Despite enduring a day of wet and windy weather, there was a festive mood on College Hill Tuesday as about 950 students and 750 parents descended on campus for A Day on College Hill, Brown's annual two-day program for admitted students and their parents.
With fellow prospective students seemingly everywhere and a host of activities filling the day's schedule, even those from the sunniest of locales seemed to be enjoying the festivities.
When Sima Baalbaki rolled out of bed this morning, it was 80 degrees and sunny on the beach along the Gulf Coast, where she was vacationing with her family. Eight hours later, she stepped off a plane at T.F. Green Airport and faced a biting drizzle.
Yet Baalbaki - who hails from Florence, Ala., and is deciding among Brown and three other schools - seemed mostly unperturbed by the dismal weather.
"The weather's not great, but I've been having a lot of fun meeting a lot of people," she said inside a crowded Leung Gallery in Faunce House. "It was weird because I had to pack warm and cold stuff for my trip."
Paulina Pagan '11 of San Juan, Puerto Rico, flew into Boston this morning. "I think it will be a transition - getting used to New England weather - but I think I'll work into it," she said.
Pagan said Brown was the only school she seriously considered attending. "When I came here to visit in August, it was beautiful, and I just got a feeling and knew it was the right place for me," she said.
Pagan said she thought living in New England would be the more difficult for her mother. "I think it is going to be a hard time for my mom to be an empty-nester," she said.
But Nathan Dadap of Red Bank, N.J., was a little more realistic about the dreary conditions. Dadap, who hopes to major in engineering or physics, is deciding among Brown, Columbia University and Rutgers University.
"It's too bad it's raining," he said. "I know this is going to end up influencing my decision."
The stormy weather up and down the East Coast created a unique condition for one future Brown student. When Camille Misas '11 departed from her home in Hershey, Pa., this morning, she left behind the rich aroma of chocolate.
"When it rains in Hershey, it smells like chocolate. You can always tell when it's going to rain because of the smell," she said. Not so in Providence.
Misas, the youngest of four children, plans to play field hockey at Brown and said she "really liked the feel here and the fact that you can take classes pass/fail and choose what you want to take."
For most prospective students, the rain didn't put a damper on the day's goal of immersing themselves in life at Brown for a day and meeting potential new classmates.
Antar Tichavakunda of Washington, D.C. - who is deciding between Brown and Morehouse College - was one of many prospective students who boarded the "ADOCH express" train from Washington to Providence yesterday.
"I met a bunch of people on the train. I thought I was just going to sleep the whole time, but it ended up being a lot of fun," he said.
As they waited for the talent show to begin in Sayles Hall, Erin Alpert '11 of Westchester, N.Y., and Charlotte Crowe '11 of Canton, Conn., also said they found the train ride to Brown exciting. "I was walking up and down the cars talking with people," Alpert said. "It did feel a little like Hogwarts."
Alpert - no relation, she said, to the late Warren Alpert of the Alpert Medical School - said Brown has long been her dream school.
"The weather could be better, but I'm loving it so far," she said. Alpert, whose sister Caroline is a member of the class of 2009, said she was drawn to Brown by its reputation for combining rigorous academics, freedom and a relaxed atmosphere.
Alpert said she liked the welcoming speech for prospective students by President Ruth Simmons in Salomon 101. "I know it sounds cheesy, but I really liked what President Simmons had to say about there not being one typical Brown student," she said. "That was really something that drew me to Brown."
Crowe said she applied early decision to Brown because "it's known for being a place where people are hard-working but also really laid-back and unpretentious."
Perhaps one of the day's most improbable stories came from Christina Velez and Linh Nguyen - childhood friends from San Diego who were reunited at ADOCH.
"We were best friends in elementary school," Velez said. "But we both moved away, and we hadn't seen each other in seven years until today - at the airport in Providence," she said. "It was really cool."
As students mingled and exchanged greetings, Velez and Ngyuen reflected on the separate paths that led them both to Brown.
Velez, who hopes to major in international relations or Africana studies, must pick among Brown, Boston College and Harvard and Tufts universities. Nguyen said she is leaning toward choosing Brown over Columbia.
"ADOCH has been really interesting so far," Nguyen said. "I've never really been outside San Diego except to other warm places for vacation, but it was exciting to fly over Providence and to see how different it is," she said, noting the abundance of trees and the unique architectural styles in Providence.
Velez said it will be a hard decision for her to make but she has "really liked" Brown so far.
The two friends had only one complaint.
"We went to (Josiah's) to have a quesadilla, but there was no guacamole, only hummus," Nguyen said, as Velez nodded in agreement.
