Duke CS vs CMU CS vs Cornell CS acceptance rate

As a competitive applicant for all 3 school and a NC resident, do I have a better chance applying to Duke, CMU, or Cornell for computer science? I plan to apply early action(binding) for one of the three schools. Duke is 2 hours away from home, CMU has the best CS program in the country, and Cornell is an Ivy League. I want the best chances of getting in to a CS program, but is there any advice to which one I should pick?

Your best chance getting into a CS program is probably at Duke. Last year’s ED acceptance rate was 21% and should go up this year. Being a NC resident should also be a slight bump for you.

With that said, while Duke and Cornell have both very good CS programs, CMU is one of the best in the nation, if not the world. CMU student body will tend to have more STEM and theater focused kids who might be more introverted and quirky/nerdy than the other two colleges.

At Duke, you will likely get a more balanced undergrad education and you can’t beat its huge school spirit. They have a “work hard, play hard” culture that is very collaborative.

I personally believe that just because Cornell is an ivy doesn’t mean its more “prestigious” or elite than the CMU or Duke. They are all great colleges with a national and international reputation.

Do other factors matter to you like size of undergrad population, location and weather?

At the end of the day, you can’t go wrong applying early to any of these fine institutions. Good luck!

Thanks for the help. As for the other factors, student life is important to me. I believe that a fun college experience would keep me motivated and on track for success. I’ve narrowed it down to these 3 schools, and I would be happy going to either one of them. Because of this, the school I want to ED in is the one with the best admit rate for cs.

My guess is Duke may favor NC residents. If that’s correct, that could offer the most favorable acceptance rate for you. It also is the least known for CS of these three IIRC, which again may be favorable for you in this case.