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.

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:

  1. Information common to all the schools to which you are applying
  2. Brown University specific questions
  3. 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 2022-2023 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.

  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)

 

Three essays are required for applicants to the PLME:

  1. Committing to a future career as a physician while in high school requires careful consideration and self-reflection. How do you feel your personal background provides you with a unique perspective of medicine? (250 word limit)
  2. 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) 
  3. 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)

One essay is required for applicants to the Brown|RISD Dual Degree Program:

  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. (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 documents@brown.edu. 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 documents@brown.edu.

Criminal History

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.

Deadlines and Notifications

Complete the Common Application by:

  • November 1 for Early Decision
  • January 3 for Regular Decision

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.