Brown International Relations Major

That there are no grades at Brown, so life must be so much easier; that all the students are tree-hugging, leftists hippies

Well, while I have met some "hippies", more than I've ever met before (but then again, I'm from Texas), that is not even close to an accurate description of the general student body. I would agree that there is a huge trend towrads the left on most poltical issues, and that Brown students are typically very socially conscious and aware, but I have met more than one or two conservatives during my frist year (not that they aren't socially conscious as well....). There really is everything at Brown - from the grungy types to the hipsters, from the label-wearing Manhattan girls to the jocks on the athletic teams, and literally everything in between. What we do noticeably lack, though, are superficially judgemental people. (OK fine I'm sure we even have some of those, but you can probably go by all fours years and never have it be an issue...).
But there definitely ARE grades and deadlines, and people do put effort into their work. However there is less academic pressure than at other schools I think, and everyone is much, much more relaxed about their work and extracurriculars. While Brown students talk about every issue imaginable, we don't spend much time talking about our school or activity work we have to do. Unless its midterms or finals period, Brown students invest themselves in many other issues that don't involve a desk or a computer. The weight has significatnly lifted off my shoulders since graduating from high school. Plus, the classes are amazing... most people actually enjoy the work they do... we have a healthy relationship with our mile-long essays.

Oh god... I could go on and on. I think the best thing about Brown is how much everyone is genuinely happy to be at Brown. I really don't see what could make someone unhappy at Brown... there are no rules, you can do practically anything you want, you can take any class you want (pre-requsites might as well not even exist), and if you don't get what you want, yell loud enough and you WILL get it. Makes us sound a little spoiled... hmm.. that may actually be a valid analysis. Anway, point is, the school definitely doesn't give you a reason to be unhappy. As for me, the school size is just right. There are between 5-6 thouand students, enough to ensure that you will always know someone but will never know everyone. The campus itself is big enough not to feel clausterphobic, but small enough that you can get from one end to the other in about 20 minutes. Be careful though... College Hill is a bubble in disguise, I only realized in May that I had left campus (plus Thayer St.) only a totaly of three times the entire semseter!

Classes range from all sizes - from 500+ person lectures to 5 people sitting in a circle. Obviously, its hard to get to know a professor in a big class if you don't go to office hours, but I've have a professor from a 120-person class remember me simply from the questions I asked in class. Brown students are generally not competitve. People share notes, give advice, and honestly help each other out on essays, even if they're writing the same one. Academics are challenging and inspiring, but chill. I realize now that there is hardly any cheating at Brown, something everyone used to do in my high school, even in AP classes. I think its the very lack of pressure that reduces the incentive for people to cheat.
In most classes I've taken its easy to get a B and challenging to get an A. You can take however many classes you want as pass/fail, but I dont know anyone who takes more than one pass/fail per semester, and I've never met anyone to audit a class. I know this might sound strange, but at Brown students have the hardest time choosing classes, simply because there are SO many good ones. The school reccomends we take 4 classes per semseter and allows us to take up to 5, and while taking 5 classes is a serious workload, people take that many because there aren't enough semesters in 4 years to take all the good classes. Such a problem. Best class? Global Security After the Cold War with Minh Luong

The student body includes all races, but it is a predominantly caucasian school. There is teh TWTP, which the the resource center for minority students, and it provides a lot fo support, advocacy, and events for minority students. Everyone I know who is involved with the TWTP is obsessed with it.
There are many gays and lesbians at Brown, and while some claim that there is a "gay community" at Brown, I definitely don't think gays and lesbians stick solely to themselves. There are a lot of homosexual guys, I think they have a great dating pool. I wish I was a gay guy here sometimes cause they're all so hott.
You will notice that a lot of Brown students come from very wealthy families. But you will only notice that if you visit them at home - because no one flaunts money. While I wouldn't say finances aren't an issue for people, those who don't come from money (and I could argue that is a very considerable size of the student body) are never looked down upon or pressured or made to feel out of palce. No one talks about how much money they intend to earn in the future. Thats what kids do at UPenn... not here.

There is everything, everything, everything as far as the social scene goes at Brown. There are always frat parties, dorm parties, organizations or clubs throwing galas or parties. There is always a play or an a capella show. There are concerts almost all the time, especially downtown, and there are several bars basically on campus or within a 15 minute walk. And you can party any night of the week, although heaviest partying is from Wednesday (Fishco nights) through Sunday. While the partying probably doesnt reach the "wild" level of a state school, our parties never get broken up, no matter how big they get it seems. While my friends and I do drink, and I definitely partied very hard before coming to Brown, I've found that there is simply SO, so much to do around here at nights that I actually don't end up drinking every weekend and still have the best time.

In the middle of the week there are always events going on - from guest lecturers to film screenings, from food festivals to self-help sessions - you'll never not have something to do.

I feel bad for people who don't go to this school.