March 31 was Ivy Day which means all the Ivy League institutions (Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Colombia, Cornell, UPenn, and Brown) sent out their decisions to thousands of students and only a handful of them were admitted to their dream school. My son applied to five Ivy League schools and he was waitlisted at Harvard and Columbia, was denied admission from Yale and Princeton, and was admitted to Brown. If you are unfamiliar with the Ivy League’s admission rates (same with highly selective schools such as MIT and Stanford), it will come as a big shock that these schools reject the majority (approximately 90%to 95%) of applicants. 

    

We are in Providence, Rhode Island, to attend the ADOCH (A Day on College Hill) which is more commonly known as the admit week at Brown University. ADOCH is a terrific opportunity for admitted students to experience life as a Brown University student. For three days, prospective students are offered the chance to explore academic options, talking to current students and hearing from faculty in their specific area(s) of interest. It is very likely that a significant number of these students have also been accepted to other universities and are still undecided where to go. Hence the importance of attending the admit week—to see which particular school fits them best.

 

My son was also offered admission to Stanford University and in the following week, we will be visiting their campus for their admit week. On May 1st, he has to make a final decision and choose between Brown or Stanford. 

Brown University Facts:

Located in historic Providence, Rhode Island, Brown University is the seventh oldest college in the United States. It is an Ivy League institution comprised of undergraduate and graduate studies. There are about 6400 undergraduates, 2,000 graduate students, 450 medical school students, and over 700 faculty members. Brown students have a diverse population coming from all 50 states and about 100 countries. It is also the first institution in the United States to accept students regardless of their religious affiliation. Its Engineering program was the first in the Ivy League. It also has produced many scholars (94 Fulbright, 2 Marshall, 2 Mitchell, 8 Rhodes, and 4 Truman). Brown also boasts two special programs such as the Brown/RISD Dual Degree Program (a five year program allowing students to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rhode Island School of Design) and the Program in Liberal Medical Education (an eight year continuum that allows students to combine both their undergraduate and medical school education at Brown). 
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this iconic gate opens only twice per year- to welcome students on their first year and the other for graduating seniors. The superstition is no students must pass this door twice or they will be cursed with bad luck!

Admit Week

The parents were given an event schedule for three days and were free to choose what to attend from a variety of activities listed. On the first day, there was a welcome reception for us with the Dean of the College, who in her speech, gave us top 5 reasons why we should choose Brown for our kids. It also gave us an opportunity to mingle with other parents and the most commonly asked question in all the conversations was,”Did your son/daughter make a decision on where to go yet?” The answers were mostly “No, he/she is still undecided,” and the next question would be expected:”what other schools is your son/daughter looking to go to?” And so the bragging rights begin…

 

The students had their own schedule independent from their parents and can choose from various activities listed for each day. They were even allowed to sit in in some of the ongoing classes. They start each day with breakfast and usually ends late at night. They also have an option to stay with their host student and sleep in the dorms or stay in the hotel with their parents. My son opted to stay in our hotel since he didn’t want to carry a sleeping bag on the plane. However, almost everyone chose to stay in the dorms. 

  
My son is torn between Brown and Stanford. I don’t think he can go wrong with either one but I just hope he chooses well and what school fits him best. 

Students were taking advantage of the beautiful weather and were doing school work al fresco
  
   

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