Huh? Statistically, the opposite is true.
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OP has several posts. This link has more information.
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One thing about Rice it is more of a liberal arts school and within it engineering.
This was also curious. I know Rice has changed since the āRice Instituteā days, but still a stretch to call it a liberal arts school.
One possible plus for Rice is growth. They are planning to expand the student body - whether that goes to engineering, I donāt know. They added a business major and that likely takes some of the growth.
I think one mistake the OP is making is assuming that the LOR will have more weight at Duke than Rice. I think that the LOR will stand on its own regardless of the relationship between the employer of the writer and the school where the application is submitted. .
100% agreed - and I noted that.
It may have a similar effect.
Or no effect at all.
And unless the person who said they had a letter and got into a top 20 can prove thatās why they got in - no one could really know if it mattered. They might have gotten in anyway.
Being a NC resident provides a slight bump at Duke. Usually ~15% of each class is from the Carolinas, with the vast majority from NC.
Additionally, thereās financial aid and scholarships exclusive to students from NC and SC. For example:
Is there a bump ? Is that documented ? Or is it a higher percentage happen to be applying locally - no different than Ivies and others?
Yes and yes; otherwise I wouldnāt have said it. Duke has made no secret of favoring Carolina applicants over the years. For example:
Duke University is committed to attracting the best students from the Carolinas, and traditionally about 15 percent of our undergraduates come from North and South Carolina. Students from the Carolinas receive special consideration in our admissions process.
But the University doesnāt try to hide the skewed distribution or keep the statistics a secret. It proudly proclaims that it gives special consideration to students from the Carolinas, traditionally reserving at least 15 percent of spots in each class for those students.
James B. Duke signed the Indenture of Trust in 1924 to create the University and established the Duke Endowment with $40 million.
He made specific provisions that the money be distributed within the Carolinas for a number of purposes, one of which was to to further the education of students from the two states.
āDuke was put here for a reason,ā Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said. āThe biggest advantage we give is obviously to kids from North Carolina and South Carolina.ā
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Thatās me and I was just trying to be helpful instead of sending them on a wild goose chase like most people here do. Sometimes ppl just want a direct answer! Itās stressful!
Would I have gotten in anyway? Maybe. But I will never know just like this person will never know and you donāt know. I didnāt get Wash U but I did get Rice. Why? I got Notre Dame but didnāt get Grinnell. Why? No one knows. But did I think my letter helped at the school I chose? Yes I do. Thatās just an opinion. Take it or leave it. Geez.
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Wasnāt trying to be snarky - was just saying unless you had direct knowledge, thereās really no way to know.
Iām in the camp that if the letter has value, it will have value at all.
But truth is, none of us knows as weāre not AO.
It was just a comment. Not meant to be snark.
I tend to think that the letter from the,Duke prof is valuable at Duke, where he is known and advocating for a student in his program. Less so at Rice.
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There are 1,648 tenure track faculty at Duke. 130 of them in engineering. It is actually unlikely that they would be known by admission staff.
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