If statistics on the class of 2002 are any indication, Brown is hardly the haven for left-leaning, black beret-wearing students of Wittgenstein and Baudrillard - it's a hot destination for budding scientists, too. This year, twice as many students from the incoming class intend to concentrate in science, math, and engineering (46 percent), than in the humanities (23 percent). Aspiring social science concentrators make up 17 percent of the class while 10 percent are undecided.

These figures, says Director of Admission Michael Goldberger, are nothing new. "Most people think of Brown as this really liberal place where people come to concentrate in the humanities," he says, "but these numbers are pretty typical." The University's open curriculum, Goldberger adds, is just as appealing for potential scientists as it is for wanna-be writers, actors, or sculptors. "The ability to focus on things they really want to study is just as exciting for them," he says.