Should I apply SCEA to Princeton or ED to duke?

Hello,
I am an international student, and I am trying to use the early chance as best as I can. I cannot seem to make a choice between these two, since both are reach schools and I need every help I can get. Duke does say that applying ED is advantageous, while Princeton claims that it is not. On the other hand, Duke is need aware, but has scholarships for int’l students (Karsh), for which my Iranian nationality will probably be helpful for the first time in ETERNITY, while Princeton is need blind and probably more generous due to it’s vast wealth.
I have already finished my application and most of my supplements, so changing at this point isn’t really difficult.

here are my stats:

Intended Major : Biochem/neuroscience/Molecular Bio
GPA: I double majored in Junior year so I have two gpa’s: 19.20 for my theoretical major , 19.40 for my Experimental , 19.06 Sophomore, 18.76 Freshman. according to https://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/index.asp, all my GPA’s translate into 4 in the american system. will this upward trend be helpful?
Rank : 2/75. keep in mind that my school is extremely rigorous.
Course Load: Biology 3, Calculus, Physics 3, Advanced Algebra and Probability, Geometry 2, Geology 1, Chemistry 3, Persian Literature 3, Persian Linguistics 3, Islamic studies 3, Arabic 3, English 3, Contemporary History, Math for EXP majors.
ACT : 34 (34 34 33 34)
Sat ii : 800 Chem, 770 BioM 790 Math 2
AP or IB classes are not offered in Iran, and we all have the same curriculum however, I was in a NODET (national organization for development of extraordinary talents) school, which means that our curriculum was tough as hell. however, I did have some advanced extra curricular classes in Math, Physics and Astronomy. I will probably write it as an academic Extra curricular.
EC:
English Teacher at a prestigious language college.
I also have a certificate of English Teaching competency from Longman.
Arts and humanities club member.
Internship at a very prestigious Lens and Optics Lab.
part of high school National Computer Olympiad team, no medal though.
9th at Ferdowsi Univ. Programming contest.
5th at Team Math&Chem City Contest
Fluent in English and Persian, good at Arabic, Intermediate in French
c++, HTML, CSS, JS, PHP coder.
Web designer. (BTW, should I submit a portfolio for this?)
Amateur Sketcher ( I am not submitting a supplement, but maybe this can make me look more well rounded?)
Swimming and Taekwondo, no awards though.

English,Geometry and Algebra tutor.

Which school do you prefer? Applying ED to Duke is a pretty big commitment. Is it your first choice? From a strategic point of view, which supplement did you write better? Princeton’s or Duke’s?

Apply ED to whichever school you prefer. Your scores are great. Your extracurriculars are good. It may come down to which school wants a student from Iran more.

Your English is great. However, if your high school doesn’t teach in English and English isn’t your first language at home, you will probably need TOEFL. Have you checked on that?

I was at a Duke presentation where they said that they admit @ 50% of the class ED so it really is a boost in a way that applying SCEA to Princeton is not. I have also heard that Duke is “brutal” in regular decision because they have allotted so many spaces in ED. But ED is binding so you have to feel comfortable with the choice.

Big thanks to all who responded.
@Alexandre I like duke better. Not only is it in a better location (in my opinion), but it also offers better courses for my projected major. on the other hand, their need-aware policy is scary. I was able to contact some colleges to ask them about how the need awareness is factored in, but duke just asks me to leave a voice message.
@bouders Sorry,I forgot to say that I have an 8 (R9 L8.5 W7 S7.5) in the IELTS.
@uesmomof2 really? THAT high? Princeton doesn’t really provide much of a boost from what I have heard. I have no problem with committing to duke, so long as they offer me adequate aid.
also, Duke’s supplement allows me to recount a really interesting story about my family backgrounds, while my Princeton supplement made me think for a long time before I could write something I was satisfied with.

In other words, I am only applying SCEA to Princeton because I like it better than the other need blinds. Duke and JHU (which is notoriously stingy with aid) are my dream schools, closely followed by brown ( who told me that they would most likely defer me and ANY other int’l.). That is not to say I don’t like Princeton, it is just my 4th choice.

***I just contacted Duke. They said that they don’t have automatic deferral policy for internationals, and that ED is advantageous if Duke is my clear first choice. They also said that while my age is not a disadvantage, it will likely be , as they said, “Noted and therefore considered”.

@uesmomof2 I asked Duke about the 50%, and they claimed that they only accepted about 33% of the class Through ed. Princeton claims that it takes 40% of the class through SCEA. So my choice just became harder.
On the other hand, Pton’s SCEA rate is 19%, while Duke’s rate is 25%.
while everybody has been extremely helpful, any extra guidance is appreciated.
***Here, it is said that they take 48% percent through ED. What is going on here?http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2015/03/duke-admits-2650-regular-decision-applicants
@bouders Duke already has an Iranian student in college, while Princeton doesn’t. Would that make them want an Iranian more?

SALAM!!! Man ham Irani hastam. Tooye California zendegee meekonam; eenjah behdonya ooadam. Bebakshi baraye Finglisham, kheyli khoob nist :frowning: Man meetoonam khomaket behkhonam; ashenah hastam bah systemeh mardeshehye Iran. Manham daram apply meekonam beh ham Duke ham Princeton. As Tehran hasti? Meeporsam barankeh pesar-dai ehman dara baraye konkur dars meekhoneh, vali oonam meekhad beeyad America. Beh man yeh message besan keh bah shoma harf besanam! :slight_smile: Khoskhal shodam :slight_smile: Omidvaram keh as shomah zood befaman!

Sorry if that was hard to understand haha. Anyways, yeah send me a PM on here!! I’d love to help a fellow Persian out :slight_smile:

@mdorbust thank you for your kind help . BTW, It was not at all difficult to understand.
Just so that everybody knows what transpired, mdorbust is a California born Iranian and he is kindly offering to help me with the app process.

No problem whatsoever!! I am actually a dokhtare though, by the way hahah

Thanks a lot for your kind help @mdorbust . Lol, sorry.( it is Dokhtar by the way, dokhtare means “the girl” or “is a girl”)
Any other perspectives? I am shifting towards Duke.

And a few things concerning fit :
1- I am almost fully liberal (except that I agree with corporation-based economy).
2- I find professional sports ridiculous. This is something that makes me wary of duke.
3- I like hearing new points of view and having extremely long debates, so I prefer my school to be as diverse as possible. I not speaking about race or ethnicity here. I mean socially diverse.
4- I want a relatively diverse education, but If I was to choose, I would rather have a STEM focused school than a humanities focused one.

How old are you?

Have you looked at Princeton’s integrated science curriculum (ISC) program? Not a major but a jumpstart for freshmen and sophomores with good quantitative skills who are potentially interested in getting a science PhD.

Why do you think Duke is in a better location? To me, it’s a place where you want a car to get around and need a plane to get out of, whereas Princeton, while also suburban, is walkable in town and has easy rail connections not only to NYC and Philly, but to anywhere along the east coast from Boston to Washington, DC.

Lots of this comes down to taste, but given your criteria for fit, Duke seems like a surprising first choice to me. Princeton wouldn’t top my list either, given those criteria, but I think it’d be a better choice. And SCEA lets you consider other offers. ED commits you.

^ As someone who has lived in both locations I have to say that Durham is a much nicer town from the perspective of a student. It’s much more vibrant, the dining scene is far superior, and it’s only 8 miles from Chapel Hill (a quintessential college town). It’s also a bus ride away from DC.

Having said that, Princeton is less than an hour from NYC so you don’t have to be stuck in suburbia if you don’t want to be.

Also, don’t disregard the importance of living in a place with relatively nice weather. NC weather is pretty good year round (it does rain occasionally). Princeton gets quite cold and unpleasant in the winter.

@exacademic thank you for your kind response. I will be 16 at the time of my HS graduation, and about 17 when I enroll in college.
I had not heard of it before. I sounds like a very good curriculum.
I hadn’t considered the part about getting around either.
As I said before, one of the main reasons I lean towards Duke is that their Biomed program is better. The location is more like a gut feeling, and therefore I am not basing anything on it. Also, is it true that Duke has a drinking culture? I am not fond of that.
Where would you recommend, considering my criteria for fit?
And in which of the two would I have the highest chances of admission?
@NerdyChica thank you for your reply,
I am not concerned with weather, because both cities have better climates than my home city. Our average temperature is lower than both princeton and Durham.
So long as my classmates are not drinkers and uber sports Fans, I think I would actually fit into both. But this is merely speculation. though princeton’s student body may be more my type. Which of the two would you recommend?

For a number of reasons, based on your situation, I think it would be most strategic for you to go Duke for early. There will be the most advantage there and you may qualify for merit scholarships that help out. Durham is a more pleasant place to hang out and Duke offers great biochem opportunities.Don’t worry about athletic enthusiasm. There is school spirit around college athletics at Duke but it doesn’t have to be part of your experience at all. NC is not a big professional sports area.

@dowzerw so you think that the need awareness is not likely to be a problem?
Thank you for your helpful response btw

How about Vanderbilt ED? It is also extremely generous with aid, and it is relatively less diverse than its peers so that may be a plus?
In ideas will be appreciated.

I don’t think the need awareness will hold you back there. Vanderbilt is also a very strong school with good bio med options but it is also in a less culturally diverse part of the country so you would have to get a feel for whether that would work for you.

@dowzerw thank you for your kind response.
I see. What makes you think that the need-awareness is unlikely to be a problem? (sorry if it sounds like sarcasm, this is a genuine question. I want to extract as much info as possible:) )
About Vandy:
I am thinking that they may want to increase their diversity, thus wanting a middle eastern student more? My stats would give me a good running chance, and that diversity factor may make a difference, or so I presume. please correct me if i am wrong.
I think I can be happy in any state except Utah.