PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Brown University offered admission to 1,623 prospective members of next year’s entering undergraduate class on Thursday, March 28. Admitted through Brown’s regular decision process, the students join 898 early decision applicants offered admission in December 2023 for a total admitted class of 2,521.

The 48,898 applicants to Brown’s Class of 2028, who hailed from all 50 U.S. states and 166 countries, included high-achieving students from a diverse array of backgrounds and experiences who were drawn to Brown’s rigorous, student-centered approach to education, said Logan Powell, associate provost for enrollment and dean of undergraduate admission.

“This was our third largest applicant pool in history, and the students admitted to the Class of 2028 represent a group of extraordinarily talented young people who demonstrate truly impressive intellect, ingenuity and cross-disciplinary interest in pursuits both in and out of the classroom,” Powell said. 

Among admitted students, 16% will be the first in their family to attend college, and 9% are from rural areas and small towns — an increase over last year that coincides with a specific initiative to recruit in those areas and dedicated outreach by Brown’s admissions staff to prospective students from a continually diversified range of backgrounds, Powell said.

“The admissions team has been purposeful in working to broaden the reach of the University’s recruitment efforts and help make the possibility of a Brown education available to inspired young scholars from many perspectives and experiences in communities across the nation and the world,” Powell said.

Among the applicants, 65% indicated they are applying for financial aid, which Powell sees as a reflection of Brown’s generous financial aid practices, including need-blind undergraduate admission and a commitment to fully meeting students’ demonstrated financial need without any loans in University-packaged aid awards.

“Brown’s annual financial aid budget, which now exceeds $200 million and is projected to increase by approximately $13 to $15 million in the next academic year, ensures that students and families make the decision to apply based on academic fit and opportunity, not financial considerations,” Powell said.

University financial aid covers full tuition for families earning $125,000 or less with typical assets. For students from families making less than $60,000 a year with typical assets, scholarships cover all expenses, including tuition, room, board, books and more.

Other significant financial aid initiatives include the Brown Promise, which replaced loans with scholarship funds in all University-packaged undergraduate financial aid awards starting in 2018-19, and the elimination of the consideration of a family’s home equity as an asset when calculating a student’s available financial resources, which typically translates to thousands of additional dollars in a student’s scholarship aid. Additionally, Brown will become fully need-blind for international students starting with the Class of 2029, who will begin at Brown in Fall 2025. 

This year, adjustments to Brown’s undergraduate application process included a new essay prompt asking applicants to reflect on how an aspect of their growing up inspired or challenged them, and what unique contributions that experience would enable them to make to the Brown community. Brown also added four short-answer questions, which called on applicants to write about three words that best describe them, their most meaningful extracurricular activity, what they would teach if they could teach any course, and why they want to attend Brown. Powell said those essay topics elicited textured responses from students, who conveyed remarkable creativity and passion for exploring interdisciplinary solutions to the complex challenges facing the world.

The Class of 2028 is the first admitted at Brown since the June 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision prohibiting the consideration of race in admission decisions. At the time, Brown President Christina H. Paxson noted the University would continue to seek talented students who bring a wide variety of perspectives and experiences, and sustain its commitment to diversity in compliance with the new law. Brown will report data on the race and ethnicity of its enrolled first-year students after the new class matriculates next fall.

The 2,521 students in the admitted Class of 2028 represent all 50 U.S. states, plus Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. They come from 96 countries across the globe, with the most international students from China (including Hong Kong), Canada, India, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Greece and Japan, respectively.

Twenty students were admitted to the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program, a five-year program that allows students to earn bachelor’s degrees from both Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design; and 76 students were admitted to the Program in Liberal Medical Education, an eight-year program leading to both a bachelor’s degree and an M.D. from Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School.

While all enrolled undergraduates have the opportunity to explore courses of study through Brown’s Open Curriculum, the students’ top intended concentrations include: economics, computer science, engineering, biology, political science, biochemistry and molecular biology, international and public affairs, applied mathematics, English, biomedical engineering, mathematics and public health.

Applicants began logging on to a secure website at 7 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, March 28, to learn the status of their applications. Following the release of admission decisions, Brown will host two admitted student programs on campus for the Class of 2028. A Day on College Hill sessions will take place on Friday, April 12, and Friday, April 19, for students who are able to visit Providence in person. The University will also continue to support admitted students with virtual programming that provides opportunities to explore, learn, ask questions and connect to the campus while showcasing Brown’s vibrant community. 

Admitted students have until Wednesday, May 1, to accept the University’s offer of admission.