<p>Hey,</p>
<p>How much does ED help in admissions? Im unhooked, with no legacies and Im not a URM. Is it a pretty substantial difference, or no?</p>
<p>yes, very substantial.</p>
<p>Applying early does help a lot.. only do it if you really feel that Duke is your first choice! </p>
<p>However, from what I've seen, you still need pretty high test scores and grades to get into Duke early.. don't be fooled by the high acceptance rate! Someone from my school with a 1510/2300 applied to Duke early (but from what I hear.. his grades weren't all that great, but definitely above 3.5 UW) was deferred ED.</p>
<p>But a plus is that if you are 'borderline' and are deferred ED, you have a great chance for RD, if you show that you are still interested in the school. </p>
<p>I know of two people who were deferred by top schools ED but got in RD.. both chose to go to their ED school.</p>
<p>i talked to the admissions officers at duke and they made it seem like they were very receptive to students keeping in contact with them and constantly expressing interest (ED deferred students). looks like that really makes a difference; they cited several cases.</p>