How To Write Brown Supplemental Essays (FAQ)

Brown Supplemental Essays: Brown University has one of the lowest admission rates in the United States.

It is understood that this school has an admission rate of about 5%.

So, to gain admission into this school, you must submit an excellent response to the supplementary essay prompts.

This article will discuss the Brown supplementary essay prompts and how you can handle each of them effectively.

Brown Supplemental Essay Prompt 1:

Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while 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)

In this essay prompt, the school wants to find out your educational interests, the sources of those interests, and the ways you feel Brown can help develop your knowledge in that area.

However, to give a resounding response, you must first learn what Brown’s Open Curriculum is all about by doing some homework on it.

Moreover, it is highly recommended that you write about just a single area of interest because the 250-word limit may be enough to contain all you have to say if you want to talk about more than one academic interest.

Use your life experience to provide insight into why you are enthusiastic about a particular area of study.

Additionally, since the prompt also asks you to discuss how you can utilize the Open Curriculum to pursue unfamiliar areas of interest, you have to provide details on how you are looking to explore academic areas new to you at Brown.

For example, if you are majoring in chemistry and want to combine that with the knowledge of public health, you can talk about how you hope to use chemistry to find solutions to the problems in the public health sector.

Brown Supplemental Essay Prompt 2:

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

In your response to this essay prompt, you are meant to write about an experience that talks about how you react to complex issues unrelated to your academics.

The school asks this prompt to determine if you can logically engage with your colleagues on academic topics and non-academic issues.

However, to give a satisfactory response, share a story that perfectly describes how you handled challenges that confronted you that originated from factors in society.

This essay response is not where you are expected to delve into political views or standpoints.

Rather, discuss the factors that caused the issue, how it came about, and how you reacted. This will help the school evaluate your ability to react to issues and how you react.

Brown Essay Prompt 3:

Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, 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 prompt offers you an opportunity to showcase your character and discuss some of the experiences that you have faced.

Don’t even try to give a dishonest response to this prompt, as the reader will know.

You should be able to convince the admissions board that whatever you describe as your source of joy does just that.

You can share an experience that talks about living in reality through joy.

Brown Supplemental Essays: Brown PLME Essay Requirements

The Program in Liberal Medical Education at Brown University (PLME) lasts eight years.

This program enables students to combine their undergraduate and medical education on their journey to becoming medical doctors.

However, any student who wants to enroll in PLME must submit three special program essays. Below are the ways to tackle three of them:

PLME Essay Prompt 1

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).

Your response to this prompt must be precise. Sharing a story here about your experience will make sense.

However, you have to be honest in your response to this prompt, as the reader will spot if you are making things up.

Also, avoid saying something like, “I am aspiring to be a doctor because it is one of the best-paying jobs in the world.”

In a nutshell, talk about an experience connected to the field of medicine that shaped your life.

For instance, if you admire the work ethic of your dad, who is a doctor, and you hope to reproduce the same impact that he had on other people’s lives, kindly talk about it.

Let any story or experience you share be medically-connected and have you at the center of it.

PLME Essay Prompt 2

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

This essay prompt has two options, but you have to give a response to just one of them.

Even though the two options seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum, they both ask the same question: how does unfairness in the society or your life change how you feel about health care?

Moreover, in the first prompt, you are expected to respond on how you will handle social issues and inequities once you become a doctor.

However, this can be difficult for anyone to do since you are not even in the medical field as a practitioner yet.

On the other hand, the good news about this prompt is that there is no correct or wrong answer.

The college admissions board only wants to be sure that you have an idea that this will be one of the issues you will encounter as a doctor.

Through your response, tell them how you can overcome these social challenges to create an impact in the lives of your patients.

In the second prompt, you are expected to give a response almost identical to the first.

However, this prompt option is recommended only for people who have personal experiences relating to social inequalities that have shaped their mindset about the healthcare field.

For example, if your skin color prevented you from accessing quality healthcare while you were just a kid, you can describe such experiences.

Nevertheless, no matter the story you decide to share, ensure that it is an honest account.

The fact that this prompt is not mandatory shows that you should avoid it completely if you have nothing to say.

PLME Essay Prompt 3

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

To successfully provide a quality response to this prompt, you need to complete your research on Brown University’s PLME.

It is more of an opportunity to demonstrate to the college admissions committee that you know a lot about the school.

You can even go as far as mentioning some of the professors that you admire and that you are already looking up to for mentorship or the stimulating classes that you want to be part of.

Also, talk about why you believe enrolling in Brown’s PLME is better for you than the conventional undergraduate degree and separate medical school program.

Brown-RISD Dual Degree Essay Requirement

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 will constitute an optimal undergraduate education for you. As part of your answer, articulate how you might contribute to the Dual Degree community and its commitment to interdisciplinary work. (650-word limit)

To respond to this prompt effectively, you must talk about selected phases of both Brown and RISD that interest you.

Talk about the characteristics of each school that appeal to you, such as their professors or specific classes.

Moreover, mention how you expect to leverage both schools for your development.

You can describe your reason for wishing to attend both schools. Finally, share how your work at one school will impact the other.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Brown Supplemental Essays

Does Brown University require supplemental essays?

When applying to Brown, applicants have the option of submitting supplementary materials, but are under no obligation to do so.

Do colleges actually read supplemental essays?

The essays applicants write help admissions officers learn more about who they are. If you’re wondering how a large university/college can possibly read through thousands of essays, rest assured that they will hire more people if they need to in order to give every application a thorough review.

Does Brown look at weighted GPA?

Although Brown University does not specify a minimum GPA for admission, applicants are advised to aim for a weighted GPA of 4.8 or higher.

What is the lowest GPA Brown will accept?

An academic GPA of 4.08 or higher is required. A better SAT/ACT score is required to make up for a lower GPA. You’ll need to stand out in other ways if you want to get into Brown University, which is notoriously picky.

Conclusion

Brown University is one of the eight Ivy League schools we have. This college, unsurprisingly, has a low acceptance rate.

So, if you want to study there, you have no choice but to send in excellent supplemental essay responses.

However, when doing so, ensure that you are honest in your response, don’t overuse phrases, and review the quality of your article before submitting.

Awesome one; I hope this article answers your question.

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Abasiofon Fidelis
Abasiofon Fidelis

Abasiofon Fidelis is a professional writer who loves to write about college life and college applications. He has been writing articles for over 3 years. He is the Content Manager at School and Travel.

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