I’m looking for a school to apply to ED. I have the supplements done for each school I’m just not sure which one my guts telling me to pick.
My counselor told me Duke is definitely the hardest for me to get into and that Washu and Vandy would be slightly safer. Am I supposed to play this safe or go big, not that Washu and Vandy aren’t terrific schools. I have a 36 act and 3.7 gpa and pretty good resume and essays.
I’m applying as a Econ major but I’m not sure what I will actually get a degree in. I am interested in either going to law and medical school so I’m not certain yet what I will actually declare if that makes sense.
I also don’t want a heavy Greek influence on campus.
I agree that Duke may be the most difficult of the three schools as both Vanderbilt & WashUStL seem drawn to high standardized test scores. Since you do not want a “heavy Greek influence on campus”, Vanderbilt might not be the best choice for your ED application.
My first thought for you, based on your interest in studying economics and lack of interest in Greek life, was that you should consider Northwestern University as well as the University of Chicago.
No bad choices here, so just go with whichever you like best (assuming they’re all affordable). They’re all highly selective these days, so it’s not really worth parsing the differences, although applying ED provides a boost.
Have you considered applying EA to at least one school in addition to your ED choice? It could be a nice back-up option in case you get deferred or rejected. Rhodes, Furman, and U Richmond are a few similar schools that would be worth a look.
Have you visited all three schools? Is there one you like better? I agree with others that Duke will be the toughest admit and that Vandy and WashU love high test scores. If Duke is your favorite, maybe consider ED there and applying ED2 at one of the others.
Please take ED seriously and seriously consider that you do not have to ED if you do not have a clear favorite at this point. Just because everyone is buzzing about EDing somewhere at your school does not mean you have to.
All the schools you are considering are wonderful, but remember if you do get in this is binding. Your prep school will have a code of ethics and will have you withdraw your other applications.
I am not sure you are there yet.
And are your parents really ready to not be able to have comparisons in aid, etc? These three you are down to do have merit but not as much as all the kids with high test scores and other stats think.
Have you been to all three? Are their programs in you major and student life what you are looking for?
As a reminder, if going BIG is your interest but you realize you need this to be in a non-binding way - Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and MIT are all EA non-binding with no ED option. MIT is non-restrictive .
Why would you ED if you don’t have a first choice school?
You ED if you have a clear #1 and you can 100% afford it - and your parents want to afford it. Just because they can spend $80K a year doesn’t mean they want to.
If you are asking strangers this question, that tells me you should not ED anywhere.
Look at it this way - you have 3 favorites so you are doing at least two apps non-binding so why not make it three.
You probably already know that your odds with a 3.7 aren’t great regardless.
I’ve always disagreed with this advice. I don’t think a student needs to have a clear #1 choice; I think s/he simply needs to be 100% certain they’d be happy attending that school.
If a student is equally torn between, say, Columbia and Chicago, for example, I don’t think it’s at all a bad strategy to apply ED to Columbia and EA to Chicago.
Most of the top colleges have become extraordinarily selective, especially in the RD round, and the boost from applying ED is sometimes fairly significant.
From this senior’s other posts in other strands I think they are caught up in the idea that they have to ED somewhere based on what the norm has become at sone schools. The ED admissions rates are inflated by the athletic recruits and other hooked applicants.
Limiting the ability to compare offers and research programs more is concerning after many applicants not being able to visit campuses or even spend time with their school counselors considering all of their options.
There is still probably an advantage to applying ED and they will ultimately have to decide anyway. Why not take advantage of the bump and have a more pleasant senior year?
Whether your 3.7 is competitive for the colleges is totally dependent on your high school as well as the rigor of the classes you took to earn that
GPA. Your school college counselor is really the only one who can accurately assess how competitive you are. Keep in mind that when you look at Naviance or Scoir, many of the students on the lower end of the stats may be athletes, legacy or underrepresented minorities. A 3.7 from a top private school like Andover is not viewed the same as a 3.7 from the public school in my neighborhood.
WUSTL admitted 13% so it’s a huge reach. ED would work for you and your test score. Your 3.7 is unweighted. On a weighted POV, the average was 4.2 and 67% had a 4.0. 90% had a 3.75. I’ll assume that was weighted - I got from the Common Data Set.
My son had a 4.6 and applied to engineering (with a 34 ACT) - he was WL’d and then denied. Had he applied ED, I’m guessing he’d have gotten in. They were (for us) high pressure to ED and touted stats like their acceptance rate was 40%+ vs. 10 or so for RD. Of course, ED includes athletes, etcs.
So to me - that’s your best shot - WUSTL.
Vandy is a 3.86 average GPA. 56% submitted ACTs so you have a leg up there.
But admission is harder than WUSTL.
In the end, we are all amateurs and only the schools know whether you’ll get in.
If you want your best odds, to me - it’s WUSTL - and it’s a gorgeous school although it also has the least name recognition in my opinion.
But I would ensure you have schools underneath. You didn’t give us a sense of rigor, ECs, etc. SO based on what you provided, I’m guessing 0/3 - but again, we don’t make the decisions. You say that a 3.7 is in range for your school so you likely go to a top school.
Yep. Duke has always been very open about the fact that it’s markedly easier to get admitted in the ED round.
Other top universities used to be more open about this on their websites with statements like “Because enthusiasm for Cornell is considered a plus, Early Decision applicants stand a better chance of gaining admission” and “Applicants who choose Early Decision send a strong, positive message to Northwestern” – I posted a collection of such statements a few years ago – but admissions has become more opaque over the years.
Every college is trying to protect their yield, as it is an important metric in most if not all rankings. Harvard and Yale were over 80% in the latest round, while most other T10s were in the 60-75% range. The most effective way for colleges to ensure a high yield is by encouraging students to apply early, which eliminates the need to gauge the applicant’s desire to enroll at the school. I understand it is a lot to ask of an 18-year-old, but it’s the name of the game these days. Good luck!