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.

Wow thank you so much for compiling this. After looking at some of the profiles through the links, it simultaneously confounds and comforts me. I think the top schools are in reach for DS, but seeing so many rejections as well shows how random the process is. It's also quite impressive how many kids have chosen Duke over other top schools like Princeton and Yale.

Parchment has 21% Duke vs. 79% Princeton for cross-admits, and 23% Duke vs. 77% Yale.

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.

Wow thank you so much for compiling this. After looking at some of the profiles through the links, it simultaneously confounds and comforts me. I think the top schools are in reach for DS, but seeing so many rejections as well shows how random the process is. It's also quite impressive how many kids have chosen Duke over other top schools like Princeton and Yale.

Parchment has 21% Duke vs. 79% Princeton for cross-admits, and 23% Duke vs. 77% Yale.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It matters what high school he is in. Is it public (magnet, top public, regular public), private (top or regular)? Also, is him white, Asian, or URM?

It's a good public school that generally sends kids to top schools each year. For reference, valedictorians and salutatorians (he is on track for salutatorian) in the past few years have gotten into schools like Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, and University of Pennsylvania. We are white.

The most important factor here is does your high school send kids to Duke every year and if so, how many? Duke, way more than Ivy League schools, likes certain high schools more than others. If it's a large, wealthy, suburban public high school that sends kids to Duke regulary, I think your DS has a very good shot. Good luck!

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.

Wow thank you so much for compiling this. After looking at some of the profiles through the links, it simultaneously confounds and comforts me. I think the top schools are in reach for DS, but seeing so many rejections as well shows how random the process is. It's also quite impressive how many kids have chosen Duke over other top schools like Princeton and Yale.

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.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It matters what high school he is in. Is it public (magnet, top public, regular public), private (top or regular)? Also, is him white, Asian, or URM?

It's a good public school that generally sends kids to top schools each year. For reference, valedictorians and salutatorians (he is on track for salutatorian) in the past few years have gotten into schools like Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, and University of Pennsylvania. We are white.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Ah. First timer. Unfortunately it does not work that way. Just because you see similar stats on Naviance getting accepted to the reach school you are searching, does not mean you have a good chance. I suggest you also see how many similar and even higher stats got rejected. Furthermore, I think Naviance is misleading since it is self reported data. In your kid's circumstances, I think they should go with Duke.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now people are getting a little too negative perhaps.
He has a really strong profile and will have a good shot at duke ED.
The other two are total lotteries.
(And your overall list looks good).

I appreciate how well OP has taken the feedback. That’s rare on here. Wishing your family the best.

Anonymous wrote:

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

This.

OP, you should be prepared that while things may work out, your kid may get rejected from all three of these schools. Be sure to have a lot of back up plans in place.

Anonymous wrote:Harvard grad from above here.

To answer your questions, I think the reason people mostly don’t like Harvard is that they choose to attend not bc there is something they love about the school but bc they didn’t want to turn it down bc of the name. In part because of this, it doesn’t have a lot of school spirit.
Also there is for sure less of a focus on undergrads than even some of the other Ivies. (Don’t know re Duke).
I think they get away with a lot bc they are Harvard.
I didn’t like a lot of things about it and it definitely was the lowest point of my life with regard to my mental health
I was well rounded - athlete and captain and such - in high school like your son.
I think it is better for pointier students who have their one thing they are good at and they hang out w other students who do that thing.
My friends who played sports there really liked it for example bc they had a built in community.
That said, I do have a few lifelong friends from there who i love. Also I - like most Harvard grads - do like having a degree from there now that I don’t have to live there anymore and now that I am well past it and have gotten my confidence back.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does he have reasons to apply to any of these schools? Can he list the professors he’s excited about studying with? Has he read their papers and emailed their grad students? Are there particular programs that he is excited about contributing to?

He does not have specific professors in mind at any of the schools, but from what I can remember he likes a few specific things about Duke such as their Bass Connections Research programs with focuses on fact-checking and voting integrity, FOCUS clusters in mathematics, Data+ Summer Research opportunities, and their program in American Grand Strategy. I'm sure there's more that he's researched/heard about as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Some of his national awards are generic (like AP Scholar) but some are quite unique and competitive - his written award winning essays and entered national (maybe even international, not entirely sure) economics competitions and done well, among other things. He is not at the level of being recruited for sports, certainly not by Duke, but he still puts a lot of time into them.

The time he spent on sports speaks to his commitment, leadership, and discipline - and his ability to earn top grades even with that time commitment. But it doesn’t add much to campus life given the colleges already take so many athletes, including through the recruitment process. It’s not as big of a plus as many parents think based on the huge level of commitment it required of their family.

Anonymous wrote:

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.