Help DS Decide: Duke ED or Harvard/Princeton REA

[Anonymous]

Not sure if anyone else is making (or has already made) the same choice with their family with some combination of these schools. DS is the oldest and going to be the first one we send off to college, so it's our first crack at the egg. DS is a great kid and has become more than we could have hoped for, and his current plan is to study economics/public policy to go alongside something more quantitative (perhaps statistics). I know it's more than likely he'll change his mind at least once in college, as often happens, so we're focusing more on his general likes and dislikes. His guidance counselor says DS would have a chance (of course no guarantees) at any school: for context he has a 1580 on his SAT, currently on track to be salutatorian of his class, captain of a varsity sport and playing another, spends his time volunteering generously, is very active in clubs at school, and has multiple national level awards. We have run financial aid estimates at his top choice schools and we feel comfortable with the cost, and we expect he'll be working in some capacity at least during the summers.

He likes Duke for many reasons: great academics, great school spirit, and a competitive club sports culture. We made a last-minute visit with him last month and he was in love with the campus and enjoyed the students he talked with very much. It overall seems like "the best" fit for him, which is why he is considering early decision there. We'd be more than happy to send him there as well, the alumni network seems very strong.

On the other hand, Harvard and Princeton were his longtime dream schools, and although Duke has caught up for him it is still a "newer" school for us, as he has mentally been preparing to try for Harvard or Princeton for a few years now.

We're unsure if he should be limiting himself to just one choice by doing early decision, or if he should keep his options more open. Another big factor is from what we've read, Duke early decision seems to provide an advantage for getting accepted, while Harvard and Princeton restrictive early action don't seem to help compared to regular decision. We would hate to see the difference between a Duke acceptance and rejection come down to whether he did early decision or not, and we know regular decision at Duke is incredibly competitive.

Any thoughts/similar experiences would be much appreciated!

[Anonymous]

My two cents - go for Duke ED. He loved it, and he sounds like the quintessential well-rounded and enthusiastic Duke student.

[Anonymous]

If he is set on Duke. ED at Duke. He sounds like a strong applicant but every kid who applies to Harvard and Princeton have the same description. My kid who had a 1590, Captain of a varsity sport, great internship at known location, had national awards was rejected at most top schools. Got in to Cornell of the WL. She did not ED anywhere as she did not have a first choice at that time.

[Anonymous]

Are you full pay? Are you or spouse legacy at any of the three?

ED is the way that schools make sure they have a certain % of full pay. Even with stats you describe, applying to any of those three schools from this area full of overachievers is a crap shoot unless you are super rich/famous/powerful and/or your kid has some fairly uncommon attributes above and beyond the typical high achiever norm---like being a world class athlete in fencing while also doing community service projects while speaking Urdu.

So if he loves Duke and you aren't Harvard/Princeton legacies, then he should do Duke ED. If one of you is a Harvard/Princeton legacy, then I might wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if anyone else is making (or has already made) the same choice with their family with some combination of these schools. DS is the oldest and going to be the first one we send off to college, so it's our first crack at the egg. DS is a great kid and has become more than we could have hoped for, and his current plan is to study economics/public policy to go alongside something more quantitative (perhaps statistics). I know it's more than likely he'll change his mind at least once in college, as often happens, so we're focusing more on his general likes and dislikes. His guidance counselor says DS would have a chance (of course no guarantees) at any school: for context he has a 1580 on his SAT, currently on track to be salutatorian of his class, captain of a varsity sport and playing another, spends his time volunteering generously, is very active in clubs at school, and has multiple national level awards. We have run financial aid estimates at his top choice schools and we feel comfortable with the cost, and we expect he'll be working in some capacity at least during the summers.

He likes Duke for many reasons: great academics, great school spirit, and a competitive club sports culture. We made a last-minute visit with him last month and he was in love with the campus and enjoyed the students he talked with very much. It overall seems like "the best" fit for him, which is why he is considering early decision there. We'd be more than happy to send him there as well, the alumni network seems very strong.

On the other hand, Harvard and Princeton were his longtime dream schools, and although Duke has caught up for him it is still a "newer" school for us, as he has mentally been preparing to try for Harvard or Princeton for a few years now.

We're unsure if he should be limiting himself to just one choice by doing early decision, or if he should keep his options more open. Another big factor is from what we've read, Duke early decision seems to provide an advantage for getting accepted, while Harvard and Princeton restrictive early action don't seem to help compared to regular decision. We would hate to see the difference between a Duke acceptance and rejection come down to whether he did early decision or not, and we know regular decision at Duke is incredibly competitive.

Any thoughts/similar experiences would be much appreciated!

If your son likes Duke the most, tell him to ED there; he won't regret it. This is anecdotal but a friend of mine had an incredibly bright son from the DMV get into multiple ivy league schools, Duke, and MIT. He chose Duke and right out of college made more than his father (or I for that matter) have ever made in yearly compensation. He's doing really well for himself, and he always came back with fun stories during breaks. Your son seems very bright as well and I'm sure he can achieve whatever he wants out of Duke while not sacrificing on the fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My two cents - go for Duke ED. He loved it, and he sounds like the quintessential well-rounded and enthusiastic Duke student.

Thank you, I'm also getting the sense that many Duke students are well-rounded which describes my son well. He has many different interests and likes to dabble across the board.

[Anonymous]

If Duke is truly his first choice, ED to Duke. If it's not his first choice, he should not ED there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if anyone else is making (or has already made) the same choice with their family with some combination of these schools. DS is the oldest and going to be the first one we send off to college, so it's our first crack at the egg. DS is a great kid and has become more than we could have hoped for, and his current plan is to study economics/public policy to go alongside something more quantitative (perhaps statistics). I know it's more than likely he'll change his mind at least once in college, as often happens, so we're focusing more on his general likes and dislikes. His guidance counselor says DS would have a chance (of course no guarantees) at any school: for context he has a 1580 on his SAT, currently on track to be salutatorian of his class, captain of a varsity sport and playing another, spends his time volunteering generously, is very active in clubs at school, and has multiple national level awards. We have run financial aid estimates at his top choice schools and we feel comfortable with the cost, and we expect he'll be working in some capacity at least during the summers.

He likes Duke for many reasons: great academics, great school spirit, and a competitive club sports culture. We made a last-minute visit with him last month and he was in love with the campus and enjoyed the students he talked with very much. It overall seems like "the best" fit for him, which is why he is considering early decision there. We'd be more than happy to send him there as well, the alumni network seems very strong.

On the other hand, Harvard and Princeton were his longtime dream schools, and although Duke has caught up for him it is still a "newer" school for us, as he has mentally been preparing to try for Harvard or Princeton for a few years now.

We're unsure if he should be limiting himself to just one choice by doing early decision, or if he should keep his options more open. Another big factor is from what we've read, Duke early decision seems to provide an advantage for getting accepted, while Harvard and Princeton restrictive early action don't seem to help compared to regular decision. We would hate to see the difference between a Duke acceptance and rejection come down to whether he did early decision or not, and we know regular decision at Duke is incredibly competitive.

Any thoughts/similar experiences would be much appreciated!

If your son likes Duke the most, tell him to ED there; he won't regret it. This is anecdotal but a friend of mine had an incredibly bright son from the DMV get into multiple ivy league schools, Duke, and MIT. He chose Duke and right out of college made more than his father (or I for that matter) have ever made in yearly compensation. He's doing really well for himself, and he always came back with fun stories during breaks. Your son seems very bright as well and I'm sure he can achieve whatever he wants out of Duke while not sacrificing on the fun.

+1 All of the friends of my children who have gone to Duke have done extremely well for themselves after graduating. One of my daughter's friends who went to Duke is now at a top 3 MD/PHD program, and another one works in the White House. The valedictorian of my oldest son's class went to Duke, they were friendly but not very close, but I will say he is a very successful tech entrepreneur now. If your son likes Duke and thinks he has a chance to get in, there's no need to look further.

[Anonymous]

Are you worried that Duke isn't as prestigious as Princeton or Harvard? It sounds like he really loves Duke.

[Anonymous]

Duke. Better chance there with ED and he loves it. Not sure what his national awards are (could be game changer depending on what they are) but sports that aren’t at recruitment level won’t be that helpful in admissions process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he is set on Duke. ED at Duke. He sounds like a strong applicant but every kid who applies to Harvard and Princeton have the same description. My kid who had a 1590, Captain of a varsity sport, great internship at known location, had national awards was rejected at most top schools. Got in to Cornell of the WL. She did not ED anywhere as she did not have a first choice at that time.

That is exactly what we are worried about. Regular decision at Harvard, Princeton, and Duke are going to be extremely competitive with no way of telling if DS will even get into one of them. On the other hand, through Naviance and his guidance counselor we see there is a chance and kids similar to DS have gotten into Harvard, Princeton, and Duke during regular decision in the past.

[Anonymous]

100% Duke ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you full pay? Are you or spouse legacy at any of the three?

ED is the way that schools make sure they have a certain % of full pay. Even with stats you describe, applying to any of those three schools from this area full of overachievers is a crap shoot unless you are super rich/famous/powerful and/or your kid has some fairly uncommon attributes above and beyond the typical high achiever norm---like being a world class athlete in fencing while also doing community service projects while speaking Urdu.

So if he loves Duke and you aren't Harvard/Princeton legacies, then he should do Duke ED. If one of you is a Harvard/Princeton legacy, then I might wait.

We are expecting to be full pay although we will submit financial aid documents, and we are not legacy at any of the three unfortunately.

My son does have some fairly uncommon and competitive awards which the guidance counselor thinks will give him a foot in the door at some of these schools, so he may not be as cookie cutter as I initially presented. I agree that this area is highly competitive for Duke and ivy league schools. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if anyone else is making (or has already made) the same choice with their family with some combination of these schools. DS is the oldest and going to be the first one we send off to college, so it's our first crack at the egg. DS is a great kid and has become more than we could have hoped for, and his current plan is to study economics/public policy to go alongside something more quantitative (perhaps statistics). I know it's more than likely he'll change his mind at least once in college, as often happens, so we're focusing more on his general likes and dislikes. His guidance counselor says DS would have a chance (of course no guarantees) at any school: for context he has a 1580 on his SAT, currently on track to be salutatorian of his class, captain of a varsity sport and playing another, spends his time volunteering generously, is very active in clubs at school, and has multiple national level awards. We have run financial aid estimates at his top choice schools and we feel comfortable with the cost, and we expect he'll be working in some capacity at least during the summers.

He likes Duke for many reasons: great academics, great school spirit, and a competitive club sports culture. We made a last-minute visit with him last month and he was in love with the campus and enjoyed the students he talked with very much. It overall seems like "the best" fit for him, which is why he is considering early decision there. We'd be more than happy to send him there as well, the alumni network seems very strong.

On the other hand, Harvard and Princeton were his longtime dream schools, and although Duke has caught up for him it is still a "newer" school for us, as he has mentally been preparing to try for Harvard or Princeton for a few years now.

We're unsure if he should be limiting himself to just one choice by doing early decision, or if he should keep his options more open. Another big factor is from what we've read, Duke early decision seems to provide an advantage for getting accepted, while Harvard and Princeton restrictive early action don't seem to help compared to regular decision. We would hate to see the difference between a Duke acceptance and rejection come down to whether he did early decision or not, and we know regular decision at Duke is incredibly competitive.

Any thoughts/similar experiences would be much appreciated!

If your son likes Duke the most, tell him to ED there; he won't regret it. This is anecdotal but a friend of mine had an incredibly bright son from the DMV get into multiple ivy league schools, Duke, and MIT. He chose Duke and right out of college made more than his father (or I for that matter) have ever made in yearly compensation. He's doing really well for himself, and he always came back with fun stories during breaks. Your son seems very bright as well and I'm sure he can achieve whatever he wants out of Duke while not sacrificing on the fun.

I see what you are saying, I don't think Duke would hinder his success in any way. I suppose it is more of a late entry for us so it will take some adjustment.

[Anonymous]

These are all lottery schools. Just let your kid decide which one he likes best.