<p>I am a Stanford SCEAer but yesterday I got an early notification for acceptance into Duke (not formal, but it'd be more than cruel to send me that and fly me out for free, only to reject me). I still love Stanford. On my update form, can I mention that in the Awards and Honors category, or would that seem like I'm trying to blackmail Stanford? Obviously it IS an honor to get early admission to a school of Duke's caliber, but I don't want to **** Stanford off, either. Any ideas?</p>
<p>It won't **** them off, but what would you gain, since they've already accepted you? Is it a fin aid thing?</p>
<p>Also, there is something to be said for Duke actually wanting me. I know that's unfair to Stanford, but Duke was almost tied with Stanford atop my list of schools, and they obviously saw something in me that Stanford did not, since they only sent those letters to about 350 of 18,000 applicants. Just wanted to clarify that, my original post sounded like I still favored Stanford strongly over Duke, which isn't true, just wondering if the Duke letter qualifies for the update form, because getting into Stanford would give me more options, depending on financial aid, etc. Getting that letter from Duke only confuses me more about my deferral. Oh well, such is the nature of the beast, a real crapshoot. That only confirms it, which oddly makes me feel both better and worse about the whole thing.</p>
<p>Stanford will not be impressed, one way or the other. Two different schools using two different criteria. </p>
<p>Congrats on the Duke acceptance. Great school. If you can get major free money at Duke through the University Scholars program, all the better.</p>
<p>"That only confirms it, which oddly makes me feel both better and worse about the whole thing..."</p>
<p>Hey Tigerfan, I know exactly what you mean. I feel the exact same way, ... and have the same reservations about mentioning all those "honors/scholarship invitations" I seem to be receiving from other schools. Makes you wonder how you can be considered the top percent of tens of thousands of applicants on one side, and then not being quite worthy on the other.
I haven't figured it out yet; it's stressful to even try, so I hope there is some deeper value in all that (like realizing you don't really want to go to a place that does not appreciate you, lol)...</p>
<p>Joemama, I have a question for you. How about selection criteria between Stanford and top UC's?
I recall reading Robin Mamlet say that they lost some of the brightest students to Harvard, and also the top state schools every year. Crossing out all "hooks," and academic qualifications being equal, I think it all comes down to key selection criteria all of them have in common.</p>
<p>Tigerfan - this may mean you're up for a merit scholarship. Have you done significant volunteering? Duke seems to value that.</p>
<p>I raise Guide Dog Puppies, so I do have inordinate numbers of community service hours. They said that they sent the letter to 350 people, and they have 60 full-ride scholarships, and that some people would be invited to simply visit the campus and stay in the dorms, whereas others would be invited to a separate event to compete for the scholarships. I certainly hope it's the latter, because a full-ride at Duke with tuition at something like $28K/year would be a pretty sweet thing. That being said, there's a reason I applied EA to Stanford. which I thoroughly thought through.</p>
<p>IMO, Stanford is above Duke in terms of academics and prestige. However, the difference is so small that, if you get major scholarships from Duke, and you don't favor one school significantly over the other, I suggest you choose Duke.</p>
<p>I don't know the answer to your original question, but I know 2 kids who were deferred and then waitlisted by Stanford and accepted to Duke. They both got off the waitlist, and are now at Stanford :)</p>
<p>Paul- I would tend to agree, at least as far as public perception goes, which is the definition of prestige, I suppose. The US News Rankings (I know, we don't need to debate about them) have the schools "tied" at #5, which says that people who are familiar with the college scene think of them as roughly equivalent (I'm not trying to disprove you, you were right in talking about the "small difference.") And like I said, I applied EA to Stanford, and I had every opportunity to apply ED to Duke and didn't, which means I do favor Stanford over Duke. How much? Not sure. When I applied, it was fairly significant. After the deferral from Stanford (not in the top 20%) and the enthusastic response from Duke (top 2%), I'm all sorts of confused right now. Then again, in reference to the last sentence of your post, I have to actually GET IN to Stanford before that even becomes an issue, which is a bit of a longshot, since they said the deferred acceptance rate was about 10% last year. I've more or less tried to accept that I won't get into Stanford since the odds are against me and it will only be a pleasant surprise if I'm wrong. If I do get in, somehow, then it becomes a matter of $ and so forth, and a hell of a tough decision. Thanks for the response.</p>
<p>nngmm- That's somewhat reassuring, thanks for that!</p>
<p>tigerfan1: To answer your original question. Yes you should mention the Duke early notification, and the free trip. What have you got to lose? The best it can do is trigger a more careful look at your application. Just don't over do it, mention it in the casual non boasting tone.</p>
<p>Ditto what nngmm said -- also know of a Duke acceptee who got off Stanford WL and couldn't get to Palo Alto fast enough. You should wait for the Admit Days to make up your mind -- Most of the kids will be deciding among HYPSM and the adcom there knows it. But I disagree with simba about mentioning your free trip to Duke; it'll probably backfire. As much as they want you, they'll let you go to Duke instead because there are so many other kids who want to go to Stanford more. What's the benefit?</p>
<p>collegeparent: I can see your point. I was thinking of lumping both as a one to show that your achievements are recognized by Duke (and they know perfectly well how many kids get early likely letters). You are hoping for a second careful look, and trying to correct earlier oversight.</p>
<p>If I were to extend your logic, why even mention Duke admittance? you said,"As much as they want you, they'll let you go to Duke instead because there are so many other kids who want to go to Stanford more." Wouldn't mentioning Duke backfire as well?</p>
<p>It could all have to do with my essay. Let me explain. I wrote a VERY "hit-or-miss" type essay, and I took that risk knowingly. I raise Guide Dog Puppies, and the gist of the essay is that when one of my dogs was sick with diarrhea for awhile, I was able to see the "beauty" in an ordinary pile of dog dung, because it represented something much more important: the wellbeing of my dog. The Stanford question asked for a picture, and they got one--of dog poop. I figured it would be hit or miss in that I would get either accepted or rejected, but the deferral seems to say that they were pretty neutral on it. On the other hand, Duke must have liked it, because my actual stats aren't that much better than anyone else applying to Duke, and probably not good enough to warrant a "likely" letter on their own. I also wrote a pretty good "Why Duke?" essay. My hope is that maybe someone more predisposed to like my essay will get a hold of it at Stanford this time and fight for me more strongly, though it's possible that already happened and resulted in my deferral rather than a rejection. Mentioning Duke would be done in such a way that says something like "Early Notificiation of probably acceptance at Duke University combined with a free trip to campus." I don't want to go much beyond that (mentioning that about 350 of 18000 apps got it?), but when it asks what awards or achievements I've had since my app, that's probably the most prestigious and meaningful, to be considered in the top 2% of Duke applicants. I hope that clarifies my situation a bit.</p>
<p>Tigerfan, I'd bet you're a Robertson Scholar's semi-finalist. I looked at your stats on the wiki (creepy, yeah, yeah), and they're actually quite good. Regardless of that, the people who've assumed most of those people who get those letters are near 800 on every SAT types are correct. This means you stood out in another way, which means your essay/leadership. I owe you if I'm wrong.</p>
<p>good luck tigerfan - (I should treat you as a rival. You are competing against my son at both places !!!!)</p>
<p>tigerfan17: what is your intended major?</p>
<p>Joe- I'm looking at a Political Science/Public Policy Major, probably a Philosophy minor. Definitely something in that vein, in the social sciences/humanities.</p>
<p>whoa only 3 minutes apart, looks like we're both online...feel free to AIM me (ndavis86a)</p>