Information For:

First-Year Applicants

We ask all first-year applicants to complete the Common Application and the Brown Supplement online. Refer to the Guide for Applying before beginning the application process. Please also refer to the section for international students if you are applying from outside of the United States. If you have been out of school for at least six years, you may want to consider our Resumed Undergraduate Education program.

Regular or Early Decision
Most first-year students choose to apply under our Regular Decision plan, which involves applying by January 2nd and receiving a decision by early April. Admitted students are expected to decide whether to enroll by May 1st, which is the Common Reply Date for many colleges.

 If Brown is your first choice and you would definitely accept an offer of admission, you may choose our Early Decision plan. Under Early Decision, prospective students apply by November 1st and receive a decision by mid-December. We ask that you not submit an application to another Early Decision plan, or a single-choice Early Action plan. If you are admitted under our Early Decision plan you will need to withdraw all pending applications—including those you may have already submitted to Regular, Rolling, or (open) Early Action programs. If you are not comfortable making this level of commitment at such an early date, please feel free to wait and apply under our Regular Decision plan. This will allow you to consider other college options before making your final decision by May 1st. 

Please do not assume that your admission chances are improved by applying under the Early Decision plan. The Board of Admission makes the same decisions under Early Decision that it would under the Regular Decision plan. We offer Early Decision as an opportunity for students who are ready to  commit and would like early notification of their admission status.

Under Brown's Early Decision program, there are three possible outcomes:

  1. Your application is accepted - You must withdraw all applications to other colleges. Your place in Brown's first-year class is secure pending satisfactory completion of your senior year.
  2. A final decision on your application is deferred - Your credentials will be revisited within the context of the Regular Decision pool of applicants.
  3. Your application is not accepted - If you are denied admission under Early Decision, you may not reapply for admission under the Regular Decision plan.

School Forms
All first-year applicants who apply via the Common Application (see the Guide for Applying) will be able to request school forms and recommendations via email from their guidance counselor and from two teachers who have taught them in major academic subjects (science, social studies, mathematics, foreign language, English). If you are considering a Bachelor of Science degree or the Program in Liberal Medical Education, at least one of your recommendations should come from a math or science teacher. In addition, we highly recommend that applicants to the PLME program submit results for at least one science SAT Subject Test.

Please note that secondary school personnel do not need to wait until you have submitted your application before making their contributions. The online system will lead you through the process of supplying the name and email address of your counselor and teachers so that a user account can be created for them. They will then be able to submit forms on your behalf either electronically or via regular mail.

What we must receive from your Guidance Counselor(s):

  1. An official transcript of your complete high school academic record must be sent to the Admission Office directly from each secondary school you have attended. We will accept transcripts submitted by your school(s) through online services, such as Docufide, Naviance, and the Common Application.
  2. Your midyear school report including final grades for fall courses and a list of your spring courses can be submitted online through the Common Application website.

    Standardized Test Results
    We require either the SAT Reasoning Test and any two SAT Subject Tests
    or the ACT (with writing component). Official test results must be sent directly to Brown from either the College Board, which administers the SAT, or from the American College Testing Program, which administers the ACT. To have scores sent to Brown, you will need to provide our institutional code numbers:

    • For the SAT, Brown's code number is 3094
    • For the ACT, Brown's code number is 3800

    Brown will consider up to the November SAT test for Early Decision and the January SAT test for Regular Decision. In addition, Brown will consider up to the October ACT test for Early Decision and the December ACT test for Regular Decision.   However, we encourage students to have at least one set of scores in our office by the appropriate application deadline.

    We are aware that there have been significant weather-related site closures and postponements of SAT testing dates. Standardized testing is one criterion among many in Brown's admission process, and we want to assure you that your application will be considered carefully and thoughtfully with all the information we have available to us, even if you are unable to sit for the November SAT administration. 

     We will continue to monitor new information we receive from testing agencies about schedules and sites. We will continue, as well, to be responsive and flexible to individual circumstances, so please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions about your application.

    Early Decision applicants who are unable to sit for the November test should have test results sent to us from a prior test date, if you have not done that already.

    Early Decision applicants should complete the SAT Critical Reasoning and Subject Tests by the October test date. Results from the November administration of the SAT may be submitted and will be added to your file for consideration.

    Regular Decision applicants should complete all required testing by the December SAT test date and arrange for results to be sent directly to Brown on or before our January 2nd Regular Decision deadline. You are welcome to take advantage of the College Board's Score Choice option, but we will not be able to read your application until we receive a full set of official test scores. You may still submit scores from the January administration of the SAT and they will be added to your file.

    The Alumni Interview
    A conversation with one of our volunteer alumni interviewers is an excellent way for you to learn more about Brown and for us to learn more about you.  After we receive your application, the Office of Alumni Relations manages the interview process and provides your contact information to alumni interviewers in your area. You do not need to request an interview; a volunteer will contact you to arrange a convenient time and place for the interview. After the conversation, the volunteer will send us his or her thoughts about your personal strengths, which we will add to your application file.  We do not provide alumni/ae with your application materials; your interviewer only receives your contact information and intended concentration, and you do not need to bring a resume or additional materials to the interview.

    Early Decision interviews run from late October through early December and Regular Decision interviews run from December through late February.

    Although we try to arrange interviews with as many candidates as we can, it ultimately depends upon the availability of our worldwide network of alumni volunteers. If it is not possible to arrange an interview, rest assured that it will not negatively impact your application to Brown.  Brown does not accept interviews conducted by third parties.

    While we enjoy meeting prospective students when they come to campus, we regret that the large volume of visitors makes it impossible for us to offer on-campus interviews. 

    Selecting Degree Programs and Academic Fields
    We understand that you may not be ready to commit to a particular degree program or field of academic interest, but we are curious about your preferences. On the Brown Supplement we ask you to indicate whether you expect to pursue the Bachelor of Arts degree (A.B.) or the Bachelor of Science degree (Sc.B.). We also request that you tell us your top choices of academic fields—as far as you know at the time you apply. This information is used to give us a sense of your current academic inclinations only. We do not attempt to regulate the number of admission offers according to quotas for degree programs or academic fields of concentration. 

    Supplementary Materials 
    Though supplementary materials are not required, if you have exceptional talent in Music and/or Visual Art, you may include those supplements along with your application. Please note that you should not send a collection of award certificates or similar materials; we also do not accept binders or folders, as they are not materials needed for review.

    Note: Auditions and portfolio reviews are neither required nor reviewed for students interested in Theatre Arts & Performance Studies.

    Music Supplements: Applicants should not submit The Common Application Arts Supplement. Instead, students may only submit a supplement via Brown’s SlideRoom website available here (please note: SlideRoom only accepts one supplement, if submitting two you will need to sign up with a second email account). Audio submissions are limited to five 60MB or MP3 of 30MB files; composition scores may be submitted as .pdf files. YouTube submissions may be included. A $5, non-refundable processing fee is also required at the time of submission. Applicants who are eligible for a Common Application fee waiver may request that we waive the processing fee by contacting admission@brown.edu. If you request a fee waiver, your email must include “Music Supplement Fee Waiver” as the subject of your email. Please note that applicants are not expected to provide additional materials as part of the admission process.

    Students submitting a music supplement should include the following information:

    • Your Common Application ID
    • Your primary instrument with years studied
    • A description of music theory training and/or ensemble experience
    • A description of the most challenging repertoire you have studied and the style of period (i.e. Jazz, Classical, Romantic, etc)
    • Original Compositions should be marked as such, with a score included

    We ask that you also list the composer, title of the work and movement title or opus number. The total length of recordings should not exceed 15 minutes.

    Students in rare circumstances may submit two music supplements only when their talent is equally impressive in two different areas within music performance or composition. Students should not submit two different instruments in their single SlideRoom program.

    Supplementary materials should be submitted no later than January 2, 2013 for Regular Decision candidates. Early Decision candidates should submit supplementary materials no later than November 1, 2012.

    Visual Art Supplements: Applicants should not submit The Common Application Arts Supplement. Students may only submit a supplement via Brown’s SlideRoom website available here (please note: SlideRoom only accepts one supplement, if submitting two you will need to sign up with a second email account). You will be able to submit up to 15 images, up to 5MB each. Accepted images include .jpg, .gif, or .png. A $10, non-refundable processing fee is also required at the time of submission. Applicants who are eligible for a Common Application fee waiver may request that we waive the processing fee by contacting admission@brown.edu. If you request a fee waiver, your email must include “Visual Art Supplement Fee Waiver” as the subject of your email. Please note that applicants are not expected to provide additional materials as part of the admission process.

    Supplementary materials should be submitted no later than January 2, 2013 for Regular Decision candidates. Early Decision candidates should submit supplementary materials no later than November 1, 2012.

    The Visual Art Department does not review drop-in and live portfolios.

    Note: Auditions and portfolio reviews are neither required nor reviewed for students interested in Theatre Arts & Performance Studies.  If you choose to send in supplementary materials, please mail items to the Office of College Admission, PO Box 1876, Providence, RI 02912. If you have a YouTube video we recommend sending a link to admission@brown.edu.

    Home-Schooled Students
    Students who have been home-schooled for all or part of their high school years should submit the Home School Supplement, which can be found on the downloadable forms page of the Common Application.