<p>@topranked - you’ve got a good chance at any of the schools - research them all, decide which one you would most like to attend, and then apply there. Playing it safe by applying ED to Duke if it is not your top choice is a bad strategy, IMO. There is no simple answer though, evidence does suggest there is a significant advantage to applying early at all of these schools, even if the colleges themselves deny it. In my daughter’s class, some students who were rejected or deferred in the EA/ED round were accepted to peer colleges in the RD round, but others were not.</p>
<p>FYI, Stanford is SCEA, not ED, so you could still apply to other schools if you were accepted.</p>