Does Brown Pre-College Actually Help You Get in? the Brutal Truth Behind Ivy Summer Programs
By James H. Sterling
Many families justify the expense of Summer@Brown by banking on a glowing letter of recommendation from an Ivy League scholar. That assumption regularly runs into logistical roadblocks.
Most Summer@Brown sections are taught by doctoral candidates, visiting adjunct scholars, or postdoctoral researchers, rather than tenured faculty members. These instructors handle dozens of students across condensed two- or three-week terms. Expecting a tenured department chair to write an in-depth character reference for undergraduate admissions based on fifteen days of class discussion is unrealistic.
Instead of formal academic reference letters, Summer@Brown issues a Course Performance Report (CPR). This narrative evaluation outlines the student’s class contributions, writing quality, and engagement with syllabus themes. While students can submit a CPR as supplementary material in their college applications, admissions committees rarely treat them with the weight of a year-long reference from a high school AP teacher who knows the student's work ethic, character, and school leadership firsthand.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
