<p>How much does applying early decision increase your chances of acceptance? Anybody wanna give me there ED stats or an example of how it's helped?</p>
<p>Oh and chance me if you would</p>
<p>3.9/4.42 unweighted/weighted
In top ten people out of 700</p>
<p>AP Classes taken junior year (no scores yet)- AP US History, AP Language</p>
<p>Senior schedule
Summer online classes: Economics Honors and Spanish 3 Honors
During Year: AP Literature, AP US Government, AP Spanish, AP Psychology, AP Chemistry, AP Biology</p>
<p>Superscored SAT: 690 CR, 600 M, 590 W (taking again and studying this time, assuming to get about 750 CR 650 M 700 W)
Taking the SAT II US History and Literature next week
ACT being taken in June.</p>
<p>2 Years of Varsity Soccer- Captain one year
On the National Honor Society Board of Directors
Senior Class Senator</p>
<p>EC's
Coaching kid's soccer team
Personally arranging and heading a charity benefit
Been involved with other charity benefits</p>
<p>Other
Excellent letter of recommendation from AP US History and Psychology teacher, who is a psychologist
I already know research I want to do at Duke in the field of psychology (going to make a point of that on app)
On the All County MCAIC Academic Soccer Team
Probably some more stuff that I can't think of
Will have a killer essay</p>
<p>ED helps a TON from what I’ve seen
to be honest, almost to the point where you can tell if someone got in ED (not saying that all ED’ers are below average, but most below avg people are ED)</p>
<p>According to the 2009 admissions stats, ED had an acceptance rate of ~33% (500 out of 1500), while RD had an acceptance rate of ~17% (3,500 out of 21,000)</p>
<p>For your app, try to get a higher SAT/ACT, and perhaps you can do more extensive community service (maybe you do, but your post doesn’t give much detail). Good luck on AP exams and SATII, the subject test on history is a piece of cake if you’re taking the APUSH exam around the same time.</p>
<p>seeing from all the ED people from my school and other friends, ED is SIGNIFICANTLY helpful (EA not so much). people who got in ED to schools would not have gotten in RD.</p>
<p>I got in ED with a 2250 SAT and a 3.89 GPA, taking 4 AP courses this year and two other required courses with no AP option. I have held various leadership positions at school.</p>
<p>However, none of the 6 kids who applied RD at my school were accepted (some on waiting list). Several had SAT scores over 2300. If you KNOW you want Duke, ED can’t hurt.</p>
<p>Your SATs are low. Try the ACTs - maybe you’ll do better on them.</p>
<p>Thanks all. I’m definitely applying ED to Duke, there’s no question about it.</p>
<p>I regret not having visited Duke earlier in my high school career. Up until my spring break when I checked out Duke I was content with going to UF. But after I toured the campus I became entranced. For the first time I have a goal in school. I know what and where I want to be and I am now doing everything I possibly can to get there (up until a few weeks ago my stats would be about half of what they are now)</p>
<p>When they say they “gladly superscore” do they do so without judgment on the amount of times the SAT has been taken? I’ve taken it 3 times now, all 3 without studying. My 2nd SAT jumped 130 points from my 1st so I foolishly concluded my 3rd time would continue that pattern. Which leaves me taking the SAT this June with studying as much as humanly possible. </p>
<p>But is there really no prejudice to the amount of times you’ve taken it?</p>
<p>Very much so! The ED pool is a weaker applicant pool than RD, and it has a higher acceptance rate. EA, on the other hand, has a stronger applicant pool than RD.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that ED helps because it shows your committment. But the applicant pool is not weaker than RD. Like an admissions officer once said, they defer people they are not sure about and admit the ones who they know for sure they want. I know many kids who applied ED this year with 2300+ SAT and 35+ ACT scores along with great ECs get deffered. I was actually surprised because they were very strong applicants but this year’s applicant pool was very strong in general.</p>
<p>I posted my stats above (GPA unweighted), plus I had the most important leadership role in my school and other good ECs. I applied ED and was accepted. Now, I know others here had higher stats, but mine were higher than all the students in my class who got accepted to Dartmouth, Cornell and Penn (6 people). So those of us who apply ED are not necessarily “weak”. We just know we want Duke, so why not apply ED? I knew I didn’t want to stay in the Northeast as I have always lived there.</p>
<p>I would suggest you take the SAT in October rather than a hurry up last minute June sitting…and really do your very best. Try for a great SATII in the June sitting. You can also do the ACT in October of you are serious about wanting admission to Duke. The ACT is a different animal. My second son got very high scores on it…the one at Duke took both but the scores were “equivalents”…so you have to wonder which test will be best for your style of testing. The ACT is straightforward, long and rewards speed and “what you learned in school” more than the SAT which can be trickier.
That meets ED deadlines. My son’s SAT went up a shocking amount from junior to senior year and would have likely been pulled for suspicion of cheating if he didn’t have a few great SATII scores junior year. His best scores were October senior year and he was admitted to Duke RD, a school he considered a far reach.<br>
Caution
It is always best to consider Duke a reach and to still love another school or two, so don’t completely forsake UF and shoot your scores to another great school or two.</p>
<p>i think some of the posts in this thread are a bit misleading. Take it from someone who applied to Duke and got in ED last year. I went through the same thing you were going through last year, and I decided to talk to the admissions officers. This is what I know:</p>
<p>Is it helpful?
Yes, but I would not go as far and say it is SIGNFICANTLY helpful. Like regular decision, EVERYONE is vulnerable no matter what kind of impressive stats. I also know several people with super high stats that got deferred ED, its no cake walk. Keep in mind, it is true that the acceptance rate is 33%, but the ED pool is very strong unlike what most people think. </p>
<p>The applicant pool is less competitive? BS
This is completely false unlike what swimguy and braap have stated. Talk to the admissions officers at Duke and look at the statistics yourself. The average SAT/ACT and GPA is virtually identical to that of RD. One officer told me that an ED applicant holistically speaking is just as if not more impressive than RD. They also stated that an applicant that gets rejected during RD is just as likely to get rejected ED. As far as what Braap said, thats ridiculous, you cannot tell from student to student who is ED just by looking at stats. Some of the most qualified people I have met are ED applicants. ED brings in the most committed students to Duke and they are just as impressive.</p>
<p>I encourage you to apply ED, but please take these comments with a grain of salt. you have a great shot, but you also have a great shot RD. Don’t pressure yourself into applying ED just because you don’t think you will get in RD. But if Duke is for you, I say go for it.</p>
<p>Not saying you can’t be super smart and qualified and be ED. There are plenty of really smart people that simply wanted Duke as their dream school so applied early, and would have gotten in Regular as well
All I am saying is that with my experience after a year, I know more people struggling with school and seemed less qualified that were ED as opposed to people that got in Regular.
Hell, some of the most qualified students I know that are doing more than fine for themselves got in off the waitlist.
Not every ED student is below standard, but any regular student would get in ED, but not every ED student Regular, therefore it is easier.</p>
<p>thats a logical fallacy to say that everyone that got in regular would get in ED. 1)ED has less spots so its impossible to say that everyone that got in regular would get in ED. What about students that got deffered. Duke accepts about 10% of students that were deffered in ED. So, those students got in regular but not ED. 2)It is very difficult to compare RD and ED because of the sheer size of the applicant pool. So you can’t say its easier based on that premise as we see in ED some super qualified people get rejected. </p>
<p>I never said it wasn’t easier to get in ED, but I think you are sending the wrong message when you say that the ED applicant pool is less qualified. Saying that you know more people who are struggling that are ED is even more ridiculous. You’re looking at a very small sample of ED students in one given year. Like I said, I know several ED students that are excelling and doing very well, obviously that opposes what you have seen. There really is no difference in quality and in student so you can’t draw that kind of distinction.</p>
<p>ED is exactly comparable to RD and there is no difference in difficulty in getting in and the caliber of the students. Everyone is equal under the views of Admissions officers in their own respect and no special treatment is given, the only difference is the binding nature of the agreement.</p>
<p>Braaap, I would think that ED applicants would be looked at differently than RD. Simpy because they are showing their strong interest in the school and are willing to enter into a binding contract in hopes of acceptance. So, I would say that the admissions office WOULD, in fact, take that into consideration. I mean, if there were NO advantages in applying ED, why would anyone do it? I’m just saying…</p>
<p>meh, i’ve seen how much it can help those who would have otherwise not been admitted RD. yes, there are always exceptions to this rule and there are OUTSTANDING ED applicants. but ED does help give a leg up to those who would have not gotten in otherwise. sometimes.</p>
<p>To my knowledge, it makes a noticeable difference. </p>
<p>In my opinion, ED is ideal for students who are slight reaches. With ED, they are over the admissions hump, whereas if they applied RD they would not be accepted. I’ve seen this trend at several top schools (not HYP) but schools like Cornell, Vanderbilt, Duke, and others. </p>
<p>My understanding is based on statistical acceptance rates (percentages) and looking at accepted and rejected students from my school. Students with lower qualifications (SATs and GPA) who applied early got in over students with higher qualifications that applied regular.</p>