Rejected from dream school ED

Applying to College
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I ended up being flat out rejected from Duke in the ED round and had some questions regarding my future RD applications. Duke was my top choice so I felt as though ED was the way to go based on all the information I could find. I felt pretty confident in my stats (see below) with the exception of my ACT score (33). Due to my commitment to other activities I was not able to take the ACT/SAT after my first attempt until December which wasn’t early enough for the ED round. So Thursday night I received my rejection from Duke and subsequently got my SAT back, a 1540 (750/790). It was a really bittersweet moment as this score may have made a difference in my application. To make things even more complicated my best friend was accepted into Duke which, although awesome, I felt that I had a better application with the exception of the test score I had to submit. I still have many schools I’m applying to: Yale, Vanderbilt, UNC, NC State, Brown, Stanford. Does having a higher test score make a significant difference in my chances? With Duke having a 20% ED acceptance rate this year I’m sort of questioning if I have a chance at an elite school in the RD round, or if there must have been something wrong with my application. I would appreciate any insight into my situation.

Public school, 4.54 W, 3.96 UW, 6/300
Test Scores: ACT (33): 35/31/33/34 SAT: (1540) 750/790
Extracurriculars: Varsity Track/XC (all-state XC, state runner-up track), Eagle Scout, Beta Club, Youth program, a few other smaller clubs and groups
Recommendations: Teacher 1: 10/10 Teacher 2: 8/10, Counselor 5/10: she never really knew me, I have no idea what she could have written Other: 9/10
Demographic: White male

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First off, I am sorry about your rejection. I know you must be disappointed. You will never know why you were rejected but it probably isn’t just because you got a 33 on the ACT. Your stats are excellent and you are the kind of student places like Duke are looking for. When so many great kids apply, unfortunately, some will be passed over. Looking ahead, I’d suggest going with the SAT (congratulations on a great result) instead of the ACT. You will want to add a safety or two to your list - right now only NC State would possibly fit that bill. The rest of your schools are reaches for everyone and you don’t want to be shut out.

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Your accomplishments are outstanding. Congrats to you. Your stats are similar to my kids…a higher GPA and ACT at Alabama and a higher GPA but 32 ACT at College of Charleston.

First thing….don’t fall in love with any school. Ever. There are no perfect schools. When you are at school, you might have a bad roommate or prof you don’t understand or bad food.

The right school is out there for you.

While you are very accomplished, you are unlikely for all on your list with the exception of NC State. That’s because the schools get many many many applicants like you…and they have to make the decision as to who is the best fit. Hopefully you stated your case well in your essays.

Are you an NC resident ? Is the list above complete ?

I would say you need another likely…App State, UNCW, Elon - Richmond for a slight reach. Or if you want ACC private, Syracuse could be a good fit. SMU another that could work. Or you can cash in and save your parents a boatload at Bama…your tuition would be $3k. Arizona, Miami of Ohio and U of SC are aggressive too but check to see if you missed any merit deadlines.

It’s not complicated that your bff got in. You should be excited for them but this isn’t an arms race. You will both form your own individual paths as you grow. You also have to realize 20% of kids like you didn’t get into Duke ED because you have to factor out the football team, basketball teams, lacrosse, etc that are included in that #.

Btw your error is wanting ‘’elite.” There are other paths to get there. Know who has more NMFs than any school ? Alabama. You know whose top ranked Honors College gets Ivy kids ? U of SC. Even my daughter’s bff at Charleston chose the school over Rice. They are both Charleston Fellows so while at her other acceptances like W&L and Florida, she’d just be another kid, she has leadership and enrichment opportunities as a top student at a less ‘prestigious’ school. Btw…that’s all marketing and that’s y the same kids like you are applying to the same schools

You need a plan for you…reach you have in drives…match you have NC state and what about safeties/guarantees. Your previous plan was catering to peer pressure and trying to match your friends…that’s not a plan unfortunately.

Time to replan and quickly b4 it’s too late. If you add schools (private), make sure you show them love…ie demonstrating interest.

Good luck.

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“Average excellent student,” but unfortunately no brand differentiation. I think Duke rejects ~90% of well-rounded folks like you…need a hook…

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What were/are your best times in cross-country & track ?

Were you recruited for cross-country or track ?

What do you plan to study ?

Any career in mind ?

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What state do you live in?

NC State is a safety only if you can afford it and out of state students do not get much aid. It would have been D21s most expensive option out of all her options with some similar stats once she did not make the bigger scholarship rounds there which you have already missed.

Are you looking for merit or need based aid? What is your EFC on your FAFSA?

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Quick update. I am an NC Resident and the list of schools above was partially incomplete. I didn’t list App state, ECU, and Charlotte because I felt as though they were “true safeties”. My track times were 4:22 for the mile, 9:26 for the 3200. I was a few seconds off the recruitment standard, so I the coach basically told me I could probably be a walk-on if I was accepted. I would also like to clarify my use of the word “complicate.” Our friendship hasn’t changed at all, and I am very excited for him. After being rejected I naturally compared myself because I wanted to know what went wrong with my own application. I realize I can’t identify any causality in doing that, but it was just a natural reaction

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All three are great schools…but I’m sure NC state will happen too.

I’d go to App State over NC State unless you are STEM bcuz it’s a cool town !!

Hope you get into your reaches though. Sounds like you planned well after all.

Good luck.

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I also happen to have several friends who had been accepted to elite schools in the past, but chose less prestigious options. One was accepted to Yale and went to Alabama as a National Merit finalist, and the other got into Duke and went to NC State after winning the Park scholarship. In all likelihood I’ll end up attending a moderately competitive university but still want to make a strong attempt at some elite schools

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Many valedictorians with impacable test scores still get rejected to those schools. Duke just did not select you. It’s very a random process. I am sure that there are many kids who got accepted but eventually fail to keep up academically. Although you get rejected, you may not have any issues with academic if you were accepted.

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Congratulations on your achievements, sorry that Duke didn’t work out.

Did you make the EA (and scholarship/honors college) deadlines for the schools on your list that have EA (UNC, NC State, App State, ECU, Charlotte)? Are you applying for financial aid?

You might have your HS GC take a look at your application and essays, just to give everything the once over. Posters have no idea if you have the rigor in your classes for an elite school. If so, definitely send in a few reach apps. Have you considered sending in additional apps for some more match schools? Does your HS use naviance? If so, is UNC a match or reach?

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You are in-state for these schools with great stats, which should help your chances a lot.

The large majority of applicants to the top ranked schools (MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Duke, …) have excellent stats and would be academically fully qualified to attend. Most are of course rejected. We can almost never be quite sure why.

However, it looks to me that you are likely to do very well wherever you end up. If you do end up at UNC or NC State do not underestimate these schools. The top students at UNC and NC State will be just as strong as the top students at Stanford or Brown or Duke. In fact, when I was a graduate student at Stanford one of my best friends was a UNC graduate, and he was one of the strongest students in the program.

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I think with your SAT score you have an excellent chance at UNC-Chapel Hill since you are in state. I won’t say it’s a safety but it’s definitely a Target and not a Reach. What county are you in? That can make a difference. You are a shoo-in for ECU and UNC-C and App State. (FWIW, I live in NC and am a UNC-CH alum). State is a pretty solid choice too. Are you applying into a program? That can make a difference there I believe.

FWIW I think students have a lot of fun in Raleigh and Boone and Chapel Hill, all three.

Oh, and Duke SUCKS. Go Heels!

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You may have been accepted to Duke if you were from Nebraska. Or if you played the French horn instead of running XC. Or if the application reader who picked up your file wasn’t extra tired that day or hadn’t just read an essay that was similar to yours, making you sound less original.

My point is all these things are/were outside your control, there is a bit of a lottery at work in admissions in elite schools, and there is no way to game the system to make just the right tweaks to make sure you get in. So don’t second-guess or question yourself too much.

The one thing you can do is make sure your unique personality shows through in your essay and says something about you that is individual enough that no one else could put their name on the essay. Because it reveals something about the way you think, not just something that happened to you or something you do.

If you have done that, then I think you just have to let the rest go and leave it up to destiny.

My child is like you — a top student, an athlete, and someone who has given a lot of time back to the community. But not a student with a national science award, Olympic medal, patented invention, international nonprofit founder, published researcher, or war refugee.

That means applications that will stand out among most high school classmates, but perhaps not among the 50,000 being reviewed by Stanford. It’s not a personal indictment.

So if an acceptance from a top tier school is not forthcoming, we’ll take it as a sign our student was meant to have a blast (and perhaps less academic peer pressure) at the top of the class in an honors college or other special program at a less selective school. Probably with more scholarship money, which sounds pretty good to us!

I hope you realize this doesn’t take away from any of your amazing achievements or potential. The more you learn about some of your other options, the more you may find to love.

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If you are thinking of running in College, your times might get you a spot at UNC Charlotte, which has a really good XC team, better than Duke and right there with Chapel Hill and State. Seems to develop runners better than most. If you would consider a smaller school, Davidson is an excellent academic school with a really nice running culture, even if they can’t compete on times with the bigger schools. My DS (with very similar times) was recruited by Davidson and really liked the coaches and team, but ended up at a different school.

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That is great to have that perspective from their experiences.

Thanks for sharing a little more.

You have a great group of safeties in NC. Your guidance counselor will have a feel for UNC, but you should be good there with the update to the SAT score and being instate.

So feel free to pick a few more to shoot for and see where you land. Yes, your SAT score will make a difference with the understanding that you are not alone in this quest. Your Eagle Scout attainment should be highlighted. Find someone to help read your new essays you are pushing out.

Vanderbilt is a good one on your list. Georgetown could be of interest and has the similar prestige you are looking for. Brown is very different than Duke. Do a little research on the Ivies and similar tier and just pick one or two and spend more time on the next tier if interested in any of those.

Davidson or Furman could be interesting for you. Sewanee - The University of the South, maybe.

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I’m in Orange County, and it seems like 90% of kids with an ACT above a 30 and solid GPA are accepted at UNC from my school. The UNCC coach actually called me several months back, but I wasn’t ready to make a commitment with the scholarship I would have been given. From what I have heard the coach is pretty low on scholarship money at this point, but it’s pretty cheap to begin with so I’ll definitively keep it on my list as an option. It also might be worth mentioning that my dad attended Yale, so that might make it slightly more attainable (I realize it would still be a reach). I have some free time over break so I’ll definitely be doing some last minute research and getting the last of my applications in. If anything big happens I’ll definitely post an update. I really appreciate the advice in this thread, and it makes makes me feel a bit better about my situation.

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The Triangle counties are a little more competitive to get into UNC than coming from a more rural county in ENC or WNC. If you are in a county school rather than a city school that might be a benefit, but plenty of students from city schools get in too as I’m sure you know.

Best of luck. When you’re a Tar Heel you’ll be glad you missed that close call with the Devils.

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You are very thoughtful and I believe this will all work out for you. I do want to mention, though, that often schools only provide a legacy boost if you apply early, in this case Yale SCEA. They may not think a legacy who applies RD sees them as first choice. Which they weren’t for you, which is fine! But I wanted to make sure you kept that in the back of your mind in case you don’t get in there so you or your dad don’t take it as a legacy rejection, which can more upsetting for some.

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