Brown University

Overview

Brown University sits in Providence, the capital of Rhode Island. Founded in 1764, it is a member of the Ivy League. In fall 2025 the undergraduate College enrolled 7,196 students, with a 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio; 68% of classes have fewer than 20 students, and the six-year graduation rate for the cohort that entered in 2019 was 96%. Brown is best known for the Open Curriculum: there is no university-wide core, and each student designs a personal course of study across four years.

Two kinds of families tend to fit. In the first, the student already has real intellectual direction and is comfortable making choices and owning them; the Open Curriculum gives that student room, while a student who needs outside structure may find it a burden. In the second, family income is moderate or modest but the student’s record is strong, because Brown’s aid includes no loans and families earning $125,000 or less with typical assets generally pay no tuition. For Irvine families, the first question is that Brown’s Early Decision is binding, which directly affects how it fits with a University of California application; the last section of this page lays that out by grade.

Admissions data

5.6%Class of 2030 admit rate

1. Applied47,944
2. Admitted2,688
3. Enrolled1,742

• 750-80072.8%
• 700-74016%
• 650-6906.8%
• Below 6504.5%

Admitted students who submitted the SAT. The middle 50% total SAT score was 1470 to 1550.

• 35-3659.8%
• 32-3431.8%
• 29-315.9%
• Below 292.5%

Admitted students who submitted the ACT. The middle 50% was 34 to 36.

Admitted students in the Class of 2030 came from all 50 states, and California was among the states with the most admits; 19% will be the first in their families to attend college, and 73% intend to apply for financial aid. In the ED round, 5,406 students applied and 890 were admitted.

How to apply

Brown accepts the Common Application. The application fee is $80, with waivers for eligible families. Materials include the Common Application personal essay, four Brown supplemental essays (two of 150 to 250 words and two of 100 to 150 words), a school report and counselor recommendation, recommendations from two teachers in major academic subjects, and midyear and final school reports. Applicants considering a Bachelor of Science (Sc.B.) or the PLME should have at least one recommendation from a math or science teacher. PLME applicants write three extra essays. Applicants to the five-year Brown-Rhode Island School of Design Dual Degree (BRDD) write one additional essay of up to 650 words and apply separately to both schools.

Testing is required. Brown returned to requiring the SAT or ACT beginning with the 2024-25 admission cycle, accepts Score Choice, and superscores within each exam; the SAT Essay and ACT Writing are not required, and the ACT Science section became optional in spring 2025. There are no minimum scores, and Brown says it reads scores in the context of each student’s school and background. International applicants whose first language is not English are strongly encouraged to submit an English proficiency test, but TOEFL or IELTS cannot replace the SAT or ACT.

Brown ended alumni interviews in the 2019-20 academic year. Instead, applicants are encouraged to submit a video introduction of no more than 90 seconds, through the applicant portal or, for students at US high schools, through Glimpse. ED applicants upload by November 4 and RD applicants by January 7; music and visual art portfolios go through SlideRoom on the same dates. A completed academic paper or research abstract may also be uploaded as a supplement.

All first-year applicants are admitted need-blind, meaning an aid application never affects the decision, and that has included international students since the Class of 2029. The admission office states that there are no quotas among concentrations and that it does not admit students by academic interest.

Cost and financial aid

2026-27$97,116billed total

• Tuition$74,568
• Fees$3,084
• Housing$10,710
• Food$8,754

What a family actually pays, by income

1. Under $60,000$0Scholarships cover tuition, housing, food, books, and other costs
2. $60,000 to $125,000Tuition $0Scholarship covers at least full tuition
3. Above $125,000Assessed on demonstrated need

Aid is need-based only; Brown offers no merit awards. Through The Brown Promise, Brown has removed loans from all undergraduate aid packages, replacing them with scholarships that do not have to be repaid, and it meets 100% of demonstrated need. In the Class of 2030, 51% of students received need-based scholarship or grant aid. Aid applicants file the CSS Profile and the FAFSA: by November 2, 2026 for Early Decision and by February 1, 2027 for Regular Decision.

Schools and fields of study

Brown University consists of the undergraduate College, the Graduate School, the Warren Alpert Medical School, and schools including the School of Engineering, the School of Public Health, and the Watson School of International and Public Affairs. In fall 2025 the College enrolled 7,196 undergraduates, the Graduate School 3,369, and the medical school 599. Every first-year student enters the College; there is no admission by school. Brown calls a major a concentration and lists more than 80 of them, leading to either a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) or a Bachelor of Science (Sc.B.). Students declare a concentration no later than the middle of their fourth semester.

The Open Curriculum has no general education requirements. To graduate, a student completes at least 30 courses, fulfills the requirements of at least one concentration, demonstrates writing competence, and completes the equivalent of eight full-time semesters. Any course may be taken for a letter grade or as satisfactory/no credit, and Brown does not calculate grade point averages or class rank. Students may also design an Independent Concentration or add an interdisciplinary certificate alongside their concentration.

Engineering concentrations are offered by the School of Engineering and mostly lead to the Sc.B., with one A.B. track in Engineering; fields such as mathematics, physics, and computer science offer a choice between the A.B. and the Sc.B. Students aiming for medicine can apply to the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME), the only combined baccalaureate-MD program in the Ivy League. It runs as an eight-year continuum, enrolls about 50 students a year, and drew 4,867 applicants for the Class of 2030. Artists can apply to the five-year BRDD, which awards a Brown A.B. or Sc.B. and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from RISD; for the Class of 2030 it had 856 applicants and 20 enrolled. BRDD is considered only in the Regular Decision round and cannot be combined with PLME.

Campus life

Brown requires undergraduates to live in university housing for their first six semesters, except while on an approved study abroad or study away program; BRDD students live at RISD in their first year and at Brown in their second. Every first-year student lives on campus in a neighborhood of 40 to 60 first-year students, supported by student peer counselors called Community Coordinators. Roommates are matched through a lifestyle questionnaire, and single-gender, substance-free, and quiet housing options are available.

A timeline for Irvine families

The five Irvine Unified high schools differ in when AP courses open, how weighting works, and how the math sequence accelerates, and those four years of scheduling shape the depth of an application. School-by-school rules are in the IUSD high school guides.

1. Grade 9Explore, protect grades
   • Settle the math and science sequence
   • Protect core grades
   • Try several activities and narrow to one or two by year end
2. Grade 10Turn interests into output
   • Take the first AP courses the school allows
   • Turn activities into visible output
   • Students interested in medicine begin health-related experience
3. Grade 11Finish testing
   • SAT or ACT: first sitting in spring, second before summer ends
   • Dates on the test calendar; prep on the SAT page
   • Choose two core-subject recommenders, including a math or science teacher for STEM
4. Fall of grade 12Decide on ED
   • ED: application by November 1, aid materials by November 2
   • Upload the 90-second video introduction by November 4
   • File the UC application as usual; withdraw it if admitted ED

Dates and registration deadlines are on the 2026-27 test calendar, and preparation options are on the SAT page.

How EDUBUS helps

EDUBUS college planning runs year by year from grade 9: a four-year course plan built around the rules of each Irvine high school, a testing schedule, a clear activities direction, and in grade 12 a counselor review of the personal essay, Brown’s four supplemental essays, and the content of the video introduction. Whether to use binding Early Decision is a decision our counselors weigh with the family, looking at grades, intended field, and financial aid expectations together. Preparing the CSS Profile and FAFSA is part of the service. To see where a student stands relative to schools like Brown, start with a free assessment.