<p>I recently scored a 2340 on my October SAT; my highest score prior to this was a 34 ACT. I'm planning on applying to Duke ED. I also have a 4.0 UW, full IB courseload, class rank of 1, and excellent essays/reccs. My EC's, however, are not unique in the slightest (pretty much just sports).</p>
<p>Now tell me if I'm wrong here but as I understand it the 2340 doesn't guarentee me admission at Duke, or at any other top university for that matter. Everyone I talk to in "real life" balks when they hear that I have a 2340 and am applying to Duke ED (instead of HYPS). (Even more so by the fact that I have a legacy at Stanford).</p>
<p>So what do you guys think? Am I crazy? My rationale for choosing Duke for ED was because it was one of my top choices and I felt that I would likely get rejected in RD (plus Stanford doesn't have ED).</p>
<p>sometimes i have the feeling that the people who aren’t sure about their 2300+ scores are just fishing for compliments… </p>
<p>no score really guarantees your admittance to any school. harvard, yale etc get so many excellent applicants each year with 2300+, but can’t accept all of them.</p>
<p>Stanford has early action, which in some ways is preferrable to ED. </p>
<p>If Duke is truly your far and away first choice, and FA is not a consideration, then go ED there. If not, go Stanford REA to take advantage of your legacy there, and go Duke RD.</p>
<p>I am not quite sure what you mean by Duke is “one of my top choices” --if it is not THE top choice, then binding ED is not wise because it shuts off all other options.</p>
<p>^ Well I thought it was a close second to Stanford and I feel like I have no chance at Stanford so I thought I would just try to give myself the best possible chances at my #2 school (with ED). Is this stupid?</p>
<p>^ I’m really torn here… seems like I could go RD with everything but then if I got rejected everywhere I would be like “why the f did I not do Duke ED???” Also if I do Duke ED any get in I will always have an inner doubt, however small it may be.</p>
<p>A 2340 is 60 away from perfect. Imagine you have 60 hot dogs. That’s a lot of hot dogs, and you probably couldn’t eat them all, even with a few friends. So 60 points away from perfect is quite the discrepancy.</p>
<p>You should apply to wherever you want. If the school rejects you over something as stupid as a single test score, they are not worth your tuition payments anyway. Ivy and similar schools are only better in title because they possess more monetary power; you can still receive an education of equivalent quality from any school with a strong department in your major.</p>
<p>I strongly recommend NOT applying Duke ED. I won’t get into the SAT score thing (BTW, I know exactly what you mean about people gawking at a 2340 in real life and on this site, a 2340 is more or less a whopping 60 points below perfect. However, it is clear that Duke is NOT your #1 choice and that is the only reason you should apply ED somewhere. Go for Stanford EA if Stanford is your #1. I considered Columbia ED for quite some time for the same reason; I thought I had a better shot getting in there ED than Yale SCEA (which is obviously true), but Columbia was not my explicit first choice. </p>
<p>Besides, you’re a little late if you haven’t started ED/EA applications yet.</p>
<p>Your lack of ECs will screw you over almost anywhere (unless your sports are fantastic ie captain of team, state-ranked, etc). Also, don’t get me started on how much a 2340 can “help” and application. If you have to ask that question, you don’t deserve to get accepted anyways. There are two reasons why a school won’t accept you: 1. You’re too dumb to realize that a 2340 is incredible and 2. You’re just fishing for compliments –> you’re a cocky ******bag.</p>
<p>^^ Well Stanford REA isn’t really an option right now because I haven’t even started its supplement. I have finished my Duke application and submitted almost everything required. I was completely set on doing ED there until I got my SAT boost 2 days ago… The alternative to not doing Duke would be just to wait until the regular decision round.</p>
<p>^ It just so happens I am team captain and state ranked in tennis (although not good enough to merit recruiting), and varsity in 2 other sports. (I recognize that this is weak though hence the mention of possible SAT compensation for this weakness).</p>
<p>Also I don’t know where I came across as cocky. I am just rather taken aback by the score (I scored a 1910 on my first SAT about 7 months ago). Also I am at a public school where no one has ever scored this high so I’m not getting any valid input there.</p>
<p>If you really like Duke, and have Duke ED done, then just apply to Duke. AFAIK, Duke ED isn’t binding by any stretch, so you can still fill out your other applications and apply RD to them.</p>
<p>If you haven’t started Stanford REA yet, then you’re probably right in that you shouldn’t apply. You should still apply to Stanford RD though, especially since you have a legacy. It can’t hurt you at all.</p>
<p>A 2340 is excellent, as you well know. Please don’t retake in search of a 2400. That being said, no one single element of your application ensures admission. You are a solid Duke candidate. Apply ED if : 1) finances are sound 2) you are happy to go to Duke above all other schools. You will improve your chances at Duke , and Stanford is a long shot for just about everyone. Don’t apply ED if you really want to go somewhere else enough to risk not getting in at Duke.</p>
<p>Alright, thank you all (this was really, really helpful input). I have decided that the whole Stanford over Duke thing is so marginal that it doesn’t warrant giving up the ED advantage at Duke. </p>
<p>I figure it’s a win-win/lose-lose situation in that if I get into Duke it’s awesome (Duke is an amazing school), if I get rejected I can be like yay now I get to see if I can get into Stanford and the Ivies. Likewise, if I get accepted I will never know my potential (but Duke is still awesome) and if I get rejected I don’t get to go to Duke :(.</p>
<p>Even a 2400 doesn’t “guarantee” admission when a 2340 won’t. Believe me when I say that if Duke/Stanford rejects you it won’t be because you didn’t have that 60 points. After a certain score, adcoms start putting less weight on SAT scores because higher scores don’t really reflect what the school is really looking for, even though they show outstanding academic achievement.</p>
<p>2340 is a little above a 35 in correlation, and that puts you above their 75th percentile of accepted students, and possibly even higher. 2340 is an amazing score. </p>
<p>As for Duke ED vs Stanford, I think it would be better to apply Early Action to Stanford because you have a legacy, and it is non-binding. I feel you have a very good chance of being accepted to Duke through RD, but a much slimmer chance (although quite big really) at Stanford.</p>