I would really like to go to Duke but want to know if I have a good chance if I apply early decision. If not, could you recommend any other schools I would have a good chance of getting into(most likely majoring in biochem/chem/bio)
Cumulative GPA: 3.68/4.33
Freshman Year:
3 Honors courses
3.52/3.93 GPA
JV Tennis team, indoor track team, jazz band
Boy Scouts
Sophomore Year
3 APs(Macro/Micro, APUSH)
3.68/4.33 GPA
Indoor and outdoor track, 200 hrs community service, magazine article writer
Junior Year
6 AP’s: Chem, Calc BC, World history, Stats, French, Lang
Speech and debate team, elected as class VP
3.87/4.76 GPA
Tutor, indoor/outdoor track, unicef president
Senior Year schedule: AP Euro, Multivariable Calculus, Historical Epidemiology, English IV, AP Bio, AP Physics 1, Java
Additional Details
School doesn’t have class rank
35 ACT
1530 SAT(730 RW, 800 M)
800 Math 2, 740 Chem(retaking chem and taking French this month)
Duke is a long shot, but certainly possible if you can afford it. I would need to know what state you’re in to give some good options.
Hey man you got a shot, it’s really hard for everyone so don’t only focus on Duke, but you definitely got a shot.
GPA is low for Duke, but ACT and SAT are above average. So from a stats perspective, I think you’re competitive – they probably aren’t going to look at your stats and flat-out deny you. Which means the qualitative parts of your app will make or break you.
Duke’s ED acceptance rate for the most recent cycle was 24.7%. So I would call Duke a low reach for you in the ED round.
To me, ED shouldn’t be about just getting into any selective school; it should be about getting into your favorite school. Imagine if you couldn’t decide between, oh, Duke and Dartmouth. As ED time approached, you decided to flip a coin, and applied ED to Dartmouth… only to discover, over the winter and spring, that Duke was your favorite. Of course Dartmouth admits you, and now you’re stuck.
So: unless you are 100% ambivalent and really do not have anything approaching a favorite school – only apply to a school ED if you can afford it, it’s your clear favorite, fits you well, etc.
So if you love Duke, go ahead and apply ED. If you want a list of similar schools to apply to (at different selectivity levels…) in terms of academics, environment, social vibe – any or all of those things – let us know, and you’ll end up with a list of schools on your app list that fit what you want in a college.
Prezbucky I may not be reading your comments correctly. Shouldn’t we urge the OP to conclude which school is their top choice in advance of the ED date to maximize likelihood of acceptance and not waste the ED advantage?
Duke did accept 24.7% of ED applicants and only 6.4% of RD. Dartmouth 24.9% ED vs 6.9% RD. Ultimately every student has to make a decision as to top choice. With a roughly 4:1 ratio of acceptances ED:RD it would seem ridiculous to defer that decision until RD when in reality it may be made for you and even worse waiting may result in rejection at both schools.
The ED option is a powerful advantage that should not go wasted based on a desire to maintain optionality in my opinion. RD with a 2-7% avg acceptance rate at elite schools is far to risky to wait and hope for acceptances given that we are talking about accelerating a decision that ultimately needs to be made. I would suggest being proactive and making the choice then the alternative of allowing the schools to make it for you.
@Nocreativity1 i really wonder how much of advantage ED is for non-hooked applicant as almost all of the hooked and top stat applicants will be in this early group compared to RD. Any thoughts?
Anecdotal observations suggest to me that for kids playing in the elite schools best shot remains ED. Agreed that some of those acceptances are hooked applicants but typically these schools are accepting 50%ish of their entire classes ED. Back into the math and you still have a 2 fold likelihood of being accepted ED then RD assuming a full 25% of the entire class is hooked.
Also consider the desire for yield from school’s like Duke, UC, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, etc… They are all competing for the same kids for that remaining 75%. They will surely play the yield game and take the best ED candidates and have them committed. I don’t think ED gets you in if you don’t have the credentials but if qualified and compelling ED is for lack of a better term half a hook.
Also consider you really aren’t giving anything material up except flexibility down the road. The reality however is that no matter how qualified you are multiple acceptances at this level are unlikely unless hooked. Make a decision, apply, pray, and hopefully get in and never look back.
Ultimately you can only attend one school.
What about EA vs ED. Still better odds than RD?
EA assuming you have the stats to put you in the game depends on the school and their philosophy. For example U Chicago it appears to be significantly easier EA where at Georgetown it is statistically harder EA then RD. Hard to decipher the quality of the applicant pool but the apply/accept ratios are available.
@Nocreativity1 Duke doesn’t have EA, just ED and RD
Wrestler333. I know I was answering a general question and didn’t mention Duke. Thanks. I actually site the breakout between RD and ED at Duke in an earlier post.
I attended their accepted students day so very familiar with their process.
@Nocreativity1, oh my bad. By the way, congrats on getting into such an awesome school! Did you end up going?
Thanks and actually was there for my son. I am a proud Dad. Ultimately he choose another school but it was a very tough choice. Duke campus is amazing, people were incredible, and top notch atmosphere and academics.
Good luck!
I live in NJ, would prefer a school in the east but I am also considering UC Berkeley and USC
@prezbucky A list of other schools would be much appreciated. These are some of the ones I am looking at right now: Amherst,Brown,Carnegie Mellon, Dartmouth,Duke,Emory, Johns Hopkins, Middlebury, Northwestern, Princeton, USC, UW Madison, Villanova, UC Berkeley. I want to major in Biochem btw. Thanks for the response!
@Nocreativity1
I think it’s best to establish a clear favorite before applying ED. I don’t think ED should be used unless there is a clear #1.
That’s what I intend(ed) to imply.
@CCdudeCC,
I’ll try to get you some reaches, matches and safeties tonight.
I think going through an admissions process for elite schools without deciding on a favorite in time to apply and benefit from the enhanced odds of ED is analogous to telling a waiter at a resteraunt that you can’t make up your mind as to which among 5 daily specials you want to dine on. After prolonged contemplation you tell the waiter you have chosen the lamb chop, only to be told they are now all sold out of it and or only the Chilean Sea Bass is still offered (I hate Sea Bass).
In other words you squandered your statistical best advantage because you failed to make an informed adult decision in a timely manner. By the time you are ready to decide others will likely make the decision for you.
Your best chance of addmission typically 3:1 is ED. Don’t wind up with the sea bass when you can take your best shot at getting the lamb chop. “To not decide is still to make a choice”…
Schools like Duke:
- Big sports scene
- Balanced student body, leaning perhaps a bit sporty and preppy. Active Greek life.
Vanderbilt - Reach
Lehigh - High match
Wake Forest - High match
Tulane - High match
SMU - High match/Match
U of Miami - High match/Match
Syracuse - Low match
LACs:
Colgate - Low reach
Davidson - Low reach
U of Richmond - High match
Bucknell - High match
Lafayette - High match
Trinity (CT) - High match
Union - Match
Franklin & Marshall - Match
Gettysburg - Match
Safeties: LACs ranked below about 70 and universities below about 80. (admit rate should be 50%+ and your stats should be at or above the 75th be the 75th percentile)
You’re competitive, but Duke is still a reach.
I think you have a shot. It’s competitive but you would not be wasting your ED card here.
As for ED vs RD, it’s hard to compare the pools. Outside of the usual suspects who get preference (athletes, legacies, programs like Questbridge ), most kids applying ED are qualified, so it may be a somewhat stronger pool. With that said, it definitely improves your odds. If it’s your first choice, go for it!