brown open curriculum essay

6 Brown Essays That Worked + Why Brown Examples

For students writing the Brown supplements for Fall 2022, here is your guide to successful Brown essays.

In this article, I've gathered 6 essays written by admitted students to Brown.

I'll share examples of how regular high-achieving students who got into Brown recently by having stand-out essays.

Are essays all that matter? No, but especially for competitive and test-optional schools, your essays are a very important factor.

Let's jump right in.

What is Brown University's Acceptance Rate?

This past year, a record 46,568 students applied to Brown and just 2,537 students got accepted. Which means Brown had an overall admit rate of just 5.4%.

Since its known as a top Ivy League school, most students applying to Brown already have strong test scores, grades, and extracurricular activities.

Brown University Acceptance Scattergram

That's why its even more important to write essays that help show why you should be accepted.

Especially for Ivy League and other top schools like Brown, your essays make a difference.

What are the Brown Supplemental Prompts for 2022-23?

To apply to Brown University this year, you are required to write three short essays of 50 to 250 words each.

You can find your Brown writing supplement along with your Common Application essays on your portal.

Here's the Brown supplemental prompts for 2022. The questions on this page are being asked by Brown University:

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)

6 Brown University EssaysThatWorked

Here are 6 of my favorite Brown essay examples from admitted students.

These essays respond to past and current writing supplement prompts for Brown. I've also included some examples of personal statement essays that worked for Brown.

If you need help getting started writing, this is a perfect way to get inspired and see what's worked.

Table of Contents

• Brown Essay Example #1
• Brown Essay Example #2
• Brown Essay Example #3
• Brown Essay Example #4
• Brown Essay Example #5
• Brown Essay Example #6

Prompt: Open Curriculum

Brown university essay example #1.

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 use the Open Curriculum to pursue them while also embracing topics with which you are unfamiliar. (200-250 words)

My primary interest is in languages and linguistics, specifically Spanish, Portuguese and the descent of these languages from Latin which I explored in my IB Extended Essay. Thus, something that excites me about the complete freedom of the Brown curriculum is the opportunity to learn about Hispanic and Lusophone culture, literature and language in an intersectional way through a concentration in Latin American studies combined with classes and undergraduate research in Linguistics. I intend to supplement my language acquisition with practical application through study abroad opportunities at PUC-Rio, Brazil and in Santiago, Chile, perhaps through the Engaged Scholars Program which will allow me to forge deeper connections with the communities and cultures I am studying. I am also attracted by the possibility of a 5-year BA/MA course in Linguistics which will permit me to conduct meaningful and extensive research on a topic I am truly passionate about.

However, I also have an interest in Biochemistry and Molecular biology. The Open Curriculum will enable me to pursue this avenue of study and research without detracting from my principal focus on languages. Therefore, perhaps what I am most excited for is interdisciplinary study at Brown and the possibility of forging unforeseen connections between disparate academic areas and weaving them together into a program of study that will engage, thrill, and inspire me towards a lifelong path of academic inquiry. For example, I am interested to explore how languages and sociolinguistics can be used to promote medical research and provision in Latin America.

Why This Essay Works:

Naming things unique to the school shows you have genuine interest. Listing specific programs, courses, or majors shows you've done your research.

The author's reasons for "Why Brown?" fit into their background and identity. This makes their reasons seem genuine and compelling.

What They Might Improve:

The essay is divided into two parts with distinct answers. Showing how those reasons relate could make the essay more cohesive.

Ending with a sentence "For example..." leaves more to be desired and explained.

Prompt: Brown's Community

Brown university essay example #2.

Prompt: 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? (200-250 words)

At my high school, I reinvigorated and reinvented the linguistics society with the help of a friend, transforming it from a dull discussion of past exam questions to a seminar-style session where I have presented and analysed various interesting aspects of language. In a similar vein, I intend to be a leader and an innovator at Brown, and to create opportunities for likeminded people to discuss shared interests such as linguistics. However, other than creating clubs, I hope to use my experience as a camp counselor and a diving coach to support others within the community, and to set a good example of dedication, energy, and compassion.

Additionally, I have volunteered as a Spanish teacher at a local primary school for three years. Volunteer service is something I would definitely like to continue to undertake at Brown, perhaps through the Community Corps that will allow me to help address social inequality within Providence, or as a teacher and classroom assistant in the Elementary Afterschool Mentoring program at D’Abate school. I can draw on my previous experience and knowledge to hopefully enrich the education of underprivileged children in the local community.

Finally, as an international student, I will bring an element of unique culture to Brown’s campus. Having grown up in the buzzing metropolis of London but visiting America frequently to see family, I have the privilege of a truly dual nationality, and the resultant worldview and cultural references that I hope will enrich the diverse Brown community.

• Variety of Reasons Given: Providing multiple reasons for how you'll contribute shows you aren't one-dimensional. People are complex and showing nuance in your character is important.
• Showcasing Past Experiences: With each point, the author gives examples from their activities and resume. Referencing specific extracurriculars helps build their case and is "proof" of how they'll contribute.

What They Might Change:

• Flow and Writing Style: Listing activities can come off as robotic and uninteresting. Rather, try to find a balance between showing off your achievements and writing in an interesting way.
• Structure: The last paragraph is most compelling because it deals with the author's personality and background, rather than just what they've done. Organizing the essay around your character is better than focusing solely on your achivements.

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Prompt: Why Brown?

Brown university essay example #3.

Prompt: Why Brown, and why the Brown Curriculum? (200 words max)

I believe any college should equip you with tools as you embark upon your journey. Brown provides the necessary. That is what the capstone experience does (not to mention the importance of internships given to Brown Students). You can never know everything about anything. But quench the questions is exactly what the Capstone Experience fosters.

The Open Curriculum was obviously the first thing that caught my eye. In school, you are sometimes forced to take the subjects you don’t like. College shouldn’t be the same. It is supposed to be a fresh start and that is exactly why you should be allowed to take the courses that appeal to you. Here is where the S/NC option was interesting. Only if you know perspectives from all subjects, can you determine a solution; S/NC promotes this. Group Independent Study Projects is also unique. Getting into the course is something hard. But creating your own course is amusing.

I would love to be a part of The Society of Women Engineers because I had to fight with my own family to study Computer Science in the United States. If it means providing the help for people I wish I'd got, never better.

• Ideas and Beliefs: Rather than just saying what aspects are appealing, the author explains why they are attracted to those things. By explaining your perspective, admissions officers are better able to understand your thinking and character.
• Specific to Brown: Listing aspects that are unique to Brown is important to show your interest is authentic. By naming things like the Capstone Experience and S/NC, the author shows their knowledge of Brown and makes their reasons more compelling.
• Writing Style: Some parts of the essay are clunky in wording and could be written more clearly. But the author is an international student, so it is understandable and not the end of the world.
• Structure and Conclusion: There isn't a clear conclusion sentence that ties the essay together. How can you relate the last sentence to your beginning?

Prompt: Area of Study

Brown university essay example #4.

Prompt: Why are you drawn to the area(s) of study you indicated? (150 words max)

There was a time when I was low and afraid to be with myself. That’s when I dived into programming. I always sat with my laptop. But unlike others on Instagram or Snapchat, I was coding. I always kept myself occupied so I wouldn’t think about hardships. But as I was solving those little Instantiation and StackOverflow errors, I realized that any problem in my life had a solution. I could either modify the code and right the wrong, or just keep compiling them, producing no output. So, life is not all that different. That is why I want to pursue Computer Science. I know I can work to keep myself happy. Inevitably, what makes me happy is Computer Science, which is what I want to pursue.

• Intriguing Backstory: Telling a compelling story is about setting the scene. This essay creates vivid imagery by naming specific programming-related things.
• Connects to Bigger Picture: Rather than just saying their major or interest, the author connects it to a more universal idea. Showing the deeper "why" behind your interests makes it relatable and more interesting.
• Writing Style and Flow: Some words are unnecessary, and a few sentences could be made more smooth to read.
• Doesn't Use the Full Word Limit: With 23 words left, the author could have included a sentence or two more. Every word is valuable with short word limits, so use them carefully.

Prompt: Where You've Lived

Brown university essay example #5.

Prompt: Tell us where you have lived - and for how long - since you were born; whether you've always lived in the same place, or perhaps in a variety of places. (100 words max)

I was born in California, USA. When I was about 7 months old, I moved to Bangalore, India. I've lived in Bangalore all my life, until two years ago. I started attending a boarding school, in the same state, but far away from my house. I chose to leave everything behind, even my phone, because I didn't want to be pampered. I wanted to fold my own blanket; to wipe my own tears; to carve my own name; to befriend people my way; to create my destiny. My parents weren't happy at first, but I convinced them.

• Poetic Writing: Interesting writing comes from interesting ideas. And the second to last sentence especially is compelling because it expresses their ideas elegantly.
• Answers Prompt Directly: For supplements especially, make sure to answer exactly what the prompt is asking.
• Be More Concise: Use as few words as possible to say the most you can. Especially for short prompts like this one, every word matters.
• Word Choice: Swapping out words like "house" for "home" can make the tone more natural.

Prompt: Communities and Groups

Brown university essay example #6.

Prompt: Communities or groups: pick one and tell us why it is important to you, and how it has shaped you. (100 words max)

My dad lost his parents when he was young. My mom also quit her job to take care of me. So, if you look at it, she should loathe me. But she doesn’t. She has dedicated her whole life to me. That is why I want to provide a purpose to their lives. Every competition I won, even a small word of praise would lighten their mood. When I am happy they are euphoric; when I am sad they are distraught. It's like they (for)give and forget. So why not follow their footsteps and give it all I got?

• Vulnerable and Authentic: Being vulnerable is an important part of great essays. Talking about sensitive, but real and human topics, makes you more relatable and humanized.
• Explains What Motivates Them: Admissions officers want to know why you're driven to do things. Showing your "why" helps give insight into your character more deeply.
• Doesn't Answer Prompt Directly: Make sure to answer exactly what the prompt asks. Although this essay explains their background and motivations, it doesn't answer the question exactly.

If you're trying to get into Brown in 2022, your essays need to make you stand out from the competition. These 6 Brown essays that worked showcase great examples of what it takes to get accepted into Brown.

There are many lessons and tips to be learned from these supplements:

• Being authentic and genuine is key
• Name aspects unique and specific to the school
• Showcase your motivations and the "why" behind things
• Don't be afraid to be vulnerable
• Use every word carefully and make each word count

If you enjoyed reading these Brown supplements, you'll also like the essays for similar Ivy League schools like Princeton and Columbia University .

What did you think of these Brown University essays?

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Princeton Admitted Essay

People love to ask why. Why do you wear a turban? Why do you have long hair? Why are you playing a guitar with only 3 strings and watching TV at 3 A.M.—where did you get that cat? Why won’t you go back to your country, you terrorist? My answer is... uncomfortable. Many truths of the world are uncomfortable...

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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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The Open Curriculum

Brown’s flexible yet rigorous approach to education pushes undergraduates to be deeply creative thinkers, intellectual risk-takers and entrepreneurial problem-solvers.

What is the Open Curriculum?

At most universities, students must complete a set of core courses. At Brown, our students develop a personalized course of study — they have greater freedom to study what they choose and the flexibility to discover what they love.

The Architect of Your Own Education

Brown’s distinctive approach asks much of students — as the architect of their own education, Brown students are responsible for their own intellectual and creative development. Most undergraduates sample courses in a range of subjects before diving into one of 80-plus academic concentrations for in-depth, focused study.

While undergraduates often find the rigor of building a self-directed course of study demanding, the result is a vibrant intellectual environment in which students are fully engaged as they explore courses in any and every discipline, priming them to think creatively and to develop innovative solutions to critical issues.

Graduates leave Brown prepared to thrive as independent, innovative leaders no matter what path they choose.

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Hear from current students how the Open Curriculum opens minds.

Our goal is a high one — that each and every one of our students is engaged, empowered and transformed by their education. What’s unique about Brown is that we elevate the role of students in achieving that goal as active participants in framing their own education.

Undergraduate Admission

How to apply.

Applications to Brown are submitted online via the Common Application. The online system will guide you through the process of providing the supporting credentials appropriate to your status as a first-year or transfer applicant.

• Applying to Brown

Common Application

Begin by creating an account on the  Common Application  website. Once registered, you will need to add Brown University to your list of colleges by the College Search tab.

The Common Application is divided into three sections:

• Information common to all the schools to which you are applying
• Brown University specific questions
• School forms submitted by your school counselor and academic instructors

Apply Now with the Common Application

Brown University Specific Questions

Questions specific to Brown, including our essays for the 2023-2024 application cycle, are found in the section labeled "Questions." If you are applying to the eight-year  Program in Liberal Medical Education  (PLME) or the five-year  Brown-Rhode Island School of Design Dual Degree Program  (BRDD), you must also complete the special program essays.

Three essays are required for all first year and transfer applicants:

• 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)

First year applicants are also asked to reflect briefly on each of the very short answer questions below. We expect that answers will range from a few words to a few sentences at most.

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)

Transfer students are also asked to complete the following very short answer question: 

Three essays are required for applicants to the PLME in addition to the three essays required of all first year applicants:

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

One essay is required for applicants to the Brown|RISD Dual Degree Program in addition to the three essays required of all first year applicants:

• 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 and engage with diverse spheres of academic and creative inquiry. The culmination of students’ five-year program is a capstone project that relates and integrates content, approaches, and methods from two distinct learning experiences. Considering your understanding of the academic programs at Brown and RISD, describe how and why the specific blend of RISD's experimental, immersive combined studio and liberal arts program and Brown's wide-ranging courses and curricula could constitute an optimal undergraduate education for you. Additionally, how might your academic, artistic and personal experiences contribute to the Dual Degree community and its commitment to interdisciplinary work? (650 word limit)

Submitting Material

Within the Common Application, you will be presented with either online or paper methods of inviting appropriate school officials and teachers to supply records and recommendations. We suggest that you begin the process early to give them plenty of time to respond before the deadline.

We recommend having all official documents, including transcripts and recommendations, sent through the Common Application. Brown has also partnered with  slate.org , through which counselors may upload materials directly for applicants. If this is not an option, please arrange to have your materials sent by email to [email protected] . In the absence of other electronic submission options, items may be faxed to 401-863-9300. Please do not mail duplicate hard copies of items that have been sent to Brown, as this can slow processing times.

Application Fee

To apply to Brown you must submit a $75 non-refundable application fee, or a fee waiver. As part of our commitment to make a Brown University education accessible to students from all income backgrounds, Brown is making automatic application fee waivers available to more students.

Brown will automatically waive the application fee for any student who is enrolled in or eligible for the Federal Free or Reduced Price Lunch program (FRPL), as well as students who are enrolled in federal, state or local programs that aid students from low-income families (for example, TRIO Programs). Additionally, Brown will automatically waive the application fee for any student who belongs to a community-based organization or college access organization that promotes educational opportunity for low-income students.

Applicants to Brown who meet any of these requirements should select the "Brown Specific Fee Waiver" in the "Brown Questions" section of the Common Application.   Applicants who do not meet these specific requirements but believe they may qualify for a fee waiver may select the same options in the Common Application supplemented by a fee waiver request. We will accept fee waiver request forms from  College Board  or  NACAC , or school counselors may email a letter of support directly to  [email protected] .

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We do not consider information on criminal history during our initial round of admission application review. Only upon selecting a pool of admitted candidates do we learn whether you have reported a criminal history, at which point we will offer you an opportunity to explain the circumstances. With this approach, information on misdemeanor or felony convictions can inform, but not determine, admission decisions. This ensures that applicants are evaluated based on their academic profile, extracurricular pursuits and potential fit - not criminal history - and enables us to continue to review this potentially important information.

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Complete the Common Application by:

• November 1 for Early Decision
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You will receive a confirmation email from the Office of College Admission confirming receipt of your Common Application. It is best to ensure that all application materials are sent by the deadline. However, if your application and application payment/fee waiver are submitted by the deadline, it is acceptable to have some of your supporting materials (transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc.) arrive within the following week.

Brown Essays Examples

Brown essays examples .

If you’re applying to Brown University, reading Brown essays examples can help you begin to craft your own supplements. The Brown supplemental essays are a critical part of the admissions process. In this guide, we’ll look at several Brown essays examples and describe what made them stand out. 

Brown is an Ivy League school, ranked #13 nationally by U.S. News & World Report. Located in Providence, Rhode Island, Brown is one of the most competitive schools in the nation. Like our Brown supplemental essay examples, your Brown supplemental essays should tell the Brown admissions team what makes you unique. They should also highlight why you would be a great addition to the “ ever-changing tapestry that is Brown University.” 

In this guide, we’ll first review the Brown application requirements. Then, we’ll dive into some Brown essays examples that worked , including some Brown university open curriculum essay examples, Why Brown essay examples, and a why this major essay example. We’ll also offer more tips on how to write Brown supplemental essays.

How many essays does Brown University require?

According to their website , Brown requires three different supplemental essays. These prompts shift over the years but often cover similar topics. We’ll go over many different types of Brown essays examples to ensure you have all the guidance you need. 

In this guide to Brown essays examples, we’ll go over Brown’s different essay prompts and how to answer them. We’ll look at some Brown university open curriculum essay examples, which are unique to Brown. Additionally, we’ll look at some extracurricular essay examples from admitted students. You’ll find this type of essay prompt on a lot of college applications.

Before we get into the Brown essays examples, let’s go over the prompts for the Brown university supplemental essays.

What are the Brown University essay prompts?

Here are the prompts for the Brown University supplemental essays:

1. 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)

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 your own. how did you respond (200-250 words), 3. 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).

Keep in mind that the Brown supplemental essays change year to year. So, some of the Brown essays examples below might not align perfectly with these prompts.

However, regardless of whether the Brown essays examples reflect these prompts, they can still help you craft your own college essays. So, use these Brown essays examples to help you address any Brown supplemental essays you might encounter. 

While we don’t have Brown supplemental essay examples for each question, this guide will include essays that address all of these major themes. These include Brown university open curriculum essay examples, essays about community, extracurricular essays, and other types of Brown supplemental essays. 

Brown Supplemental Essay Examples #1 – Why Major

We’ve covered some of the basics about the Brown university supplemental essays. Next, let’s dive into the first of our Brown essays examples. 

This essay prompt focuses on your intended major or academic path at Brown. This type of essay is pretty common among college applications. So, you’ll likely find a similar prompt in one of the Brown university supplemental essays. 

1. Why are you drawn to the area(s) of study you indicated earlier in this application? If you are “undecided” or not sure which Brown concentrations match your interests, consider describing more generally the academic topics or modes of thought that engage you currently. (150 word limit)

Brown essays examples #1.

A Brown liberal arts education will let me combine my separate academic passions together, which makes me excited to enter undecided. Currently, I am interested in Brown’s International Relations program, where I hope to use an interdisciplinary approach to study modern global issues. I’m drawn to understanding the economic systems in Latin American nations that are in the midst of political turmoil, such as the controversy behind Colombia’s guerrillas. I’m also interested in the ethnic and religious conflicts in underdeveloped Asian nations, particularly through the lens of sociology and politics. In addition, I hope to take “Politics of Globalization” because I’m curious to see how the natural resources in third world countries are used by wealthier nations like the United States. Finally, as an IR student, I will have the privilege of concentrating in Latin American Studies in order to further understand the global aspects of my Hispanic culture.

Why this essay worked

Like any good why this major essay example, this paragraph conveys three main points. First, what would you like to study? Secondly, why would you like to study it? And third, why would you specifically like to study this at Brown ?

Students often know the answer to the first question but haven’t given much thought to the second or third. In the first of our Brown supplemental essays examples, our student highlights their interest in many global issues. Then, they get specific about what issues fascinate them the most. They also communicate their desire to pursue Latin American Studies and learn more about their own culture. 

Centering what Brown offers

The most compelling part of the first of our Brown essays examples answers the third question: why would you like to study this at Brown? As a liberal arts school, Brown is a great fit for a student who wants an interdisciplinary education. This student lists specific Brown majors, like International Relations, and a specific class name. In this, the writer highlights that they’ve done thorough research into the school. This is a great way to show the Brown admissions committee that you’re invested in Brown over other colleges. 

This Brown essays example is short and to the point. Since you only have 150 words, you want to make sure that every single one counts. So, every word of your Brown University supplemental essays should highlight who you are and why you want to attend Brown.

Remember, you don’t have to be 100% sure about your intended major when you apply. In fact, our Brown essays examples show how you can talk about multiple interests without seeming indecisive or unfocused. Even if you’re undecided, you should at least list some Brown majors to show that you’ve done your research.

Let’s move on to the next of our Brown essays examples: the why Brown essay examples.

Why Brown Essay Examples

The Why Brown essay examples are some of the most important Brown supplemental essay examples to understand. We’re including a why school essay example because most colleges ask for an essay in this style. So, you can use our why Brown essay examples to help you tackle a variety of similar prompts. 

Historically, Brown has had two slightly different prompts. In this Brown essays examples guide, we’re going to include both options for our why Brown essay examples. These include the Brown University open curriculum essay examples and a classic why school essay example. 

 2. Why Brown, and why the Brown Curriculum? (200 Word limit)

As I walked down the Main Green, the tour guide explained that Brown students were advocating for low-income applicants to obtain a fee-waiver. Hearing this showed me what the Brown community values. The community I was raised in didn’t emphasize higher education, and most of the people I grew up with ended up dropping out of school. Thus, I plan to participate at the First Generation and Low Income Student Center by serving as a mentor to students who also once felt that college was impossible.

Brown’s Open Curriculum motivates me to see courses not as a requirement, but as a chance to be in a classroom filled with genuine excitement. I’ll use my independent nature and open-mindedness to explore classes like “Film and the Third Reich,” combining my love for cinema and history. Brown will expose me to diverse intellectual topics outside of my concentration—I can already picture myself taking French at Marston Hall and walking to Robinson Hall for Econometrics.

As a first-generation student, I must not only represent myself on campus, but my parents and my cultural background as well. At Brown, I know I will be able to represent my community.

Why did this essay work?

The first of our why Brown essay examples answers the more detailed prompt: Why Brown, and why the Brown curriculum? Our Brown University open curriculum essay examples are specific to Brown and its offerings. 

The Brown curriculum is unique among Ivy League schools. Brown has an “ open curriculum ,” which means that instead of requiring core classes or subjects, Brown students can shape their whole education. This essay is one of our Brown University open curriculum essay examples. It makes it clear that the student not only understands this unique curriculum, but also knows how they would take advantage of it. 

Like many strong Brown essays examples, this essay begins with an anecdote of the student touring Brown. This is a good rhetorical device—always incorporate a hook at the beginning of your essay if you have space. Moreover, this anecdote proves that the student has invested time and interest in going to Brown. They’ve been on the tour, they’ve learned about the open curriculum, and they know which buildings have French classes and which have econometrics. 

In #2 of our why Brown essays examples, this student also speaks to their upbringing and heritage. Remember, your supplements are one of the only ways that the Brown admissions committee can learn who you are. So, the more that you can tell them in 200 words, the better. 

Next, we have another of our why Brown essay examples. This one is more straightforward:

3. Why Brown? (150 word limit)

Brown’s open curriculum, along with its great emphasis on interdisciplinary concentrations is unique among universities: As a student interested in courses like NEUR 1740, The Diseased Brain: Mechanisms of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders and ANTH 0300: Culture and Health from two seemingly unrelated concentrations, I would love to take the opportunity to explore widely as an undergrad at Brown. Doing research under professors like Dr. Mason, exploring anthropological viewpoints in class and looking at the stigma surrounding HIV testing in Taiwanese/Chinese culture would allow me to draw upon my own cultural experience. 

The cultural and social nexus also fits issues I encountered at Teen Line; callers talked about their own community’s condemnation about LGBTQ identity. The attention to social issues found at Brown will become my home away from liberal California where I can speak to mental health issues in various cultures.

The third of our Brown essays examples also mentions Brown’s open curriculum. So, as you’ve likely realized, the open curriculum is an important part of what makes Brown unique. 

Whenever you write a “why school” essay, make sure to do as much research as possible. Read their whole website, look up classes and majors, research professors and see what research they’ve published, and look for any interesting clubs or organizations. As of our Brown University open curriculum essay examples, this essay highlights a key feature of Brown’s educational ethos. 

Like our other Brown essays examples, this essay highlights the writer’s cultural background. They weave this fact into their academic interests: it’s clear that they care about how culture affects mental health and psychology. Moreover, they even found a specific professor whose work speaks to issues that affect their culture. 

Before we move on to other Brown essays examples, let’s recap some main takeaways from our why Brown essay examples. 

• Do your research! The Brown admissions team wants to know that you have put as much effort into researching their school as they have into reading your application.
• These are why Brown essay examples, but they should also tell Brown why you belong on campus. It’s not enough to say “Brown has a strong literature program.” Instead, you should explain what you would do in that program and why you want to participate in it. 
• Use any opportunity you can to tell the admissions committee something they haven’t learned about you yet. For instance, maybe the author of one of the above Brown essays examples listed that they worked at Teen Line on their extracurriculars. However, their Brown supplemental essays can explain why they’re interested in mental health, what they experienced at Teen Line, and how they would develop that interest at Brown. So, use your Brown University supplemental essays to expand on the key parts of your profile. 

Next, let’s move on to some other Brown essays examples. 

Brown Essay Examples

The next of our Brown essays examples asks about your background and upbringing. This essay is a chance for you to tell the Brown admissions committee something about you. This should include where you grew up, what your values are, and how you developed them. 

4. Tell us where you have lived – and for how long – since you were born; whether you’ve always lived in the same place, or perhaps in a variety of places. (100 word limit)

Brown essay example.

The tiny apartment I live in is one of many that crowd a small Hispanic neighborhood called Jackson Heights in Queens, NY. Being NYC born and raised has influenced my image of the ideal, inclusive community. The world recognizes New York for its beautiful skyscrapers, but I see beauty in busy streets and endless ethnic diversity. The little things most tourists won’t pay attention to—the subways filled with diverse commuters, the people protesting at Union Square, the Dominican bodegas on every corner—are the parts I cherish most. While visitors watch the Empire State Building, I watch all the working people.

Wow– in only 100 words, the fourth of our Brown essays examples tells us so much about who this student is!

Though this prompt in the Brown essays examples seems like a simple question, this student understood that the admissions committee doesn’t really care about your address or the color of your bedroom. Instead, Brown wants to learn about the way your childhood home has affected you. 

Telling your story

This student tells a story in a very short space. Their New York isn’t the same as the tourists’ New York. The beauty of the city isn’t due to its shiny facade, but because of the people in it. The last sentence summarizes the essay beautifully, contrasting what tourists watch with what the student notices. 

The fourth of our Brown essays examples also touches on how the student’s upbringing has led them to desire an inclusive community. Colleges often represent themselves as havens of inclusivity. Many of them also include essay questions that speak to community or diversity. Even if the college doesn’t ask explicitly about those qualities, your essay should still reflect your chosen university’s values. You can find these values on schools’ websites or in other official communications.

Now, let’s move on to other Brown supplemental essay examples. Still, note that many tips we’ve covered can apply to your Brown University supplemental essays regardless of the prompt! 

Brown Supplemental Essay Examples

For the fifth of our Brown supplemental essay examples, we’ll read about community. Many colleges have supplemental essay prompts that ask about community. So, as you read, think about how this essay could be altered to fit a prompt from another school!

5. We all exist within communities or groups of various sizes, origins, and purposes; pick one and tell us why it is important to you, and how it has shaped you. (100 word limit)

Brown supplemental essay example.

I’ve watched an endless cycle of girls trade in their cap and gown for baby strollers, leaving behind their education. These circumstances inspired me to become a mentor for younger girls through the nonprofit Powerplay NYC, which helps girls from under-resourced neighborhoods through health and fitness. This experience taught me that I’m capable of guiding these girls through the trials of life. Higher education will transform me into the Michelle Obama they need; I want to inspire girls to never lose sight of their own potential. If anything, I don’t want to prosper despite my background, but because of it.

Okay, fine, our question about the next of our Brown supplemental essay examples was a bit of a trick. In fact, you’ll notice that this student does not mention Brown once in this essay! 

This is a risky move for Brown university supplemental essays. However, if the essay is strong enough, you can pull this off. Notably, this one of our Brown supplemental essay examples is also quite short. If you only have 100 words, you don’t always need to discuss the school. 

This student explains how watching girls in her community leave education due to pregnancy has not only inspired her to pursue an education herself, but also to give back to her community. A college education would allow her to be the mentor she believes her community needs. 

Note that in this Brown supplemental essays example, this student doesn’t specify the exact “community” she’s talking about or go into extreme detail about her job at Powerplay NYC. The prompt only allows for 100 words, and she doesn’t have any to waste. In a longer version of this essay, this student might include more detail and be more specific about how Brown would help her achieve her goals. But with only 100 words, you have to prioritize the most important parts of the story.

The next of our Brown supplemental essay examples is about extracurricular activities . This type of essay prompt is very common. So, read on to see why these extracurricular activities essay examples worked. 

Brown Essay Examples – Extracurricular Activity Essay

You might not need to answer this question for your Brown application. However, reading extracurricular activities essay examples can be very useful for your other college applications. This one of our Brown supplemental essay examples puts you right in the shoes of a student working in a Museum.

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

Brown extracurricular activity essay example.

Set up the microscope. Pick up the bacteria slides. Keep every station clean. These tasks ran through my head every Saturday during junior year, when I interned at the American Museum of Natural History. I was responsible for setting up carts and speaking to the public about each cart’s purpose. Each cart had a unique topic ranging from “Biodiversity” to “Advanced Mammals.” My favorite was “Living in Water” because I used a biological microscope to view snails and zooplankton while teaching visitors how marine life connected to today’s ocean pollution. I was impressed by each visitor—from the 5-year-old boy who knew all about Saturn to the foreign exchange student from Argentina who was studying microbiology—because they all shared their passions with me. This experience has influenced me to explore my intellectual curiosity in college so that I can one day share my passions with others as well.

The next of our Brown supplemental essay examples does a great job of something that you’ve probably heard about from your English teachers: showing, not telling. 

Instead of saying “I always helped set up the microscope at my job at the museum,” the student puts you directly into their head: “Set up the microscope. Pick up the bacteria slides. Keep every station clean.” These brief, instructive phrases draw the reader into these Brown supplemental essay examples and make them want to learn more about this student’s experience.

The writer of our Brown supplemental essay examples also connects this anecdote not only to an academic interest but to their intellectual curiosity overall. As you might have seen in the Brown University open curriculum essay examples, Brown specifically prides itself on students forging a creative academic path. This is a great example of how to write Brown supplemental essays compared to other college essays. 

Now that we’ve gone over some Brown supplemental essay examples, let’s zoom out a bit. Sure, you might write an essay so strong it ends up as one of our Brown University open curriculum essay examples. But, how much does Brown care about supplemental essays?

Does Brown care about supplemental essays?

You’ve read and analyzed all of these Brown supplemental essay examples, but does Brown even care about supplemental essays? The short answer is yes. 

Your application will have many different components. There’s your Common App essay, your extracurricular list, your grades and test scores, and your letters of recommendation. The admissions committee will look at your application holistically: this means that they’ll consider all aspects of the application. 

The Brown website states that the most important part of your application is your academic standing in high school. However, this doesn’t mean that the Brown supplemental essays aren’t important—or that you shouldn’t take the time to read Brown university essay examples. 

These Brown University essay examples demonstrate many different ways to weave your life story and your values into your responses. Even if the essays aren’t the most important part of your Brown application, they provide you an opportunity to distinguish yourself from other applicants. After all, if two students have similar grades and scores, their essays can make a major difference in terms of who makes the cut. 

How to write standout Brown essays?

In our guide to Brown University essay examples, you’ve seen how other students have written stellar Brown essays. But how can you use what you learned in these Brown University essay examples to figure out how to get into Brown?

First, make sure that just like in these Brown university essay examples, you use impeccable spelling and grammar. This is a pretty basic ask, but you’ll notice that all these Brown University essay examples have that in common! Read your essay out loud, have a parent or a friend read it, or use an online grammar checker to make sure your syntax is flawless. 

Another tactic you can use to make your essays stand out is also pretty simple: be true to who you are! It’s corny, but each college class is made up of individuals. The students that wrote these Brown University essay examples might not have won Nobel Prizes or been featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list , but they were introspective about what makes them unique. Moreover, as our Brown University essay examples reflect, these students were honest and vulnerable in communicating that to the admissions committee. 

Remember: the authors of these Brown university essay examples are students just like you. If you write well-structured essays that share your story with the admissions committee, you might end up on our next list of Brown University essay examples that worked. 

More CollegeAdvisor resources about Brown University

Aside from our guide on Brown university essay examples that worked, CollegeAdvisor has many other resources that can help you learn how to get into Brown—including this guide on how to do just that!

If you want to learn more about the questions behind these Brown University essay examples, check out our guide on the Brown supplemental essays. Along with Brown University essay examples, this guide will go into more detail on the essay prompts, application information, deadlines, and the Brown PLME essays. 

The Brown PLME essays are prompts that students can use to apply Brown’s unique baccalaureate-MD program—the only one in the Ivy League. Brown also has special essay prompts for students who want to apply to a dual degree for Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design. Check out our guide to these more specialized Brown university essay examples here .

Webinars and other application resources 

For more advice on completing your Brown application outside of Brown University essay examples, we have webinars featuring recent alumni and admissions officials who can answer any questions you might have. If these Brown University essay examples made you curious about other Ivy League collegess, you can learn more about the Ivies here !

So you’ve read the Brown University essay examples, written some stellar supplements, applied to Brown, and been accepted. Congratulations! Before you get to campus, read our guide on making the most of your first year at Brown, or this one on Brown’s incredible English major . 

Brown Essay Examples – 5 Takeaways

Now that we’ve reached the end of our guide, you should have a better idea of how to write Brown supplemental essays. Here are our five main takeaways on how to write Brown supplemental essays:

Five key takeaways for writing Brown supplemental essays

#1- write to the prompt.

Even though the Brown University supplemental essays change year to year, there are common themes that you can write about in your essays. These include community, extracurriculars, your upbringing, and your academic pursuits. Our why Brown essay examples and why major essay examples are common features of other college essay prompts as well. 

#2- Be personal and detailed

Use these supplemental essays as a way to tell the admissions committee something they don’t already know about you. There’s only so much someone can understand about who you are from your GPA—don’t be afraid to be introspective and honest!

#3- Do your research

Always make your essays specific to the school—our Brown University open curriculum essay examples exemplify how important it is to do your research on the school and convey how the Brown majors specifically will be a good fit for you.

#4- Think about the structure of your essay

Keep structure in mind: weave in anecdotes, start your essay with a hook, and make sure to have impeccable spelling and grammar. 

#5- Be concise

Many of these supplemental essay questions have very low word limits. So, be intentional about what points of your story are the most crucial for the admissions committee to know.

After reading these Brown essays examples, we hope you have a better understanding of how to write Brown supplemental essays. Good luck!

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How to Write the Brown University and PLME Essays 2023-2024

Brown has one of the more extensive supplemental essay packages out there, with three 250-word supplements and four shorter responses required for all applicants. In addition to these seven prompts, applicants to the dual degree program with Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) will need to explain their interest in the program through a 650-word personal statement, and applicants to the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) will need to do the same through three 250-word essays.

Even if you aren’t applying to either of these specialized programs, you still have seven prompts to respond to, so make sure you leave yourself enough time to give your Brown application the attention it deserves. In this post, we’ll break down how you want to approach each prompt, so you can be confident that your essays will help set you apart even within one of the most competitive applicant pools in the country.

Read these Brown essay examples written by real students to inspire your writing!

Brown University Supplemental Essay Prompts

All applicants.

Prompt 1: 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)

Prompt 2: 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)

Prompt 3: 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)

Prompt 4: What three words best describe you? (3 words)

Prompt 5: What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it? (100 words)

Prompt 6: If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be? (100 words)

Prompt 7: In one sentence, Why Brown? (50 words)

RISD Dual Degree Applicants

Prompt 1: The Brown | RISD Dual Degree Program draws on the complementary strengths of Brown University and the 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. (100-650 words)

PLME Applicants

Prompt 1: 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 words) 

Prompt 2: 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. (250 words) 

Prompt 3: How do you envision the Program in Liberal Medical Education helping to meet your academic, personal and professional goals as a person and future physician? (250 words)

All Applicants, Prompt 1

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) . .

This is essentially a “ Why This Major ” essay, designed to understand your academic interests and how you might take advantage of the Open Curriculum.

The first step is to take the time to ponder what it is about your selected subject that you really gravitate towards, and try to establish exactly why you want to study that subject (or subjects). The prompt urges you to think about why you are excited by your academic interests, so push yourself to think beyond “I’m really good at it” or “I have an excellent teacher.” 

The short essay is only 250 words, so aim to focus your interests on a maximum of two areas. Once you have established your key interests and taken the time to ponder why you’re drawn to them, examine your reasoning and try to find an underlying connection between the two fields. Alternatively, consider presenting an interdisciplinary field that connects the two subjects, and emphasize the opportunities presented at Brown through its particular courses/programs/majors that would allow you to pursue your interdisciplinary interests. If there isn’t a connection between the two subjects, that’s totally okay, too!

While this prompt might appear to only ask about your academic interests, it is also asking what you would like to study while at Brown (it is a Brown supplemental essay, after all). Admissions officers also want to know how you’ll use Brown’s resources (and the Open Curriculum) to achieve your academic goals.

But what about those who are undecided? There’s no need to worry if you’re not sure what you’ll study. You can simply mention your top 1-2 interests and why Brown is a good fit for you to develop those interests. It might be helpful to know that Brown is one of the few universities that allows you to construct your own major; if applicable, you can mention your desire to turn your multiple interests into a unique interdisciplinary major.

Below are several examples to illustrate meshing two seemingly contrasting interests into a potential future academic pursuit at Brown:

Example 1: Perhaps you’re interested in biology and geology. You could weave your interests together by emphasizing your insatiable curiosity for understanding both living and physical systems, and reference an example of something your desire to understand systems-thinking has led you to do in the past, or reflect on how this experience challenged your assumptions, etc. Your narrative could incorporate experiences that illustrate your interest in each subject – you can talk about a science fair project you worked on, a class you struggled in but overcame, a lab experiment you participated in, or a younger student you tutored, etc. Focus on the common reasons you are attracted to both subjects. You can mention the opportunity to pursue the joint Geo-Bio degree offered through the Department of Earth, Environment, and Planetary Sciences at Brown, without abandoning your interests in poetry and anthropology through the opportunities presented by the Open Curriculum. 

Example 2: Let’s imagine that you are interested in politics, activism, or community work, but you also are passionate about music and have been playing piano for many years. You could discuss your experiences on a political internship or your role in your school’s model UN, and discuss the opportunities available at Brown, through the Brown in Washington program or the Swearer Center for Public Service. However, you could also discuss the piano concert you organized and performed in to fundraise for your community’s homeless shelter. Whenever possible, selecting an example that bridges your seemingly contrasting interests can create a very compelling essay. You could conclude by explaining that you are aiming to use the Open Curriculum to explore the impact of music on the influence of political campaigns and a candidate’s perception, or on exploring the connection between music, Alzheimer’s, and memory, etc. 

All Applicants, Prompt 2

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).

Brainstorming Your Topic

While the phrasing is a little different, this is essentially a Diversity Essay . You want to share something about who you are that sets you apart from other applicants to Brown, and explain how it would make you a valuable addition to Brown’s campus community.

Before you start brainstorming which part of your identity you want to write about, do remember that the way colleges evaluate race specifically will be different this year, and moving forward, after the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action in June. Schools are not allowed to factor race into their broader admissions strategies, but they can consider it on an individual level through the essay. So, if your racial identity is an important part of who you are, this is a good opportunity to share it with admissions officers.

Of course, you are also welcome to write about a different part of your identity. The things that make us diverse aren’t just race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and the other features that normally first come to people’s minds when they hear the word “diversity.” Even the prompt itself casts a wide net, with the phrase “an aspect of your growing up.” In addition to the features just listed, that could also refer to hobbies, interests, your family culture, and pretty much any lived experience. Less traditional topics in this vein could include:

• Teaching yourself Elvish, the fictional language from Lord of the Rings
• Biking to school every day while your friends drove or took the bus
• Baking all the birthday cakes in your family from the time you were seven
• Raising chickens in the backyard of your suburban house

The only real rule here is that you choose a part of your identity that will help Brown admissions officers better understand who you are, and what you’ll look like as a college student. So long as that’s the case, anything is fair game.

Tips for Writing Your Essay

Once you’ve selected a topic, the thing you want to make clear in your actual essay is how this “aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you .” Like “aspect of your growing up,” “inspired or challenged” gives you a lot of flexibility, but what Brown admissions officers are saying is that they want to understand not just what sets you apart from other applicants, but why that thing is crucial to understanding who you are as a whole.

In other words, you don’t just want to say “I live with my grandparents, who spent most of their lives in Germany, and don’t speak very good English.” You want to go deeper, explaining how this dynamic made you feel, and how it shaped your personality and overall perspective on the world.

There’s no one right way to do that—only you know how this piece of your identity has impacted you. The most important thing is to just be honest, rather than trying to structure your response around what you think Brown wants to see. If you try to force a connection to a particular value, that disconnect will show. To illustrate our point here, compare the following two excerpts from hypothetical essays:

Excerpt 1: “I sometimes felt awkward when I had friends over, as my grandparents could do little more than wave and stumble over a heavily accented ‘How are you?’ But I always got over my embarrassment quickly, because cultural heritage is something to celebrate, since the only way we can learn is from engaging with those who are different from us.”

Excerpt 2: “When I was little, I didn’t see any issue with my grandparents not speaking English: they were my family, and that was all that mattered. But when I got older and started having friends over, their perplexed reactions to my grandpa’s heavily accented ‘How are you?’ caused me to feel a twang of shame—and then, a pinch of anger with myself, for being ashamed of my own family.”

While celebration of cultural differences is of course a wonderful thing, in the first excerpt the writer seems to be skipping ahead to their appreciation of this value, and glossing over a more complicated emotional journey in the process. 

In the second example, on the other hand, they are unafraid to be vulnerable, and share their true feelings about this experience. As a result, we have a much clearer sense of both who they are and how they became that person, which are exactly the questions admissions officers want you to answer in your essays. Plus, if they talk later on about the appreciation for cultural difference they eventually took away from this experience, we will have seen exactly how they developed this appreciation, which will make their connection to this value feel much more genuine.

One last tip here: try to rely on specific anecdotes as much as possible to illustrate your points. Both excerpts above draw on a tangible example of a moment (having friends over and their grandparents being unable to greet them) that made them wrestle with their identity. That specificity gives us a much clearer sense of how this student grew through this experience, whereas a general line like “Sometimes, I was proud of my heritage, but other times I was embarrassed” would leave us with a lot of questions about what caused the student to feel this back-and-forth.

Mistakes to Avoid

The biggest potential pitfall in a diversity essay is only sharing part of your identity, and not taking the next step outlined above of explaining how it’s relevant to understanding what kind of  college student you’ll be. If you don’t get to this deeper level of reflection, admissions officers may find themselves saying “Okay, we know [x] about you, but how does that help us figure out whether or not you’re a good match for Brown?”

All Applicants, Prompt 3

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 essay prompt is very similar to the extracurricular essay archetype. However, there is a subtle difference in that this prompt allows you to discuss out-of-school activities and academic subjects. This would be a good place to demonstrate your love for a specific topic or activity that you included in other parts of your application. Or, if there is a very important part of your personality that hasn’t been captured by the rest of your application, you can write about that here. 

Pick a topic that genuinely interests you. Don’t write an essay about how you love titrating acids and bases to sound “impressive” or “intellectual” if you groan every time you walk into the chemistry lab. Admissions officers have read enough essays to tell when a student’s tone and details depict a genuine interest in a topic. You are given so much freedom, so you really should write about whatever brings you joy. Maybe you love trying styling hair and nothing brings you as much joy as when you are backstage at your school show and you are styling, braiding, and pinning all of the actors’ hair. A topic like this is unique to the student, and since they are genuinely passionate about hairstyling, it will shine through in their writing.

A strong extracurricular essay will either show your emotions and state of mind when you participate in your activity, or how that activity has helped you develop new skills and personality traits. A great essay will do both. Like the other prompts, there is a limited word count to convey not only why you enjoy this activity so much, but how you have improved as a result of this activity. Here’s an example that accomplishes both of these:

“It was a hot day in New Orleans and the crowd stuffed together certainly didn’t make things better. Necks were craning to see the spectacle in the middle of the circle. I tugged on my dad’s shirt, and he placed me on top of his shoulders for the best seat in the house. My heart raced every time the daring performer threw a sword up – I really thought he’d eventually slice his hand open. But it was perfect every time. By the end of our trip, I had tried my hand at juggling everything from toothbrushes to balls of socks. My mom was not as enthusiastic when I collected everybody’s knives at dinner to mimic the juggler’s final trick. When I finally got a juggling kit for my next birthday, I devoted every second of my free time to practicing moves I saw on YouTube. With more and more practice, I could tell how long it would take for an object to reach its zenith just by the weight in my hand. At times, the level of control and focus I put into juggling is exhausting, but if I lose focus for one second, I run the risk of serious injury. Some tricks have taken years to perfect, but the gratification when I’ve mastered a new skill makes all my patience worth it. Nothing will be as thrilling as the day my audience’s hearts race with me as I catch a sword in my hand.”

While this example is a little over the word count, the student’s passion for juggling is clearly evident. The reader sees what sparked this student’s interest, how it has developed, and how juggling has affected the student. By tying the conclusion back to the anecdote at the beginning, the essay has a satisfying conclusion that makes the reader feel this student is highly motivated by their passion and dreams, which is exactly what Brown is looking for.

All Applicants, Prompt 4

What three words best describe you (3 words).

This prompt is as clear, straightforward, and short as you could ask for, but with supplemental essays, that unfortunately doesn’t automatically mean writing your response will be easy. Obviously, you have no space to elaborate on why you chose the three words you did, so you need to give yourself time to think deeply about your words.

The best advice we can give is to, as you brainstorm, remember two of the main purposes of the college essay. First, to set yourself apart from other applicants with strong academic and extracurricular resumes. Second, to give admissions officers information that can’t be found elsewhere in your application.

Keeping these two ideas in mind will hopefully help you use your three words as effectively as possible. For example, you don’t want to use flattering but vague adjectives like “smart,” “talented,” “funny,” or “creative” because those are words that most other applicants to Brown would also use to describe themselves. You also want to avoid highlighting a feature of yourself that already comes across in another part of your application—if your activities list says that you’ve earned 10 varsity letters, admissions officers already know you’re athletic, so don’t waste one of your precious three words on repeating that here.

Instead, try to pick descriptive, precise words that pick out some feature of your personality that, for whatever reason, doesn’t yet come across in your application. Only you know how to apply that advice to yourself, but here is a list of words that communicate a clear, tangible personality trait, and thus would teach admissions officers something substantive about who you are:

• Sentimental
• Adventurous

Hopefully, this list gives you a clearer sense of what kind of words you should be considering. You only have three, so use them wisely!

All Applicants, Prompt 5

What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it (100 words).

This is a textbook example of the “Extracurricular” essay , which is one you may well have already written for another school. If you do already have a version of this essay on hand, you are welcome to write about the same topic. However, you will still need to dedicate time to this prompt, as this essay’s word count is likely much lower than that of your other essay (usually, this kind of prompt has a word count in the 200-250 range), and you don’t want your essay to feel like an abridged version of another one. We’ll get into how to avoid that in the next section.

If you haven’t yet written this kind of essay, or if you have but want to write about something new, note that “most meaningful” can be read in a variety of ways. Perhaps you are inspired to write about classic extracurricular activities, like a sport, a club, volunteer work, or a part-time job. Those are all fantastic options, but you can also write about more unconventional activities if none of those things feel quite right, as “extracurricular activity” can refer to just about anything you do outside of the classroom.

For example, you could write about how you make trinkets out of the feathers that get left at your bird feeder. You could also write about your neighborhood’s caroling group, and how going door to door each year is your favorite part of the holiday season. Or you could describe teaching baseball to your much younger neighbor after watching you practice made him want to learn the sport.

While you probably don’t do any of these things, hopefully these examples of more unusual activities help you brainstorm things you do in your own life that could work for this prompt. Remember, like any college essay, the point of this prompt is to help admissions officers better understand who you are, so as long as your activity will help you do that, it’s fair game here.

If you’re writing about the same topic as another essay, you can certainly use that other one for inspiration, and potentially even use some of the same lines. There are only so many hours in the day, and recycling previous work can be a good time-saver.

However, you want to make sure this essay feels like a cohesive, independent unit, not like a Frankenstein’s monster pieced together from parts of another essay. So, don’t just pluck enough sentences to get you to 100 words and call it good. Rather, think about the ideas you express in that essay, and try to capture those same sentiments in a smaller package. 

As noted above, that may involve using a sentence or two from the other essay, but you will almost certainly need to generate new sentences, or rephrase existing ones, and of course pay attention to the structure to make sure the flow, progression from one idea to the next, and so on all make sense.

If you’re starting from scratch, the most important thing to do is make sure you answer the second half of this prompt: what do you want admissions officers to know about this activity? In other words, don’t just tell them “I do [x] in my free time.” Rather, explain how this activity has helped you grow, so that Brown admissions officers can see why your involvement in it is relevant to the kind of college student you’ll be.

Obviously, you don’t have a ton of room to do this, but you still want to rely on the old adage for college essays, “show, don’t tell,” as much as possible. Usually, that means describing specific anecdotes or life experiences in enough detail that you don’t have to tell your reader directly how the activity shaped you, because they can see it for themselves. Here, you don’t have the space to provide a ton of detail, but you still want to at least reference tangible examples to illustrate your points, as otherwise your essay may end up feeling cheesy or impersonal.

To see the difference between the two approaches, compare these two example responses:

Example 1: “ When I started volunteering at the Everett animal shelter, I wasn’t that excited about a lot of the tasks I had to do. I mainly just wanted something to do on the weekends. But as time went on, I started to find joy and fulfillment in duties that had previously just bored me. Now, I have a much more positive outlook when I try new things, because this experience taught me that learning and growth can happen in a lot of different ways–often ways you never even expected up front.”

Example 2: “My first day volunteering at the Everett animal shelter, I couldn’t help but wrinkle my nose and try to hold in my vomit as I scrubbed the cages of kittens and puppies that weren’t yet potty-trained. But gradually, I stopped noticing the smell as much, and instead started paying attention to how joyful the animals were afterward to be able to play freely, without avoiding soiled areas. Today, I try to approach everything in my life with the mindset that even tedious or gross tasks can be fulfilling if you consciously focus on the greater purpose of what you’re doing.”

The ideas conveyed in these two examples are the same. But the second one includes a specific example of a task they found unpleasant (cleaning cages), and describes what exactly made them start to change their mindset (seeing the animals happy in their clean cages). As a result, we get a more engaging story, which teaches us not just what the student learned from this experience, but also how they learned it.

The main thing you want to be on the lookout for here is using your space inefficiently, since you already have so little of it. Specifically, remember that this essay is not the only thing in your application, so you want to give your reader new information about yourself, rather than repeating details that can already be found elsewhere.

For example, if you already wrote your Common App essay about your experiences volunteering at the animal shelter, you’ll want to pick a different topic for this essay. Even if you feel you can shine a different light on the experience, you’ve already spent 650 words on it. Use these 100 to introduce Brown admissions officers to something entirely new about yourself.

Additionally, remember that, if you’re writing about something that appears in your activities list, admissions officers already know how long you’ve been involved in it, and how often you do it. So, an introductory line like “During my sophomore year, I started volunteering at the animal shelter every week,” is a waste of 13% of your space, as admissions officers already know that. 

Even if you choose an extracurricular that doesn’t appear in your activities list, you don’t really need to provide these kinds of factual details unless they’re essential to understanding the point you’re trying to make. For example, maybe you were feeling overwhelmed your freshman year of high school, and teaching your neighbor baseball helped remind you that you do have things you’re good at. Otherwise, those words could be used more efficiently.

All Applicants, Prompt 6

If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be (100 words).

You’re not even a high school graduate yet, and here Brown is dropping you into a professor’s shoes—what an amazing opportunity! As you think about which course you’re going to offer, note that Brown is casting an incredibly wide net with this prompt: you can teach about any subject, even a non-academic one. Admissions officers want to see your creativity, because once you get to college, you will be able to take a much, much wider variety of classes, and admissions officers want to see that you’re ready to take advantage of that freedom.

Plus, like with any college essay, your goal here is to share a side of yourself that isn’t reflected in any other part of your application, and the looser nature of this prompt makes this a great opportunity to share something that wouldn’t appear in a transcript or activities list. So, don’t be afraid to think outside the box and have some fun! Do you have any interests that are a huge part of your life, but unrelated to your academic or extracurricular passions? Tell us about them here! Is there something you’ve always been inexplicably fascinated by, to the point that it’s shaped how you’ve grown up? This is the place to describe it!

To give you a sense of just how creative you can get, here is a list of example topics you could write about:

• Using statistics to account for potential injuries when drafting your fantasy football team
• Theories and conspiracies about how the pyramids were built
• The incredible variation in Italian food from one region to another
• The chemistry behind making the perfect, sticky-but-not-too-sticky, sushi rice
• Extreme climates, like a desert in Chile that hasn’t gotten rain in hundreds of years

While the prompt only explicitly asks what you would teach about, the thing to bring out in your response is the implied “and why” at the end. You don’t want your response to be just about the history of making sushi rice. While that might be informative, it won’t help Brown admissions officers visualize you as part of their campus community.

Instead, use your topic as a lens to shine light on some feature of your personality. In other words, ask yourself what your interest in this subject says about you overall. For example, maybe dealing with the randomness of injuries to highly drafted players in your fantasy league has helped you accept that some things are ultimately outside of your control, no matter how hard you try to account for them. Alternatively, perhaps learning about the most extreme climates on earth makes you feel awe for the variety present in nature, which in turn inspires you to think about the variety of things you could do with your life.

The most important thing is that your interest in this topic is clearly connected to your growth and development. If that connection is vague or doesn’t seem particularly logical, your response may feel disjointed or impersonal. But so long as your explanation is honest and thoughtful, admissions officers should come away from your essay with a more comprehensive, nuanced understanding of what makes you tick, both intellectually and personally.

Really, the only thing you want to avoid in your response is not taking advantage of this opportunity to be creative. Even if you want to write about a conventional academic subject, like math or English, approach it from an unusual angle, like the example listed in the “Brainstorming” section about using statistics to help you in your fantasy football draft. That will prove to admissions officers that you aren’t just smart, but also curious and imaginative, and also show them a new side of you—the side that plays fantasy football—that probably doesn’t show up anywhere else in your application.

All Applicants, Prompt 7

In one sentence, why brown (50 words).

While writing the supplements for the other schools on your list, you have likely come across this “Why This College?” prompt. However, because Brown is giving you only 50 words, the usual approach to this kind of essay—citing several school-specific resources and explaining how they’ll help you achieve your goals—doesn’t work, as you just don’t have room to do that.

That being said, you still want to be precise in your response. The classic rule for this kind of essay, that you shouldn’t be able to swap in another school’s name and still have your response make sense, still applies. And 50 words is more than you think. While you don’t have space to incorporate academic, extracurricular, and social opportunities at Brown the way you normally would, you can still highlight one particular resource at Brown that interests you and give admissions officers a sense of why you’re drawn to it. 

Here’s an example of a response that accomplishes everything laid out in the previous paragraph:

“Brown’s spirit is making interdisciplinary connections, which I would do through the Brown in Bologna program by further exploring the Italian culture my grandparents preserved even after immigrating to Boston, and simultaneously informing myself about another country’s educational system so that I am better prepared to solve global educational inequalities.”

This response is exactly 50 words, and uses them efficiently to show admissions officers this student is a good fit for their school by explaining how they would take advantage of the opportunities available at Brown. To do the same in your own response, just make sure that you choose a resource that directly and concretely connects to your goals for college, rather than something you’re only sort of interested in. If you don’t already have a clear sense of what you want to say, 50 words isn’t enough to explain why you might be interested in something—you need to already know you are, and why.

One last note: “the Open Curriculum” doesn’t work as the kind of school-specific resource we’re talking about. While this is one of the school’s most famous distinguishing features, remember that the point of any college essay is to help set yourself apart from other applicants, and anyone who applies to Brown is at least somewhat drawn to the Open Curriculum. 

To give admissions officers a clear sense of how you personally would fit into Brown’s campus community, you’ll need to get more specific, by instead referencing a research opportunity, particular academic offering, or study abroad program (as in the example above). Then, explain how that resource reflects the broader culture of Brown, and how it connects to your own priorities and hopes for your time in college. Fitting all of this in isn’t easy, but again, it can be done. We believe in you!

RISD Applicants, Prompt 1

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. (100-650 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. It’s incredibly important to highlight the interdisciplinary nature of your goals, as this is specifically called out in the prompt.  

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, Common App essay, and other supplemental essays will also speak volumes about who you are, 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.

PLME Applicants Only

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. For more about PLME, check out our comprehensive guide .

PLME Applicants, Prompt 1

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 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.

PLME Applicants, Prompt 2

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. (250 words).

Your essay should look to the future and answer how you will address a specific issue you see in health care today. Maybe you are concerned with high maternal mortality rates among mothers from lower socioeconomic statuses, and you want to work as an OBGYN in underprivileged areas to provide mothers with more attentive care. Possibly you are interested in developing a pill that will instantly stop bug bites from itching, because after years of your family’s annual camping trip you know how pesky bug bites can be.

Once you identify this specific aspect of health care which you are interested in and why you are interested, you should go into detail about how you hope to improve this issue. A student who already has experience with their issue might write about how in high school she tried to deter students from vaping by forming a Students Against Nicotine club at her school. However, once she has a medical background, she plans to specialize in respiratory illnesses so she can give talks at schools about the science behind what vaping does to a person’s lungs. Another student might not have prior experience with racial disparities in health care, but they know that they want to address the toxic stress minority communities face which contributes to major health complications. This student could discuss their plan to popularize a method for identifying and prescribing toxic stress as a medical condition.

It’s important that your response to this prompt includes what you are interested in doing as a physician, where you learned about this issue or what sparked your interest in this specific topic, and how you plan to make a difference one day. You can further strengthen your response by describing how specific resources and opportunities (classes, researching with professors, clubs and organizations, etc) at Brown will allow you to reach your goals and address the issue. Given the limited amount of space, it’s okay if you aren’t able to include resources at Brown, because a bigger focus should be on your aspirations and how you plan to solve a problem.

One common mistake that students will make when it comes to this prompt is creating a potential impact in medicine that is not strongly reflected in the rest of their application. You don’t necessarily need to have worked in a hospital or a lab to connect the issue you are interested in to your application, but you could have attended lectures and seminars on the topic, taken a class at a university about it, or read scientific journals and papers that discussed it. However, don’t claim you want to investigate the impact of biased artificial intelligence radiology tools in providing care for people of color without being able to explain where your interest and knowledge of this issue came from. 

PLME Applicants, Prompt 3

How do you envision the program in liberal medical education helping to meet your academic, personal and professional goals as a person and future physician (250 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 an 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.

Where to Get Your Brown Essay Edited 

Do you want feedback on your Brown essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools.  Find the right advisor for you  to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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Brown University Supplemental Essay Examples That Stand Out

Reviewing Brown University supplemental essay examples can be very helpful for students who are getting ready to write their own  college supplemental essays . Whether you are planning on applying to  Brown University  - one of the most selective schools in the United States, or a different institution altogether, you will definitely be inspired by the prompts that brown uses for its essays.

If you want to get into a top college, having a high GPA and a few extracurricular activities on your  high school resume  is no longer enough. College admissions have gotten more competitive, and the process has become more holistic. This means that if you want to stand out, you must submit compelling essays that show the admissions committee why you should be accepted.

Reviewing different  college essay examples  can help you do that. So, without much further ado, let's take a look at these six Brown supplementary essay examples below. 

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Article Contents 9 min read

Brown supplemental essay example #1.

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)

Books have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My parents read to me at least once every day when I was a child, and in middle school, when my siblings wanted to have fun with their friends instead of their little sister, they kept me busy with books. So, it didn't surprise anyone in my family when I told them that I wanted to become a literature teacher one day. 

My favorite thing about books is the fact that they allow you to travel to distant lands and discover new worlds from the comfort of your living room. I remember very clearly the first time that I read So long a letter and started imagining what it would be like to walk the streets of Dakar in Senegal. My curiosity was piqued from that moment, and I developed an interest in traveling and discovering new cultures. 

Isaac Asimov once said that science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineering that changes the world. 

I have been fascinated by the laws of physics and chemistry my entire life. I was that annoying child that could not simply enjoy toys for what they were; I needed to know how they functioned the way they did. I remember getting in trouble for taking apart the brand new toy car that my grandma gave me for my birthday because I wanted to understand how it was running if it didn't need gas and didn't need to be charged. 

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).

"They're basically fried caterpillars," my friend Suzanne said this casually as she put a spoonful of fried insects on her plate. All the blood had drained from my face, and I was trying my very best not to be rude by insulting something that was obviously a part of her culture. I obviously wasn't doing a good job because she started laughing at me a minute later. 

I assumed that her laughter meant that she had been joking and told her that no one actually ate insects. It turns out that I was wrong, but she was not offended by my remark. Instead, she told me that she'd heard many people say that but that the reality is that in many cultures outside of the US, people eat many different insects. 

That evening when I got home, I researched it and found that Suzanne was right. In Mexico, it is common to use worm salt for a specific food. In Congo, where my friend Suzanne is from, fried caterpillars are a delicacy often enjoyed with rice and vegetable stew. 

Bugs remain a traditional food in many cultures across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Learning this about the little creatures made me think about them differently, and the next time I was at Suzanne's, I did not see an insect on her plate; I saw food in the same way that I'd see chicken or beef. 

Eventually, I tried some of it, and it was pretty delicious . (248 words)

I was born and raised in New Jersey, but my parents are from Nigeria. They both moved to the United States in their twenties, and although they have lived here longer than in Nigeria, they are still very traditional. This means that my siblings and I grew up in a bicultural household where English and Yoruba are spoken simultaneously, and Pizza is just as common as jollof rice for dinner. 

In addition to the fact that my parents are traditional, the community I grew up in is full of immigrants who have a story that is quite similar to mine. Only once I moved to Connecticut for boarding school did I realize how different my upbringing was from other American children. 

I remember being asked to stay after class at the end of the first week because my teacher worried that I did not participate in class. She thought that I was shy or nervous because I didn't shout out my answers in class when she asked questions. I had been raised not to shout, especially at an elder. So, I was very confused by the fact that she wanted me to. 

I was so confused that I actually researched it online, thinking it was maybe a practice specific to this boarding school. That is how I started learning about different cultures and how they affect our interactions. That experience taught me to always pay attention to the way people communicate and respect cultural differences.  (250 words)

Brown is one of the many schools that use common app. Check out this video to learn more about the common app essay:

Brown supplemental essay example #5

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)

Butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, and if you want to get fancy, a little baking soda, corn starch, and chocolate chips. Those are the ingredients that I need to create magic, or as most people call it - chocolate chip cookies. I first learned how to make them on a Sunday afternoon with my mom. I remember making a mess in the kitchen and having a stomachache because I ate too much cookie dough. Most of all, I remember that incredible feeling that I had when my siblings and I sat around the kitchen island and took our first bites. 

The art of baking has had a special place in my heart since then. I have learned how to use other ingredients to create different forms of magic, from cakes and cake pops to bread and loaves, cupcakes, and muffins, and so much more. I enjoy the finished products, of course, but my favorite part is the process of baking itself. Baking reminds me of art and my other passion, mathematics because it is all about numbers, precision, and creativity. I enjoy experimenting with different ingredients or different amounts of the same ingredients to create various baked goods that bring joy to the people around me and myself. 

I can spend hours baking because it brings me comfort, and I love the fact that it gives me a chance to share a little slice of happiness with the people around me.  (241 words)

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)

I saw my dead mother's body when I was twelve years old. She was lying utterly motionless in her casket as friends, family members, colleagues, and strangers passed by and touched her cold hands or kissed her forehead. I remember thinking that she would have hated that. I kept waiting for her to get up and tell all these people that she didn't know where their hands had been, but that never happened.

The sadness and confusion I felt that day are the reason I first became interested in medicine. I remember asking so many people to tell me what had happened to my mother, and my cousin Bobby had to explain to me what malaria is. 

As soon as I got home, I went to google and started researching. I wanted to understand what caused malaria and how I could ensure it didn't kill someone else's mother. In researching malaria and how to care for it, I learned how important it is to have access to good healthcare.

I wanted to join the efforts of those who strive to provide that healthcare every day, and the more I learn about medicine, the more I want to pursue it as a career. My love for science, puzzle-solving skills, and desire to help people make medicine the perfect fit for me. Furthermore, as a naturally curious person, the idea of a profession where you never stop learning especially appeals to me. (240 words)

Want to know what the key to a great personal statement is? Check out this video:

Conclusion 

Now that you know what a Brown supplemental essay should look like, you can start working on your own essay. 

If you are unsure  how to write a college essay , we suggest you start by brainstorming. Research the school you will be applying to and think back to your experiences and interests so that you can connect the traits and qualities that the school cares about with your values, strengths, and experiences. For example, you may have noticed that a love for learning and open-mindedness are two qualities that keep coming up in the essays that you just read, and that is because those are both valued by Brown. 

You can learn more about the school you want to apply to by spending time on their website. Pay attention to their mission statement and the recurring themes on different pages on their website. Those are usually the things the school values and wants to see in its students. 

After brainstorming, you can outline your essay and start writing. Remember to use specific examples and anecdotes to humanize your essay and make it more memorable. If you want to maximize your chances of success, you can work with a  college essay advisor  during this process. You can also write your initial essay and then reach out to a  college essay review service  for assistance. 

Either way, the key is to make sure that you have reviewed, edited, and proofread your essay enough times to ensure that there are no grammatical or spelling mistakes. Remember that your college essays play a significant role in the admission committee's decision, so you want to make sure that you submit supplemental essays that are as memorable as they are compelling. 

Brown is one of the most selective universities in the country, with an acceptance rate that is lower than 10%. To get in, you will need to submit a strong application and ace the admission interview if invited for one.

Yes, Brown University is one of the eight schools in the Ivy League.

Brown asks most first-year applicants to write three supplemental essays. Students applying to the eight-year Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) or the five-year Brown-Rhode Island School of Design Dual Degree Program (BRDD) have to write additional program-specific essays as well.

You can make your supplemental essays stand out by having a strong opening statement, using specific examples or short anecdotes in your story, and making sure your essay reflects the traits that Brown values.

Brown provides prompts or questions for you to answer in your essay. Follow those instructions and connect your response to your suitability for Brown.

While Brown does not have a minimum GPA requirement, the average GPA of the recently admitted first-year class is 3.94. This means that you should aim for a similar or higher GPA if you want to be a competitive applicant.

Brown looks for students with a strong academic background who are open-minded, community-driven, and eager to learn. 

You should start your essay with a memorable statement such as a quote, a fun fact, or something funny. Go back to the examples above and pay attention to the opening lines for some inspiration.

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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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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?

More Articles

10 great common app essay examples from accepted students.

How to Answer the 2024-25 Common App Essay Prompts

What Would Megan Fox's (Hypothetical) Harvard Essay Look Like?

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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Tips for Answering Brown University Supplemental Essay Prompts [2022 – 2023]

Along with the basic Common Application essay , the Ivy League schools require supplemental essay responses. These additional essays help these elite schools gain a deeper understanding of you as an applicant. It’s also your chance to explain how the school is a good match for you and how you can enhance their unique college community. What is important to you? How will an education from their school help advance your goals for the future? 

When addressing each prompt, it is essential to consider the overall character and focus of Brown University in relation to your personal objectives. Visit the school website , read about their educational mission, and think about how the school supports your interests. Did you know that an impressive 100% of Brown faculty teach undergraduates? As the first Ivy League school to accept students from all religious affiliations, Brown is known for its openness. 

It is also renowned for its innovative approach to education and outstanding research. Brown is committed to undergraduate autonomy and the process of free inquiry through their Open Curriculum program. For students, this means that while a framework of specific departmental concentration requirements guides you, you must take responsibility as an “architect of your courses of study.” Take a close look at the distinctive Brown Curriculum on the school’s website and the variety of ways that undergrads have paved their own paths to areas of study concentration. Imagine what it might be like to have this level of control over the content of your studies. As their website states, “At Brown, undergraduates are creators, leaders and doers who are not satisfied with merely raising questions — they learn to confront, address and solve problems facing society, the nation and the world.”

Brown University supplemental essay prompts

Brown university supplemental essay #1.

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)

This is your opportunity to convey how the college and its unique curriculum fit with your interests now and potentially in the future. When answering this prompt, write about how and why the Brown Curriculum appeals to you, and how the Brown Open Curriculum complements your learning style. What attracts you to this approach, and what might you gain through the process? When you read the second sentence of the prompt, pay careful attention that they are asking two questions in one. Make sure to answer not only the first part as well as the second part.

Discuss the subject areas you are interested in studying and what specifically attracts you to explore these areas. You can include examples from previous coursework, volunteer experience, personal research, or any other factors that influence your interests. Check out the short student videos where they discuss the pathways that the Open Curriculum made possible for them.

How you respond to this question demonstrates your potential to succeed in Brown’s independent academic framework. This is a great opportunity to reflect on how you approach learning and discuss which subjects engage you. As you explain the subject fields and scholarly topics you are passionate about, you are providing a context for your interests and offering insight into how you navigate and process your world.

To address the second part of the question, reflect in your response openness to explore new topics via the Open Curriculum. That new area could be either a subject that you haven’t had the opportunity or time to dive into, or an area that previously didn’t engage your interest. 

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Brown University supplemental essay #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 your own. How did you respond? (200-250 words)

How students interact both inside and outside the classroom is important at this school. In an era where college campuses are rife with politically divided points of view, and often, there are attempts to shut down or even “cancel” those with opposing views, this prompt offers you an invaluable opportunity to relate how you have dealt with perspectives that challenged some of your own beliefs. Were you shocked and put off, but then decided to try to hear out the other side? Do you still struggle with hearing opposing points of view? If so, how do you plan to fulfill Brown’s value of active engagement? Have you been shunned for a point of view of your own? How did you handle it? What have you learned about the art of listening, about the art of dialogue? This question may itself feel very challenging to discuss –all the more reason to devote thoughtful introspection about the need to engage with others with civility, respect, even about issues about which you feel passionate. 

Brown University supplemental essay #3

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)

College is about a big idea: becoming an educated adult. But life is about more than just the “big” things; it’s about thousands of small things that add depth, warmth, color, joy, meaning, and inspiration. What brings you joy could be listening to a favorite piece of music, or writing your own; reading a favorite book, or writing your own story; participating in a meaningful ritual; hiking in the mountains; volunteering to pack up meals and deliver them to the home-bound. Perhaps you found joy when you discovered something important about yourself. Whatever this experience or moment is, writing about it from the heart will help the school get to know you more deeply as a person.

Note: If you are interested in Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Geology, Mathematics or Physics, you must complete additional Science/Engineering statements. Likewise, if you are applying to the 8-year Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) or the 5-year Brown/RISD Dual Degree Program (BRDD), you must also complete additional special programs statements.

Final thoughts on applying to Brown

Brown has a highly competitive applicant pool. While it received 50,649 undergraduate applications for the class of 2026, only 5% were offered admission. Your essays make you more than the sum of your numbers.

Be sure to allow yourself appropriate time to reflect on your educational goals and to convey your most compelling self to the admissions committee through your essay responses. The best approach is to stay relaxed and focused. Keep in mind, while adhering to the designated word limits, your goal is to distinguish yourself from your peers by sharing personal examples, anecdotes, and perspectives. In short, provide sincere insight into what makes you unique and a good match for Brown!

If you’re applying to Brown University, you already know you’re up against tight competition. Don’t be overwhelmed. Get the guidance of an experienced admissions specialist who will help you stand out from the highly competitive applicant pool so you can apply with confidence, and get accepted! Click here to get started!

Related Resources:

• 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your College Personal Statement , a free guide
• Common App Essay Prompts 2022-2023: Tips for Writing Essays That Impress
• Mining Identity for College Essays, Personal Statements

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Brown University’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts

Three words to describe you short response.

What three words best describe you?

National Exams Short Response

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.

Academic Interest Short Response

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.

Overcoming Challenges Short Response

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.

What Brings You Joy Short Response

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.

Extracurricular Short Response

What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it?

What Class Would You Teach Short Response

If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be?

Why This College Short Response

In one sentence, Why Brown?

RISD Dual Degree Essay

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 and engage with diverse spheres of academic and creative inquiry. The culmination of students’ five-year program is a capstone project that relates and integrates content, approaches, and methods from two distinct learning experiences. Considering your understanding of the academic programs at Brown and RISD, describe how and why the specific blend of RISD‘s experimental, immersive combined studio and liberal arts program and Brown‘s wide-ranging courses and curricula could constitute an optimal undergraduate education for you. Additionally, how might your academic, artistic and personal experiences contribute to the Dual Degree community and its commitment to interdisciplinary work?

PLME Short Response 1

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.

PLME Short Response 2

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.

PLME Short Response 3

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

Common App Personal Essay

The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don‘t feel obligated to do so.

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.

What will first-time readers think of your college essay?

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PSA: Brown Open Curriculum essay is NOT a standard "Why X" essay 🐻🚨

I've had to give this same speech to four of my students today so I'm giving it to all of you.

Here is the 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 use the Open Curriculum to pursue them while also embracing topics with which you are unfamiliar.

Here's the part that asks you to talk about your strengths: "Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue them..."

Most of you are probably writing your essays about that. You might just be reusing a standard academic Why X.

But then we get a spicy prepositional phrase, "while also..."

So, the full command: Tell Brown how you'll explore your interests "...while also embracing topics with which you are unfamiliar."

In other words, you need to write about BOTH an academic strength AND an area of low understanding or weakness. Ideally (in my view) you should be connecting them and saying how one enriches the other.

Edit: I'm sorry I didn't post this yesterday, the day before, or two months ago. It just occurred to me that there is a systematic misreading goin' on and I figured better late than never .