<p>I have a 4.38 overall gpa, a 3.98 unweighted and have just finished junior year. I have a 4.62 10-11 gpa and will end up taking 10+ AP courses and will be valedictorian. My college essay is like no other in that i am suffering from a rare and incurable heart disease and created a 501c3 corporation for research for it. When I turn 18, i will become president of the company. I have had about 7 club positions (honors societies) and am the director of corporate management for a local 501c3. My SAT is a 2110 with a superscore 2110. </p>
<p>I should be able to get into Duke due to connections, but it has to be my first choice and i will have to go there regardless of where i am accepted elsewhere. However, Stanford is my first choice school. What should i do?</p>
<p>How is this even a question? Apply to both. See what happens.</p>
<p>EDIT: You say “have to go there regardless” and Duke has to be your first choice. By this, do you mean you are applying Early Decision and it is thus binding? If you somehow have magical connections to Duke to get you in, then you don’t need to apply ED and it doesn’t have to be binding. Apply Stanford EA or RD and apply Duke RD and see if you get accepted.</p>
<p>Unless you are double legacy, you shouldn’t count on “connections”. What connections do you have? Even if your family knows someone on the board of directors, they could still reject you. In the mind of admissions counselors, they just think that the person that they disappointed will get over it. An admissions counselor isn’t gonna put their credibility on the line if you aren’t qualified. I wouldn’t recommend taking your SAT again. Just make sure that you write a stellar essay.</p>
<p>I don’t care what kind of “connections” you have. Unless your parents have donated millions of dollars -or you’re a recruited athlete- you have no guarantee at either of these schools. By all means apply to both. Your ECs and decent SAT scores could get you in, but don’t delude yourself into thinking you have a guarantee. </p>
<p>Your connections, if real, will probably only work if you apply to Duke ED. And compared to Duke’s ED acceptance rate of 25% (for the normal people without connections, obviously) and Stanford’s SCEA acceptance rate of 10%, you would still have a much better shot at Duke.
If your connections are real, choose Duke. It’s a sure thing and a highly esteemed university. At Duke, you won’t be kicking yourself over not applying to Stanford. However, you might be kicking yourself next year when you chose to apply to Stanford EA and get rejected (because let’s face it, the odds are not in your favor). So now you would have no Duke and no Stanford.</p>