On Thursday, Brown hosted the second installment of its twice-yearly “A Day on College Hill” event where admitted students visit Brown, meet their future classmates and decide whether they will make Providence their home for the next four years.
According to University Spokesperson Brian Clark, about 500 students registered for Thursday’s event, and 615 registered for the first ADOCH installment on April 11.
On Thursday, students had a full day of activities, complete with a welcome ceremony, a bingo icebreaker and the chance to see student performances on the Main Green. The Herald spoke with 14 students to find out what brought them to College Hill.
Jorge Miranda, from East Hartford, Connecticut, wanted to attend a prestigious school for his undergraduate studies. He is excited about the Open Curriculum and political science program at Brown. “Everything here screams inclusive,” he said.
Miranda wants to explore math and science coursework while at Brown.
Jerome Lee also cited the Open Curriculum as a draw. Lee applied to Brown “last-minute” through its early decision program. Lee plays the trombone and is interested in pursuing music and engineering at Brown.
Abe Tsai is also interested in music, but he expressed interest in biology, English and the humanities more broadly. Tsai said that both of his parents attended Brown, which made it one of his top choices from a young age.
As an admit to the Program in Liberal Medical Education, Tsai will stay in Providence until 2033.
Jaden Ouyang was first introduced to Brown in his sophomore year of high school. Ouyang plans to pursue the pre-med track, study music and learn foreign languages at Brown. Without Brown’s Open Curriculum, he said, “it would be difficult” to explore all of his academic interests. Ouyang plans to study public health and Latin American and Caribbean studies.
Lina Lin came to Brown because of her interest in medical research, and she plans to study biomedical engineering. “I really like how Brown is so collaborative,” she added.
Sophie Tressler came to Brown “for the community and opportunities” the University will provide her.
Tressler spent time at ADOCH with Annabel Rarick, who was also drawn to the opportunities available on College Hill and the Open Curriculum. She wants to study English and psychology to help her pursue her dreams of writing crime fiction.
Harry Guo plans to concentrate in literary arts, but he is hoping to add on a secondary concentration.
“I don’t really know what I’m going to do,” he said. “I just know I really like writing.”
Similarly, Nicola Dadlani is unsure what she plans to study. She visited the applied mathematics building during ADOCH and is considering STEM, she said, but applied to Brown as an anthropology and American studies concentrator. “We’ll find out,” she said.
Dadlani was excited about Brown’s friendly campus environment. “I feel like it’s difficult to find an academically rigorous school that’s also welcoming,” she said.
Dadlani spent time on ADOCH sitting on the Main Green, soaking up the sun with Sophia Lee and Maya Tkachenko, from Massachusetts. Tkachenko plans to study anthropology.
“I love people and their cultures,” Tkachenko said. “I’ve met so many nice people who I’m able to click with.”
“People are so friendly and nice,” Sophia Lee added. She was recruited to fence at Brown and plans to study economics.
“I’ve gone to really competitive schools in the past, and it’s just not a great environment,” said Tyler Timmers, who first toured Brown during her spring break last year. She decided to attend Brown because of the school’s focus on academic freedom.
Nick Burleson said that he was inspired to come to Brown because “everybody was very friendly.” The Herald previously spoke with Burleson when he was admitted early decision. He said his journey to college was “difficult” but “definitely worth it,” and he plans to study applied mathematics-computer science and take economics courses.
Thomas Liu from Texas was also admitted in December and matched at Brown through the QuestBridge application. “Campus was really pretty,” he said.
Initially, Liu was looking at schools close to home within the University of Texas system, but he decided to apply to his “reach” schools — like Brown — instead. Liu plans to take courses in computer science, math and economics while at Brown.
Brown will officially welcome the class of 2029 to College Hill in late August during New Student Orientation.
Teddy Fisher is a senior staff writer who studies International and Public Affairs and is passionate about law, national security and sports. He enjoys playing basketball, running and reading in his free time.
