<p>Having visited a wide-range of schools across the Northeast and the South, my decision rests on these two fantastic institutions. Obviously, deciding is the easy part, and it's more than likely I'll be rejected. Then again, you never know. </p>
<p>A little bit about myself:
Interests: International Relations (specifically the Middle East), Economics, and/or Political Science
I like the vibrant, intellectual culture of Columbia, and the opportunities that NYC would inevitably afford, but the lack of a traditional "college experience" causes me some concern. I love the Core.
My visit to Duke was incredible. I'm a huge college basketball fan, so that's a plus, and I really liked the vibe at Duke--just as much as Columbia's.</p>
<p>In terms of future employment, it could be Wall Street, Big-law, the Foreign Service, or an NGO. I'm still figuring that out. I will most likely major in IR/Poly-Sci and minor in Economics. </p>
<p>Considering all of these factors, why should I choose one school over the other?</p>
<p>Your chances of acceptance are better at Duke than at Columbia. Simple as that. Get deferred from Columbia ED, you’ve also reduced your chances at Duke drastically. I’ve not done the actual numbers, but in cases where two schools are truly even in desirability, it can come down to how to make it most likely to get into either of them. You can trade a higher chance of getting into Duke for the chance of getting into Columbia ED, and if deferred which is statistically more likely to happen with Columbia, you then lost a significant advantage in acceptance to Duke which may (haven’t checked the exact numbers) have a RD accept that is about the same as the Columbia ED rate which you just didn’t make. So now you have a smaller chance of getting into Columbia and/or Duke. By doing ED Duke, you are giving yourself the optimal statistical chance of acceptance. Miss at that… well, you gave it the best odds. </p>
<p>If there is a preference of one school over the other, I tell kids to go for it with first choice. Why start settling at age 18? Something to do in later years and what one often has to do, but go for it right out of high school. But all things, equal, the numbers can tell you where the odds are.</p>