Where should I ED?

College Search & Selection
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My top 4 are: Yale, Amherst, Duke, Williams. I have enough legacy at Brown that I could probably get in, but I feel like that’s making me want to apply more than I truly love the school.

I have a 3.97 uw GPA (my school doesn’t have APs), and a 1530 superscore SAT (750ebrw, 780math)

Extracurriculars (going to be broad, but they’re pretty good):
Research Assistant
Patient Care Helper
Captain of Varsity Softball
Head of Queer Affinity Group
Peer Mentor
Peer Buddy
Volunteer w/ food shelter
Member of Jewish Student Affinity Group
Tour Guide
Camp Counselor

I want an academically strong college with a well-known name. I also would like fewer course requirements, as I am interested in psychology, biology, anthropology, and graphic design (aka I don’t know what I want to do with my life). The open curriculum at Amherst is very appealing. I do also, however, want to have fun in college, and not feel suffocated by my school. I would like to go out/go to parties 2ish times a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. Yale is VERY unlikely, otherwise that would be where I applied. Any thoughts?

2

You should ED to the school you like most and are sure you can afford. Duke is different than brown which is different than the other two smaller schools that have different environments.

I wouldn’t be so sure you can get into Brown.

Good luck.

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3

That’s kind of the main problem – I don’t really like one more than the rest (Yale maybe by a tiny bit, but that just feels like a throw away). I should maybe also mention that I go to a t-30 private school that has pretty solid relationship with Brown, and I will not be applying for aid.

4

Depending on the demographic with which you’d like your school’s name to be familiar and how important that is for you, the LACs might not be your best bet. There are a lot of people who have never heard of Williams. Most people have heard of Yale and Duke.

Good luck.

5

They are vastly different. You said open curriculum. You want to be in a city or the boonies ?

So don’t apply ED anywhere. Most don’t. It’s not a hard and fast rule.

But if Yale is your favorite apply there and I’d add more schools below this tier.

You can apply SCEA to Yale and then Ed 2 elsewhere. Good luck

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6

Yale doesn’t have ED. I am sure you are aware.

7

The schools you listed are quite different from one another. FWIW to me Brown sounds like it could be a great fit.

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Note that cultural anthropology and biological anthropology (or “evolutionary anthropology,” as it’s called these days) are entirely separate departments at Duke, whereas most universities have a department of anthropology housing several tracks/concentrations. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as Duke is exceptionally strong in both areas, but it’s something to keep in mind, especially if you are interested in a subfield of anthropology that is scarcely available at Duke (e.g. archaeology).

As everyone has already pointed out, you have an excellent set of options, and I think all of them would meet your criteria.

Though applying ED often provides a boost over applying RD (Duke in particular is pretty open about this), SCEA at Yale may be the way to go if it’s your top choice and you don’t have a clear favorite among the others.

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For each college, how would you answer these questions?

  1. Is it affordable? (Check net price calculator on its web site.)
  2. If you were admitted ED, would you have no regrets being committed to attend?
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Two more question, to add to @ucbalumnus’s questions:

  1. What are your career goals (in general)? Psychologist, PhD, etc?
  2. Where would you like the college name to be “well known”, in the profession or in general?
11

Long time Brown alumna interviewer here… just my observation (which has been affirmed by dozens of classmates)-- Legacy doesn’t mean much unless it’s paired with something else the U wants. So your original concerto had its premier by the Cleveland Symphony orchestra? Being a legacy can tip you in. Grandpa is itching to endow a chair in Nanotechnology? Legacy can tip you in.

But don’t overestimate the value of legacy if you are a regular strong student with great grades, scores, and a bunch of EC’s.

Unless your GC is telling you that nobody with your profile has been rejected from Brown in the last ten years- in which case- ignore me.

Re: the others- if you really don’t have a preference, ED is clearly NOT for you. If getting in to Amherst means you’ll spend four years wondering if you could have gotten into Yale- then don’t do it. Apply regular decision and add some solid match and safety schools.

What is a T-30 private school? If you add up the boarding schools, the day schools, and the religious privates that all have a good relationship with the Adcom’s at Brown that totals MANY more than 30… This is a big country after all.

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What does this mean? We have a very strong student family member who had two siblings, a father and a grandfather who graduated from an Ivy. The kid was not accepted.

We have a friend who had a sibling and a father who graduated from a different Ivy…and was also denied admission.

Both went to VERY excellent colleges, but not the legacy ones.

I agree with @blossom.

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It appears the OP doesn’t have a very strong inherent interest in Brown, but is nonetheless inclined to apply because of the perceived advantage of legacy admission.

14

I understand. The OP has an inflated view on what his legacy status will do for him, in my opinion.

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Anecdotal evidence is all well and good, but virtually all studies of admissions have determined that legacy status provides a significant boost at highly selective colleges.

To use Harvard as an example, see the recent study below.

The estimated coefficients on indicators for legacy, double legacy (i.e. both parents are alumni), faculty or staff child, and being on the dean’s interest list are all large, positive, and statistically significant… consider a white typical applicant with a baseline probability of admission of 10%. If this applicant were switched to a legacy, holding all other characteristics fixed, the admission probability would rise to 49%. Switching the same typical applicant to a double legacy or dean’s list member would increase the likelihood of admission to 65% and 75%, respectively…

we estimate a model of Harvard admissions that accounts for hundreds of applicant characteristics, including Harvard’s academic, extracurricular, and athletic ratings, among others. Admissions preferences for ALDC applicants are substantial. We find that a white typical applicant with a 10% chance of admission would see a five-fold increase in admissions likelihood if they were a legacy; more than a seven-fold increase if they were on the dean’s interest list; and that they would be admitted with near certainty if they were a recruited athlete.

http://public.econ.duke.edu/~psarcidi/legacyathlete.pdf

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Sorry - @thumper1 makes a valid point.

This student believes they’re likely in at Brown because they are a legacy.

It no doubt helps and the President of Brown defends it even though kids are calling to end it. One study suggests 10% are legacy. However, that doesn’t mean this student will make the cut - they have plenty to choose from - and @thumper1 is providing a dose of reality. While a 1530 is good, it is not off the charts for Brown - not top 25%. We don’t know how the essays are, etc. Brown, per CDS, is 38% white (I assume the student is) and their overall admission rate was 5.5%. So yes, ED will likely help as does legacy - but even if there’s a 10 or 15% chance, OP shouldn’t “assume”.

“I have enough legacy at Brown that I could probably get in”

Brown says this:

While such a relationship may be a consideration when it comes to choosing among equally strong candidates, it does not ensure admission. Brown has a strong responsibility to create a new generation of successful college graduates.

To me, the bigger issue is - the OP doesn’t know what they want. They want an open curriculum (Brown) but love Yale the most - but assume they won’t get in. I may be crazy - but I’m not sure how someone can know this. After all, I promise and yes this is anecdotal, that there are kids who get into Yale but not Brown. They have city schools and rural schools on the list. Sure, one could be happy at both - but OP should find the right school for them vs. gambling four years of their life for a hope.

OP themselves has a top 4 and Brown isn’t a part of that list - so that’s another issue.

Anyway - yes, @thumper1 is anecdotal and most of what anyone says on here is opinion - and that’s fine.

But OP - while a fine record and I hope the best for them - in my opinion (that’s what it is) - is a bit overconfident in the realities. A smart Caucasian girl - they’ll have plenty to choose from and my guess is (again anecdotal or a guess) that the acceptance rate in that category is even lower than the overall.

Good luck to OP - like everyone, I hope she has targets and safeties too. While I’m not an ED fan, I hope if she uses it - she uses it at where she really wants to spend four years. After all, four years, day after day, is a long time and no point in settling before you even try. You worked too hard to accomplish what you did - to not give it your best attempt!!

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OP, what does your GC say about your prospects at these super-selective schools? Your GC certainly has a better idea of where you are in your cohort, and how students from your school do in admissions at those schools, than anybody here.

I get this: you are in a school that flags itself as a “T-30” private school (which, btw, is not actually a thing), which implies a community that puts a premium on prestige.

If you are marinating in a pond where brand is an important metric, you may not be open to hearing this, but you will do yourself a serious favor by thinking hard about what you actually want from your college experience. Where do you want to be in 4 years? what parts of you do you want to grow and develop? what kinds of environments do you tend to thrive in? do you want a bigger version of your HS or something very different?

You say Yale is ‘minorly’ your favorite- why, exactly? Why these 4? (Duke & Williams are different top to bottom). Are these just the most famous schools on the list your GC suggested?

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Are you a recruitable softball player? If so, then all of these schools are within reach, and you might even have your pick. If not, then your chances ED at Brown are statistically better, perhaps significantly so. The combination of Ed and legacy still provides a pretty significant advantage, enough to get you a fairly good shot. Though you have a good record, you will be a stretch at all the other schools. They will all reject a large majority of unhooked applicants with your academics and ecs similar to yours, even in the early round. It’s tough out there, so be sure to have an Ed2 that’s maybe not quite so competitive, as well as plenty of good targets and safeties. Good luck to you.

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