Brown University Top Questions

interesting classes, professors can be hit or miss as is the case anywhere. class discussions common in smaller humanities classes. students help each other out a lot. education at brown is more geared towards learning to satisfy intellectual curiosity and all...but there are a few preprofessional tracks, namely the COE program (business).

-physical and biological science classes are difficult: if you're premed, orgo is the great filter that cuts the number down -you have to make the effort to know your professor first but that's not that surprising -generally, i think most students are most competitive w themselves and don't nose around in other people's academic records -YOU CAN TAKE WHATEVER CLASSES YOU WANT: basically, and it's awesome and one of the best things about brown

The freedom to pick classes of your liking and the S/NC option really enable a person to have a challenge without overwhelming yourself. The education is as good and engaging as you are willing to make it. Ruth Simmons is a fantastic president who really cares about the students and is actively improving financial aid and course offerings. Brown's strongest point to me is the total lack of academic pretension compared to other schools. The students and faculty really strive foremost towards personal growth. Similarly, you can get into classes with upperclassmen and graduate students if you so desire from day one.

With the lack of a core curriculum, every semester was a huge smorgasbord of tempting choices. My educational journey may have lacked balance-- but boy, was it fun. After a few misfires in freshman year (where the title of a class sounded fantastic but the class itself was only so-so) I began ignoring course topics and titles altogether, asking around to upper classmen, and simply choosing whatever course any legendary & adored professors were offering that semester. It was a fantastic method. My professors were the creme de la creme of Brown and I absolutely loved them. (Odd or 'dry' topics can be fascinating when the subject happens to be the life's work and passion of some wonderful teacher who can bring it thrillingly to life. Even "hard" classes seem less hard when you are carried away by the enthusiasm of a great professor.) Brown is the sort of place where you can roll the dice like this for four years and not get hung up on any pesky core requirements. So long as you pick your favorite subject(s) to concentrate in, you will have an absolutely unfettered four years of learning at Brown. Back then, this meant-- yay, no more math! I did not realize until later the true value in that open curriculum-- at Brown, you are given complete autonomy over your life, your choices, and what you make of things. Not only does that mean that you are excited to be in any class, because YOU have chosen it, but by the time you graduate, you have 4 years' head-start over everyone else from other colleges in being comfortable with and experienced at running your own life. I left Brown with a thesis in poetry, a reasonably unmarketable degree and no idea what I would "do" with my life, but with a VERY high level of confidence and self-determination. I was comfortable that I could experiment, figure things out, find my way-- and I knew from experience that if I made mistakes or hated where I wound up I could re-group and change course. What a gift, to know that you can meander a bit in life, and have things turn out well.

My favorite class at Brown has been Hip Hop Music and Cultures. The professor took a different approach to Hip Hop and helped me learn more about a culture that I was already involved and invested in.

intense.

Professors know the name of students who become involved and participate.

There are many unique classes that I don't think you would find at other schools. You can take classes outside of your major becuase of the open curriculum. The difficulty of the classes vary by professor and department, but for the most part I find them challenging yet managable. Classes can be large (up to 500 people) or small (under 10). Students are generally not competitive, with the exception of science classes (in my experience). Class discussions are interesting and common

Brown is not competitive at all, which is the number one attraction academically for me. Coming from a super cutthroat high school, I was so happy to be able to focus on my own personal motivations and goals, and not worry about how I compared to other students. The faculty is great, and there is great opportunity to get to know people in your concentration. There is plenty of freedom in our schedule and requirements, which fosters strong independence and diversity in student interests and ambitions.

see above. grade flexibility and the pass/fail system is awesome. teachers really do care about you, and want you to succeed. most teachers are really easy to get a hold of during office hours or out of class. ive made alot of great connections with professors and have been invited over their houses numerous times. the education at brown is geared toward allowing kids to dapple in all different academic areas without feeling scared about it lowering their gpa. it allows for one to graduate feeling well rounded and haven chosen the field best for them. they prep you for getting a job, but also, give you the academic edge that allows you to connect with many other people from different fields.