When the class of 2013 steps onto campus next fall, they will do so as the first group of Brown students to be admitted using the Common Application. The University has joined the nearly 350 member colleges that currently accept the standardized application, leaving Columbia as the only Ivy League school that does not.
Though the decision was not overtly publicized, Dean of Admission James Miller '73 told The Herald in April that Brown was "strongly considering" switching to the Common App and was close to a final decision.
The standardized application will require a supplement that asks applicants to explain how they became interested in Brown and to list their top five "interests and abilities." Applicants must also write about areas of study that interest them and describe an influential academic experience.
Miller said there was "nothing lost" in the transition to the new application, adding, "We've been able to incorporate everything from the old application into the new one."
The Office of Admission ultimately decided to make the switch when it examined the "enormous overlap" between the two applications, Miller said. Recognizing the difficulty of the college admission process, he said the new procedure is simpler for potential applicants, especially those from "less sophisticated backgrounds."
Attracting more applicants was not a factor in the decision, Miller said, adding that the office was "not focused on applicant volume." While the applicant pool traditionally grows for a school upon adopting the Common App, Miller said, the effect of the switch will be "hard to know in these uncertain economic times."
For the class of 2012, Brown received 20,633 applications and admitted 2,828 students, amounting to an admission rate of less than 14 percent, according to the admissions Web site.
Miller said adopting the Common App after "243 years of our own application" was a step that required serious thought, especially since some viewed the previously unique application as a part of the "Brown identity." He added, though, that there is no evidence to substantiate the idea that a specific type of application attracts a specific kind of student. "The vehicle is not the distinction," he said.
Sabrina Schoneberg, a senior at the Viewpoint School in Calabasas, Calif., said she found Brown's switch to the Common App "very helpful" and said the standardized process "makes it a little easier to apply." Most seniors applying to colleges are using the Common App anyway, she said, and "would rather see a school's application on it."
Milan Satcher '10, however, said there was value in having a school-specific application and thus forcing applicants "to search (for the form) themselves." The unique application was "more personal than the typical, standard" one, she said.
Nic Mooney '11 said he thought the previous application asked questions which were "already so open, I could use it for other (applications) anyway." The switch to the Common App with a Brown supplement, he said, was a "positive change" which did not does not compromise the distinctiveness of applicants, but might "save people some hassle."
Along with regular applicants to the College, those applying to the Program in Liberal Medical Education and Brown-RISD dual-degree program will also use the Common App. Separate supplements are still required for those programs.
The application fee remains unchanged, and students can request a fee waiver directly from the organization's Web site, commonapp.org. In addition, counselors and teachers now have the option to submit recommendations online, a development that potentially reduces the paperwork for applicants. Miller said that the new procedure makes it easier for the Office of Admission to track information.
