<p>I got waitlisted at the University of Chicago recently.</p>
<p>Does this mean that I am probably on the borderline for Duke and other comparable private schools (Northwestern, JHU, etc.)?</p>
<p>Definitely not.</p>
<p>One of my close friends was deferred EA from UChicago, then waitlisted this past week, and he received a likely letter from Duke. As you said, Duke is comparable to schools such as NU and Hopkins, so your chances are equally favorable (albeit unpredictable).</p>
<p>yes, it means you are borderline, but it depends on what you have to offer. Basically, if you get waitlisted at UChicago, a less selective school than Duke, I would say that you would have to strike a chord with your Duke-specific essays and that your shortcoming should have been a slight academic one that was compensated by unusually high SATS and unusually impressive extracurriculars. UChicago deemphasizes SATs and cares less about extracurricular leadership than Duke. Duke rejects some 50% of Valedictorians, mostly because they have lacking extracurricular involvement.</p>
<p>Chicago is more self-selective, but its admission rate is higher so its kinda iffy to determine.</p>
<p>U of C is much more essay dependent, so I’d assume your chances at both schools are independent of one school’s outcome. Duke, in my opinion, would be much more of a predictable school in terms of chance/outcome.</p>