This vid really helped me. I love everything about brown and would be so excited if I could be admitted as an environmental science major for the class of 2026. You really put all the factors in perspective for me. Everything will be okay no matter where I get in. For the rest of high school I am just going to keep doing what I personally want to do and think will benefit me. If that is not good enough for Brown, whatever! I did my best.

I have a daughter who is currently at Brown and a son who just got admitted to Providence College. What Leon said here is very transparent and honest. The biggest variables are money, status, and luck. My daughter's essay was to the point; it focused on how our family are unorthodox engineers. Get this - she didn't even submit a personal video. Her hs didn't participate in AP classes and her school did not do class rank. She pretty much got in without even trying at the application. (Don't get me wrong; she is brilliant and diligent). My son, on the other hand, took all AP classes, ranked .028 percent in his class... and got rejected from Brown (FYI, his essay discussed how his grandfather inspired him to love biology). In the end, Providence College (private in-state school) offered him almost a full ride and he got accepted in their honors program. In all honestly, if I made 250,000.00+ a year or was a celebrity (or of high social standing), I think my kids had a better chance at getting accepted at most colleges. The fact that we are middle class shows the inequity of the college system. For you kids applying to these intense colleges, please know that you are not a failure. It's a rigged video game.

You really covered all of the gray areas and doubts I had, thank you.

Thank you for the video. I can feel your sincerity and honesty. Best of luck to you.

Thank you for your video and sharing your experience, your parents must be very proud of you, you will have a bright future.

What a great honest video. I was impressed with your analysis of the situation and how the application process impacted you as a person. This stress for college is real.

Omg this is awesome! So helpful and insightful! Thanks for sharing!

Forwarded your video to my twin daughters who are rising seniors. They are going through the same challenges and emotions as you were. I’m sad to see the amount of stress they put on themselves every day 😢Hopefully this video will help them to “chill out” and enjoy the journeys😊 Btw, Brown is one of their dream schools!!!

Great video! You'll make a wonderful Dr one day! Best wishes for a fantastic future

This was so helpful- I really appreciate your fresh take on this process!

congratulation! motivational and inspiring

I saw the video….I was very impressed with your maturity …..don’t see rejections as a measure of your self worth…..this made my day!!🙌

Thank you Leon for this video 🥺.

Thank you for the video. Some time has passed since you uploaded it, but I feel refreshed and more at ease with your perspective. Yesterday I got deferred from Brown and I honestly didn’t know how to react. I feel numb, and I can’t help but feel nauseous at knowing I’ll have to keep applying. I’m an international student, and my country and school don’t have the same opportunities or resources as those in the us (and I’m privileged enough to even apply there and be in a good school). I feel like I could have done more, more extracurriculars and more achievements, but nothing is ever enough unless YOU believe it is. I’m a little lost and honestly don’t feel this is happening, but detaching myself more from this process has helped me be more accepting of it. Thank you and I hope you’re doing ok wherever you are!

Very helpful video! Thanks Leon!!

I'm a rising senior and is really anxious about college applications emm the process kinda starts now tho o.0!! This video was helpful and kinda made me feel better about myself in a sense and thank you for making this!

Thanks for sharing your experience!

THIS VIDEO MAKES SENSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!THANKS!

this video was super helpful! i would be interested in hearing your essays if you were willing to make a video!

Thanks for giving insight about the admission process.

Thank you so much for making this video. I'm planning on applying to Brown's class of 2026 and I was encouraged.

I have no idea how i ended up with watching this video. Plus I'm not even an American high school student lol(Japanese full-time UI/UX planner) But your video reminded me that I should focus more on what I value and what I want, not what people around me would possibly want. You gave me a positive motivation. Thanks a lot! Good luck with your study :)

Love the ending

this is sooooo realistic oooff gave me hope to apply to schools that I thought I never could get into

I really love your videos!!!

Great video!

This video is extremely helpful; I’m a current junior and I’m very anxious regarding EC’s and other things. Your advice and insight helped me calm my nerves. I’m going to try my hardest but I’ve heard from plenty of peopling (including you) that your career pathway or success is never determined by your college. Great video!

Very well said

Thanks for this

Heya, you are very well-spoken! I assume you have finished uni now? what job are you doing, or what job are you planning to get (as in what field) if you don't have one yet? Also, I am from the UK and I am shocked at how different the uni systems are, here it is very much grade based, like a lot, do ECs matter way more for the US unis? Because since we are so "grade" focused over here we aren't expected to do all the crazy super + extra-curricular activities you guys do, just ace a levels and entrance admission tests. I was thinking of looking into US unis but ngl this has put me of because in the UK there is no way i can do these things lol, if i could then i need to be loaded cash wise which is not the case😭

insightful

Leon, I like your comments and reflections. Going to any Ivy, I think you do best majoring in prelaw or finance or business majors. Science degrees at an Ivy ha ha, the rich kids are laughing at you from the frat house. There is a reason mostly minorities are in the sciences at these campuses. Where a top students should go for college depends on many factors. Cost and ROI should be a much higher factor for college rankings but these days the higher cost is seemly worn by schools as a badge of honor. Total cost is more likely the legal gate to keep out the unwanted students, without having to say a word. Elite universities have always been exclusionary playgrounds for the children of the rich and powerful. They tolerate a few others just to keep up with the times, but thats it. If Ivies wanted to they could increase student class size by double, but that would decrease the exclusive nature of the degrees. As a premed, you could of found success at any top 50 school. It is more important that you keep you GPA higher than 3.7 and get an MCAT above 510 to have a shot at med school 80th percentile MCAT. Going to an Ivy makes keeping a 3.7 GPA in science classes just a little harder due to how you are being curved with the best science students. I do not think med schools will give you more points for getting a 3.4 GPA at Harvard, etc. My daughter had a friend that attended Harvard for premed, and the poor kid had a 2.0 GPA after freshman year, that was going to be very difficult to recover from. You sound like a good student and will do great things. I watched your videos on Brown and lots of what you said about Brown professors was the same as my UCLA undergrad days almost three decades ago. The school makes the student as much as the student makes the school.

Found this video very helpful, so relatable (values-wise) that I felt as though I was watching a mirror image of myself set a few years in the future. What are some more pointers you would give in terms of applying to Brown considering that this video is about a year old. (p.s. I totally agree on your perspective on the state of college admissions and being unfair and biased)

Great Video. Txs.

This was a great video, thank you! I know you didn't go quite as much into detail about this, so I was just wondering how much you think class rank matters in terms of admissions? Because of other circumstances freshman year I wasn't able to take as many advanced classes as I wanted to, but I definitely have an upwards growth trend - do you think this would hurt me?

Hi Can you please make a video on the whole process that an international student has to go through for admission in Brown PLME, and a complete guide on SAT for an international student, like the resources to study from, tips to get a good score, etc?

Difficulty of getting into Brown PLME is on par with that of T5 schools. I bet you should've had a chance of getting into Harvard. Anyway, I believe you are doing well wherever you end up with. Keep being yourself, Leon. Can you make a video about PLME?

Minor ice skating awards, calligraphy awards, fund a club, Published papers with professor, volunteer at hospital, school club leader, science bowl team, badminton.

Thanks for sharing your story, really appreciate it. Did you apply for Early Decision in any of your schools? Do you think ED would increased ones chance of getting accepted?

Off topic but my sister has the same laptop as you, and I never realized how expensive it is. 😀. Quick questions. What state are you from, and if you are out of state, then how was the adjustment, and how do you like Rhode Island?

I got accepted by Brown, for graduate school (1980). I ended up going to Stanford. I’ve often wondered how my life would have been different if I had gone to Brown.

loved the video, but i never understand what is the role of essays in ivy leagues? Do we need to write our own essays and publish is somewhere or what to do? pls ans...

From what source can an international student apply for the colleges

Do you think the Ivys like people who are good at music? I’m principle trumpet of my schools top band and I have been selected for the district honor band and the Georgia all-state band. Also I have gotten a varsity letter for band. There are other things I can do other than band so is it worth the time and effort?

Where did you get that sweater its nice lol

I used to want to get into ivy leagues until I realized: Ivy leagues don’t correlate with success or money. Go for universities that offer you the most and not ones that make you look good

Hey Leon! I'm an incoming freshman at UPenn and I'm very interested in biomedical engineering. Would you have some time to talk about your experiences as a biomedical engineering student? Thanks so much in advance!

Do you think the scores you get on AP tests affect admission decisions?

please read your brown + plme essays !!

Just wondering, how much weight does a standardized test score really hold in someone's college application? Funny enough, those who I knew that were incoming college freshman or even graduates couldn't really provide a definitive answer, understandably since it's quite difficult to pinpoint an exact reason for an acceptance or rejection. I'm curious on your take since you seem quite well versed on the subject. Thanks!

Do you know anything about Ib or the Ib diploma?

You chose Brown over Berkeley??! That was stupid. But congrats, bro! You must be smart.

lmao I forgot my ec's too when I made this type of vid

Real question. Did brown give a ton of scholarship? Its 750k for all 8 years of plme!

Can you read your essays?

You don't go to college to go to college. You go to college to learn the field you are interested in. I am sorry that today's youth is so completely misinformed about that because of their helicopter parents.