Brown Summer Programs

November 23, 2022
By AdmissionSight

Brown Summer Programs

Brown University, which was established in 1764, has a long and illustrious tradition of academic achievement and innovation in a wide range of subject areas. High school students who take advantage of the option to participate in the many courses of Brown summer programs get the chance to gain an education at a prestigious Ivy League school.

Students have the opportunity to get a more in-depth and practical grasp of the topics that most interest them by participating in a variety of Brown summer programs. You will be better prepared for your education after high school if you take part in academic activities on a college campus during the summer. In addition, participation in Brown summer programs allows you to demonstrate your motivation and interest in a specific field of study, which is always a plus when it comes to the process of applying to colleges.

Does Brown have a Summer Program?

Does Brown have a summer program? Yes, high school students are encouraged to participate in Pre-College Programs so that they can gain a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges presented by the college experience. You won’t have to worry about the stress of official grades, but you’ll still get to experience the thrill and sense of responsibility that come with striking a balance between rigorous academics and stimulating extracurricular activities.

You’ll get to know the finest of Brown by enrolling in one of its Brown summer programs and its courses that last between one and six weeks. Brown is well-known as an Ivy League school that welcomes independent thinkers and values and respects the opinions of its students.

You will have the opportunity to participate in rigorous coursework at the college level while studying alongside students from all around the world who are just as driven and inquisitive as you are.

Three students working on a table.

You can also become a part of the Brown community in order to obtain a sense of what it is like to live college life, including the opportunities, the pressures, and the new friendships. And depart having been enlightened by a once-in-a-lifetime adventure and better equipped for what lies ahead. The following are the Brown summer programs that are offered.

Summer@Brown

The Summer@Brown Pre-College Program is the largest of our Pre-College offerings, and each summer it draws in almost 4,000 very high-achieving and ambitious individuals. They enroll in one or more of the more than 200 available courses, which are developed and delivered at the same level as first-year college courses, and range in length from one to four weeks.

The Pre-College Programs at Brown University is a uniquely Brown University initiative that is founded on the principles that underpin a Brown undergraduate liberal arts education and the university’s open curriculum. These programs have the overarching goal of reorienting student attention away from formal grades and credits and toward the learning process itself. This will be accomplished by designing learning experiences that are student-centered.

Summer@Brown is aimed to prepare students for the social and personal demands they would face as first-year students at a prestigious college or university by providing them with an experience of independent living on a university campus alongside a diverse mix of otherwise like-minded peers.

Summer@Brown Online

Enroll in Summer@Brown Online to select from more than 80 courses that offer rigorous and engaging learning experiences and are conducted by innovative and involved Brown professors. Each course incorporates asynchronous, mostly asynchronous, or blended online learning experiences, as well as numerous opportunities for students and instructors to engage in conversation with one another.

By participating in coursework that piques your interest and leads to new discoveries, you’ll have the opportunity to network with students from all over the world who share your passion, creativity, and sense of accomplishment.

Academic challenges and individualized comments are available to participants of the Summer@Brown Online program, which can be accessed from any location. In addition to your coursework, you will have the option to participate with other students in the program in a variety of workshops and events that are geared toward the development of the community.

You will have the opportunity to take on the intellectual challenge of college-level coursework without the stress of formal grades and credit, in classes given by teachers who are just as interested in your education as you are, among students who are just as engaged as you are.

Brown Environmental Leadership Lab (BELL)

The objective of the Brown Environmental Leadership Lab (BELL), which mixes ideas from environmental studies, ecology, and leadership, is to develop leaders who are socially responsible. During your time at BELL, you will go on a journey of study and self-reflection while also forming a community with the other student environmentalists who are enrolled in your program.

Two students talking near a building.

Brown Experiential Education (BEE)

Immersion in a topic on both a cerebral and a physical level is the most effective method for acquiring new knowledge. In the Brown Experiential Education programs, this is exactly what takes place. You can expect these programs to provide an academic experience that is both comprehensive and challenging, with program settings that have been chosen with great care to complement the subject matter.

When you make a direct connection between what you are studying and the world around you, learning becomes more substantive and experiential. Discovering the interconnectedness of the global community by going to new places and thinking about things from a variety of points of view will help you become better prepared for the increasingly difficult challenges of the 21st century, thanks to the multidisciplinary approach taken by the programs.

Leadership Institute

Young people in every region of the world are speaking up in favor of social reform on both a regional and international scale. You will strengthen both your capability and effectiveness in achieving social justice through your participation in the Brown Leadership Institute, regardless of the amount of engagement you now have.

There are two different ways in which one can take part in the Leadership Institute:

  • an on-campus session that lasts for two weeks (currently waitlisted)
  • an online meeting that lasts for one month

You’ll meet students from all around the world who are enthusiastic about a wide array of subjects through both of these modes of education, including topics such as racial justice, educational access, and gender equity. You will spend your days digging into fascinating topics in a class of your choosing, actively engaging with both your classmates and the instructor along the process.

You will hone your abilities in active listening, public speaking, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and collaboration as you struggle with difficult problems and come up with possible answers together while practicing a collaborative model of leadership. On the basis of all of this new information, you will construct an Action Plan that you will be able to implement at your school or in your community when you get back home.

STEM for Rising 9th & 10th Graders

This is the perfect program for you if your idea of a fun way to spend the summer is delving deeper into STEM subjects. Participate in two weeks of hands-on, team-based research projects, experiments, and design-build challenges alongside other students who will be entering the 9th or 10th grade in the upcoming school year and who share your enthusiasm for expanding their knowledge of the STEM fields.

You will have a variety of exciting and thought-provoking options available to you within the STEM subject areas. In each class, students will engage in rigorous academic content, hands-on practice in a laboratory or field setting, and a research project or design challenge that will serve as the course’s central emphasis.

Female student holding her books while smiling for the camera.

In addition to that, there is a possibility that you will get the chance to interact with graduate students from Brown and gain knowledge about research initiatives at the graduate level. You will deliver a final presentation at the end of the STEM experience, during which you will demonstrate your project in front of your classmates, instructors, and family members.

You will be able to enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes with advanced academic work and give in to your passion for education without feeling the burden of the expectations that come with official grades and credit.

Pre-Baccalaureate

The Pre-Baccalaureate Program at Brown University is an extremely competitive program open to rising high school seniors or students who have recently graduated high school and are prepared to tackle the rigors of credit-bearing undergraduate studies. During the Summer Session of the university, Pre-Baccalaureate students, also referred to as Pre-Baccs, participate in classes alongside Brown undergraduates as well as visiting undergraduates.

Courses that are open to first- and second-year undergraduate students are those that are available to Pre-Bacc students. These courses cover a wide range of academic disciplines, including the natural sciences and mathematics, the social sciences, the humanities, as well as the fine and performing arts. Students with a serious attitude come from all around the world and all across the country to participate in the program. They are all committed to studying and taking their studies seriously, despite the fact that their interests are as varied as Brown’s course offerings.

The content covered in Summer Session classes is comparable to that covered in semester-long programs, but the coursework is condensed into a more hectic seven-week time frame during the summer. On-campus and online versions of each class are available to students. Students who are working toward a pre-baccalaureate degree on campus are obligated to take two classes during the Summer Session offered on campus.

Students who are pursuing their pre-baccalaureate degrees online alone or who are enrolled in one on-campus course and one online course are required to commute. Students who attend classes off campus can take one Pre-Bacc course if they so want.

All classes count for credit at Brown University, and successful completion of any of them may enable students to start their undergraduate studies with a head start at other colleges and universities. The majority of classes give students grades of A, B, C, or NC (no credit), depending on how well they perform in the class.

Students have the option, in some classes (which is detailed in the specific course descriptions), of opting out of receiving a letter grade in favor of being graded on a satisfactory/no-credit basis instead of being graded. In addition, students have the option of requesting that their teachers compile a Course Performance Report on their behalf. This report is typically helpful during the college application process for students.

Is Brown Summer Programs Worth It?

With the different Brown summer programs presented, “is brown summer programs worth it?” The majority of colleges and universities provide high school students with the opportunity to spend the summer studying on campus. Younger pupils are given the opportunity to play at becoming college students, strolling across the quad to their higher-level classes as any other student would do during the academic year. This opportunity typically comes in the form of residential programs that last for many weeks or months.

Young woman talking to a group of people.

The majority of universities and colleges publicly assert that the purpose of impressive-sounding summer programs like the Brown summer program provide high school students with a taste of what it is like to be a college student. They consume their meals in the cafeterias, sleep in the residence halls, and most significantly, they participate in the same rigorous academic coursework as they would if they were matriculated, students. It will be beneficial to your education.

The majority of students, particularly those who may feel understimulated or underwhelmed by the usual high school course load, may view this possibility as something out of a dream. It is in everyone’s best interest to broaden the educational horizons of high school students by introducing them to new fields of study, more difficult academic challenges, and subject matter that is outside of their typical curriculum. The majority of high schools do not provide courses in areas such as global health, film studies, journalism, modern art, or public policy; therefore, a summer program is an ideal opportunity for your student to investigate these areas.

Will Attending a Summer Program Guarantee Admission?

So, will attending a summer program guarantee admission? The quick answer is probably not, at least not in a manner that is direct. It is imperative that pre-college summer programs not be viewed in any way as a backdoor into the respective colleges and universities to which they are attached. The vast majority of these programs like the Brown summer programs have no bearing on the undergraduate admissions procedures of the colleges to which they are attached.

View of group of people talking in a room.

With the exception of the most prestigious programs, college admissions officers are well aware of the high acceptance rates and price tags of many pre-college programs, and they won’t necessarily view acceptance into one as a significant achievement unless the program in question is one of the most prestigious programs available. It’s possible that they’ll simply interpret it as evidence that your family is well off.

Despite this, enrolling in a program like the Brown summer programs that prepare students for college may still be time well spent. It is important to keep in mind that many summer programs get their professors from the faculty of the college that hosts them. This means that even less selected programs may nevertheless present academic challenges.

Additionally, if you have the opportunity to take a course that is in line with your existing interests and specializations, this will underscore your commitment to that subject and enhance the profile you are trying to build in your college applications. If you have the opportunity to take a course that is in line with your existing interests and specializations.

Want to learn more about Brown summer programs? You’ve come to the right place. At AdmissionSight, we have over 10 years of experience guiding students through the competitive admissions process.

AdmissionSight can help you put your best foot forward when applying to college this fall. Contact us today for more information on our services.

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