Cornell vs. Duke Early Decision?

Applying to College
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<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>First of all I would like to thank you in advance for coming to my thread and taking time to read and provide advice. This is beyond helpful and I am very grateful for this community.</p>

<p>In short, I am a rising high school senior, beginning to look into colleges. I am interested in majoring in most definitely sciences. Most likely biology, chemistry, biomedical engineering, neuroscience, psychology, or the like. As of now, like many other young inexperienced people, I see medical school in my future, so I would like to keep that in mind during my college search. However, it is also very important for me to go to an university with a wide variety of colleges, just in case I discover my passion for another subject. However, I am focusing on sciences because I am almost 100% sure that I will NOT major in literature, history, agriculture, etc etc.</p>

<p>As of now, I am most interested in Cornell and Duke as my top choice reaches. But I am still debating on which one I'd rather apply ED to. Obviously both have great academics, but very different charms. Do both schools have a higher ED acceptance rate vs RD? Because these schools would be reaches for me and I would love to increase my chances of getting in. It would be a dream come true. <3</p>

<hr>

<p>My Stats:</p>

<p>GPA Weighted: 3.93
GPA Unweighted: 3.65</p>

<p>SAT I (Super Score)- 2020 [I realize my SAT is weak, so will most likely be submitting only ACT scores with SAT II]
780 Math
640 Reading
600 Writing
8 Essay</p>

<p>ACT- 33
32 Writing
33 Math
33 Reading
34 Science
7 Essay</p>

<p>SAT II-
740 Math 2
740 Biology E
750 Chinese</p>

<p>Course Schedule-</p>

<p>Middle School
Honors Algebra I
Honors Geometry
Honors Spanish I</p>

<p>Freshman
Honors Algebra II
Honors Biology
Honors Language Arts
Honors Spanish II
American Gov/Health
Band</p>

<p>Sophomore
Honors Pre-Calculus
Honors Chemistry
Honors Language Arts
Honors Spanish III
AP World History (5)
Band</p>

<p>Junior
AP Calculus AB (first semester had a 79 unweighted and 86 weighted, worried about this)
AP Biology
AP Lang
On-level Physics
On-level US History
Band</p>

<p>Senior
AP Stat
AP Chemistry
AP Lit
AP Micro/Macro
PE/Internship
Band</p>

<p>ECs-</p>

<p>Club (# of years in by graduation)</p>

<p>Student Council Representative (4)
Beta Club (4)
Marching Band (received varsity letter) (4)
Tutors in Action (2)
Winterguard (1)
Science Olympiad (1)
Pep Band (1)
Medical Society (1)</p>

<p>-regular volunteer at local library
-peer education at a local AIDs center
-part time job as of summer 2011</p>

2

<p>Yah, ditch your SAT, and go with your ACT. I would recommend applying to Duke Early decision because its biomedical engineering program, is ranked #4 in the nation according to USNEWS. Duke also has a well rounded curriculum, beautiful campus, and well rounded weather. Don’t apply to Cornell just for the Ivy League Prestigue</p>

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<p>Of course I won’t be applying to Cornell just for the Ivy League prestige, but rather the fact that they also have top ranked, basically the same level, biological undergrad programs as Duke. And further more, Duke is practically the Ivy League of the south! I was also looking into Cornell due to their change in enviroment and climate… but then again Duke has an superb student body. I figured that my chances at Cornell would be slightly better since their stats seem to be lower. There’s always WashU and John Hopkins which would be a challenge…</p>

1 Like
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<p>If u see med sch in your future, jh may be something to consider as well. I don’t think u mentioned your state, but anyway, I would suggest u go with duke Ed, as IMO it’s better biomed than Cornell.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for your input. I’m so far leaning toward Duke as my top choice since it has stellar academics, plus so many diverse majors to choose from, as well as environment. I live in Georgia, so it wouldn’t be too far from home. Although John Hopkins is excellent as well, I’ve heard that the location and social life is sub-par. The only thing that would veer me away from Duke is that, as I originally was not from Georgia, the southern feel isn’t so much my taste. But then again Cornell’s rurality… Duke is in the research triangle so opportunities would be endless! Def leaning towards Duke… Just hoping my stats are strong enough for admission!</p>

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<p>i’d not apply ED anywhere if i was you… check out all your possibilities, and dont apply ED unless you are 100% sure its your top choice. No point getting stuck somewhere you may not want to go later.</p>

<p>Instead, I suggest you apply EA at a 2-3 schools (preferably matches) … and then target the reaches in the RD round. ED doesnt really boost your chances.</p>

7

<p>Are you by chance Chinese?</p>

8

<p>I am actually not Chinese. Why do you ask?</p>

9

<p>MarlonBrando probably asked becuase of your SAT II score and your chances in compared to ethnicity (they expect asians to score a little higher in everything -_____- ) Frankly, go for both, make sure you have matches though. Overall, your application is pretty weak as I don’t see TOO many high points (like 34-36 range may stand out a bit) your SAT II is kinda on the weak side, usually I’d say 750-800 is a good push but those ten points aren’t worth it unless you plan on getting like 790. Your extracurriculars ARE impressive but for schools of this caliber, it’s pretty standard as everyone who applies to these schools have them and more. Please don’t be discouraged I tried to give you my honest opinion as possible but I really do wish you still apply regardless! (considering that I have a lower GPA… loll and i’m applying to those same schools)</p>

<p>At this point, identify a high point or make one. Whether it be in terms of academics (showing an upward trend), extracurriculars (entering a competition or even interning at a prestigious place like Google or something) or of course, your essay</p>

<p>Best of Luck to you! :)</p>

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<p>Also, one last note, try and not play the “numbers game” where you apply one over the other ED simply because of higher acceptance rate. If you’re qualified, you’ll be accepted or deferred. Those who are accepted, as many admissions officers would say “Would have been accepted in the regular admission pool anyway.”</p>

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<p>Ya don’t play the numbers game, both are similar ED acceptance rates and usually more well qualified and well connected kids apply ED, so the admissions rate is higher as a result. Have you visited both schools? I would if I were in your position, just to get the feel, and if you really like both, maybe aply to RD and think about which to apply to? (Stats are def competitive in RD)</p>

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<p>is this a serious question ? Duke has a far superior medical school and a renowned pre med program. Cornell is not quite at the same level as Duke and its ivy peers Penn, Brown and Dartmouth, especially in terms of pre med and business. Duke is more prestigious in the mid west (where i was born) and is looked upon by high school counsellors as a legitimate top flight school. Cornell is a relative safety for students who get accepted to Duke and Penn (both 12% admit rates). Cornell is notoriously difficult and extremely cut throat Duke is more laid back and well rounded. My vote goes to Duke without a semblance of a doubt. Duke vs Brown or Penn would be a far less one sided contest but Cornell is just not in that league yet (for undergrad excluding engineering). The Cornell students seem to be incredibly flustered by this comparison and this is evident in their replies, it is just a manifestation of their inherent insecurity which arises from being the undisputed worst ivy league school in the nation. ED at Duke if you have the finances and feel that it is the right fit. I would also recommend Penn Brown and Princeton.</p>

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<p>^for the most part, I agree with this post, at the same time I have to make some disagreeing comments:</p>

<p>Cornell is NEVER a safety for ANYONE. Even people who get accepted to Harvard at my school at least applied to UCSD for safety. Privates are unexpected and I don’t know the people who you’ve been talking to but Cornell, yes is not exactly in the same caliber as its Ivy brothers, but is still top 15 school in the nation. The people who you’ve known in my opinion are very cocky if they think Cornell is safety worthy. I would say low match or match at the most even for the shoo-in Harvard students (which doesn’t really exist either)</p>

<p>Yes, prestige and name of course Duke is better considering it is named, “the Stanford of the East.” Though Stanford ranks higher, their atmosphere is very similar that they are pretty laid back. Both aren’t exactly hardcore nerds in suspenders studying all day as you would see at Yale or Harvard. but all four are still well respected. </p>

<p>Considering that, it’s just rankings. Not to sound cheesy, but once you hit top 10 top 20, schools are honestly what you make it out to me. Bottom line? There really isn’t a “better” it’s just that some names aren’t as known in certain regions. For example, the oh-so-famous Dartmouth is not every well known where I live and my school usually has around 3-4 student go to an ivy league institution (I think 3 went to Harvard too)</p>

<p>other not so ivy yet “high” schools that are not well known is like Emory and Uchicago while USC is not really known in the East. Yet all three RANK HIGH. If your decision is based between Duke and Cornell, you should consider what fits you the best not in just terms of academc caliber but student organizations, atmosphere, professor’s teaching styles etc. Ask students and please visit!</p>

<p>"undisputed worst ivy league school " <---- He means in terms of ranking. but it’s chill. I wouldn’t dare to use the word “worst” when it comes to Ivys at all, but I will agree at ranking wise, again, it is around the same level as Rice university and a bit higher than Berkeley.</p>

<p>One last diagree-ing point. Cornell’s business undergrad is excellent. It just depends on what you’re looking for. Just b/c it’s a hotel school, what I learned from Cornell students is that, 85% of them don’t even go into the hotel business. Consider it a management and business operations school rather than just hotel. Their focus is just on the hospitality side is all, but the education is excellent for ANY kind of management and business operations. I think it may even be on par with Wharton’s business operations and administration.</p>

<p>The down side is, in terms of OTHER forms of business, yes, other schools may be better. as an operations and administration major, I can’t really say much for other majors, but Cornell is indeed not the “highest” school for say, advertising, economics, management information systems just to name a few. That being said, it still ranks top 10 as overall in business. </p>

<p>So… not to hate on the other guy’s post or anything, I just thought he (or she, pardon me, i’ve been using “he” this whole time!) had a very pro-Duke post, so I thought I’d just counter it with a pro-Cornell post so you get a sense of the other side too</p>

<p>I would just look into both. For sure their atmosphere and philosohpy of both schools are extremely different. If you look at colelgeboard’s admission material “importance” level, Duke only “considers” GPA while extracurriulars and teacher recs are considered highly important. Cornell, on the other hand, (like most ivys) tend to put GPA a bit higher than extracurriculars. So that also gives you a sense of what they’re looking. I also highly suggest you to read their “letter from the dean/president” to undergrads page. It will give you a completley differnet insight to the admissions process</p>

<p>good luck!</p>

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<p>sorry i can’t seem to edit my post up there so just for clarification’s sake…</p>

<p>… it’s what you make it out to “be” not “me”</p>

<p>… my school gets 3-4 students to EACH Ivy League. (not to brag, just trying to show that I have substantial evidence and I’m not some crack head replying to your post)</p>

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<p>wow that was a very mature post. I agree with a lot of your points concerning Cornell and really apologize for calling it a safety for anybody which it is obviously not. I used the term worst ivy in the heat of the moment and although that is a factual statement rankings wise it definitely does not do justice to the undergraduate experience that Cornell or for that matter any other top 15 can provide to a motivated student. I just felt that some of the earlier posters were exhibiting a kind of disgusting arrogance and had to be put into place which is why I used a more confrontational tone in my previous post.</p>

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<p>Speaking with other Cornell parents the thing that has really impressed me is network system of alumni & the versatility to change career paths based on the flexability of the majors offerred. I’ve had numerous parents tell me that every job their children have gotten is due to a Cornell alumni holding a leadership position in the particular organization they were hired by.</p>

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<p>penngraduate it’s chill! I mean my post was as one-sided as yours was anyway. haha. :slight_smile: But just out of curiosity, OP, did you even get your question answered? LOL.</p>

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<p>OP – you’re looking at an excellent program at Duke vs excellent programs at Cornell. To be honest, the student bodies at each are stellar. As far as reputation – both are tops. My honest view, is that Cornell probably has a better east coast rep and Duke a better southern rep – but we could have this discussion and by the time we reached post 100 or 150, we’d realize that no one is going to convince the other. I’m not even going to argue it in this forum (though I might in the Cornell forum).</p>

<p>The schools have very different campuses – though each is beautiful. And very different climates.</p>

<p>Admissions criteria are fairly close for each.</p>

<p>Really, there is no wrong choice here academically.</p>

<p>So, what it comes down to is where you would rather spend the next four years of your life. At some time, go with your heart, decide where you think you’d fit in better, and that’s your first choice school.</p>

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<p>What rankings have you been looking at, penngraduate? Your own?</p>

<p>Cornell University:
ARWU World 12
ARWU National 10
Forbes 51
QS World 16
Times Higher Education 14
USNWR National University 15 </p>

<p>Brown University:
ARWU World 65
ARWU National 41
Forbes 21
QS World 39
Times Higher Education 55
USNWR National University 15 </p>

<p>Dartmouth College:
ARWU World 101–151
ARWU National 60–77
Forbes 30
QS World 90
Times Higher Education 99
USNWR National University 9 </p>

<p>University of Pennsylvania:
ARWU World 15
Forbes 52
QS World 12
Times Higher Education 19
USNWR National University 5 </p>

<p>It seems Cornell’s only last in one of the major rankings…and that’s tied with Brown, which recently went up from 16 previously. I didn’t include the USNWR World Rankings, but even in that Cornell is not bottom.</p>

<p>It seems the only thing you proved in your post is your hatred towards Cornell. Why don’t you try responding without animosity and universal statements next time.</p>

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<p>gahhh I am sorry penngraduate I didn’t mean to start a furious debate. In his/her defense, penngraduate states his reasons on why he said such a pro-Duke post on the top of this page! read his response guys.</p>