Just a random question

<p>I was deferred from Princeton ED. Does this mean I still have some chance in Duke? I'm worried that if I'm not good enough for Princeton, I may not be good enough for Duke either. How selective is Duke compared to Princeton? Sorry to ask this. I'm just really anxious because Duke is one of my first choices and I so want to get in. Do you know anyone who got deferred from Princeton and rejected or accepted in Duke?</p>

<p>Yes. Although Princeton and Duke are very selective, Princeton is even more selective. I have heard of some people getting deferred by Princeton but still got in Duke. So, don't worry.</p>

<p>I agree wholeheartedly with expect, Ptons admit rate is about half of Dukes.</p>

<p>Just curious. If you're deferred by Princeton, do you have good chance or just okay but more chance in Duke?</p>

<p>^ I think just slightly better chance, but I'm not sure.</p>

<p>princeton has an acceptance rate of about 13% (according to usnews) which actually is lower for the class of 2009 and 2010, probably hovering around 10%...duke has a an acceptance rate of about 24% (usnews again), but even that too is dropping, probably still around 20% though...so essentially princeton is 2x as hard to get into as duke, so relax</p>

<p>If Princeton has an acceptance rate of 13%, and Duke's is 20% (or even 26%), that doesn't really mean Princeton is twice as selective. For one thing, admissions is not a simple meritocracy like, say, reaching the cutoff for National Merit Semifinalist; Princeton's deferral doesn't mean a Duke acceptance. Plenty of people currently enrolled at Princeton were rejected by Duke. More at Duke were rejected by Princeton, but there is a lot of overlap. And if the groups reapplied next year, there would be much campus switching.</p>

<p>Further, no one knows who applies to these schools. In the northeast, many/most top high school students intend to go to a private college, whereas many southerners are happy to go their top-notch state universities (Carolina, UVa, and Texas, are, for example, great schools, while none of the northeastern states boasts a comparable state university. This may well lower the numbers who apply to the leading southern university. Does that reduce Duke's selectivty? Who knows?</p>

<p>Similarly, who knows which marginal students fling applications at Prinecton because of its Ivy creds and which marginal students fling applications at Duke because of the possibility of going to basketball games?</p>

<p>The admissions game--and, by extension, the ability to 'rate' 17 year olds--is not exactly a hard science...</p>

<p>"If Princeton has an acceptance rate of 13%, and Duke's is 20% (or even 26%), that doesn't really mean Princeton is twice as selective."</p>

<p>actually, it does, if the acceptance rate is 2x lower, then that's what it means...but i see your point, just because the numbers play out that way doesn't mean that he should be guaranteed into duke...but considering the number of factors that go into the application process, we only can look at the numbers; i mean, how else can we judge, because to some extent, the selection process is subjective anyway</p>

<p>either way, he has a better chance at duke than at princeton, judging purely by the numbers, but yeah, you're right, you never really know</p>

<p>Princeton MAY be more self selecting than Duke, meaning that applicants with lower, but still very respectable, GPAs/Standardized Test Scores are more likely to apply to Duke than Princeton. According to USNews, Princeton is number 4 regarding selectivity and Duke is number 10. The SAT range is also higher for Princeton.</p>

<p>anhydrosis2000:</p>

<p>your post seemed only to echo what was already said...i didn't understand what point you were trying to emphasize...?</p>

<p>You really can't judge your chances based on another school's decision. I am alumnus and have heard from reliable sources that in past years, some of the students who were accepted at Duke were rejected by Harvard, but there were others who were rejected by Duke and accepted by Harvard. No one knows. Don't agonize over this. That fact that you were deferred not rejected by Princeton means that you must be a strong student.</p>

<p>Thank you for your responses. I now understand that a college's decision doesn't affect others'.</p>

<p>I agree with your post. I was emphasizing the self selecting aspect (which I did not see in your post) and adding some back-up to the point you made. I wasn't trying to say anything negative about your post.</p>

<p>oh okay, gotcha ;)</p>