Help DS Decide: Duke ED or Harvard/Princeton REA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2022 data:

https://today.duke.edu/2022/03/duke-offers-regular-admission-2230-students

Just over 50,000 students applied for admission this year, the most ever. With the 855 students accepted in December as Early Decision applicants, a total of 3,085 have been invited to join the Class of 2026.

Duke received 50,002 applications for undergraduate admissions this year, up about 1 percent over last year’s pool, which saw the largest year-to-year increase in the school’s history.

Of those, 45,941 applied under Duke’s Regular Decision program, up from 44,133 last year. Among the Regular Decision applicant pool, 2,120 students -- 4.6 percent -- will receive a notice of acceptance.

The real question is, how many of these applicants are actually competitive for Duke and how many of them were just added because of Duke basketball?

I imagine most of these applicants know Duke is academically good. If they’re fans of the basketball team, every basketball announcer keeps referring to Duke as the genius basketball school or keeps making comments about their SAT scores. Especially freaking Jay Bilas

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2022 data:

https://today.duke.edu/2022/03/duke-offers-regular-admission-2230-students

Just over 50,000 students applied for admission this year, the most ever. With the 855 students accepted in December as Early Decision applicants, a total of 3,085 have been invited to join the Class of 2026.

Duke received 50,002 applications for undergraduate admissions this year, up about 1 percent over last year’s pool, which saw the largest year-to-year increase in the school’s history.

Of those, 45,941 applied under Duke’s Regular Decision program, up from 44,133 last year. Among the Regular Decision applicant pool, 2,120 students -- 4.6 percent -- will receive a notice of acceptance.

Wow. Admissions these days for top schools are really a lottery unless you've done something groundbreaking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2022 data:

https://today.duke.edu/2022/03/duke-offers-regular-admission-2230-students

Just over 50,000 students applied for admission this year, the most ever. With the 855 students accepted in December as Early Decision applicants, a total of 3,085 have been invited to join the Class of 2026.

Duke received 50,002 applications for undergraduate admissions this year, up about 1 percent over last year’s pool, which saw the largest year-to-year increase in the school’s history.

Of those, 45,941 applied under Duke’s Regular Decision program, up from 44,133 last year. Among the Regular Decision applicant pool, 2,120 students -- 4.6 percent -- will receive a notice of acceptance.

Wow. Admissions these days for top schools are really a lottery unless you've done something groundbreaking.

Actually, admissions to top schools seems to me to be the opposite of a lottery system as a highly competitive system is not the same as chance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2022 data:

https://today.duke.edu/2022/03/duke-offers-regular-admission-2230-students

Just over 50,000 students applied for admission this year, the most ever. With the 855 students accepted in December as Early Decision applicants, a total of 3,085 have been invited to join the Class of 2026.

Duke received 50,002 applications for undergraduate admissions this year, up about 1 percent over last year’s pool, which saw the largest year-to-year increase in the school’s history.

Of those, 45,941 applied under Duke’s Regular Decision program, up from 44,133 last year. Among the Regular Decision applicant pool, 2,120 students -- 4.6 percent -- will receive a notice of acceptance.

Wow. Admissions these days for top schools are really a lottery unless you've done something groundbreaking.

Actually, admissions to top schools seems to me to be the opposite of a lottery system as a highly competitive system is not the same as chance.

The stats give you a lottery ticket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2022 data:

https://today.duke.edu/2022/03/duke-offers-regular-admission-2230-students

Just over 50,000 students applied for admission this year, the most ever. With the 855 students accepted in December as Early Decision applicants, a total of 3,085 have been invited to join the Class of 2026.

Duke received 50,002 applications for undergraduate admissions this year, up about 1 percent over last year’s pool, which saw the largest year-to-year increase in the school’s history.

Of those, 45,941 applied under Duke’s Regular Decision program, up from 44,133 last year. Among the Regular Decision applicant pool, 2,120 students -- 4.6 percent -- will receive a notice of acceptance.

Wow. Admissions these days for top schools are really a lottery unless you've done something groundbreaking.

Actually, admissions to top schools seems to me to be the opposite of a lottery system as a highly competitive system is not the same as chance.

The stats give you a lottery ticket.

+1 nowadays having good grades and test scores just gives you a ticket to enter the lottery. In the past it was much easier to determine which kids would get into which schools, hence why it's more like a lottery now. I can't tell you how many times I've seen kids who I thought were very deserving get denied from top schools that they liked very much. Harvard, Stanford, Duke, Columbia, you name it, unless you've done something like win an international competition there's really no guarantees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with some of the PP, I think given what you've said about your son (1580, salutatorian, good leadership, some unique national awards, well-rounded and should have good essays) he has a very good shot at Duke ED. If you want to see the profiles of some people who got into Duke this past admissions cycle, check out https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/.

Here's some kids with similar demographics (non-URM) to start you off:

1. https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/comments/tvqkjm/asian_boy_clutches_up_after_a_disappointing_early/

Asian male, upper middle class, 1600 SAT, 3.9 GPA, good ECs without much leadership, strong awards, applied early decision but was deferred

Accepted: Duke (committed), Yale, Dartmouth, Williams, Bowdoin, UNC, etc.

2. https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/comments/u3il9l/rural_new_englander_hits_it_big/

White male, rural middle class, econ major, 35 ACT, 4.0 GPA, decent ECs with some leadership, average awards, applied regular decision

Accepted: Duke, Princeton (committed), Stanford, Brown, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, WashU, etc.

3. https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/comments/w0vqxp/asian_indecisive_procrastinator_shotgunner_made/

Asian female, first gen low income, econ major, 1540 SAT, 4.0 GPA, decent ECs with some leadership, average awards, applied regular decision

Accepted: Duke (committed), Penn Wharton, Dartmouth, Cornell, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, UNC, etc.

4. https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/comments/vv3jxi/farm_girl_gets_pleasantly_surprised_ivies_and/

White female, rural low income, 34 ACT, valedictorian, decent ECs with some leadership, average awards, applied regular decision

Accepted: Duke (committed), Stanford, Yale, Penn, Brown, Notre Dame, UVA, UNC, etc.

5. https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/comments/v5hvor/spikey_asian_male_in_stem_does_well_w_t20s/

Asian male, upper middle class, 36 ACT, valedictorian, good ECs with leadership, average awards, applied regular decision

Accepted: Duke, MIT (committed), Caltech, Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Vanderbilt, UMich, Georgia Tech, USC, etc.

6. https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/comments/vmss2e/the_results_of_someone_that_spent_only_3_hours_on/

Asian female, upper middle class, econ major, 1490 SAT, 4.0 GPA, decent ECs with some leadership, average awards, applied regular decision

Accepted: Duke (committed), Princeton, Cornell, Northwestern, UChicago, UMich, USC, etc.

7. https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/comments/tw3646/southern_boy_with_a_dream_rejected_from_hypsm/

White male, middle class, 35 ACT, 4.0 GPA, decent ECs with some leadership, average awards, applied regular decision

Accepted: Duke (committed), Penn, Brown, Cornell, Rice, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, WashU, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Notre Dame, UNC

8. https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/comments/vgslvm/indian_premed_girl_gets_really_lucky/

Asian female, low income, 36 ACT, valedictorian, decent ECs with some leadership, average awards, applied regular decision

Accepted: Duke (committed), Northwestern, Rice, WashU, UMich, UNC, USC, etc.

9. https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/comments/vqwmz0/big_surprise_for_boring_white_male_from_northeast/

White male, upper middle class, 1570 SAT, 4.0 GPA, decent ECs with some leadership, average awards, applied regular decision

Accepted: Duke, Harvard (committed), UChicago, Georgetown, UMich, etc.

10. https://www.reddit.com/r/collegeresults/comments/uqftiu/white_guy_in_cs_turns_down_hypsm/

White male, middle class, CS/econ major, 1560 SAT, 4.0 GPA, good ECs with leadership, strong awards, applied regular decision

Accepted: Duke (committed), Princeton, Brown, Johns Hopkins, UChicago, Georgia Tech, etc.

Ha, didn't know Duke is the #1 school in US. Sounds like HYPSM is no match.

Writer of that comment here. Not exactly, plenty of URMs turned down Duke for HYPSM, I just shared the acceptances and choices of white/asian people as I figured they would be more relevant.

Thank you for sharing, it was definitely interesting to see. It looks like DS is within range for Duke and other top schools which is reassuring,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was interested in and accepted to Duke, and interviewed for the AB Duke Scholarship. When I was walking around I apparently walked too close to a fraternity that at the time was allowed to occupy space in one of the Gothic dorms on the West Campus. Some bro leaned out a window, deliberately poured out a beer cup two feet from where I was walking, and yelled an obscenity at me. Then I got hosed for the scholarship but still invited to attend as a regular admit, by which time I'd already gotten into an Ivy.

Duke was the first school I then let know I wouldn't be attending. That felt good, although when I visited a friend at Duke during a break freshman year and it was in the low 80s in NC vs. the low 60s at my school I had second thoughts.

I am sorry to hear you had a bad experience there. It seems like the culture has changed from whenever you were looking at schools, that's at least the impression DS and I got from when we visited. It had a fun yet highly academic environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One in the hand is better than two in the air.

I agree 100%. If only Duke was one in the hand for DS...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The last year the CDS is available (entering Fall 2021), Duke had 49,523 applications and admitted 2,911. That's a 5.8% admit rate overall.

Broken down by round:

828 admits out of 5,060 Early Decision applicants (16%) - keep in mind this includes athletes...
2,083 admits out of 44,463 Regular Decision Applicants (~4.7%)

ALSO keep in mind..this was for Fall 2021. The numbers presumably went up (for apps) in Fall 2022.

So I think it's a lottery any way you slice it.

We are pretty set on having DS do Duke ED now. It would be amazing to get in while avoiding that punishing regular decision round.

[Anonymous]

Love your safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know what you guys are smoking but Duke is statistically nearly as as much of a lottery as Harvard and Princeton- in fact more of one from certain schools. They don't like Sidwell for some reason. Duke does favor legacies in ED. Our kids are at a Big 3 school and we saw kids with the exact same stats as the OP's son getting rejected from HYPSM AND Duke and Northwestern. This kid seems like average supersmart kid- a dime a dozen in the DMV. And unless I missed something and the EC's are SUPER SUPER unique or the kid is URM/first gen which was not mentioned, all 3 are a crap shoot and it's ridiculous to try to game this.

Have to agree with the part about Duke having feeder schools. My child is at a T3 equivalent in another city and the have only gotten 3 kids into Duke in the past five years or so and all are recruited athletes. Acceptance rates to H/Y/P are definitely notably. higher from our school.

+1 the only school I've seen consistently get kids into Duke from DMV is TJHSST and maybe Gilman/Chevy Chase.

It may feel like that, but Duke gets applications from more than 13,000 schools, and they admit about 3,000 students. That means there are at least 10,000 schools where they admit no one.

That’s true, but I was specifically referring to the DMV area. Of course other schools around the country and even the world will send more, especially NCSSM.

This year, 3 TJ graduates went to Duke (1 AB Duke, 1 Robertson). In the summer, they had parties for the DMV students headed to Duke, and we saw at least 40 students there (from various DMV schools).

Wow so few, must be one of the lowest in years. Out of curiosity how do you know this level of detail, are you the parent of a Duke student who was at these parties?

Yes, I’m the parent of the TJ graduate who is now at Duke, and we were at the parties. They said that last year, about 6 TJ graduates went to Duke. My child greatly enjoys Duke so far, joined several clubs, published an article in their Chronicle newspaper, and got a part-time job on campus building some websites.

That is great, I am glad to hear your DC is enjoying Duke and taking advantage of its offerings! Out of curiosity, was your DC one of the scholarship winners or were those just the classmates who won the scholarships? And even if your DC wasn't one of the winners, do you know what helped the other two with winning a scholarship to Duke? Even just getting into Duke is so competitive, I can't imagine how hard winning a scholarship is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love your safety.

Thank you, DS does have safety schools that he would be very happy to attend. However he would love the chance to attend Duke/Harvard/Princeton, so we're going to support him in going for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2022 data:

https://today.duke.edu/2022/03/duke-offers-regular-admission-2230-students

Just over 50,000 students applied for admission this year, the most ever. With the 855 students accepted in December as Early Decision applicants, a total of 3,085 have been invited to join the Class of 2026.

Duke received 50,002 applications for undergraduate admissions this year, up about 1 percent over last year’s pool, which saw the largest year-to-year increase in the school’s history.

Of those, 45,941 applied under Duke’s Regular Decision program, up from 44,133 last year. Among the Regular Decision applicant pool, 2,120 students -- 4.6 percent -- will receive a notice of acceptance.

The real question is, how many of these applicants are actually competitive for Duke and how many of them were just added because of Duke basketball?

I'm pretty sure if kids ever got to the point of considering Duke due to basketball without having the academics to back it up, their conversation with their guidance counselor would go something like:

GC: Timmy, what is your top choice for college?
Timmy: I would really love to go to Duke, they have an awesome basketball team and I'd love to go to their games.
GC: Timmy you have a 1000 SAT and a 3.5 GPA. Do you know what it takes to get into Duke?
Timmy: No, is that a problem? It's just a sports school right?
GC: I think there are other schools with good sports teams that would be a better fit for you. You can save your application fee and we'll find some other schools for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2022 data:

https://today.duke.edu/2022/03/duke-offers-regular-admission-2230-students

Just over 50,000 students applied for admission this year, the most ever. With the 855 students accepted in December as Early Decision applicants, a total of 3,085 have been invited to join the Class of 2026.

Duke received 50,002 applications for undergraduate admissions this year, up about 1 percent over last year’s pool, which saw the largest year-to-year increase in the school’s history.

Of those, 45,941 applied under Duke’s Regular Decision program, up from 44,133 last year. Among the Regular Decision applicant pool, 2,120 students -- 4.6 percent -- will receive a notice of acceptance.

The real question is, how many of these applicants are actually competitive for Duke and how many of them were just added because of Duke basketball?

I'm pretty sure if kids ever got to the point of considering Duke due to basketball without having the academics to back it up, their conversation with their guidance counselor would go something like:

GC: Timmy, what is your top choice for college?
Timmy: I would really love to go to Duke, they have an awesome basketball team and I'd love to go to their games.
GC: Timmy you have a 1000 SAT and a 3.5 GPA. Do you know what it takes to get into Duke?
Timmy: No, is that a problem? It's just a sports school right?
GC: I think there are other schools with good sports teams that would be a better fit for you. You can save your application fee and we'll find some other schools for you.

HA I love this little role play. Imagine thinking Duke is just a sports school. Although I can see it happening in less educated areas. Maybe on the west coast the same thing happens with Stanford football.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2022 data:

https://today.duke.edu/2022/03/duke-offers-regular-admission-2230-students

Just over 50,000 students applied for admission this year, the most ever. With the 855 students accepted in December as Early Decision applicants, a total of 3,085 have been invited to join the Class of 2026.

Duke received 50,002 applications for undergraduate admissions this year, up about 1 percent over last year’s pool, which saw the largest year-to-year increase in the school’s history.

Of those, 45,941 applied under Duke’s Regular Decision program, up from 44,133 last year. Among the Regular Decision applicant pool, 2,120 students -- 4.6 percent -- will receive a notice of acceptance.

The real question is, how many of these applicants are actually competitive for Duke and how many of them were just added because of Duke basketball?

I'm pretty sure if kids ever got to the point of considering Duke due to basketball without having the academics to back it up, their conversation with their guidance counselor would go something like:

GC: Timmy, what is your top choice for college?
Timmy: I would really love to go to Duke, they have an awesome basketball team and I'd love to go to their games.
GC: Timmy you have a 1000 SAT and a 3.5 GPA. Do you know what it takes to get into Duke?
Timmy: No, is that a problem? It's just a sports school right?
GC: I think there are other schools with good sports teams that would be a better fit for you. You can save your application fee and we'll find some other schools for you.

Poor Timmy