Help DS Decide: Duke ED or Harvard/Princeton REA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid isn’t getting into Harvard or Princeton. Not gonna happen.

Why not? These schools are a crapshoot and as long as you hit the minimum anything is fair game. Anecdotal but the valedictorian at my son’s public school with a 1550 SAT and solid extracurriculars (nothing unheard of though) got into only Harvard and Georgetown out of his reach schools after applying to 3 other ivies, Duke, and Northwestern. Of course he was more than happy to attend Harvard but there were certainly kids we thought were “stronger” who didn’t even get waitlisted at Harvard while getting into some of the schools he was rejected from. It’s all a lottery.

Did he apply Harvard early action or regular decision?

He applied regular to Harvard. He deferred then rejected from Princeton early action.

+1. for some reasons, Princeton does not like kids from DMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: If not admitted early, to which other schools would your son apply ?

Decent boost for leadership as captain of an athletic team regardless of whether or not he continues playing that sport.

If your son has an above average chance for Harvard or Princeton and he likes each school, then go for it unless he loves Duke and just likes the other two.

I assure you that some recent Duke grads did not place well in the job market.

If not admitted early to Duke, he would apply to schools like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, UVA, University of Maryland, and some others. I believe Fordham gives scholarships for national merit scholars too.

I agree not everyone at top schools get the best placements, that's just bound to happen especially with the current economy. Even Harvard grads likely flounder every now and then, but it's good to hear that many people know Duke grads from the DMV who have gone on to do great things.

Are you in Maryland? If so, I would spend the time after he submits his ED app looking for some additional safeties and even targets. UVA was very tough for OOS applicants last year even for kids with stats like your son’s, it won’t be a safety for him. And other than MD and Fordham, the other schools have low enough acceptance rates to be reaches for all kids.

[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!

This is the only part of this student's record that could translate into admissions at Harvard, Princeton, and Duke. Nothing else listed here stands out that much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid isn’t getting into Harvard or Princeton. Not gonna happen.

Why not? These schools are a crapshoot and as long as you hit the minimum anything is fair game. Anecdotal but the valedictorian at my son’s public school with a 1550 SAT and solid extracurriculars (nothing unheard of though) got into only Harvard and Georgetown out of his reach schools after applying to 3 other ivies, Duke, and Northwestern. Of course he was more than happy to attend Harvard but there were certainly kids we thought were “stronger” who didn’t even get waitlisted at Harvard while getting into some of the schools he was rejected from. It’s all a lottery.

Did he apply Harvard early action or regular decision?

He applied regular to Harvard. He deferred then rejected from Princeton early action.

+1. for some reasons, Princeton does not like kids from DMV.

Maybe, I don't think it's a regional thing, they take plenty of kids from the DMV. For what it's worth, arguably Sidwell's most influential business alumnus is a Princeton graduate: Mason Morfit, the CEO of the major hedge fund ValueAct Capital. Unrelated but funny is that the founder of ValueAct and Mason's former boss before handing the reins to him actually went to Duke for undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid isn’t getting into Harvard or Princeton. Not gonna happen.

Why not? These schools are a crapshoot and as long as you hit the minimum anything is fair game. Anecdotal but the valedictorian at my son’s public school with a 1550 SAT and solid extracurriculars (nothing unheard of though) got into only Harvard and Georgetown out of his reach schools after applying to 3 other ivies, Duke, and Northwestern. Of course he was more than happy to attend Harvard but there were certainly kids we thought were “stronger” who didn’t even get waitlisted at Harvard while getting into some of the schools he was rejected from. It’s all a lottery.

Did he apply Harvard early action or regular decision?

He applied regular to Harvard. He deferred then rejected from Princeton early action.

+1. for some reasons, Princeton does not like kids from DMV.

Maybe, I don't think it's a regional thing, they take plenty of kids from the DMV. For what it's worth, arguably Sidwell's most influential business alumnus is a Princeton graduate: Mason Morfit, the CEO of the major hedge fund ValueAct Capital. Unrelated but funny is that the founder of ValueAct and Mason's former boss before handing the reins to him actually went to Duke for undergrad.

Princeton took a lot of fewer kids from DC than Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid isn’t getting into Harvard or Princeton. Not gonna happen.

Why not? These schools are a crapshoot and as long as you hit the minimum anything is fair game. Anecdotal but the valedictorian at my son’s public school with a 1550 SAT and solid extracurriculars (nothing unheard of though) got into only Harvard and Georgetown out of his reach schools after applying to 3 other ivies, Duke, and Northwestern. Of course he was more than happy to attend Harvard but there were certainly kids we thought were “stronger” who didn’t even get waitlisted at Harvard while getting into some of the schools he was rejected from. It’s all a lottery.

Did he apply Harvard early action or regular decision?

He applied regular to Harvard. He deferred then rejected from Princeton early action.

+1. for some reasons, Princeton does not like kids from DMV.

Maybe, I don't think it's a regional thing, they take plenty of kids from the DMV. For what it's worth, arguably Sidwell's most influential business alumnus is a Princeton graduate: Mason Morfit, the CEO of the major hedge fund ValueAct Capital. Unrelated but funny is that the founder of ValueAct and Mason's former boss before handing the reins to him actually went to Duke for undergrad.

I saw Mason Morfit's wedding coverage on Vogue, it looked super elegant! He married Jordana Brewster from Fast and Furious. For those curious: https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/jordana-brewster-mason-morfit-wedding-villa-montecito

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid isn’t getting into Harvard or Princeton. Not gonna happen.

Why not? These schools are a crapshoot and as long as you hit the minimum anything is fair game. Anecdotal but the valedictorian at my son’s public school with a 1550 SAT and solid extracurriculars (nothing unheard of though) got into only Harvard and Georgetown out of his reach schools after applying to 3 other ivies, Duke, and Northwestern. Of course he was more than happy to attend Harvard but there were certainly kids we thought were “stronger” who didn’t even get waitlisted at Harvard while getting into some of the schools he was rejected from. It’s all a lottery.

Did he apply Harvard early action or regular decision?

He applied regular to Harvard. He deferred then rejected from Princeton early action.

+1. for some reasons, Princeton does not like kids from DMV.

Maybe, I don't think it's a regional thing, they take plenty of kids from the DMV. For what it's worth, arguably Sidwell's most influential business alumnus is a Princeton graduate: Mason Morfit, the CEO of the major hedge fund ValueAct Capital. Unrelated but funny is that the founder of ValueAct and Mason's former boss before handing the reins to him actually went to Duke for undergrad.

Wow I didn't know a Sidwell man runs ValueAct. Josh Aaronson from Succession is actually based off the founder of ValueAct, which I assume is the Duke guy you're talking about. I wonder if Mason is actively involved with Sidwell still.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid isn’t getting into Harvard or Princeton. Not gonna happen.

Why not? These schools are a crapshoot and as long as you hit the minimum anything is fair game. Anecdotal but the valedictorian at my son’s public school with a 1550 SAT and solid extracurriculars (nothing unheard of though) got into only Harvard and Georgetown out of his reach schools after applying to 3 other ivies, Duke, and Northwestern. Of course he was more than happy to attend Harvard but there were certainly kids we thought were “stronger” who didn’t even get waitlisted at Harvard while getting into some of the schools he was rejected from. It’s all a lottery.

Did he apply Harvard early action or regular decision?

He applied regular to Harvard. He deferred then rejected from Princeton early action.

+1. for some reasons, Princeton does not like kids from DMV.

Maybe, I don't think it's a regional thing, they take plenty of kids from the DMV. For what it's worth, arguably Sidwell's most influential business alumnus is a Princeton graduate: Mason Morfit, the CEO of the major hedge fund ValueAct Capital. Unrelated but funny is that the founder of ValueAct and Mason's former boss before handing the reins to him actually went to Duke for undergrad.

Wow I didn't know a Sidwell man runs ValueAct. Josh Aaronson from Succession is actually based off the founder of ValueAct, which I assume is the Duke guy you're talking about. I wonder if Mason is actively involved with Sidwell still.

Ooohhh that's very interesting. Aside from the Roys being based on the Murdochs, I couldn't tell which Succession characters were based off real people. Per Google, the Duke guy who founded ValueAct is named Jeff Ubben.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid isn’t getting into Harvard or Princeton. Not gonna happen.

Why not? These schools are a crapshoot and as long as you hit the minimum anything is fair game. Anecdotal but the valedictorian at my son’s public school with a 1550 SAT and solid extracurriculars (nothing unheard of though) got into only Harvard and Georgetown out of his reach schools after applying to 3 other ivies, Duke, and Northwestern. Of course he was more than happy to attend Harvard but there were certainly kids we thought were “stronger” who didn’t even get waitlisted at Harvard while getting into some of the schools he was rejected from. It’s all a lottery.

Did he apply Harvard early action or regular decision?

He applied regular to Harvard. He deferred then rejected from Princeton early action.

+1. for some reasons, Princeton does not like kids from DMV.

Maybe, I don't think it's a regional thing, they take plenty of kids from the DMV. For what it's worth, arguably Sidwell's most influential business alumnus is a Princeton graduate: Mason Morfit, the CEO of the major hedge fund ValueAct Capital. Unrelated but funny is that the founder of ValueAct and Mason's former boss before handing the reins to him actually went to Duke for undergrad.

Wow I didn't know a Sidwell man runs ValueAct. Josh Aaronson from Succession is actually based off the founder of ValueAct, which I assume is the Duke guy you're talking about. I wonder if Mason is actively involved with Sidwell still.

Ooohhh that's very interesting. Aside from the Roys being based on the Murdochs, I couldn't tell which Succession characters were based off real people. Per Google, the Duke guy who founded ValueAct is named Jeff Ubben.

I'm in finance and Jeff Ubben is well known in the industry. He's a top activist investor who pushed for some of the biggest changes in Microsoft, Exxon, and Fox (his role at Fox was part of where they got Josh Aaronson from). A lot of investors are trying to follow his playbook as his activism has led to great returns for ValueAct, although he's not the originator of the style. He's also pretty involved with Duke seemingly, he's on their board of trustees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid isn’t getting into Harvard or Princeton. Not gonna happen.

Why not? These schools are a crapshoot and as long as you hit the minimum anything is fair game. Anecdotal but the valedictorian at my son’s public school with a 1550 SAT and solid extracurriculars (nothing unheard of though) got into only Harvard and Georgetown out of his reach schools after applying to 3 other ivies, Duke, and Northwestern. Of course he was more than happy to attend Harvard but there were certainly kids we thought were “stronger” who didn’t even get waitlisted at Harvard while getting into some of the schools he was rejected from. It’s all a lottery.

Did he apply Harvard early action or regular decision?

He applied regular to Harvard. He deferred then rejected from Princeton early action.

+1. for some reasons, Princeton does not like kids from DMV.

Maybe, I don't think it's a regional thing, they take plenty of kids from the DMV. For what it's worth, arguably Sidwell's most influential business alumnus is a Princeton graduate: Mason Morfit, the CEO of the major hedge fund ValueAct Capital. Unrelated but funny is that the founder of ValueAct and Mason's former boss before handing the reins to him actually went to Duke for undergrad.

Wow I didn't know a Sidwell man runs ValueAct. Josh Aaronson from Succession is actually based off the founder of ValueAct, which I assume is the Duke guy you're talking about. I wonder if Mason is actively involved with Sidwell still.

Sidwell graduates lots of high performing people every year. Many are bound to be leaders in some capacity. I'd argue Sidwell is our best prep school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid isn’t getting into Harvard or Princeton. Not gonna happen.

Why not? These schools are a crapshoot and as long as you hit the minimum anything is fair game. Anecdotal but the valedictorian at my son’s public school with a 1550 SAT and solid extracurriculars (nothing unheard of though) got into only Harvard and Georgetown out of his reach schools after applying to 3 other ivies, Duke, and Northwestern. Of course he was more than happy to attend Harvard but there were certainly kids we thought were “stronger” who didn’t even get waitlisted at Harvard while getting into some of the schools he was rejected from. It’s all a lottery.

Did he apply Harvard early action or regular decision?

He applied regular to Harvard. He deferred then rejected from Princeton early action.

+1. for some reasons, Princeton does not like kids from DMV.

Maybe, I don't think it's a regional thing, they take plenty of kids from the DMV. For what it's worth, arguably Sidwell's most influential business alumnus is a Princeton graduate: Mason Morfit, the CEO of the major hedge fund ValueAct Capital. Unrelated but funny is that the founder of ValueAct and Mason's former boss before handing the reins to him actually went to Duke for undergrad.

Wow I didn't know a Sidwell man runs ValueAct. Josh Aaronson from Succession is actually based off the founder of ValueAct, which I assume is the Duke guy you're talking about. I wonder if Mason is actively involved with Sidwell still.

Sidwell graduates lots of high performing people every year. Many are bound to be leaders in some capacity. I'd argue Sidwell is our best prep school.

How hard is it to prep genetically privileged. If top schools were really interested in helping underprivileged, they wouldn't accept private prep school applicants. With their endowments and sport franchises, education is just a tax loop hole, they don't need tuition money to survive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid isn’t getting into Harvard or Princeton. Not gonna happen.

Why not? These schools are a crapshoot and as long as you hit the minimum anything is fair game. Anecdotal but the valedictorian at my son’s public school with a 1550 SAT and solid extracurriculars (nothing unheard of though) got into only Harvard and Georgetown out of his reach schools after applying to 3 other ivies, Duke, and Northwestern. Of course he was more than happy to attend Harvard but there were certainly kids we thought were “stronger” who didn’t even get waitlisted at Harvard while getting into some of the schools he was rejected from. It’s all a lottery.

Did he apply Harvard early action or regular decision?

He applied regular to Harvard. He deferred then rejected from Princeton early action.

+1. for some reasons, Princeton does not like kids from DMV.

Maybe, I don't think it's a regional thing, they take plenty of kids from the DMV. For what it's worth, arguably Sidwell's most influential business alumnus is a Princeton graduate: Mason Morfit, the CEO of the major hedge fund ValueAct Capital. Unrelated but funny is that the founder of ValueAct and Mason's former boss before handing the reins to him actually went to Duke for undergrad.

Wow I didn't know a Sidwell man runs ValueAct. Josh Aaronson from Succession is actually based off the founder of ValueAct, which I assume is the Duke guy you're talking about. I wonder if Mason is actively involved with Sidwell still.

Sidwell graduates lots of high performing people every year. Many are bound to be leaders in some capacity. I'd argue Sidwell is our best prep school.

How hard is it to prep genetically privileged. If top schools were really interested in helping underprivileged, they wouldn't accept private prep school applicants. With their endowments and sport franchises, education is just a tax loop hole, they don't need tuition money to survive.

That's only true of some schools, most still need to ask for tuition. And in a competitive education environment, each school is incentivized to be the best. For every Duke there's a Harvard stealing their best applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid isn’t getting into Harvard or Princeton. Not gonna happen.

Why not? These schools are a crapshoot and as long as you hit the minimum anything is fair game. Anecdotal but the valedictorian at my son’s public school with a 1550 SAT and solid extracurriculars (nothing unheard of though) got into only Harvard and Georgetown out of his reach schools after applying to 3 other ivies, Duke, and Northwestern. Of course he was more than happy to attend Harvard but there were certainly kids we thought were “stronger” who didn’t even get waitlisted at Harvard while getting into some of the schools he was rejected from. It’s all a lottery.

Did he apply Harvard early action or regular decision?

He applied regular to Harvard. He deferred then rejected from Princeton early action.

+1. for some reasons, Princeton does not like kids from DMV.

Maybe, I don't think it's a regional thing, they take plenty of kids from the DMV. For what it's worth, arguably Sidwell's most influential business alumnus is a Princeton graduate: Mason Morfit, the CEO of the major hedge fund ValueAct Capital. Unrelated but funny is that the founder of ValueAct and Mason's former boss before handing the reins to him actually went to Duke for undergrad.

Wow I didn't know a Sidwell man runs ValueAct. Josh Aaronson from Succession is actually based off the founder of ValueAct, which I assume is the Duke guy you're talking about. I wonder if Mason is actively involved with Sidwell still.

Sidwell graduates lots of high performing people every year. Many are bound to be leaders in some capacity. I'd argue Sidwell is our best prep school.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid isn’t getting into Harvard or Princeton. Not gonna happen.

Why not? These schools are a crapshoot and as long as you hit the minimum anything is fair game. Anecdotal but the valedictorian at my son’s public school with a 1550 SAT and solid extracurriculars (nothing unheard of though) got into only Harvard and Georgetown out of his reach schools after applying to 3 other ivies, Duke, and Northwestern. Of course he was more than happy to attend Harvard but there were certainly kids we thought were “stronger” who didn’t even get waitlisted at Harvard while getting into some of the schools he was rejected from. It’s all a lottery.

Did he apply Harvard early action or regular decision?

He applied regular to Harvard. He deferred then rejected from Princeton early action.

+1. for some reasons, Princeton does not like kids from DMV.

Maybe, I don't think it's a regional thing, they take plenty of kids from the DMV. For what it's worth, arguably Sidwell's most influential business alumnus is a Princeton graduate: Mason Morfit, the CEO of the major hedge fund ValueAct Capital. Unrelated but funny is that the founder of ValueAct and Mason's former boss before handing the reins to him actually went to Duke for undergrad.

Wow I didn't know a Sidwell man runs ValueAct. Josh Aaronson from Succession is actually based off the founder of ValueAct, which I assume is the Duke guy you're talking about. I wonder if Mason is actively involved with Sidwell still.

Ooohhh that's very interesting. Aside from the Roys being based on the Murdochs, I couldn't tell which Succession characters were based off real people. Per Google, the Duke guy who founded ValueAct is named Jeff Ubben.

I didn't know Succession was based on real people at all. It makes sense looking back at it though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid isn’t getting into Harvard or Princeton. Not gonna happen.

Why not? These schools are a crapshoot and as long as you hit the minimum anything is fair game. Anecdotal but the valedictorian at my son’s public school with a 1550 SAT and solid extracurriculars (nothing unheard of though) got into only Harvard and Georgetown out of his reach schools after applying to 3 other ivies, Duke, and Northwestern. Of course he was more than happy to attend Harvard but there were certainly kids we thought were “stronger” who didn’t even get waitlisted at Harvard while getting into some of the schools he was rejected from. It’s all a lottery.

Did he apply Harvard early action or regular decision?

He applied regular to Harvard. He deferred then rejected from Princeton early action.

+1. for some reasons, Princeton does not like kids from DMV.

Maybe, I don't think it's a regional thing, they take plenty of kids from the DMV. For what it's worth, arguably Sidwell's most influential business alumnus is a Princeton graduate: Mason Morfit, the CEO of the major hedge fund ValueAct Capital. Unrelated but funny is that the founder of ValueAct and Mason's former boss before handing the reins to him actually went to Duke for undergrad.

I saw Mason Morfit's wedding coverage on Vogue, it looked super elegant! He married Jordana Brewster from Fast and Furious. For those curious: https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/jordana-brewster-mason-morfit-wedding-villa-montecito

Looks like every other rich person wedding to me. Many of these Princeton and Duke and Harvard grads will go on to have weddings like this, it's nothing special for their ilk.