Why does the Brown Application take so long?Answered
For the application effort on College vine, it says 16 hours for Brown. That is a lot longer than any of the other colleges I am applying to, and I am not sure if it is worth the effort. I looked at the supplements for Brown and they don't look too bad (similar to other ones I have seen). So why does the Brown application take so long? For context, I am a junior.
I know of quite of few adults, friends of my dads who in their time still resent getting rejected by Brown. They got into Columbia, UPenn, Yale, Cornell but Brown said no thank you and that always bugs them to this day.
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1 answer
This is only a guestimate.
In my case, the Brown application was one of the shortest in terms of time commitment. The longest was UChicago because they give you up to 2 full pages to answer their 2 essays, and one of their essays is super difficult. Yale, Stanford, and Columbia were also longer than Browns. Besides filling out the basic information and the 1 standard common app essay, Brown asks applicants to answer 3 questions with 250-word answers which is like a 1 or 2 paragraphs max.
"Copied from Brown's website"
First-Year applicants to Brown are asked to answer three supplemental essay questions, which are provided below if you would like to begin work on your essays now.
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)
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? (250 words)
Tell us about a place or community you call home. How has it shaped your perspective? (250 words)
You will have to spend 4 years of your life preparing for college so even if it took a full day to complete an application, that shouldn't be a deterrent or obstacle to applying. I suggest budgeting like 10 hours per school so when it comes time to apply to college, you need to start early like work on your essays over the summer, and then refine them during the school year using your friends and family to provide feedback on them. Sometimes wordsmithing and editing for grammar takes longer than the original essay production and many HS students fail to manage their time properly with essays to put their best version of themselves forward to the application readers.
Last note, some schools like Princeton, Brown (optional), Amherst, and Williams will also ask you for a Graded Paper (of no particular length), so if you are thinking of applying to those colleges, put your best examples aside for future submission. They prefer seeing the teacher's original comments, markups, and grades on the piece so you will have to make a. PDF file of it and attach it to your application when you file it with the school. Brown also allows you to upload a 2-minute video of yourself which is a response to a prompt and I think you are allowed to upload links to your youtube channel if such videos demonstrated your specific talents or expertise.
Hope that is helpful to you.
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To add to the answer, Brown Admissions offices hold a standard that the each app reader is only given 12min. to get a full “dose” of the student before moving on; this would mean that they have to get through 5 students in an hour! They are quite in fact the quickest in applications as @CameronBameron stated. But this would mean YOU must spend more time on PERFECTING it so that is stands out within your 12mins. under the spotlight. It’s quite rigorous actually—that’s why.