ESSAY CONTENT

You’ll find detail on the BEABIES Exercise + a chart you can use at that link.

STEP 3: DO SOME “HOW WILL YOU CONTRIBUTE” RESEARCH

You’ll want to offer a few specific ways that show how the experience/s you’re discussing in your essay will allow you to contribute to Brown. The easiest way to do this is to do some “Why Us”-like research and find ways you’ll engage with and contribute to the Brown community. 

STEP 4: PICK A STRUCTURE (NARRATIVE OR MONTAGE)

Step 5: write a first draft.

This is a brand-new prompt for Brown this year, but here’s an essay, written for Columbia, that could have worked well for this prompt:

At family dinners over gnocchi and arancini, my grandpa would always ask my two older brothers how their education and sports were going. I’d wait for my turn, but the question was never directed my way. In contrast, my grandma always tells me how thankful she is that I’m able to get an education of my own. She frequently mentions how she regrets never getting an education. I pursue my education with a fire within me to do what she wasn’t allowed to. During the summer of 2021, I realized that I could impact other girls in a similar way by writing a children’s book about influential women in STEM in order to inspire the next generation of female scientists.  At Columbia University, I hope to contribute to the empowerment of women by creating a Society of Women in Science, hosting Alumni Panels, Graduate Student Q&A’s, and creating a safe space for women in similar majors to discuss their successes and setbacks. In addition, joining the Student Wellness Project will provide another community that prioritizes mental health. This empowering environment is the ideal place to help me develop as both a feminist and a scientist. — — —

View the prompt broadly. While this prompt offers you the perfect opportunity to explore the impact race, socioeconomic status, and other societal factors have had on you, don’t feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the prompt. As in the example above, where the student recounts her experiences with a cultural and generational divide, there are many experiences we’ve had that have shaped who we are. Some are deep, like being the only person of color at your high school, while others are more light-hearted, like having to learn to make your own grilled cheese at age 8 as a latchkey kid. Both are admirable in their own ways. Both may be really important to you. And both can make really effective responses.

Make campus connections. The second part of the prompt is as important as the first. While Brown wants to hear about your past experiences, they’re just as curious about how they’ll shape your time on campus, leaving the school better than as you found it. But remember, they probably want at least some (if not all) focus on outside-the-classroom experiences here, so dive into their list of student organizations and find a few that truly resonate with you and that you feel you could make a meaningful contribution to. The student above does just that with their reference to the Student Wellness project and how they expect to contribute.

Be a changemaker. Can’t find an organization at Brown you'd like to join? Create your own! The student in the example above plans to start their own organization and even outlines some of the specific events she plans to hold. It's clear she's done her research to see where the college might be lacking in female-centered organizations—and she's going to take the charge to correct that.

Tie the two together. Make sure your past connects with your future. That means tying the lessons from your childhood, preteen, and adolescent years with the contributions you're going to make on campus. The response above does a great job in doing that. As a young female who has, from a young age, been committed to empowering young women, it’s clear how this student is going to make a specific impact on Brown's campus community.

And here’s a bonus example for an older Brown prompt that works very nicely for the first half of the new prompt (Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you) but would need some changes/additions in the second half to address the second part of the prompt (what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community) :

Bonus Example:

“Why on earth do you have to volunteer at places like that?” My dad spoke abruptly during our drive home.  I had just finished working at an LGBT-friendly bar, raising funds for an LGBT workplace diversity campaign. As I walked out smelling like tobacco and beer, his face stiffened. But I knew what angered him more was that I’d turned down a volunteering opportunity at the UN and chosen the Beijing LGBT Center, an NGO he deemed illegitimate.  “Because...” I began. “I don’t want you to work there anymore.” Dreadful silence prolonged in the car. I was devastated that he didn’t approve of the work I’d prided myself in.  But I didn’t tell him these things. I hadn’t (and haven’t) come out to him yet.  I love my father. He’s the superman who let me ride on his shoulders, who spent his savings on providing me the best education possible, and who cried when I told him I was lonely in boarding school. But he didn’t want me volunteering at the bar. And I didn’t want to let him down. So I compromised. I never worked again at the bar. I could continue volunteering at the LGBT center, but not more than twice a week. And I should never discuss my work publicly.  As I gave in to my family’s wishes, my mind flashed back to my other queer activists who had not. A transgender woman, Qing, has a father who hasn’t spoken to her in ten years because she refuses to cut her long hair. Nana’s mother nearly disowned her because she married her girlfriend.  I’ve come to realize that activism isn’t just about marching in rainbow parades and running ambitious campaigns. It may involve conflicts with our loved ones who hold opposite beliefs. Upholding personal beliefs could lead to a broken family, and vice versa. There is not a right answer but only a matter of choice.  And that’s a painful lesson. (324 words) — — —

Bring it back to you. Although the prompt asks you to talk about a perspective you encountered that was different from your own, remember that the person reading your application ultimately wants to know more about you. This writer centers her essay around her father’s disapproval of her LGBTQ+ advocacy/volunteer work. But she makes sure to bring their difficult conversations back to how it informed her own perspective and the compromises she had to make as a result of her father’s beliefs. Think about how you can weave yourself into the story as you write. Why? This will make you an active participant (rather than a passive observer) in your own story.

Consider the nuance. As you’re writing, you may be tempted to tie your response up into a neat little bow. It might seem nice to end on a happy or resolved note. But beliefs and values are complicated. We don’t normally encounter perspectives different from our own and immediately accept them. More often than not, difficult conversations end in some mix of compromise and disagreement. Don’t be afraid to talk about that tension in your essay. It can be fundamental to demonstrating your depth of character and maturity. Notice, for example, how this student openly admits to struggling with accepting her dad’s judgements—and how that vulnerability makes it easier to empathize with her. The ending is painful, and the student doesn’t shy away from sharing the messiness of her growth. When you’re writing, reflect on the kinds of conversations you have and what you learned from them. Even if you didn’t change someone else’s worldview, you can still have a topic worth writing about.

Incorporate dialogue (or don’t). This student does an excellent job of using the tough conversation she had with her father about her bar job as a way to illustrate their conflicting viewpoints, quickly hooking us into her narrative. When used effectively, dialogue can bring readers into the action in an interesting, evocative, and visceral way. Especially in answering a prompt like this about ideas, engagement, and communication, dialogue can be a useful literary tool (Brown even mentions dialogue in the prompt itself!). However, too much dialogue or mundane snippets of conversation can be boring, eating away at your already-limited word count. Use your best judgment and consider whether dialogue would be a smart storytelling device for you.

Show how this shapes your contributions. Because it was written for an older version of Brown’s prompt, the essay above lacks any “how will you contribute” details. But the student could easily do some research on organizations at Brown that connect to these past experiences and incorporate them into the end of the essay (probably by building a new paragraph after “And that’s a painful lesson”).

How to Write the Brown Supplemental Essay #3

This is another new one for Brown, but we find it to be very similar to Stanford’s old “what’s meaningful and why” and “what makes you generally excited about learning” prompts. Check out that crash course here for discussions and examples of those. When approaching this Brown prompt, think about these key phrases as you brainstorm a possible topic and go to write: “care deeply about their work and the world around them,” “contentment, satisfaction, meaning,” “daily interactions and major discoveries.” Seize on any one of those that speak to you. Maybe it’s a pet project you started to improve your community (care deeply), or a hobby you do for the fun of it (satisfaction, meaning), or even your mastery of derivatives and integrals (hey, that’s some students’ love language). Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something that truly brings you joy and that can generate 200-250 words of content.

Here’s an essay written for another school that would work well here.

Last summer, I became an addict. A pickleball addict. A pickler. I had once dismissed the game as an old dude’s sport, or merely just too hard. However, the game grew on me as I went from barely keeping the ball in bounds, to serving aces and hitting consistent put-away shots for hours on end. The game’s simplicity blew my mind, and I quickly became hooked. As the school year began, I couldn’t come to terms with the fact that I would only be able to play twice per week, instead of my usual five. So, I founded the Ralston Valley Pickleball Club, and it quickly transformed into one of the most populated clubs at school. Students from many different cliques and backgrounds come together weekly, whether through casual games or competitive, organized tournaments.  The staggering rate at which my peers formed new connections daily happily surprised me, as the game’s effects were not simply left on the Pickleball Courts: the hallways at my school reverberated with new conversations. By utilizing an unusual, inclusive sport, I was able to introduce my immediate community to the diversity all around them. (189 words) — — —

Consider starting with a powerful one-liner. The first sentence of this essay is cryptic, smart, and a little funny, and it makes you want to keep reading. The second and third sentence fragments are even better. The writer has barely written 10 words, and already we feel like we know so much about him. It’s a lovely beginning. Stumped on how to start this (or any) essay? This blog has some ideas that may help.

Use structure to highlight your narrative arc. Although this essay is short, the author has a clear story to tell. The story has distinct parts. He became interested in pickleball, founded a pickleball club because he enjoyed it so much, and spread his love of the sport to other members of his school community. Those are the points he’s trying to convey, and you can see them reflected in each of his paragraphs. Simple paragraph breaks like these can help you clarify your main points to your reader.

Emphasize uncommon values. This author picked a pretty cool topic, but he could have easily written a boring essay if he hadn’t connected it to interesting insights and values. When we think of sports, some words that come to mind might be physical health, athleticism, sportsmanship, or competition. However, reading this essay, we see the author has emphasized values that aren’t as commonly written about in sports essays, like simplicity, community, connection, and happiness. The essay takes us in an unexpected direction, which a) makes us want to keep reading and b) helps this essay (and applicant) stand out.

How to Write the Brown Supplemental Essay #4

Every written response in your application is a chance to be memorable and differentiate yourself from other applicants—especially other applicants with similar academic profiles. So with only three words at your disposal for your response, you want to make them count. In other words, in a pasture full of horses, be a little bit more zebra. While we’ve got a how-to guide for answering these short-answer questions for highly selective colleges that goes into more detail on these (and other) questions, keep reading for our take on how to get the most bang for your three-word buck. 

And check out the examples below to learn how much you can learn about a student in just three words.

Examples:  

Simple, Calculator, Wizard — — — Korean-food-loving, Taekwondo-Blue-Belt, Innovator — — — Fish, intuitive, hungry — — — Sondheim-loving, Tofu-eating, Noctivagant — — —

Avoid repetition and super-common descriptors. We know how tempting it is to put “creative, passionate, leader”—especially if those words fit you really well. Don’t give in to the temptation. Chances are, if you really are those things, they’re coming through loud and clear in other parts of your application. Don’t repeat them here. For the answers given above, don’t you find yourself wanting to know more about the students who wrote them? Exactly. Those words have done their job.

Hyphenated-words-are-OK-here. Don’t overdo it, though. But you can absolutely connect related descriptors, like the student’s “Korean-food-loving” submission above. It works because it’s all related to a singular idea. Still, use them sparingly and to enhance your answer, not to sidestep the prompt’s instructions.

Think beyond adjectives. Of course, your default reaction is probably to use adjectives. But as you’re thinking beyond those blah adjectives (see tip 1 above), why not think past adjectives entirely? Wizard. Noctivagant. Mulan. Thinking outside that adjective box can yield some pretty amazing (and highly visual) results. 

How to Write the Brown Supplemental Essay #5

Great news for you on this prompt: This is your all-purpose extracurricular activity essay (although you probably knew that already)—and you’ll likely be able to repurpose this essay for other prompts from other schools (or vice versa). 

If you’ve already written this essay for another application, then BOOM, you’re probably done (with maybe a little editing to fit word count). Starting from scratch? Then you can check out our deep dive on how to write a great extracurricular activity essay , or keep reading for our top tips for writing a strong essay in just 100 words.

Because this prompt is new, we don’t have any Brown-specific samples to show you. But the sample below was written in response to a similar prompt for Stanford (although with a longer word count), and they do a great job laying the foundation you can use for your own, shorter, essay.

Example:  

Whether it’s painting for a teenager getting out of rehab, dissecting the anti-war meanings behind Banksy’s street art, or dancing a Bharatnatyam piece that communicates how we’re all one and the same, I’ve seen first-hand art’s power to persuade, influence, and urge people to act.  My next project is a multimedia piece that speaks to an issue of utter importance to me: suicide prevention. My brother, a peer, and I are working on a campaign, with support from the national mental health organization SAVE and our school, with a call to action— share one reason worth living for each day.  To support the campaign, my piece will be centered around a dance choreographed to two poems focusing on the little beauties of life: “People Should Fall in Love More” by Courney Peppernell and “And In Wonder And Amazement I Sing” by the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore—sung in Bengali. Since those with suicidal tendencies often have racing thoughts, I want our piece to calm them with the steady beat of the tabla playing in the background. With each line, I plan to use hand gestures like Alapadma and Hamsasya, to wordlessly communicate the poems’ important messages of life, love and purpose.  I hope this audiovisual experience will inspire my audience with hope, so that they see the beauty in even small things. Using my art for action gives it meaning through impact. — — —

Value function (information) over form (flowery writing). This may seem like a no-brainer, but there’s a difference between writing a 100-word essay and writing an effective 100-word essay. With no extra words to spare, you need to be crystal-clear in conveying what you’ve done, and what you’ve learned as a result. The writer of this essay gets right to the point in the first line and uses every word to support their involvement. 

Be clear about your takeaways. Admission officers want to see clear growth from the activities you’re involved in, so don’t hesitate to show what your involvement in this activity meant to you. The author of this essay reveals what their art means to them—“Using my art for action gives it meaning through impact”—leaving no doubt about its importance.

Ignore the word count… at first. The problem with writing a 100-word essay is you think you have to start by writing a 100-word essay. Our top tip for writing? Overwrite. Make it long. Brain dump. Word vomit. Brainstorm. Whatever you like to call freewriting. Just dive in. The best 100-word essays almost always start at 250-300 words and then are ruthlessly but methodically cut down . When you (at first) ignore the word count, you’re more likely to include the deep stuff and the important stuff, and then you can trim out all the superfluous content. But when you write to word count from the get-go, you’ll probably miss the opportunity to add the real impact to your story.

As an extra-special bonus, here’s another Stanford essay written for a similar prompt. Again, while it’s too long for Brown, it does a great job of showing how meaningful this activity was to the student.

Bonus example:

The issue of educational injustice is deeply important to me. School closures during the pandemic exacerbated this inequality, with many public institutions staying closed the 2020-21 school year as opposed to their private school counterparts—their students’ educational experience being less optimal as a result. Seeing this disparity, I decided to start TutorDigital, a non-profit free tutoring and technology donation service for Bay Area students. My interest in tutoring began in middle school through volunteering as a peer tutor. In high school, I created a tutoring club, giving my peers the opportunity to help younger elementary students on financial aid with their homework. With the club being sidetracked by COVID-19, I tutored for 826 Valencia. This experience prompted me to transition my old club to a remote format, while also rebranding it with a friend: naming it TutorDigital, registering it as a non-profit, designing a website, and recruiting additional tutors. These efforts expanded our reach to include local public schools. Since then, we’ve provided tutoring services to 34 students and identified other opportunities to support public schools like donating upwards of 60 iPads. While the issue unfortunately will not be solved overnight, educational injustice must be aggressively addressed, now more than ever given the impacts of the pandemic. But for now, I gain great satisfaction from each thank you note from a parent or good grade achieved by a student, knowing my efforts have potentially improved the academic trajectory of these children and helped to address educational injustice in my community. — — —

How to Write the Brown Supplemental Essay #6

This prompt gives you the perfect opportunity to talk about what really lights you up and brings you joy. After all, if you’re going to be teaching a class for a whole semester, it’ll hopefully be on something you’re passionate about, right? So harness that passion and convert it into 100 impactful words. Regardless of the topic you choose, this is your chance to show what kind of thinker and planner you are and what new, unique, and exciting perspectives you’re going to bring to Brown. If you want to go into an even deeper dive on this essay topic, check out our longer guide at this link .

While these responses were written for other schools with different word counts, they’re great examples of how to approach your own response to Brown.

The Exalted Power of Music: How Our Ears Inspire Our Eyes Course Description: Music dominates our society–pop songs and singers are hugely influential in today’s time. But where else in our lives does the enchanting power of music hold influence? As we investigate and unravel the techniques of modern artists through a diverse slate of plays, cartoons, and films, we will discover the vital role of music in enhancing benchmark works of visual fiction. Simultaneously, through philosophical readings of Walton and Nietzsche, we will analyze the emotional and physiological effects of music, examining the dynamic interplay of visual and auditory elements. Finally, students will synthesize their research to create a short film or multimedia piece that displays their knowledge of visual aspects, music's attributes, and their combined impact on a universal audience. — — —

Remember the “or otherwise” part of the prompt. It’s tempting to go super-academic in response to this prompt, and that can definitely work well, but just remember they’re holding space here for you to show your creative, fun side, too. In the sample above, personal interests shine brightly through the “Exalted Power of Music” topic as the student dives deeply into fascinating (to our minds) aspects of what they’d explore.

Demonstrate your expertise. Regardless of what direction you take your response in, highlight your knowledge. Mentioning required readings (like the author does in the first example) positions you as a curious expert. Bonus: Finding pieces that are slightly off-topic from your course can be a great way to make uncommon connections and help your response stand out. 

Ask questions. Even simply asking smart questions can demonstrate your out-of-the-box thinking. Not only do they illustrate the deeper topics that get your brain humming, but they also show the critical thinking that Brown expects (and hopes to cultivate) on campus. The example above doesn’t have to do this, but keep in mind that a complex, intriguing question can often be more interesting than an answer.

And here’s a different example, again written for a different school’s prompt (that focuses on a single seminar, rather than a course), that illustrates a different possible approach.

Whenever I received birthday money from family or friends as a small child, my father, being a frugal man, would deposit it into my bank account. This became a running joke in the family, with my mom’s step-dad affectionately calling him “jingles.” Despite my complaints, I always assumed my father was ultimately right, doing something that would benefit me financially in the long run. Then I read John Maynard Keynes’ “Paradox of Thrift.” According to Keynes, we might have been wrong. Keynes asserts individual saving is bad for the overall health of the economy, negatively affecting the individual. For instance, say my grandmother gives me $20. If I save it, aggregate consumption decreases by $20, reducing firms’ planned investment, expecting $20 less to be spent on their goods. As a result, they need less labor, either causing layoffs or wage cuts which could adversely affect my grandmother, preventing her from giving me money on my next birthday and causing me to save less. Keynes’ theory demonstrates that saving can actually reduce saving, hence the “paradox.” My Flash Seminar would address Keynes’ theory, specifically how we forget to consider the aggregate impacts of our actions. From spending birthday money to taking shorter showers to bringing a reusable water bottle to school, Keynes’ theory illustrates how seemingly insignificant choices have large cumulative effects, something I’d want to pass along to my audience with the hope of persuading them to think less about themselves and more about the whole. — — —

How to Write the Brown Supplemental Essay #7

While it’s not easy to distill into 50 words why you want to spend your next four years at Brown, it’s not impossible, either. 

Since you’re writing an academic “Why Us” for the first Brown prompt, you should already being doing research that can set you up here. (Side note: If you haven’t checked out our step-by-step guide to writing the “Why Us” essay, check it out at this link .)

This Brown prompt, at just 50 words and one sentence, is a mini-version of this “Why Us” essay, honing in on just one (maybe two) unique aspects of Brown that you’re drawn to. While you can include academic and extracurricular activities in your response, avoid covering common topics, like the open curriculum (you’ve already written about it) and passing through the Van Wickle gate. Instead, the best answer is going to incorporate why You + Brown = The Perfect Match.

Here’s a nice example written for Stanford that packs a lot of answers to “Why” in this pint-sized word count.

Loving my favorite lines of Latin poetry for their ingenious manipulation of language, I anticipate studying comedy—humankind’s most clever use of language—through the Making Fun of History: Insults, Mockery and Abuse Language in Antiquity IntroSem.  — — —

Dig deep to find your “Why.” Really go through Brown’s website. Find (and read) a course syllabus. Check out student reviews. Check out expert reviews. What are they saying about what sets Brown apart from all others? You might be surprised at some of the answers. Then take what you’ve learned to connect it back to you. After all, Brown knows why they’re great. But they don’t know why they’re great for you. The author of our sample essay above clearly demonstrates they understand how a past classroom favorite will connect to coursework and the college—and why it’s a perfect fit for them.

Have some fun in your answer. We know this feels like a big risk in a high-stakes situation, but you can absolutely (and effectively) show your personality in these answers. In our sample essay above, beyond seeing the connection between their interest (language) and the college’s offerings, we come away knowing a little more about the author—like, we’re pretty sure they have some wicked-good comeback lines. 

Get right to the point. With such a limited word count, this is no time to wax poetic or include intros or conclusions. Cut things like “I want to attend Brown because.” Use contractions. It’s OK, we promise. 

And here are a couple more examples, without analysis, just to give you other directions to head in.

Interdisciplinary research at the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science (SIMES), a space where I can collaborate with students in many different majors and work on an issue very important to me, climate change, through research projects such as analyzing “gold-cage” perovskites with tunable light absorption . — — —  I am thrilled to audition for the Stanford Swing Dancers, since I am trained in ballet, ballet folklórico, hip-hop, contemporary, tap, jazz, salsa, tango, ballroom, and some African styles, and I am almost always moving and would be delighted to broaden my repertoire. — — —

How to Write the Brown PLME Supplemental Essays

If you’re applying to other BS/MD programs, we have an in-depth BS/MD guide here , built from advice from BS/MD admissions readers. For examples and analysis from Brown’s PLME program, keep reading.

How to Write the Brown PLME Prompt #1

Required for applicants to the PLME (Program in Liberal Medical Education) 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)

This prompt is specifically for prospective students who want to apply to Brown’s combined BA and MD eight-year program (more details here ). This program encourages students to take classes in a variety of different disciplines as they prepare for a career as physicians or medical scholars. Here, the school asks you to consider why you’re drawn to medicine and reflect on the values/experiences that shaped that interest. Brown is a big proponent of academic exploration and interdisciplinary curiosity. While those principles are still important in the PLME program, committing to a specific career path right out of high school is a big deal, and Brown wants to make sure you’ve thought deeply about it before jumping right in.

Here’s a great example essay:

The two things I love most are science and talking. Unfortunately, they don’t always align. But I’ve gotten a taste for their intersection in both research and teaching.  As a volunteer lab assistant at the University of Illinois, I helped researchers with projects—everything from collecting ice for materials storage to compiling data on pancreatic cysts. As a student for Dr. Rubin’s Mini Medical School, a local program that fosters high school students’ interests in the world of medicine I learned basic factoids (the anatomy of various organs, how to insert an IV, how to suture, how to cast, and how to read an X-Ray, among other things).  But the following year, after becoming a TA for the program, my eyes were opened to the significance of developing good communication skills, especially humorous dialogue, in the medical field. When I was teaching students, I frequently needed to identify ways to encourage conversations as part of the curriculum.  When teaching about baby delivery, I started by asking who was familiar with the Kardashians. After a group discussion on the pseudo-royal family, I would slip in references to the lesson (the nutrients contained within a placenta) by asking if they were all aware of the fact that Kourtney had ingested hers. My goal as a physician is to connect people and medicine in creative and beneficial ways. While studying the sciences I want to keep learning, teaching, and encouraging conversations, and therefore, connections. (240 words) — — —

Make uncommon connections. A lot of people want to be doctors, but if you can find a way to connect that career goal to uncommon values, it’ll be easier for you to stand out. This student talks about the importance of clear communication and humor in relation to wanting to be a physician—values we might not normally associate with the profession. He ties those values to tangible anecdotes about Kardashian baby delivery analogies and teaching other students as a TA. Everyone who answers this prompt is essentially going to be writing about the same topic (wanting to be a doctor), but if you can find unique personal values to embed in your essay, you’ll have a better chance of standing out.

Emphasize past experience. Notice that this author is coming in with some prior experience in the world of medicine. This helps us get confidence that he’s basing his career choice on real-world insights. Only 50 people get accepted into the PLME program each year, so Brown really wants to make sure you know what you’re getting into and have solid reasons for why you deserve a spot at its institution for eight years. It’s crucial that you emphasize what you’ve done to develop your current interest in medicine as well as the skills you’ve learned along the way. For this student, his past experience helped him learn basic “factoids,” like how to suture, cast, and insert an IV. It also gave him an appreciation for effective scientific communication and how to practice that communication in a clinical setting.

Consider the future. While it’s important to draw on past experience in this essay, it’s equally important to think about where a professional medical degree would take you in the future. This student’s goal is to use his degree to “connect people and medicine in creative and beneficial ways.” You don’t have a huge word count, so your discussion of the future can be broad like this example (although this student could have dug a little deeper on the “right fit for you” aspect of the prompt). Just give your reader a sense of what you’re working toward so that they know what motivates and inspires you in this particular field of study.

How to Write the Brown PLME Prompt #2

Required for applicants to the PLME (Program in Liberal Medical Education) Health care is constantly changing, as it is affected by racial and social disparities, economics, politics, and technology, among others. 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)

At first glance, this prompt may seem intimidating, since the topic is politically, socially, economically, and culturally charged. But solid brainstorming techniques will help you break this essay down into smaller chunks. Before you start writing, identify a current problem in the healthcare system that means something to you (Ex. lack of transparency about medications, accessibility challenges for low-income students, etc). Try this technique:

Step 1: Write that problem down on the center of a piece of paper.

Step 2: Draw lines off it to the right and left. 

Step 3: At the ends of the lines on the left, brainstorm reasons why that problem bothers you (Ex. I’m a student, and I have trouble getting my medications, so this is a personal problem). 

Step 4: At the ends of the lines on the right, brainstorm ways you could address that central problem (Ex. federal regulation, fewer financial incentives for doctors to prioritize wealthier patients, etc). 

Step 5: As you build out your mind map, start to identify the bones of your eventual essay:

Reasons why it affects, concerns, bothers, or motivates me

Potential solutions to make a positive impact

Your essay doesn’t necessarily have to be that linear, but having these basic building blocks will help you to make this broad prompt more digestible.

Here’s an essay we love that was written for another school but could work well for this prompt. While it would have to be 200 words shorter for this year’s Brown prompt, the content, structure, and specificity are the key takeaways.

People should not have to pay extraordinary prices for necessary emergency treatment in the United States. If doctors turn patients away because they can’t pay, what’s the point of the profession? I want to become a doctor and create structural changes within the United States healthcare system to transform the medical field. My interest wasn’t initially as firm as it is now, rather I was just curious at the beginning. I dedicated hours to explore the medical field. After I became eligible in the middle of my junior year, I applied, interviewed, and was accepted as a volunteer at AMITA Health Hospitals. In March, I got my vaccinations and fulfilled the requirements to volunteer; however, COVID-19 struck—the program was shut down. Despite this obstacle, I persisted. I virtually shadowed doctors and continued learning about the medical field through Virtual Pre-medicine Shadowing and the BRAINterms Summer Seminar Series.  The experience of Trauma Surgeon Dr. Brian Williams and his surgeries for gunshot wounds impacted me. It was the first time I was exposed to images of gunshot wounds. I had never imagined myself before being able to save people who had experienced such horrible injuries. He dealt with such difficult cases on a daily basis, but rather than it frightening me, I wanted to take up a similar challenge. The joy Dr. Williams expressed when telling stories of the patients who lived made me realize what an honor it is to have the expertise over life and death.  The cascade of information from the lives of actual doctors made me realize that I wanted to be one myself. So, how could I help people or get involved if I couldn’t treat patients directly? As a junior, I took Advanced Biological Systems in order to expand my foundational knowledge of biology, but I had a desire to learn beyond the classroom. I wanted to deeply dive into biology and the medical aspect of the field, so I cold emailed professors in hopes of pursuing an internship through IMSA’s Student Inquiry and Research Program. I was accepted by Dr. Daniel C. Lee at Northwestern University and am currently interning there. Learning about the functions of the heart as well as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was fascinating and solidified my interest in biology.   A degree in Healthcare Management & Policy would allow me to further understand my interests in policy and medicine. I’d be able to learn about the intersection of those two interests with the Georgetown curriculum through the health policy analysis track with a pre med concentration. The major would prepare me for my future aspirations as a doctor and a policy maker working to change health care legislation, and it would allow me to pursue research and internship opportunities with more understanding of my favored fields of study. (465 words) — — —

Start with the problem. In this essay, it’s really easy to find the healthcare problem that the student is addressing because it’s in his first paragraph. Right from the start, we know he’ll be talking about making prices more equitable in the healthcare system. It helps orient the reader and contextualize the rest of his essay. You don’t want your reader to be confused or have to search for your thesis in the body of your response.

Talk about yourself. This might seem obvious, but it’s easy to forget to do this when answering this kind of prompt. Many students get so sucked into identifying and describing problems that they forget to discuss what unique solutions they’d bring to the table. This student first makes it clear what frustrates him about the healthcare system, then he delves into his personal experience volunteering at AMITA Health Hospitals and shadowing a trauma surgeon. He also mentions specific high school classes and research opportunities that prepared him for studying medicine. He smoothly transitions from the problem to his academic background. Remember, this is your application, so don’t shy away from discussing your accomplishments. That being said, don’t lose track of answering the prompt as you talk about yourself. In the end, this student circles back to the original problem and discusses how a degree in Healthcare Management & Policy would help him take action in the medical field through policy implementation. Had he been writing to this prompt, he could have expanded more specifically on what policy measures he’d take to effect positive change. The more you can do to show you’ve done your research and are prepared to take real action, the better.

Emphasize persistence. One aspect of this essay that really stands out is the student’s grit and determination in making the most out of the opportunities available to him. Even though his volunteering job was interrupted by COVID, he made the most of his opportunities by signing up for external seminars and virtually shadowing doctors. Even though he was disturbed by the gunshot wounds he observed Dr. Brian Williams treating, he turned it into a source of ambition and motivation. He advocated for himself by cold-emailing professors, and landed a great college-level internship. Whenever you can, show how you overcame obstacles or worked with what you had in a meaningful way. It’s not about what’s handed to you, it’s about making the effort to reach for what may be just outside your grasp.

How to Write the Brown PLME Prompt #3

Required for applicants to the PLME (Program in Liberal Medical Education) How do you envision the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) helping you to meet your academic personal and professional goals as a person and as a physician of the future? (250 word limit)

Think of this one as another “Why us?” prompt, but this one’s all about the PLME program. Here are some steps you can take as you prepare to write this prompt:

Step 1: Do your research. If you haven’t already, do a deep dive into the program, looking for courses and opportunities that appeal to you. How do you see yourself taking advantage of those offerings? What “why me” elements can you add in connecting what you’ve already done with what you hope to do in Brown’s PLME program? 

Step 2: Take a moment to think through what “your academic personal and professional goals as a person and a physician of the future” are. The prompt is essentially asking to learn more about two aspects of your aspirations: How do you want to grow (academically) as a person in the PLME? And what are your professional goals as a future doctor? 

Step 3: Make a copy of this chart to map out your research.

Step 4: As you write, think about dividing the essay into two parts: the first outlining your personal and professional goals, and the second using specifics (courses, professors, research opportunities, etc.) to show how you expect the PLME program to help you attain those goals.

Here’s a nice example of a student who did just that. While the example below was written for when the word count was 500, it nicely illustrates your goal with specific details and “so whats”, and would just need cuts.

Throughout preschool, I was only fluent in Tamil, so I carried a bright green piece of paper covered with crayon scribbles and coffee stains. Wrinkled beyond perception, it was my key to communicating with those around me. Over the course of two years, my mother had written translations that would enable my teachers to understand what I was saying at any given point in time.  After that green paper had come and gone, I started to notice new ones appear every once in a while. First, it was just a simple guide on verbs in Spanish, then it was a trigonometry review in Precalculus, until finally it was my formula sheet for Chemistry. At this point in time, the green sheet of paper represented a bridge between two worlds: one that was unknown and one that was familiar. Since I valued it so much, I made it my goal to become such a bridge. As a hospital volunteer, I spoke in Spanish, Telugu, and Tamil in order to help visitors find what they were looking for. This is where my interest in the medical field stems from—forming connections. My goal, as a physician, is to better my patients’ social and emotional health in addition to their physical well-being. PLME will give me the opportunity to explore my interests in a shorter, more structured timeframe, while also encouraging growth in various fields during my two years as an undergraduate student participating in medical school coursework. I hope to take part in Brown’s study abroad programs (if Covid allows it!), participating in extensive learning in places like Argentina and Japan. I’m very eager to study biology and medicine through the lens of new cultures. Additionally, within Providence, I’d be privileged to lend my skills to the Community Health Advocacy Program. At Brown, I want to continue my love of research. When I was a research assistant at the University of Illinois, I collected data on pancreatic cysts; but I would like the chance to participate in research on my particular interest in neural pathways and how they relate to cognitive function. I am especially intrigued by Dr. Sasaki’s work on how both the REM and NREM sleep cycles affect the learning process. I might also finally get the chance to conduct the study on total recall (not the movie) that I designed in my psychology class. From the limitless opportunities for exploration to a simultaneous science-oriented and clinic-oriented approach throughout my PLME experience, I’m confident that Brown will be a place in which I can thrive and become the bridge I have always sought to be— that green sheet of paper, connecting the known and unknown. (444 words) — — —

Connect to Brown’s resources. This essay isn’t just about you. It also isn’t just about Brown or the PLME program. “Why us?” = why you + why Brown/PLME. So try to craft a response that both demonstrates your unique interests and connects those to what the college/program has to offer. This student highlights her interest in traveling, translation, and connection in relation to medicine by talking about her experience volunteering at a hospital. She then connects those personal experiences to specific opportunities at Brown, like studying abroad in Argentina or Japan, participating in the Community Health Advocacy Program in Providence, and doing research on sleep cycles. We get a distinct sense of her excitement to engage with what the school has to offer. It’s specific to the PLME program and her love of medicine, but it also expands to the broader university. Getting as specific as possible about the clubs, labs, classes, majors, or professors you want to engage with will show that you’ve done your research—and that you’ve found lots at Brown to be excited about.

Explain your impact. The author here doesn’t just reference opportunities at Brown in passing; she does so with intention. Every time she mentions a campus organization, professor, or aspect of the PLME program, she explains why she’s interested in it and what she’d do with it as a resource. Writing about the contributions you see yourself making helps admission officers envision your impact on their campus environment. It also shows that you’re thinking through your involvement in the community on a deeper level, demonstrating a commitment to Brown’s core values.

Make your structure clear and logical. This essay is easy to follow because separate thoughts and experiences are grouped in separate paragraphs. The first few are more about how the student developed an interest in medicine as a kid/young adult. The next few are about Brown and the PLME program resources she’d want to take advantage of. And the last paragraph is more broadly about her goals and why she wants to become a physician. These clear paragraph/content delineations make the essay easy to read and understand in the context of the prompt.

How to Write the Brown RISD Program Supplemental Essays

How to write the brown risd prompt #1.

Required for applicants to the Brown|RISD Dual Degree Program: 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. (650 words)

Brown and RISD’s Dual Degree program is no joke. Only about 15-22 students are accepted each year out of a large pool of applicants. To get on your reader’s radar, this needs to be a stand-out essay. Think of it sort of like a personal statement + ”Why us?” hybrid. And just like for your personal statement, great brainstorming is key. Here are some of our favorite brainstorming exercises to get you started:

Essence Objects Exercise : 12 min.

Values Exercise : 4 min.

21 Details Exercise : 20 min. 

Everything I Want Colleges to Know About Me Exercise : 20 min.

The Feelings and Needs Exercise : 15-20 min. 

Remember, you want your Dual Degree essay to be distinct from your personal statement and your other Brown supplemental essays. It’s okay if certain themes or values overlap or intersect, but try to talk about something you haven’t already covered in other parts of your application. Here are some general tips as you start writing:

Do your research! After brainstorming about yourself, explore the university’s website. What courses would you want to take? What concentrations interest you? What clubs or sports teams could you be a part of? Really think through the way you’d structure your experience at the two universities. Your reader won’t be able to envision you in the program if you can’t envision yourself there.

Make interdisciplinary connections. That’s what this program is all about: finding unique ways to marry an undergraduate education in something like Public Policy, Economics, History, or Arabic to an interest in a specific artform or style like Silkscreen, Film, or Industrial Design. Your reader needs to know how you’d benefit from an education at both RISD and Brown. What could you do with skills from both institutions that you couldn’t do by attending just one of these schools? That’s a question you should be looking to answer in your response.

Details! Be specific. The more visceral details you can share about yourself and what you’re discussing, the better you can distinguish yourself from the other applicants. Use memorable language and evoke unique images that are likely to stick with admission officers.

Remember, sometimes, the key to writing is getting started. Your first draft doesn’t have to be perfect. When in doubt, write it long, then cut it later after you’ve gotten all your thoughts on paper. The goal here is to emphasize your personal values and experiences, then tie those to the specific resources of the Dual Degree program and how you’d make use of them. Of course, this is easier said than done, but great planning, research, and brainstorming will set you up for success.

With all these tips and examples in mind, you’re ready to start writing the Brown supplemental essays!

Special thanks to Julia for writing this blog post.

Julia published her first “book” on the elusive Pika in elementary school and has been writing fervently ever since. She’s thrilled to unite her quirky love of grammar and master’s in psychology to help students tell their most meaningful stories. Her favorite punctuation mark is the apostrophe because, in the words of Imagine Dragons, it’s “a symbol to remind you that there’s more to see.”

Top values: Collaboration | Family | Productivity

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 3 top tips for writing stellar brown supplemental essays.

College Essays

Brown admits around 5% of its total applicant pool every year. If you want to be one of those admitted students, you'll need to write amazing Brown essays as part of your application.

In this article, we'll outline the different types of essays you need to write for your Brown University application and teach you how to write a Brown supplement essay that'll help you stand out from the thousands of other applicants.

What Are the Brown Essay Prompts?

Brown requires you to complete a total of three short-answer questions if you're applying to its undergraduate program. If you're applying to Brown's eight-year medical program or the five-year dual degree from RISD, you will have to write additional essays , which we'll also cover in this article.

Each of the three undergrad Brown essay prompts has a 250-word limit . For the three additional essays for the Brown medical program, two have a word limit of 250 and one has a word limit of 500 . For the dual degree RISD program, there's only one extra essay, with a 650-word limit .

All these essays are specific to the Brown application—you won't find them on any other college or university's application.

They're also all of equal importance and should be treated as such. Each of your Brown essays should be the strongest example of your work.

The Brown essay questions offer you plenty of opportunities to show off your qualifications as an applicant and wow the admissions committee.

2022-2023 Brown Supplement Essay Questions

All first-year applicants to Brown are required to answer the following Brown supplement essay 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)

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)

If you're applying to Brown's eight-year Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) or five-year Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program (BRDD) you must complete the special program essays.

Three essays are required for applicants to the PLME:

Committing to a future career as a physician while in high school requires careful consideration and self-reflection. What values and experiences have led you to believe that becoming a doctor in medicine is the right fit for you? (250 word limit)

Health care is constantly changing, as it is affected by racial and social disparities, economics, politics, and technology, among others. How will you, as a future physician, make a positive impact? (250 word limit) 

How do you envision the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) helping you to meet your academic personal and professional goals as a person and as a physician of the future? (250 word limit)

And one longer essay is required for applicants to the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program:

The Brown|RISD A.B./B.F.A. 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. (650 word limit)

All the 2022-2023 Brown Supplemental Essays, Analyzed

In this section, we'll be looking at the 2021-2022 Brown essay prompts in depth.

Remember that with the Brown prompts, you don't get to choose which essay you would like to write —you need to answer all the questions required for your particular program of study.

Let's take a look at each of the Brown essay questions and go over how you can write something meaningful for each.

Brown Essay Prompt 1

This essay question is fairly straightforward. Brown wants to know what you're interested in pursuing academically, where those interests comes from, and how you plan to explore it at Brown—specifically, through Brown's Open Curriculum .

You need to understand what Brown's Open Curriculum means before writing this essay. Research Brown's academic model so that you can speak about it confidently and accurately.

Although Brown makes it clear that you may write about more than one subject, we suggest limiting yourself to one or two topics . 250 words is not that many—you'll want to speak in depth about your interests and you simply won't have that ability if you choose more than two.

Try to share a personal experience that relates to your potential area of study. For instance, if you want to study English literature, you could talk about a family trip to London that piqued your interest and how you want to take advantage of specific literature classes at Brown. Or, if you're studying math, you could talk about how winning a competition felt like an incredible reward for years of hard work.

Finally, the prompt also asks how you’ll use the Open Curriculum to embrace topics you’re unfamiliar with, so your response needs to show that you’re considering how to expand your academic interests to include new topics while at Brown. For instance, say your core interest is in biology but you want to integrate that with visual arts in the future. Writing about your desire to explore science through the lens of art will show that you’re prepared to use the Open Curriculum to make meaningful connections across academic disciplines, which is a core value at Brown. 

Brown Essay Prompt 2

This essay prompt is asking you to tell a story that showcases how you respond to differences and challenges when you come face-to-face with them outside of the classroom. Brown wants to know that you’re committed to intellectual engagement and dialogue with your peers not only in the classroom, but outside of it too. 

Your response here is your chance to show that you’ll be an active participant in the intellectual community at Brown even when you’re not in class . To do this, write about an experience you’ve had addressing tough issues or exploring complex ideas with people in your community, whether that’s with your friends, family, a faith community, an online group, or somewhere unexpected! 

Don’t mistake this prompt for an invitation to outline your political affiliations or beliefs. Instead, you should describe a specific scenario in which you were challenged by a new or different perspective. Highlight who was involved, how the situation emerged, and, most importantly, how you responded. Brown wants to hear about what you learned from this experience and how it changed you. 

The way you responded to the challenge will give Brown a window into your ability to engage with different perspectives. Are you willing to argue your perspective while remaining kind and empathetic? Do you fly off the handle and leave the conversation when you’re challenged? Your response to this question will help Brown see what kind of community member you’ll be as a student at Brown. Make sure your response shows that you’ll fit right in.

For more tips on writing the "Why Brown?" essay, check out our full guide .

Brown Essay Prompt 3

This is the fun prompt and a chance to let your personality and the experiences that have most influenced you win the admissions committee over.

You should write from the heart. The admissions committee should feel your deep connection to whatever you choose to describe as bringing you joy .

Remember the old grade school axiom: show, don't tell. Rather than explaining the reasons why your special something brings you joy, tell a story that portrays you experiencing that joy in real-time . Include vivid descriptions of how the experience or thing makes you feel and what it is about it that makes you feel that way. 

Finally, try to make a connection between your joy-bringing thing and how you’ll find joy as a student at Brown. This will show Brown admissions that you’re prepared to find meaning in daily interactions and discoveries during your future at Brown, not just your past. 

Brown PLME Essay Requirements

Applicants to the eight-year PLME at Brown must complete three special program essays.

PLME Essay Prompt 1

Make your answer as specific as the prompt itself. Choose a real-life example to describe here, which can be anything from a personal experience to a news story you followed closely.

Being authentic will make this essay really shine. Don't say that you want to be a physician for the job stability or the chance to be featured in a medical journal. If you have never seen a person suffering from cancer up close, don't pretend that you have—the admissions committee will smell inauthenticity from a mile away.

Instead, truly reflect on something medically related that impacted you . Maybe you had a great experience with a doctor who helped you recover from a sports injury or loved interacting with your pediatrician who let you play with his stethoscope. Whatever you choose, it should be about you and how your experiences with medicine have impacted you, not what you think Brown wants to hear. 

PLME Essay Prompt 2

There are two prompt options here, and you only need to respond to one. While they seem very different at first, both of these prompts are essentially asking: how does inequity, either in society more broadly or in your personal experience, affect your perspectives on health care?

The first prompt asks you to write about how you will take social issues and inequities into consideration in your future as a physician in order to make a difference. This prompt can feel intimidating. How can someone outside the medical profession answer this prompt with honesty, integrity, and no guesswork?

Rest assured that there's no right or wrong answer here. The admissions committee is simply looking to see that you understand that there’s more to being a doctor than just doing surgeries and making diagnoses. Your response should show that you’re reflecting on how broader societal issues affect the work that doctors do , and how you’ll navigate those issues to make a positive difference in people’s lives. 

For instance, maybe you’re concerned about the spread of misinformation surrounding treatments for certain health issues. You could write about those concerns in your response, and talk about your dreams for what you might do to combat misinformation in healthcare in the future. You don’t have to know everything about the issues you choose to write about in order to make your response authentic --you just have to be honest, passionate, and mean what you say. 

The second prompt is actually quite similar. If there are things in your personal background that give you a unique perspective on healthcare, you should pick this prompt. These things don’t necessarily have to pertain to inequities, but if you have personal experience with social disparities, you can definitely write about that here. 

For instance, if your racial identity or economic situation impacted your family’s access to healthcare growing up and that motivated you to pursue a career in medicine, you can write about those experiences (to the extent that you feel comfortable). 

There are many other types of experiences that are applicable here as well. If you have a legacy of physicians in your family, you can write about how you want to carry on that tradition. 

The bottom line here is that whatever you choose to write about should truly be unique. This isn’t the place to write about how you loved your pediatrician or were inspired by the doctor who saved hundreds of people from contracting ebola. Your experience needs to be something that few other people have had. If something isn’t really jumping out at you, respond to the other prompt!

PLME Essay Prompt 3

For this prompt, you need to do your research about the PLME program at Brown. Don't be daunted by the length of the word limit—view it as an opportunity to show how much you know about the school.

The word limit for this essay is telling: the admissions committee at Brown wants to make sure that you are serious about the program—and serious for the right reasons. So be honest!

Reference professors you are excited to work with or classes that stand out as thought-provoking or supremely fun. What does Brown's medical program offer its students that other medical programs don't? Be sure to mention specific pieces of information.

You should also discuss why you're interested in PLME versus pursuing a typical undergraduate degree and then applying to medical school. PLME is a unique program, so highlight why this model is the right fit for you.

Brown-RISD Dual Degree Essay Requirement

One essay is required for applicants to the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program:

The Brown|RISD A.B./B.F.A. 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. (650 word limit)

For the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program essay, you'll need to pick out specific aspects of both Brown and RISD that appeal to you . Identify features of each school that you're attracted to, like particular classes or professors.

You should also indicate how you'll take advantage of each school. If you just wanted to study design, you'd apply to RISD. If you just wanted to study something else, you'd apply to Brown. So why do you want to go to both schools?

Describe how your work at one school will impact your work at the other. Perhaps your study of ancient Greek at Brown will inform the sculptures you make at RISD. You should depict how you see your studies at each school intersecting, and what this could possibly mean to the Dual Degree community and interdisciplinary research more broadly.

How to Write a Great Brown Supplemental Essay: 3 Tips

Regardless of which Brown supplemental essays you're responding to, you should keep in mind the following tips for how to write a great Brown essay.

#1: Use Your Own Voice

The point of a college essay is for the admissions committee to have the chance to get to know you beyond your test scores, grades, and honors. Your admissions essays are your opportunity to make yourself come alive for the essay readers and to present yourself as a fully fleshed-out person.

You should, then, make sure that the person you're presenting in your college essays is yourself. Don't try to emulate what you think the committee wants to hear or try to act like someone you're not.

If you lie or exaggerate, your essay will come across as insincere , which will diminish its effectiveness. Stick to telling real stories about the person you really are and not who you think Brown wants you to be.

#2: Avoid Cliches and Overused Phrases

When writing your Brown essays, try to avoid using cliches and overused quotes or phrases .

These include quotations that have been quoted to death and phrases or idioms that are overused in daily life. The Brown admissions committee has probably seen numerous essays that state, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Strive for originality.

Similarly, avoid using cliches, which take away from the strength and sincerity of your work.

#3: Check Your Work

It should almost go without saying, but you want to make sure that your Brown essays are the strongest possible example of your writing skills. Before you turn in your Brown application, make sure to edit and proofread your essays.

Your work should be free of spelling and grammar errors. It's a great idea to run your essays through a spelling and grammar check before you submit them.

You should also have someone else read your Brown essays. You can seek a second opinion on your work from a parent, a teacher, or a friend. Ask them whether your work represents you as a student and person. Have them check to ensure you haven't missed any typos or small writing errors. Having a second opinion will ultimately help your work be the best it can possibly be!

Recap: Key Tips for the Brown Supplement

The Brown supplemental essays cover a wide range of topics. Regardless of the questions you're answering, remember to follow these basic dos and don'ts as you're writing your essays:

• Be authentic and honest.
• Be specific when citing people, places, and experiences.
• Do your research about Brown and its unique academic model.
• Base your essays on what you think the Brown application committee wants to hear.
• Use cliches or broad sweeping statements.
• Try too hard to be funny and original—be genuine and your positive attributes will be visible to the committee

What's Next?

If you're getting ready to apply to college, it's time to learn what colleges expect from you . This article will help you better target your application to suit what each school you apply to is looking for.

Worried about how to write an amazing college essay? Read our step-by-step guide on how to write a college essay and take a look at our analysis of 100+ real college essays to get a feel for what colleges want—and don't want—to read in an application.

Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females.

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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 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?

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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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Writing the Brown Supplemental Essays 2021-2022

Padya Paramita

July 13, 2021

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 2021-2022.

The admissions officers at Brown look for students who have a deep love for community involvement, are keen to make an impact, and 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 2021-2022 to the best of your abilities. 

Prompts for the Brown Supplemental Essays 2021-2022

The Brown Supplemental Essays 2021-2022 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 an academic interest (or interests) that excites you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue it. (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. 

Check out all supplemental essay prompts here!

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.

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 2021-2022 . 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 which 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.

Three essays are required for applicants to the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME):

Committing to a future career as a physician while in high school requires careful consideration and self-reflection. What values and experiences have led you to believe that becoming a doctor in medicine is the right fit for you? (250 word limit)

There are many ways in which you might have explored your interest in medicine while in high school: this could be through taking the most challenging STEM courses, interning at medical or science-related organizations, or participating in relevant extracurricular activities, to name a few. You can demonstrate your commitment by elaborating on experiences that have prepared you for a career in medicine, topics that you enjoyed the most in your STEM classes, or values that ideal physicians require that you believe you capture.

The dedicated admissions team looks for students who have displayed strength in STEM subjects and have demonstrated a clear interest in pursuing medicine. So don’t just write about how you shadowed a doctor or loved your biology class. Your essay should convey that you’ve put serious thought into the idea of going to medical school and are ready to commit yourself to this grueling profession. Focus on your own unique angle within medicine. You’re applying to one of the most selective programs in the country. You must stand out. Don’t fall into the pool of typical pre-med candidates. 

Most people describe a career as a physician/doctor as a "profession", beyond a job. Describe for us what "professionalism" and "the profession of a physician/doctor" mean to you. (250 word limit)

This essay should be divided into two parts. In the first part, go deeper into what “professionalism” means to you. You can talk about holding yourself to a high standard of integrity, honesty, and commitment. You can use an example of ways you have learned about adapting professionalism into your life. You don’t have to use instances from STEM-related classes or activities to have learned about professionalism. If your work assisting the school librarian taught you about professionalism, the reader will appreciate learning about a different layer of your experiences. 

When addressing the actual profession of a physician/doctor, talk about what continues to draw you to the medical profession. PLME wants students who recognize the importance of doctors working with their community, and specifically with different people. As a result, you should prioritize your ability to connect with people across social, economic, and cultural boundaries in your writing through use of concrete examples. 

Don’t talk about how much doctors earn, or Grey’s Anatomy as your reason for choosing the profession. You’re not writing a dictionary entry either—you shouldn’t define professionalism generally. It’s about demonstrating the meaning that you find in professionalism and the medical profession.

How do you envision the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) helping you to meet your academic, personal, and professional goals as a person and as a physician of the future? (500 word limit)

First and foremost, you must be well-versed in PLME’s curriculum, requirements, and goals. Once admitted to the program, you are not only guaranteed acceptance to Brown for college, but into the Warren Alpert Medical School upon graduation, without having to take the MCAT. You must also be a good fit for Brown as well as for the PLME. 

Unsurprisingly, the program is highly selective—only 60 students are selected per class. To prove that you are indeed a worthy candidate for this opportunity, you need to outline your goals and appear confident in your knowledge of both Brown University and PLME.

Since the word limit is quite generous, you should write about all three types of goals the question asks for—academic, personal, and professional. Ask yourself questions to generate ideas about what to write. 

Ask yourself the following questions on your experiences to get started on the brainstorming process:

• What are your career plans? How did you come to this decision?
• Why do you want to become a doctor in the first place?
• What experiences have prepared you for the PLME program?
• What are some examples of your interpersonal skills?
• How have you given back to your community?
• How would your teammates describe you?
• Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
• What are your biggest aspirations? 

Think about how attending Brown and specifically the PLME can help you attain your goals. What are you looking forward to the most about PLME? You can write about how the chance to conduct research with faculty from different disciplines at Brown can allow you to combine two passions: for example, medicine and economics, or medicine and political science. 

This essay is the perfect opportunity to show admissions officers that you are exceptionally motivated, passionate about medicine, and have done your homework when it comes to knowing how the PLME is a perfect fit for you.

One essay is required for applicants to the Brown|RISD Dual Degree Program:

The Brown|RISD A.B./B.F.A. Dual Degree Program provides an opportunity to explore your interests and prepare for the future in two distinct learning environments. Considering your understanding of both academic programs, describe how and why the specific combination of the art/design-focused curriculum of RISD and the wide-ranging courses and curricula of Brown could constitute an optimal undergraduate education for you. (650 word limit)

This prompt among the Brown supplemental essays 2021-2022 asks you to write a response the same length as your personal statement, so you have plenty of room to get your points across. This essay is your typical “why this school” question with the added twist of demonstrating knowledge in the unique offerings of not just Brown, but the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) as well. 

The generous word limit allows you to delve into your academic interests and goals. Admissions officers want to feel confident about a student’s knowledge of both schools and how they would take advantage of access to each institution’s course offerings. Expanding on the departments and courses you’re interested in each school is a great chance to show Brown that you have interdisciplinary interests and are excited to approach problems from different mindsets. 

To successfully write this essay, browse the curriculum offerings of both Brown and RISD. What activities or classes do you enjoy the most now that have led to your desire to study two different disciplines? You could write about how an optimal undergraduate education for you means studying both Photography at RISD and Public Policy at Brown in order to learn how art can affect changes in policy. Or you might lean more towards studying Computer Science at Brown and Furniture Design at RISD to get a better idea of the role technology plays in developing new designs. 

Support your desired majors with evidence from your current academics and extracurriculars to show that your decisions aren’t random. Have you already begun working on building an app that simulates furniture blueprints? When you’re not reading up on current policies are you busy at your school’s photo lab? Are there any connections between your two ideal fields that might not immediately meet the eye? Convince the reader of your authentic interest in the degree.

Moreover, emphasize (in a way that doesn’t repeat information from the first supplemental question) how a RISD education can add additional value to the Open Curriculum at Brown. Note that the question primarily asks that you focus on education and curricula, so while it’s okay to mention student organizations at RISD that you want to participate in, don’t dedicate entire paragraphs to extracurriculars at the two schools. 

Additional Tips for Answering the Brown Supplemental Essays 2021-2022

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 2021-2022 .
• 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 2021-2022 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 on 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 2021-2022 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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Brown University Supplemental Essays

Brown supplemental essays 2023-2024.

If you’re wondering how to get into Brown, a solid strategy begins with strong Brown supplemental essays. With most colleges and Ivy League universities going test-optional , your Brown supplemental essays are a great chance to stand out. 

The Brown University supplemental essays allow you to show the admissions team who you are and what you’d bring to campus. In this guide, we’ll take a look at the Brown essay prompts and provide you with some tips on how to best craft your Brown supplemental essays. 

Following our discussion of three Brown supplemental essay prompts, we will also showcase Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) program. This program allows students to combine an undergraduate and medical school education in just eight years. Applicants to this program must complete three additional specific Brown PLME essays. 

If you’re wondering how to write the Brown supplemental essays, then you’re in the right place. To write strong Brown University supplemental essays, you should first make sure you understand the prompts and requirements. So, let’s look at some quick facts about the Brown University supplemental essays. 

Brown Supplemental Essays- Quick Facts

• Brown University acceptance rate: 6% – Brown is a highly competitive school. 
• 1 half-page (200-250 word) “Why School” essay
• 1 half-page (200-250 word) essay
• 1 half-page (200-250 word) essay 
• 3 half-page (200-250 word) essays
• Brown application info: To apply to Brown, you must complete the Common Application. You’ll submit your Brown supplemental essays via the Common App platform.  
• November 1 for Early Decision 
• January 3 for Regular Decision 
• #1 Brown Essay Tip for how to get into Brown: Complete the Brown University supplemental essays thoughtfully and comprehensively. Use the Brown University supplemental essays to highlight why you are a great fit for Brown. Moreover, start early—begin drafting the Brown University supplemental essays and (if applicable) the Brown PLME essays well ahead of the Brown application deadline.

Please note that essay requirements are subject to change each admissions cycle, and portions of this article may have been written before the final publication of the most recent guidelines. For the most up-to-date information on essay requirements, check the university’s admissions website.

More details about Brown University

Brown University is a private institution located in Providence, RI. Founded in 1764, Brown University is one of the eight Ivy League schools. 

According to U.S. News , the Brown University ranking is #13 in National Universities. Additionally, the Brown University ranking comes in at #14 in Best Value Schools and #25 in Most Innovative Schools. The Brown University ranking reflects its strong performance across a variety of indicators. 

As a competitive school, the Brown supplemental essays are a vital part of the admissions process. To learn more about the Brown University acceptance rate, Brown University ranking, and Brown application deadline, check out our Brown University page . 

How many essays does Brown University require? 

So, how many Brown supplemental essays are required as part of the application? 

The Brown application requires a total of four essays, one of which is your Common App personal statement and the other three are the Brown University supplemental essays. The Common App essay is not just a Brown essay. Rather, it will be submitted through the Common App to all of your schools. There are also three shorter Brown supplemental essays. 

Essay requirements for specialty majors

Then, there are additional Brown supplemental essays for Brown University’s specialized undergraduate programs. If you are interested in applying to the PLME program , you will need to submit the three more required Brown PLME essays along with your Brown application. We will expand on the Brown PLME essays later in this guide. Like the three other required Brown University supplemental essays, the Brown PLME essays form an extremely important part of the application process. 

If you are planning to apply to the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program , you will need to write one additional Brown essay . Although we will not include the additional Brown essay prompt for the Dual Degree program in this guide, the Brown supplemental essays we cover below should give you enough direction to write this Brown essay. 

Understanding the Brown essay requirements

So, let’s review: most applicants will complete three Brown supplemental essays. If you apply to the PLME program, you will complete three Brown supplemental essays AND three Brown PLME essays, for a total of six Brown essays in addition to the Common App personal statement. If you are applying to the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program, you will complete one additional essay, for a total of four Brown supplemental essays, plus your Common App personal essay. 

For more information about the Brown PLME essays and Brown-RISD essay, check out our essay guide for those program-specific Brown supplemental essays. 

Brown University: PLME and Brown-RISD Essay Guide

In all your worrying about the Brown University supplemental essays, did you forget about your Common App essay? We’ve got you covered. After checking out the Brown supplemental essays, check out this article . In it, you’ll find 39 essay tips from CollegeAdvisor.com’s Admissions Experts on how to write a great college essay. 

What are the Brown supplemental essay prompts? 

In addition to the Common App personal statement, there are three Brown essay prompts to consider as you begin your “how to get into Brown” strategy . We will examine each of the Brown essay prompts below before we discuss how to write the Brown supplemental essays. 

Here are the required Brown University supplemental essays for the 2023-24 admissions cycle:

In each Brown essay, admissions should learn something new about the applicant. Successful Brown supplemental essays will share information about students that hasn’t been seen elsewhere in the application. Likewise, each response to the Brown University supplemental essays should highlight something different. 

Let’s take a closer look at the Brown supplemental essays. 

Brown Essay Prompt #1

The first Brown essay prompt might look easy at first glance. It asks you to address two things. First, this Brown essay prompt wants you to highlight one of your academic interests. Then, it wants you to explain how you will use the Brown Open Curriculum to your advantage as you explore your academic pursuits.  

Successful Brown University supplemental essays will refer to the specific qualities that only Brown can offer its students. If you do not know much about the Brown Open Curriculum , you’ll want to start there. The Brown Open Curriculum is unique to Brown University. It’s also one of the reasons the Brown University acceptance rate is so low—Brown’s unique teaching model attracts many hopeful applicants. 

With the Brown Open Curriculum, students at Brown can develop their own personalized course of study. Brown Open Curriculum essays should be unique and personal to each student. To write a strong Brown essay, you’ll want to explain how the Brown Open Curriculum will benefit you specifically in regard to your academic interest(s). 

We’ll check out some tips to write a successful essay for this first prompt later in this guide. However, on your own, it may be helpful to research a Brown Open Curriculum essay example in order to see what’s worked in the past. 

Brown Essay Prompt #2 

This Brown essay prompt is all about learning from your experiences. These Brown supplemental essays will likely focus on your communities and circumstances. What challenges did your experiences bring? How did you overcome, learn from, or adapt to the aspect of your life that you discuss? 

With this Brown essay prompt, you should also showcase what makes you unique. These Brown University supplemental essays should highlight how applicants will enrich the larger Brown community. Be specific in your response to this Brown essay prompt. Which community at Brown do you see yourself joining? Moreover, how exactly will you contribute to this community? Successful Brown supplemental essays for this prompt will allow admissions to envision the positive impact applicants will have on campus. 

Brown Essay Prompt #3

This Brown essay prompt is all about self-reflection, perspective, and compassion. How do you connect to the world around you? And, specifically, what makes you happy? Finding the joy in everyday things is a large part of each person’s well-being. Successful Brown supplemental essays will show that you can find joy in the simple things as a curious observer and participant in the world around you. 

Successful Brown supplemental essays will vary greatly. However, the goal of this Brown essay is the same as many other college essays: show admissions who you are and how you navigate the world. 

Do the Brown essays change?

In short, yes , the Brown supplemental essays can certainly change. Like at most universities, the Brown supplemental essays are subject to change each year. That’s why it’s important to check the admissions website for the most current information on the Brown University supplemental essays.

For example, this year, the wording of the first two Brown essay prompts slightly changed from last year. However, the third Brown essay prompt changed completely. The Brown University supplemental essays have maintained a similar word count from year to year, although they have varied slightly. This year, all the Brown supplemental essays have a limit of 200-250 words. 

Indeed, for any college application, always double-check the university’s admissions website so that you have the correct and updated information. Normally, the most current Brown essay prompts will be revealed in the summer before the admissions deadlines. 

Brown Supplemental Essays #1: Open Curriculum Essay

The first of the Brown University supplemental essays is about the Brown Open Curriculum. This Brown essay is the university’s take on the why school essay. So, a successful Brown Open Curriculum essay example will do what a successful why school essay does: answer “why Brown?” and “why you?”.

The purpose of a why school essay is to help the admissions committee understand the reasons why you want to attend this school. A strong why school essay, and why Brown essay, will incorporate specific details that relate to the school’s mission, values, opportunities, or programs. 

You’ll find similar versions of this why school essay prompt in the supplemental essays for NYU, Stanford, and UPenn. In order to write your best Brown University supplemental essays, you’ll want to look at Brown supplemental essays examples. You can read more about this type of college essay in our college essay examples guide . 

Let’s look at this first essay 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 pursue them at Brown.

Addressing this brown essay prompt.

As we mentioned earlier, the Brown Open Curriculum essay prompt is twofold. This Brown essay prompt asks you to elaborate on one of your academic interests along with how you will use the Brown Open Curriculum to pursue that interest. 

Before you start writing the first of the Brown supplemental essays, you will want to research the Brown Open Curriculum . You can look through Brown’s website to explore more facts about the Brown Open Curriculum and its unique attributes. While you are doing your research, take notes on what aspects of this offering excite you the most. 

Once you’ve learned more about the Brown Open Curriculum, you’ll want to start brainstorming . Think about how the Brown Open Curriculum can help you reach your own academic goals. To do this, you’ll first need to think about your own academic interests. Then you can tie it into the opportunities you’ll have with the Brown Open Curriculum. 

Are you interested in multiple academic fields or careers? What courses are you hoping to take to further these interests? Finally, how would the flexibility of the Brown Open Curriculum help you develop your interests? 

With only 250 words for the Brown Open Curriculum essay prompt, you’ll want to make every word of this Brown essay count. Get to the point quickly and provide specific examples about your academic interests and plans. Then, spend the rest of the Brown essay describing how the Brown Open Curriculum will help you pursue them. 

What is Brown Open Curriculum? 

The Brown Open Curriculum was first introduced in 1969 . From its founding, the Brown Open Curriculum was created by faculty and students to offer undergraduates the freedom to explore and combine ideas across disciplines. The Brown Open Curriculum gives students the flexibility to choose their own courses and be “the architect of their own education.” 

In other words, students are not required to complete a set of core courses for graduation. Instead, the Brown Open Curriculum allows students to create their own personalized course of study. 

Most students at Brown will sample a wide range of courses in various subjects before selecting one of Brown’s 80+ academic concentrations to study in-depth. As a result, the Brown Open Curriculum produces an intellectual environment where students can explore courses in all disciplines. 

The Brown Open Curriculum essay is Brown’s version of the Why School essay. That means that when approaching the Brown Open Curriculum essay, you’ll need to be specific with your examples. Additionally, you’ll need to show not only what you’d gain from the Brown Open Curriculum, but also what you’d bring to it. 

Brown Supplemental Essay #2

Next, let’s move on to the second of the Brown supplemental essays. 

The second of the Brown University supplemental essays is about how you see yourself within the larger community at Brown. The purpose of this type of essay is to show how you could make a positive impact on the campus community.  

Therefore, a strong response to this second prompt of the Brown University supplemental essays will address how you see yourself interacting with the diverse community at Brown. You’ll find a similar version of this Brown essay prompt in the supplemental essays for Duke University. 

Now, let’s revisit the second of the Brown supplemental essays prompt: 

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.

Although this Brown essay prompt is intentionally broad, there are a few ways to answer it. Think about what makes you a unique applicant. What aspects of your personality and perspective would you bring to the table at Brown? Additionally, how do you see yourself making an impact on campus? 

Successful Brown University supplemental essays will be reflective and show growth. Basically, how did your upbringing shape the way you interact, navigate, and contribute to the world around you? Of course, Brown supplemental essays will need to answer the prompt comprehensively. So, choose a moment from your upbringing that was either inspiring or challenging. Then, show how this learning will positively influence your experience at Brown. 

Brown Supplemental Essays #3

The third prompt of the Brown supplemental essays is all about being a curious and passionate learner. Rather than focusing on the university like in the previous Brown University supplemental essays, the whole purpose of this essay prompt is to learn more about you . Of course, in turn, strong Brown University supplemental essays will allow admissions to gain an understanding of what you’d bring to the campus and community. 

Let’s review the third of the Brown University supplemental essays:

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.

At first glance, this Brown essay prompt may seem intimidating. It’s unique and different from most college essays and the other Brown University supplemental essays. Basically, it’s not a why school essay. However, the intention of this essay is the same as the overall goal of all the Brown supplemental essays: stand out to admissions by sharing more of who you are.

Getting creative with your Brown supplemental essays

This Brown essay allows students to get creative. You could speak of the joy of brewing your first cup of coffee, or the simple routine of steeping your nighttime tea. Or, maybe it’s the interaction with the bodega owner that brightens your day, the smile from a stranger as they open the door for you, or talking with your mom while helping her make dinner. The topic for these Brown supplemental essays could be literally anything—as long as you show what brings you joy and why. 

Don’t shy away from getting creative when responding to this Brown essay prompt. Successful Brown supplemental essays will hook the reader from the start and keep them engaged throughout. Of course, don’t go off on an irrelevant anecdote when writing your Brown University supplemental essays. Rather, make sure to fully and comprehensively answer the prompts for each of the Brown University supplemental essays.

What does Brown Admissions look for?

Brown Admissions, like many colleges and universities, uses a holistic approach when evaluating each application they receive. However, Brown University is an Ivy League institution . Therefore, Brown University is considered a highly selective university. 

The Brown University acceptance rate is 6% . The average SAT score for admitted applicants at Brown is 1460-1570. Additionally, the average ACT score is 33 to 35. That being said, there are no official minimum requirements when it comes to GPA, and submitting standardized test scores is optional . However, as such a selective and prestigious university, Brown tends to attract exceptional applicants. This means that simply having good grades and impressive extracurriculars won’t guarantee admission: this is where impactful Brown supplemental essays can make a true difference.

Standing out in the admissions process

The admissions committee wants to see how you’ve taken advantage of the resources available at your high school and within your community. How have you fueled your intellectual curiosity throughout your adolescent years? What did you do to be an active learner and participant in your high school? What have you achieved? And, most importantly, how will you bring all those accomplishments and experiences to the Brown community? These are the types of questions admissions officers ask themselves when reviewing applications. Additionally, these are exactly the things that successful Brown supplemental essays will reveal. 

Because the Brown University acceptance rate is so low, it’s crucial that your Brown supplemental essays stand out. Crafting strong Brown supplemental essays can help boost your chances of admission to this elite university . 

Additional Brown Supplemental Essays

When applying to Brown, students will need to complete the Brown University supplemental essays (there are three!) as well as the Common App personal statement. However, if you’re applying to certain programs at Brown, you’ll need to complete additional Brown supplemental essays. 

If you’re interested in applying to the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program , then you’ll respond to one additional Brown essay in your application, making your total number of Brown supplemental essays four. Unsurprisingly, this Brown essay focuses on the applicant’s desire and motivation for applying to the dual degree program. The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is an art and design school. So, students will want to show the intersection of their artistic experiences, curiosity, and goals with their desire to have a liberal arts education. 

Additionally, students applying to PLME (Program in Liberal Medical Education) will respond to program-specific Brown supplemental essays. That means that PLME applicants will submit six Brown supplemental essays in total—three of the Brown supplemental essays required for all applicants and three Brown PLME essays. We’ll get into the PLME Brown University supplemental essays shortly, but first, let’s better understand the details of the actual program. After all, it would be quite challenging to write stellar Brown PLME essays without first understanding the program. 

What is Brown PLME?

Brown PLME is an eight-year program that combines a student’s undergraduate education with a medical school education. This program is unique to Brown University, and it is the only combined baccalaureate-MD program in the Ivy League. 

The PLME program is ideal for students who want a broad liberal arts education and who are committed to pursuing a future career in the medical field. Students who are accepted into the Brown PLME program can choose to pursue an AB or ScB degree in the sciences, or an AB degree in the humanities, social sciences, or behavioral sciences. 

Once PLME students complete their undergraduate program, they move directly to Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School . 

How to apply to Brown PLME?

If you are interested in applying to the PLME program, you will need to apply to both Brown and the PLME program at the same time using the same online application. This means that you must complete the three required Brown University supplemental essays in addition to the Brown PLME essays. Also, you must adhere to the same Brown application deadline for Early Decision (November 1) or Regular Decision (January 3). 

There are three additional Brown University supplemental essays that you will need to write if you are interested in applying to Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education or PLME program. All three of the Brown PLME essays are required for admission. 

Please visit the Brown PLME website for more information on how to apply. 

What are the Brown PLME essays? 

If you are interested in Brown’s PLME program, you will need to write the Brown PLME essays as part of your Brown application. So, you should start familiarizing yourself with the prompts.

Here are the prompts for the Brown PLME essays: 

How To Write The Brown PLME Essays

The Brown PLME program is a huge commitment. If accepted, you’ll be spending the next eight years completing your undergraduate courses and preparing for medical school. 

Therefore, it’s imperative that you show your desire and commitment to becoming a physician in each of your Brown PLME essays. 

Let’s review the first of the Brown PLME essays: 

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..

If you have ever volunteered within the healthcare space, received a certification, or participated in healthcare research, then this Brown PLME essay is the perfect place to showcase your experiences. 

Additionally, this prompt asks you to highlight two things: your values and experiences. So, successful Brown PLME essays will be sure that the essay reflects both and not one over the other. 

Next, let’s revisit the second PLME essay prompt: 

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..

Like the other Brown University supplemental essays, this prompt is broad. You can approach it by demonstrating your understanding of the profession. This could be through your own personal experiences or through the lens of one of your activities. You could also describe how your own beliefs and goals align with the profession.

Either way, you’ll need to reflect on what being a doctor means to you before you start writing. 

Brown PLME Essays #3

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

As you approach this prompt, think about your personal interests and goals. Once you have a list of what you hope to achieve, think about how they might connect to medicine. 

Like the other Brown University supplemental essays, you’ll want to get specific in your response. Mention courses, professors, or programs by name. Think about how your values and goals align with the flexibility that the PLME program offers. Additionally, applicants can incorporate what they like about the Brown campus culture and community within these Brown supplemental essays. 

Check out our overview of the PLME program and essay guide to learn more about the Brown University supplemental essays for this specialized undergraduate program. Like with writing all of the Brown University supplemental essays, looking at other Brown supplemental essays examples could help to inspire your writing process for the PLME program. 

How to write the Brown supplemental essays

5 tips for the brown essays, 1. start early .

Start working on your Brown University supplemental essays long before the Brown application deadline. This will give you plenty of time to research the Brown Open Curriculum, brainstorm ideas, write, edit, and revise your essays so that they complement your application. Ideally, you’ll want to have someone else look over your essays, too. This will allow you to gain some feedback on not only grammar and mechanics but also on style and tone. However, be careful with how you implement your feedback. After all, you want the essay to still sound like you.

2. Be genuine 

It will be easy to tell if you are recycling your essays from other applications to use in these Brown University supplemental essays. Be authentic and genuine, and you’ll be sure to stand out from the crowd. While using Brown supplemental essays examples for inspiration can help you get started, you shouldn’t try to mimic them. Tell your own unique story through the Brown supplemental essays. Students often make the mistake of writing what they think admissions committees want to hear. However, they’ll see right through that facade. It may sound corny, but just be you in your essays!

3. Highlight specific resources/programs/opportunities at Brown 

Brown offers exceptional resources and programs to their students. Mention a few by name in your essays to show that you are excited about attending Brown—and you’ve done your research. You could potentially do this in all the prompts, however, be sure to do so when writing the Brown Open Curriculum essay. Basically, your essays for Brown shouldn’t read as though they could be applicable to just any college. Rather, they should read as though they are solely for Brown.

4. Show what makes you unique 

The Brown University ranking is competitive for a reason. Show what makes you a unique applicant and why you would be a great fit for the Brown community. Reflect on impactful moments of your life, but stay away from overly generic and cliche topics. Using these pivotal moments and experiences is a great way to write unique essays. After all, no other applicant has lived exactly the same experiences that you have. 

5. Choose your topic carefully

Make sure that each of your responses to the Brown University supplemental essays highlight different facets of your background, interests, and personality. Each of your essays should build upon your entire candidate profile. The essays are an opportunity to highlight your unique skills, traits, or experiences that allow admissions some insight into you and your life. This way, they will be able to envision you on the campus as a real person, not just another applicant in their expansive pool of qualified candidates. Think carefully and thoughtfully about what you want to shine a spotlight on in these essays. Then, make sure they enhance your application as a whole.

Additional Resources from CollegeAdvisor

Are you still wondering how to get into Brown? Or how to write the Brown supplemental essays? CollegeAdvisor can help. We have an extensive library of articles on our website about college essays. These include guidance on how to write the Brown supplemental essays and Brown University essays examples that worked . Additionally, check out some Ivy League essay examples to better understand what it takes to get into some of the most selective universities in the nation.  

Ivy League Essay Examples

It can be helpful for you to review our past essay guides to get more ideas about how to write your own Brown supplemental essays. You can read our Brown University supplemental essays guide from the 2022-2023 college admissions session here . You can also check out our 2021-2022 guide on the Brown supplemental essays here . 

Or, maybe you want to learn more about life at Brown before you write your Brown supplemental essays. You can watch our Brown virtual college tour webinar to get ideas on how to write the why school essay within the Brown University supplemental essays. You can also learn more about the campus itself from former alumni in our webinar and panel series . 

Virtual College Tours: Brown University

Finally, if you have already written your Brown supplemental essays and gained acceptance to the university, check out how to make the most of your first year at Brown. 

Make the Most of Your First Year at Brown

Brown Supplemental Essays- Final Thoughts

Overall, think of your supplemental essays as an opportunity for the admissions committee to learn more about who you are, what is important to you, and how you will fit into the larger campus community. Show just how you’ll take advantage of the unique Brown Open Curriculum. Use anecdotes, research, and moments of personal growth to really enhance each Brown essay. 

The best supplemental essays will highlight aspects of your personality, background, or interests that are not otherwise seen in the rest of your application. Good luck!

This article was written by Sarah Kaminski. Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.

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How to Write the Brown University and PLME Supplemental Essays 2018-2019

Perched on top of the College Hill neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island, Brown University, a member of the Ivy League, is one of the most prestigious colleges in the United States. Brown is currently ranked #14 by the US News College Ranking , and for the Class of 2022, accepted seven percent of total applicants . Notable alumni from Brown include actress Emma Watson, current Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.

Brown, founded in 1764, is the seventh oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and is characterized by its Open Curriculum, in which general education requirements are rendered null, freeing its 6,500 eclectic undergraduates to craft their own educational journeys.

Brown University requires a completed Common Application. In addition to the universal essay prompt, Brown requires four supplemental essays, as well as additional prompts if you are applying to the Program in Liberal Medical Education or the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program . The prompts may seem daunting at first, but we here at CollegeVine are here to help you tackle these essays to the best of your ability!

Want to learn what Brown University will actually cost you based on your income? And how long your application to the school should take?  Here’s what every student considering Brown University needs to know.

The Brown University Supplemental Essay Questions

(1) Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (150 words)

(2) Why are you drawn to the area(s) of study you indicated earlier in this application? (You may share with us a skill or concept that you found challenging and rewarding to learn, or any experiences beyond course work that may have broadened your interest.) (250 words)

(3) What do you hope to experience at Brown through the Open Curriculum, and what do you hope to contribute to the Brown community? (250 words)

(4) Tell us about the place, or places, you call home. These can be physical places where you have lived, or a community or group that is important to you. (250 words)

(5) Some schools offer students the opportunity to take national exams in areas such as math and language. These exams include, but are not limited to, AIME, AMC 10, Le Grand Concours, National Spanish Exam, National Latin Exams. If you have taken any of these exams (or any other subject-based national or international examinations), please inform us of the exams and scores you find most meaningful. (250 words)

PLME applicants only:

(1) Committing to a future career as a physician while in high school requires careful consideration and self-reflection. (250 words)

(2) What values and experiences have led you to believe that becoming a doctor in medicine is the right fit for you? (250 words)

(3) Most people describe a career as a physician/doctor as a “profession”, beyond a job. Describe for us what “professionalism” and “the profession of a physician/doctor” mean to you. (250 words)

(4) How do you envision the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) helping you to meet your academic personal and professional goals as a person and as a physician of the future? (500 words)

RISD applicants only:

(1) The Brown|RISD A.B./B.F.A. Dual Degree program provides an opportunity to explore your interests and prepare for the future in two distinct learning environments. Considering your understanding of both academic programs, describe how and why the specific combination of the art/design-focused curriculum of RISD and the wide-ranging courses and curricula of Brown could constitute an optimal undergraduate education for you. (650 words)

How to Write the Brown University Supplemental Essays

In all of the supplemental essays, you want to be well researched into specific aspects at Brown, almost as if you were a student there yourself. You want to show the admissions team that you are intimately familiar with Brown’s community and curriculum, and that you believe you are a great fit inside this ecosystem. Doing this will allow you, as the applicant, to stand out from all the other essays pouring generic praise on Brown’s community and curriculum. These prompt guides will help you do just that.

As you approach this set of essay questions, make sure that the final result is a well rounded portfolio, in which essays provide enough contrast to adequately show of your complexities.

For example, the first essay prompt asks about an activity you do, while the next one asks about your intended area of study. If you want to study, say, biology, you don’t want to spend the first essay talking about your research internship when you could talk about it in the second prompt.

In the essay dealing with a community you were a part of, make sure to minimize overlap with it and the Common App essay, as students frequently cover core parts of their identity in both. This supplemental essay is a good outlet for you to explore a niche community that would complement your flagship Common App essay.

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (150 words)

Throughout all four of the general Brown University supplement essays, you have the opportunity to talk about your extracurricular activities and work experiences, but only here are you directly encouraged to place an activity at the center of your essay.

Strategically, you want to choose an activity that captures a large part of your identity (if you haven’t already done so in your Common App personal statement). However, if you feel like you’ve sufficiently talked about your major activities elsewhere, you could use this short prompt to talk about a different, light hearted hobby you may have.

For example, say you have a strong set of conventional achievements and experience in STEM fields, and you’ve already written about them. Here, you could talk about your love for gardening, which you couldn’t really place anywhere else. Using these 150 words to illustrate your feelings when digging into the Earth and awaiting for life to grow out could excellently round out your college profile.

You only have 150 words, so you should avoid summarizing your achievements and duties for too long (this should happen more in the activities and honors sections of your Common App), and talk more in depth about specific experiences that shaped who you are today. You could approach this “briefly elaborate” part in two ways:

(1) You can offer a past tense narrative that immerses the reader in how you were thinking and feeling in a certain situation or moment. For example, you could bring the reader back to a basketball game where your teammate had recently suffered a family tragedy. As the team’s captain, you rallied the team around that teammate, and although you did not win the game, the camaraderie that was built that night elevated the team’s level of play moving forward.

(2) You could use present tense narrative that takes a “slice of life” moment from an activity and walks through your state of mind and emotions as it takes place. For example, if you are into debate, you could choose the moment right before you start speaking, and illustrate to the reader your state of mind that allows you to excel in the round that is about to begin.

For example, if marching band formed a large part of your identity in high school, talk about your junior year season, and what you and your band achieved. Hone in on a breakthrough moment in the year, whether that was a specific tournament or a significant practice session. If you were a section leader, talk about a specific conflict you had to resolve that allowed your team to grow better and stronger.

Moreso than listing how much you won (in marching band or anything else), make sure to emphasize the process behind, and the struggle it took to get there.  Use a specific moment to paint a picture of your dedication to the extracurricular activity. The most effective essays don’t even really mention the achievement at all, but they instead dive into why the activity was enjoyable or meaningful.

You may have also held part time jobs while in high school, which you could also talk about. However, what may be more valuable than talking about the activity itself (“bagging groceries taught me discipline”) may be describing why the job was important for you (“I bagged groceries because I needed to contribute to the family income. At first, I hated how dull the work was, and how I had to work while my friends didn’t, but I eventually came to appreciate both the work and my contribution to my family. Nevertheless balancing work and school remained incredibly hard.”).

Ultimately, this essay shouldn’t describe an activity, but should use an activity to describe you, and what drives you and fascinates you.

Why are you drawn to the area(s) of study you indicated earlier in this application? (You may share with us a skill or concept that you found challenging and rewarding to learn, or any experiences beyond coursework that may have broadened your interest.) (250 words)

In this “Why X major” essay, you first want to think about why exactly you authentically resonate with the subject you chose, and why exactly you want to study said subject rather than others. You should definitely utilize the essay “hints” to guide your process: the “skill or concept you found challenging and rewarding” and “experiences beyond coursework. ”

Focus your essay on a specific topic (cell division) that could illustrate and symbolize a love for the overall topic (biology). If you struggled with understanding this topic, talk about that, and lead the reader to your moment of enlightenment that fostered within you a great appreciation for the subject.

Another key in this prompt is the word area(s) : don’t be afraid to talk about different academic subjects you are interested in, but you should keep it limited to two topics, or even better, an interdisciplinary field that connects the two. Make sure to connect these subjects to specific courses/programs/special features present at Brown, which you would definitely take advantage of if accepted—even though this prompt asks you just about your concentration, the prompt is also asking why you want to concentrate in that subject specifically at Brown.

Here are some examples to illustrate the transition between your past experiences and your potential future experiences at  Brown:

Example 1: If you’re interested in computer science, or are vaguely passionate about the workings of technology, you could talk about a specific side project you worked on, or a difficult language you learned, or a class that you took (if your school did not offer classes, you could talk about the struggles behind self-learning computer science). Then you could mention how much you want to study computer science at Brown, where you could take the famous introductory CS 15 course offered by Professor Andy Van Dam, or how you could pursue computer science in tandem with your interest in fields like anthropology and history because of the Open Curriculum.

Example 2: If you were always a book lover, and put down English literature as your intended concentration, talk about the book(s) that really opened up the world to you, or a piece of writing that took immense effort and time to write. Then, you could connect this interest to studying literature at Brown, where you would be free to pursue your interests in all of the humanities, including literature from all over the world. Name dropping related Brown courses like “Literatures of Immigration” and “Proust, Joyce and Faulkner” could also help. You could even talk about the legacy of contemporary writers who attended Brown, such as Jeffrey Eugenides and Edwidge Danticat and Lois Lowry.

Example 3: If politics, activism, or community work is what you always gravitated towards, talk about your experience on a campaign, or as a political intern, or even in a a school club like mock trial or model UN. You could then talk about studying politics at Brown and taking advantage of its programs such as Brown in Washington, the Swearer Center for Public Service, and ample opportunities to participate in local Rhode Island government activities.

What do you hope to experience at Brown through the Open Curriculum, and what do you hope to contribute to the Brown community? (250 words)

This prompt is quite challenging, because it is asking two very different and expansive questions that you must answer in less than 250 words. The key here will be finding strong examples for each part, and seamlessly transitioning between “open curriculum” and “Brown community.” You may just have to start a new paragraph. However, you may also find that the two are related: your contribution to the campus community will be driven by you growing as a person through taking advantage of the Open Curriculum.

Brown’s Open Curriculum is perhaps the key component that distinguishes Brown from its peer institutions. In Open Curriculum, students have no general education requirements, and instead choose their own classes. In order to graduate, students need only to complete their concentration requirements, as well as two writing class requirements.

However, the Open Curriculum is not for everyone, but rather for those who want to take their undergraduate education into their own hands. Here are a few examples and directions in which to go:

First, the interdisciplinary study option. Say you want to concentrate in computer science, but you’re also interested in its connection to ethics. And on the side, you love ceramics. You could talk about how at Brown, doing all of these things simultaneously is feasible because of a lack of general education requirements. You could also talk about taking advantage of RISD courses as a Brown student, and maybe end with talking about how you would love to combine your interests in computer science and art by taking RISD’s “Stop Motion Animation” class.

Second, the “I’m interested in a ton of things but I have no idea what I want to study” option. Because you have until the end of your sophomore year to declare your major, you can talk about how Brown is a perfect place to fulfill all your intellectual cravings and eventually hone in what exactly you’d like to concentrate in. However, there should be some common pattern or intellectual framework that could unify these seemingly disparate interests. For example, you could unite your interests in sculpture and neuroanatomy as part of your desire to seek understanding through 3D modeling.

Additionally, you could mention Brown’s long class shopping period, the fact that students in every class choose to be there, and the ability to take classes outside of your comfort zone pass fail.

In the second part of the prompt, “what do you hope to contribute to the Brown community,” the admissions team is asking you to do some shameless self promotion: what is unique about you, and how can you add to the already abundant diversity on campus? For this prompt, you could browse through the list of preexisting campus organizations and think about which ones you might join, and why. Using this long list as guidance, think about the thematic areas that align with who you are—maybe there’s two to four clubs that you could join as part of your main extracurricular interest, but feel free to talk about other college activities you’d like to do that you don’t have a lot of experience in, or niche clubs you’d like to try out. Also, if something you want to do isn’t on the list, you could mention how you want to start a new organization on campus.

However, this prompt isn’t limited to club participation, as campus life is so much more than that:

You could talk about the unique set of life experiences you bring, and how that is outside of the traditional narrative of what a “Brown Student” is. Through these experiences, you believe that whether it is in a dorm room, campus newspaper, or panel discussion, you can bring unrepresented point of view to the table. However, because there are tens of thousands of applicants each year, make sure that if you want to go this route, you believe your story is truly unique.

Maybe you love working with the local community, wherever you go. Back home, you worked with local political chapters, and volunteered at under-resourced elementary schools. You could talk about how you would want to carry this over to Brown, and forge intimate connections between the Brown community and the local Providence community.

You could also just talk about how you would love to continue a non-extra curricular or work related hobby to campus. For example, if you love doing street photography, maybe you can talk about creating an Instagram account that features Brown students in cool outfits around campus. This, for you, would be your way of bringing the school closer.

Tell us about the place, or places, you call home. These can be physical places where you have lived, or a community or group that is important to you. (250 words)

This essay prompt is pretty straightforward, but the possibility of things you can write about is boundless. Before you start writing this essay, think considerably about how your different environments have affected you. This could be thought of in matters of race and economic status, or in regards to the specific people surrounding you.

First, let’s look at “ physical places where you have lived.” If you’ve grown up travelling all around the world with, say, a military or foreign service family, talk about living in these foreign environments shaped your adolescence. Say you grew up in North Carolina, but suddenly your father’s job called him to Germany, where you lived for the next four years. Talk about how you had to completely shift your cultural norms, and how you had to overcome uprooting your previous life. You could also talk about place in an abstract sense, especially if your family comes from outside of the United States, or moved to a vastly different part of the country. If you have a tension in identity that comes from being a minority group, or by simply being in a new environment, talk about how you dealt with that, or how that has shaped your identity.

If you grew up in the same city your entire life, you may have formed deep connections with a community in your area. This could be your local church, your Taekwondo studio, a refugee center, your grandma’s house, your local baseball field, your neighborhood grocery store, or pretty much anything else. Think about how engaging in activities in a certain place has shaped how you view the world.

For example, by tutoring students learning English as a second language, you have grown in empathy for those who lack the resources to get the educational catch-up they need, mirroring how you yourself struggled learning English in your Spanish dominated home. This has lead you to want to eventually study public policy and education at Brown, so that you can eventually become a bilingual teacher, as well as hopefully influence education policy to address the needs you experienced and saw.

Or you can discuss how you spent countless afternoons getting lost at Costco, fascinated with all the various electronics out for display. Talk about how you spent hours tinkering with all the sample products, which contributed to and symbolized your eventual interest in electrical engineering.

The third part of the prompt, a “group,” is the broadest of all, and you could talk about any structured time spent with one or more people that impacted you. This could be your school’s drumline, your group of friends, or your JV basketball team. This also does not have to be a physical community, but could easily be an online community you found a home in. If you have spent a large chunk of your time talking to groups of people interested in a certain TV show or video game or clothing brand, don’t be afraid to talk about how that influenced your maturation. Anything that substantially shaped who you are today works.

The key here is to emphasize why exactly this seemingly mundane group is close to your heart, and make sure to show rather than tell. Focusing on a dialogue with a groupmate, a person you helped, or specific details in a house that you lived in will allow you to avoid generalities and cliches. These specific moments can easily transition into you talking about your general feelings and point of view about this group. Overall, don’t worry too much about how impressive a particular group sounds on paper. If you dedicate yourself to any group, community, or place, and write candidly about your experience, the passion will inevitably show to the reader.

Some schools offer students the opportunity to take national exams in areas such as math and language. These exams include, but are not limited to, AIME, AMC 10, Le Grand Concours, National Spanish Exam, National Latin Exams. If you have taken any of these exams (or any other subject-based national or international examinations), please inform us of the exams and scores you find most meaningful. (250 words)

Although you should have probably mentioned these tests and scores in the honors and activities section of the Common Application, feel free to reiterate them again here if it is important to you. Make sure to only drop in the award or score itself, and don’t create another essay, as there is plenty of space in the other prompts to do so.

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. The acceptance rate for Brown’s PLME program is just 3.9% . A helpful guide is CollegeVine’s overview to accelerated BS/MD programs, which can be found at this link . Another guide specifically on Brown’s PLME is found here .

Committing to a future career as a physician while in high school requires careful consideration and self-reflection. What values and experiences have led you to believe that becoming a doctor in medicine is the right fit for you? (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.

Most people describe a career as a physician/doctor as a “profession”, beyond a job. Describe for us what “professionalism” and “the profession of a physician/doctor” mean to you. (250 words)

Essentially, this prompt is asking how important becoming a doctor is for you, and if it is your “calling.” Working as a lifelong doctor is often societally elevated above other jobs, as you are literally saving lives, and doctors are also held to the lofty Hippocratic Oath. Make sure to talk about how for you, becoming a doctor isn’t an arbitrary choice, but something you’ve thought about extensively for a long duration of time. Because the PLME’s goal is to provide much more than a traditional pre-med education, don’t feel limited to talking simply about “ the profession of a physician/doctor” in the narrow sense of the word. Feel free to go above and beyond, talking about your passion for improving the health of others and how you want to see that manifest in the world.

Another possible avenue could be talking about your personal experience with the health field, and how that shaped you seeing doctors in a much more reverential light. Rather than talking about a close relation who was hospitalized, which can easily become cliche, talk about how your experience volunteering in patient care or shadowing shaped how you view the profession. If there is a standout patient whose story mesmerized you, and whose life was transformed by a doctor you assisted, talk about that. Or if through shadowing and becoming close to suffering, you grew to believe in the primacy of healthcare as the basic foundation to living a decent life, talk about that.

You eventually want to wrap up your essay cementing the notion of being a doctor as your “calling” in life, and using a serious tone to show that you couldn’t see yourself doing anything else.

How do you envision the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) helping you to meet your academic, personal, and professional goals as a person and as a physician of the future? (500 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 a 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.

The Brown|RISD A.B./B.F.A. Dual Degree program provides an opportunity to explore your interests and prepare for the future in two distinct learning environments. Considering your understanding of both academic programs, describe how and why the specific combination of the art/design-focused curriculum of RISD and the wide-ranging courses and curricula of Brown could constitute an optimal undergraduate education for you. (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. However, this does not mean you have to have both majors decided, and you can definitely talk more generally about why you want to pursue a STEM/social science/humanities education in tandem with an arts/design education.

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 + your common app essay and other supplemental essays will also speak volumes about who you are, and 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.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

Brown University 2020-21 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision: 

Brown University 2020-21 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 3  essays of 250 words; 1 essay of 150 words

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

Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about an academic interest (or interests) that excites you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue it.

This prompt sounds easy enough: describe what you want to study and why you like it — but not so fast. Since Brown has an open curriculum , you need to not only show that you have some direction, but also the ability to explore and cross-reference new subjects to inform your studies. 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 of the way you hope to study your topic of choice? 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. By telling the story of how you gained a valuable (to you) skill or struggled with a gripping intellectual challenge, you will demonstrate a personal relationship to your chosen area of study or broader interest. 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 some formative experience: the best book you ever read, the first time you spoke French to an actual French person, that one time when you used PEMDAS in the real world! The concrete detail of your story will not only make the case for your genuine interest in an obscure or challenging topic, but also stick in the memory of your application reader when decision time rolls around.

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?

How will you fit within the Brown community, a.k.a. the student body and alumni network? You’ve probably answered this question in some shape or form elsewhere, but your response to this question should be deeply tied to your hopes for your experience at Brown, specifically. Do you hope Brown’s Open Curriculum will allow you to explore your varied interests, like the connection between the mind and the body, and introduce your peers to the wonders of dance therapy? Are you hoping to fuse your passion for culinary arts and world history by creating a club in which members gather together to cook and enjoy cuisines from all over the world and throughout time? (And can we join?) You only have 250 words, so make sure to be succinct!

Tell us about a place or community you call home. How has it shaped your perspective? (250 words)

This prompt is deceptively straightforward. If Brown had simply wanted to know where you have lived, they could have asked you to submit a list of towns or schools you attended. Why devote 250 words to the answer? Brown wants to know what is important to you: what, where, or who you hold close to your heart. What’s “home” to you and why is it special to you? Is it the camp you’ve been going to every summer since you were seven? Is it your local LGBTQ group that supported you through the coming out process? Is it anywhere with a roof and running water, because being a member of a military family taught you how to be resilient and be at home anywhere? Give the admissions department at Brown some insight into what you hold dear.

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences.

Surprise! We bet you didn’t see this sneaky question when you were first browsing through the Brown writing questions on the Common App. That’s because it’s one of the hidden prompts that we warn you about in our Common App tutorial . This prompt will ambush you in the “Activity” section of your Brown application, but don’t worry — the prompt itself isn’t all that surprising. Activity essays like this one are pretty common and really are as straightforward as they seem. The trickiest part is usually selecting the activity you want to talk about. So, we return to our favorite mantra: tell admissions something they couldn’t learn elsewhere. If you wrote your Common App essay about your tenure as captain of the basketball team, for this prompt you should focus on a different (ideally non-athletic) activity that shows a different side of who you are. This can be a great opportunity to highlight your leadership skills and any accolades you may have received as a result of participating in a particular activity. Did you win a community service award? Now is a great time to elaborate on your work. No matter what you choose, it should probably be something you’ve been involved in for a while, so you can demonstrate your growth and the impact that you have had on others.

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When Do College Essay Prompts Come Out?

Time to write your college essay, but when do college essay prompts come out we’ll cover essay prompt release dates for all applications..

Updated by TCM Staff on 24th November 2021

24th November 2021

If you’re passionate about writing, brainstorming, and researching, essays are easy tasks! But college essays are a different story. It’s hard to put together a meaningful, well-written essay when you know your college acceptance is on the line! 

Luckily, you can start early, as soon as you receive your college essay prompts. But when do college essay prompts come out? We’ll cover college essay prompts and release dates for common app 2022, as well as for coalition applications and universal college applications. 

For Common App 2022

If you’re one of the 1 million students that apply to college with the common app , you might be wondering when do common app prompts come out? Common app essay prompts usually come out at the start of each calendar year, so a solid three-quarters of a year before your college start date. 

The 2020-2021 common app essay prompts came out in January. The 2021-2022 essay prompts came out in February. 

In the last few years, the common app college essay prompts didn’t change much. It tends to roll over essay topics from year to year. 

For Coalition Application

Coalition application essay prompts usually come out at the start of the calendar year as well, similar to the common app essay prompts. The essay prompts 2021-2022 are the same as they were last year, and you can find them at the bottom of the article, and here .

2021-2022 Common Application Essay Prompts

Here are the 2021-2022 Common Application essay prompts:

• Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
• The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
• Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
• Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
• Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
• Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
• Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

2021-2022 Coalition Application Essay Prompts

Here are the Coalition Application college essay prompts for 2021-2022. 

• Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it. 
• Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution. 
• Has there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?
• What is the hardest part of being a student now? What’s the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?
• Submit an essay on a topic of your choice. 

When Do Colleges Release Essay Prompts?

Some colleges release their own essay prompts for students, which means you’ll have to write more than one essay. These are known as supplemental essays, but when do supplemental essays come out?

Usually, colleges release their essay prompts before August 1. However, they often release them much sooner than that, mirroring the release dates of the Common Application and Coalition Application essay prompts. 

Some essay prompts from colleges include:

What if the moon were made of cheese? Or Neptune made of soap? Pick a celestial object, reimagine its material composition, and explore the implications. Feel free to explore the realms of physics, philosophy, fantasy…the sky is the limit!

— University of Chicago

Which book, character, song, monologue, or piece of work (fiction or non-fiction) seems made for you? Why?

— Emory University

The Harvard College Honor Code declares that we “hold honesty as the foundation of our community.” As you consider entering this community that is committed to honesty, please reflect on a time when you or someone you observed had to make a choice about whether to act with integrity and honesty.

— Harvard University

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    1. do college essay prompts change every year.

While Common App and Coalition App essay prompts tend to stay the same, college essay prompts vary widely from year to year.

    2. Is the Common App Open for 2022?

Yes, the Common App opened in August 2021 for the 2022 admission year. However, the only essay prompts available are the ones for the class of 2021. Essay prompts are expected to come out in early 2022. 

    3. What Colleges Have Released Supplemental Essay Prompts?

Colleges haven’t released supplemental essay prompts for the entering class for 2022. However, some colleges that release supplementary essay prompts include:

• American University
• Assumption University
• Babson College
• Barnard College
• Bentley College
• Boston College
• Boston University
• Brandeis University
• Brown University
• Chapman University
• Columbia University
• Cornell University
• Dartmouth College
• Duke University
• Elon University
• Emmanuel College
• Emory University
• Georgetown University
• Georgia Tech
• Gonzaga University
• Harvard University
• High Point University
• Indiana University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Lafayette College
• Lehigh University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• New York University
• North Carolina State University
• Northwestern University
• Pennsylvania State University
• Pomona College
• Princeton University
• Providence College
• Purdue University
• Syracuse University
• The George Washington University
• Tufts University
• Tulane University
• University of California
• Rice University
• Rollins College
• Southern Methodist University
• Stanford University
• Stetson University
• Stonehill College
• University of Central Florida
• University of Chicago

Try not to leave your college essay to the last minute! You have plenty of time from the essay prompt release date till when you have to submit it. Now that you know the answer to, “when do college essay prompts come out,” it’s time to start drafting your essay. Check out our tips about what to write about in a college essay .