Brown is kind of having a moment. It has become a favorite school of the Ivy League for many of the students we work with. Brown is a private university in Providence, Rhode Island. Their acceptance rate has been seeing historic lows and was around 5% for the Class of 2026. They are known for their liberal arts feel, Open Curriculum model, and creative student body. Brown’s supplement is fairly short, at least compared to some of the other Ivy Leagues, but students do have to write 3 additional mini-essays to be considered. We want to break these down and give you some tips about how to approach the Brown supplement.
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)*
In essence, this question is asking “why do you want to go to Brown?” and “why would you be a good fit here?” You need to answer these questions while talking about the Open Curriculum specifically. Brown is really proud of its Open Curriculum and if you aren’t super familiar with it, it’s good to research it before you start writing. The TLDR however is the Open Curriculum is an opportunity to study different fields outside of your major and take classes in a wide variety of subjects during your time at Brown.
You should be ready to talk about why you are obsessed with your major and then at least two unrelated, specific subjects you can’t get enough of. What do we mean by “unrelated specific subjects?” We are so glad you asked. Let’s say you want to major in Medieval History. You don’t want your other interest to be History. It’s not specific enough for one and it also doesn’t seem different enough to warrant the use of an Open Curriculum model. Instead, something like molecular biology or Latin American literature, or anthropology is a better fit here. Your other interests can relate in some way, but they shouldn’t feel too similar. For example, if you love Russian Literature and world cinema, maybe you want to watch Battleship Potemkin, but they aren’t the same. However, honestly, being completely unrelated can sell this essay sometimes. Look into Brown’s classes and be ready to shout out specific courses and or departments at the school.
The topics you chose should connect to something you have already interacted with. “I think I would love Poli sci” isn’t as strong of an answer as “I have an interest in politics. I have taken several poli sci courses online and volunteered for a local candidate.” It can be as simple as taking an AP or as advanced as doing your research in the field, but you want to have already explored your topics in some way to show your interest.
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)*
You should tell a story here and that story should have dialogue. Other than that, you can write about a lot of different topics for this one. For many, this will probably have a social issue or social justice bend, but these tend to work better if you keep them on the smaller side. It could be a conversation with your mom or a friend from school, etc.
The big question here is “how did you respond?” The rest is kind of just background. While you should generally have good politics in your story, the more important part is responding in a way that upholds your values and character.
Also in general, these work better if you can find common ground in the story. They don’t need to, but it's helpful. So try to stay away from strawman arguments. For example, if you want to write about talking to a friend who is pro-life when Roe v. Wade was overturned and you are pro-choice, allowing them as a character to have some nuance looks better than if they are just 100% “I don’t care about women’s rights and nothing can change my mind!” If that was really how the conversation went, so be it, but usually, even when people have extreme takes, they still have some nuance when talking to the people close to them.
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 is a great question because there are so many great directions to take this. The only rule here is to be real. Don’t write about how doing community service brings you joy because you think that’s what sounds good. If community service is the thing that brings you the most joy that is fine, but we suggest zooming in on a smaller scale.
Your answer will work best if it’s something small and specific. Going with something specific to you allows you to be quirky which is immediately humanizing. Instead of writing about community service on the macrocosm, write about walking the biggest dog from the shelter you volunteer at or doing a weekly crossword with the old woman at the nursing home. However, if you can go quirkier, do it. Write about making breakfast every Sunday or how you organize your sock drawer. Maybe you have a passion for candle-making or love driving out to the airport and watching the planes take off. Everyone has something that brings them joy. Don’t be afraid of getting specific. All the best answers to this question are.
Brown is highly competitive, so try to really think through your answers and chose topics that are going to make you stand out. These questions aren’t particularly long, so you might have to do some drafts to fit all your information in (we especially see this with the second question… it’s a lot to cover in 200 words.) Give yourself time to brainstorm and edit. It will make your essays much stronger
If you still don’t know how to start, reach out! We are here to help!