<p>I'm a rising senior who is definitely looking to apply early. I've got some strong stats/grades (2250 SAT, 34 ACT, 790/770 SAT II, 3.9 GPA) and some special ECs. </p>
<p>I could apply to Princeton or Yale SCEA, but the boost in admission advantage is apparently not too significant. The other option is applying ED to Duke and enjoying much better odds there.</p>
<p>Is it logical to assume that the academic/social/brand-name difference in value between Yale/Princeton and Duke is immeasurable, and that therefore I'd be better off going for a Duke acceptance with a boost from ED? While I'd walk away with admission to a fantastic school, I risk the slight, albeit it silly, "regret" of "What if I could have gotten in to the slightly-more-prestige-but-just-as-good-academically Yale/Princeton?"</p>
<p>Assuming finances aren't an issue, at what point should you choose being strategic with ED over shooting for the stars?
Any thoughts or advice? Thanks for reading! </p>
<p>Misconceptions about prestige aside (they’ll seriously hurt you later on if you’re just chasing prestige):</p>
<p>It comes down to what your overall plan is. Do you want to maximize the odds of the best possible outcome? Or do you just want to maximize the odds of an acceptable outcome or minimize the odds of a bad outcome? And of course, what do you consider a good/bad/worst/best outcome?</p>
<p>Which one are you going for- and what’s your list look like? Try to rank them (or assign points that feel right) and define what sort of outcome each college is. Like “Yale; 10 points- best possible outcome.” After that it becomes pretty clear what your plan should be- are you going to risk everything for the very best (knowing that you’re lowering your odds of getting your second and third choices) or are you going to try your hardest to get one of your top few choices?</p>
<p>That comes down to whether your top three choices are close together enough, which is a subjective decision. But in terms of prestige, Duke is very much on par with the Ivy League and Stanford- they get confused for an actual Ivy all the time. It might even be that your major is better at Duke than at Yale or Princeton (if it’s, say, biomedical engineering) and you’ll like their environment more. You really don’t want to miss out on something on that level if you can make it, so ED Duke if- after your own analysis- they come out pretty close. I’d say they do.</p>
<p>Chasing prestige is stupid. For one, a more “prestigious” school may be no better or worse for you in reaching your career goals, depending on the school and the goals.</p>
<p>Fit is important, though. What plans do you have after college and why do you like each school better or worse?</p>
<p>ready, I think you have to strategize your preferences, not your chances. You’re looking at three excellent colleges, but excellent in different ways – in culture, in location, in personality of student body, in academic specialties. So first think hard about where you see yourself fitting best. If you haven’t visited, do so, preferably for an overnight.</p>
<p>Then look yourself in the mirror and say “If I get a rejection from College X in the RD round, I’m really going to regret not giving it my best shot by applying early.” Regret is not “silly;” it can eat you up for a long time. So be honest with yourself.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that you should choose Yale or Princeton instead of Duke. On the contrary I can see a lot of reasons why some kids would choose Duke as their #1. But only you can determine which is best for you.</p>
<p>One other point, if you need financial aid, ED is not a good strategy as you won’t be able to compare and negotiate packages.</p>
<p>You give up the option of comparing and shopping fin aid packages, but I wouldn’t say that should deter you from ED if you have a dollar number in mind, ran through the NPC, don’t have special financial circumstances, and really do have a school as your first choice, as the difference between ED and RD acceptance rates at some schools are stark.</p>
<p>In this case, however, I say it comes down to goals and fit. Maximizing chances of reaching your goals is important. Maximizing your fit is important. Maximizing prestige brownie points will seem stupid to your older self.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the responses. I think I have a pretty thoughtful outlook in terms of my motives for getting into the most selective school possible. My real reason for wanting to get into Yale/Princeton is that I figure those kids will be the most accomplished, engaging, forward-thinking, and (hopefully) mature on the whole.</p>
<p>I have a particularly special EC accomplishment (founding an innovative nonprofit that has spread to 10+ schools and organizations in my community), so I find exciting the prospect of being placed among accomplished and highly motivated peers.</p>
<p>So it’s not the prestige, but the selectivity and therefore caliber of student that would make me choose Yale/Princeton if someone said “you can go anywhere you want, you have 5 minutes to decide”.</p>
<p>The personality of the school/fit has been hard for me to pinpoint. I picked up on the quirky vibe of Brown, UChicago, and I kinda felt one at Tufts… but does anyone have insight on “fit” between Yale and Princeton? Both campuses are beautiful and the surrounding town would work for me. </p>
<p>If you like the “quirky” vibe of Brown you will find that more at Yale than Princeton, and Duke is probably more like Princeton than Yale or Brown. All are great schools full of accomplished students.</p>
<p>I think you mean “minute” instead of “immeasurable” in your original post.</p>
<p>Tons of assumptions on your post. Have you actually visited? The quality of the kids in all of these schools is really high. There’s going to be accomplished and highly motivated kids at all these schools. It may shock you (though it shouldn’t, because the academic talent in this country is really deep), but there are a decent number of kids who turn down Yale or Princeton for Duke. Also, you’re attributing a level of omniscience and impartiality in adcoms that doesn’t exist. And without knowing your potential post-college goals, I still can’t give a recommendation.</p>
<p>Finally, if you like the quirky feel of Brown and UChicago, why are you considering applying early to Princeton and Duke? That’s like saying I like chocolate ice cream so I’m going to buy vanilla instead. And if you don’t know what fit is like at a school, why are you even considering applying early there?</p>
<p>I doubt very much that if your were to pick 10 students at random from Yale, Princeton and Duke and review their stats, their ECs, their accomplishments, their character, and their goals that you would be able to identify with better than 1/3 probability which college they are from.</p>