<p>true for Duke you only have to send your best scores, not all of them. I still think you need to improve a little in the test taking side though, but if you apply to Penn and send all your scores (like you need to, apparently Penn isn’t one where you can send just your best) the multiple attempts with low scores will hurt you</p>
<p>@Jara: OP has a perfect GPA and is ranked first in his class. Your niece’s situation is not at all like the OP’s. There’s quite a big differene between passionately fighting to get into challenging classes and doing poorly on a standardized test.</p>
<p>My neice was also Valdictorian with poor test scores. As I said in my post "My niece had scores and class rank similiar to yours.
She had to fight to get into Honors AP classes BECAUSE of her history of poor standerdized test scores. If the OP has a similiar experience…like not being thought of as smart by teachers or other students intially that could tell a good story.</p>
<p>When you have high grades and then low standardized test scores, a red flag is raised IMHO about school quality</p>
<p>Okay there are some serious jerks on this post. Don’t count yourself out because of your SATs. I had poopy SATs but an amazing GPA and awesome extracurriculars and I got accepted to Duke RD but I chose to go to Brown. I honestly spent 3 months crafting the perfect CommonApp essay because I knew that I would need something to set me apart, I needed something to stand out. I didn’t just scrape by either because I received Likely Letters from both Duke and Brown. They clearly wanted me there despite my test scores. I’m not saying that you should bank on getting in to Duke or UPenn but if that is what you really want then you should definitely pursue it. There is no hurt in trying.</p>
<p>Apply to the school that you like better for ED don’t worry about the acceptance rates. I wish you the best of luck.</p>
<p>before applying ED to either of these schools, check the naviance at your school and see how applicants to both universities do.</p>
<p>Also realize that the ED numbers at these two schools are somewhat skewed and are not as “generous” to early applicants, as compared to RD applicants, as it might appear.</p>
<p>For example, Penn is quite up front about the fact that if applicants with legacy status want a boost in admission, they receive the boost only if they apply ED–so the Penn ED round is heavy with legacy applicants that Penn is actively looking to accept so as not to upset any more alumni than necessary (it’s not that Penn accepts ED applicants that don’t otherwise have qualifications, it’s that in general and with few exceptions these kids have the qualifications but have better odds of getting in given the overall low rate of acceptances).</p>
<p>Also, both schools ED rounds are somewhat athlete heavy…so more apparently available slots taken.</p>
<p>These caveats aside, it is still a bit easier to get in ED because these schools like knowing there are students in the pool who want them above all of the other elite schools. It’s just not as much easier as it first appears.</p>
<ol>
<li>I’m female</li>
<li>Would it maybe be smarter not to apply ED at all?</li>
</ol>
<p>Ahh, it appears as though I have misinterpreted the OP’s intentions. Clearly he was not insinuating that Duke is a poorer school than Penn. I’m sorry about the glaring error OP. I hope you accept my sincere apology and consider becoming a Blue Devil next year. I’m certain you won’t regret it.</p>
<p>OP - Please remember this is CC and we look at test scores differently due to the high scores on this site. A 30 is great! Try taking in September to raise 1 or 2 points.</p>
<p>If you are female, I encourage you to apply engineering. Some schools have a % of acceptances within different majors. Due to low number of females in engineering, this wi increase your chances.</p>
<p>If you can afford the college or qualify for a lot of financial need, PLEASE apply early. This will only increase your chances.</p>
<p>You should also research good safety schools. Both schools have such low acceptance rates that you should be prepared.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Personally, I think that you’re in a great situation because standardized test scores are much easier to improve than class rank/extracurriculars. As people have already stated, SAT scores tend to vary greatly. </p>
<p>My humble advice is to take the SAT or the ACT as many times as possible from August to November. Even with comparatively minimal preparation (took half of one practice test and the PSAT beforehand), the difference between my Junior year and Senior year SAT scores was significant- 2020 vs 2250.</p>
<p>As to which school you should apply to, I’ve always had the impression that Duke was a preeminent biomedical school, and that pre-med is one of the most popular majors there. While Penn is also a spectacular school, I’ve never personally heard anything that remarkable about its strength in medicine. But if you REALLY like Penn and if the only reason you’re applying ED to Duke is because it’s slightly less selective, then I think you may come to regret such a decision.</p>
<p>I appreciate the sentiment (and the username lol) but I want to reiterate that Duke is more selective than Penn in both rounds of admission. I just want to clarify this for future reference. Also, OP, you might want to consider the social aspects of both these remarkable universities before committing to either one of them.</p>
<p>OP,
First of all, please discard the advice people giving on this thread and threads like this, including alumni who are too proud of their schools, or even Ivy League interviewers, and worst of all, the other rising seniors like you, who only hear stuff here and there, and who are clueless like you (just take a look at their past threads). The game for those Ivy League alumni has changed since their times. Like you, they are clueless and merely conjecturing speculations.
Second, I have been accepted to PennRD this year. My SAT weren’t stellar, so were my ACT. Don’t let these people tell you that your " 30 ACT" and “top 1%” aren’t impressive. It’s true, they are not. But you have much more to offer, extracurricular wise and in life experiences. College admission isn’t set. I took no math and science this year and still got into Penn. These top colleges want interesting people, but you have to be interesting in a way that is appealing and top notch. Do something different, and take that to a high level of development.
Penn vs Duke? Do you care about prestige? If yes, go ahead and apply to the higher ranking, Ivy League one. But I’ll let you in on one secret: People will forever confuse Penn with Penn State, and think of Duke as an athletic school.
If you can, visit the school, lurk facebook and talk to students of the culture of the school. Both of them are similar, and each has its pros and cons. Penn is situated in a city, where Duke is kind of isolated, but both are in the same bad neighborhood. Penn is one smart school that likes to party, and so does Duke. It all depends where you want to be: The south or the northeast? Find out about their strengths and weaknesses. Early rate? They’re kind of the same.
Good luck.</p>
<p>Rankings fluctuate. In 2005, Duke was ranked 13 spots higher in the world rankings than Penn. The difference between Duke and Penn on US News is only one percentage point. Historically, Duke has been ranked higher on US News, and is more selective than Penn. Duke also offers a better return on investment according to data from payscale, and has been documented to have more lay recognition. Duke and Penn split cross admits 50-50 according to Parchment.com and this is in spite of the fact that Penn has arguably the best undergrad B school in the world (which means Duke’s college is more than likely beating Penn CAS in cross admits). In light of these facts, how can you assert that Penn is more ‘prestigious’? If anything, the facts indicate that Trinity is a notch above Penn CAS (I do not dispute that Wharton is arguably more prestigious than both). I can’t believe you’re even playing the ivy card, that has become so pass</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Penn medical school is highly regarded, I believe it’s in the top 5.
[Best</a> Medical Schools | Research Rankings | Top Medical Schools for Research | US News Best Graduate Schools](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankings]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankings)</p>
<p>[The</a> Official Ranking of US Medical Schools](<a href=“http://www.residentphysician.com/Medicalschool_rankings.htm]The”>http://www.residentphysician.com/Medicalschool_rankings.htm)</p>
<p>@happyman2: Why can’t I play the Ivy card? I’ll tell you why. Because I can. Boo yah!
By the way, did you really read into what I said up there? Here it goes:
</p>
<p>definemyself, clearly Penn is outdoing itself by selecting students of your caliber. Boo yah is the epitome of eloquence. Try using it in debates, it may help Penn do better.</p>
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</p>
<p>So what? Any learned individual, particularly and especially employers, whose opinion matters more than some some random person, wouldn’t make that mistake and recognize those 2 schools for their rigor and strengths.</p>
<p>@cortana: My point was, prestige between that of an Ivy League school of Penn and Duke, is insignificant, because if the OP’s sole purpose was to aim for the more prestigious school of the two, his or her endeavor might not be necessary. I believe happymanof2 didn’t read between the lines, and thus came to the conclusion that I was only for prestige.
@happymanof2: Okay. Cool story. Thanks.</p>
<p>^ it was just some friendly ribbing. No need to get overtly perturbed :)</p>
<p>@happyman02: hahah? who’s overtly pertubed? ;)</p>