Early Decision Thoughts--Middlebury, Duke, Northwestern

Applying to College Admission Stories
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So I applied Early Decision to Middlebury on November 15–A great school academically…I like the size, location (I love skiing, and it is Vermont after all) and when I toured the campus it felt awesome…every kid that I know who goes there loves it

However, for a while in October, I was considering applying Early Decision to Duke or to Northwestern…I like both schools (I like that they are a bit bigger and near cities, especially Northwestern)…and I occasionally think of what would happen if I did apply ED to either of those schools…they certainly have a “bigger name” than Middlebury not to mention D1 sports (especially big at Duke)

So do you think I would’ve had any chance ED at Duke or Northwestern? Also, I now have recently been hearing that ED doesn’t help quite as much as it is played up to…athletes, legacies, and top students are all applying ED, so doesn’t that “skew” the ED acceptance percentage?

My Stats:

-I’m white, Jewish…no legacy help at any of these schools…and not applying for need based financial aid anywhere
-Ranked 19th out of 270 in a top Connecticut public school
-4.24 weighted GPA (valedictorian has about 4.85)
-2110 SAT Score (Math: 740, CR: 680, W: 690)
-770 Sat Subject Test US History—710 SAT Subject Test Math 2
-Take a fairly rigorous high school course load (all honors plus 2 APs Junior year and 2 APs Senior year)
-5 on AP Stat exam—4 on AP US History Exam

-Essay was well written about how I started a mini business where I bought and sold popular items online and how it shows that I like to be a leader

-I consider myself good-natured, hardworking and pretty well-rounded and therefore I think I’ll get great recommendations from Guidance Counselor and teachers

Extra Curricular:
-I went on a community-serviced involved biking or hiking trip to various parts of the country each summer of high school (close to 100 hours of community service total)
-I play Cross Country, Golf, and I’m active on the student government and I tutor first grade inner city students

So that sounds pretty good but the only thing is that my high school has a website (Naviance) that tracks all the students from my high school that apply to each college…and I’m far from the average at each school…only 3 out of 25 applicants have been accepted at Northwestern…they had an average high school GPA of 4.55 and SAT of 2330…Duke was even harder to get in…they’ve only accepted 1 kid in recent years (perfect SAT score)

Sorry that was so long…but do u think I made the right decision applying ED to Midd? Could I have gotten in to Northwestern or Duke? Thanks

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Duke is the tiniest bit more selective than Middlebury, but the difference is negligible. So your chances there were basically the same (at this level it’s all a crap-shoot anyway). NW is the tiniest bit less selective than Middlebury, but the difference is negligible. So your chances were basically the same. Best of luck. You’ll love Middlebury if you get accepted.

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I have very little patience for posts like this, so forgive me if I don’t sound sympathetic to your “plight.” You made a decision to apply to Middlebury ED, so now you must live with it. Stop second-guessing yourself—it will get you nowhere. You’ll find out in a few days if you were accepted to Middlebury ED. Frankly, your stats are good but not great. If you’re accepted to Middlebury, then you can start picking yourself apart wondering “what if?” If not, then you can send your applications off to Duke and Northwestern and hope for the best.

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And does anybody have any insight on whether Early Decision really helps as much as people say it does? I know the admit rates are higher, but isn’t that mostly because of legacies, athletes, etc…and do you know if ED tends to help more at a big or small school? Just curious…thanks