Duke Early Decision or Stanford Early Action?

<p>Hello!!! </p>

<p>I am a sophomore in high school, but have high hopes and dreams. I aspire on becoming a surgeon, or any other type of doctor. During my undergraduate years, I want to major in BME. Stanford and Duke are my top schools. I visited Duke and Stanford, and immediately wanted to become a student in both places. As strong as my passion for attending these institutions are, I was just wondering if I have a better chance at Duke ED, or Stanford EA. </p>

<p>Some stats: GPA currently 3.5 UW, but going up. As of right now, I will have a 4.0 UW for the semester.
I have taken the SAT's. 2400, and 800's on Math 2 and Biology. </p>

<p>Also, I <em>might</em> get an internship at a University's medical labs, and already have been granted permission to consistently shadow Cardiothoracic Surgeons. I clearly know that my GPA is despicable, and do truly wish that you will ignore that in telling me weather Stanford EA or Duke ED is better for me. I also applied to Brown University Summer School, and have yet heard about my decision. If I do get accepted, I plan to take medical courses there. </p>

<p>Thank You for your input.</p>

<p>Honestly, if you want to go to medical school, I wouldn’t recommend doing BME from a top school. There’s a high chance that your GPA will suffer and the top medical schools would rather see a student with a high GPA from a lower school on the rankings than a student with a lower GPA from a top school like Berkeley or Stanford. I recently changed my mind from going to Cornell/Berkeley for BME to going to a BS/MD program. But if you’re set on doing BME and there is no chance that you will change your mind, go for Duke ED. It has a higher acceptance rate than Stanford and is generally better for BME.</p>

<p>Thank you! Say if I switch my mind from BME, just to Biology, or Neurology, or something along those lines. Still Duke ED? I mean, is it harder to get into the Pratt school, because that is where Duke’s BME is, compared to the Trinity one? Or is Stanford safe for that… or does major not really matter? </p>

<p>Also, I must add, I am more affiliated with Stanford, by far. I live closer, and serve Stanford more than Duke. I know that they do not look at the fact if you have even stepped on campus when the decide your admission decision, but with that in mind, what would you say?</p>