The University admitted 21 percent of its early decision applicants to the class of 2022, selecting 738 students from the largest early decision applicant pool in the University’s history, wrote Dean of Admission Logan Powell in an email to The Herald. The University saw almost a 10 percent increase in the size of its application pool from last year with 3502 applications in comparison to 3186 for the class of 2021, Powell wrote.
Half of the accepted students for the class of 2022 intend to apply for financial aid, Powell wrote. Upon admission, those who qualify for financial aid will notice that their financial aid awards do not include loans, he said. This cohort is the first admitted under the Brown Promise Campaign, which reached its $30 million fundraising goal to replace all packaged loans with grants for incoming and current undergraduate students for the 2018-19 academic year, The Herald previously reported.
“We couldn’t be happier because it’s a great opportunity for those students offered admission, and obviously a wonderful opportunity for Brown to have those students,” Powell said.
For the first time in a decade, early decision students will be invited to attend A Day on College Hill, The Herald also reported. Admitted students will learn about ADOCH, which will be split into two programs, on the accepted student Facebook page after receiving their offers of admission.
Aliko Leblanc, an admitted student from Cecilia, Louisiana, plans to attend ADOCH in April. Leblanc decided to apply early decision to Brown after spending the summer on College Hill studying neuroscience.
“While I was there I had this feeling at Brown,” she said. “It wasn’t something that had to be, but was something that was meant to be for me,” she said, adding that the diversity she observed on campus solidified her decision to apply.
The University continues to see increasingly diverse applicant pools, Powell said. Over 38 percent of the early decision admits — 283 students — identify as people of color, which marks the highest percentage in the University’s history.
About 10 percent of admitted students will be the first in their families to attend a four-year university, Powell wrote, which is a slight decrease from the 13 percent admitted early decision for the class of 2021.
Of the 738 students accepted, 430 identify as female and 308 identify as male, Powell wrote. The gender distribution, though not balanced, is reflective of the distribution of the application pool, Powell said, adding that the University has seen more female-identifying applicants in the early decision pool for the last five years.
The early decision class of 2022 represents 33 nations and 43 states, Powell wrote. The highest number of accepted students hail from New York with 110 admits, followed closely by California and Massachusetts. China, the United Kingdom and India are the most represented foreign countries.
Consistent with previous years, the University admitted 6.3 percent of its Program in Liberal Medical Education Applicants, accepting 20 new students out of 318 early decision applicants.
The early decision class of 2022 does not include any veterans, though the University has implemented programs to increase its number of student veterans, as reported previously by The Herald.
Veterans are usually “encouraged to apply as either Resumed Undergraduates (RUE) or transfers,” Powell wrote. “We expect veterans to apply in the later rounds, and we continue to be committed to their inclusion at Brown,” he added.
Ben Silverman, an accepted student from Evanston, Illinois, was excited to see confetti on his computer screen. He plans to study both engineering and filmmaking.
“I didn’t want to go somewhere where I couldn’t pursue both of those interests,” Silverman said.
Thomas Wilson of Apex, North Carolina, knew Brown was the right school for him after his visit to College Hill, he said. He hopes to concentrate in Urban Studies, though he predicts that his focus will change many times during his tenure at Brown.
Maria Myer from Downingtown, Pennsylvania, also knew she wanted to apply to Brown after her visit to College Hill.
“I fell in love with the curriculum, and the fact that when I went there, people went out of their way to say hello to the new people on campus,” she said, adding that she plans to concentrate in biology or chemistry in addition to French.
Powell stressed that there is no strategic advantage in applying early decision.
“Every early decision student who was admitted is exceptional, and would have been admitted in our regular decision round,” Powell said, adding that the vast majority of admissions will go out in the regular decision process.
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