Title 1 highly-ranked public magnet HS (ranked as one of “America’s most challenging high schools” by US News & World Reports). I’m only mentioning because it seems like colleges “like” my school.
Class Rank: School doesn’t officially rank but I’ve been told I’m in the top 10%
ACT/SAT Scores: SAT 1470 (750 R&W, 720 Math)
HS coursework
English: Honors English, AP English Language and Composition (5), currently taking AP English Lit.
Math: Honors Algebra, Honors Geometry, AP Precalculus (5), currently taking AP Calc AB
Science: AP Bio (4), Chemistry, AP Computer Science Principles (4); currently taking AP Physics and AP Environmental Science
History and social studies: AP World History (5), AP United States History (5), currently taking AP Government.
Language other than English: French 1, 2, and 3. My school doesn’t offer AP French but I will be taking the AP French test in the spring.
Visual or performing arts: currently enrolled in Art Appreciation through a community college.
Other academic courses: 3 years of Journalism. I’m the Editor-in-Chief of Online Content and Copy Editor ; Teacher’s Assistant (for credit) for a Biology teacher
College Coursework
Meteorology- A
Astronomy- A
Oceanography - A
Psychology- A
Awards
AP Scholar with Distinction
Extracurriculars
Stanford Program for Inspiring the Next Generation of Women in Physics (SPINWIP)- virtual summer outreach program hosted by the Stanford Physics Department and the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, designed to get high-school girls excited about physics (application and LOR required).
UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy - Astronomy Live’s Summer Observing Workshop- 9 week summer program, operated and extracted data from the Nickel Telescope (application and LOR required).
California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) - Cluster 2: Ecosystem Responses to Climate from Plants to Planet- 4 week UCLA summer program. Conducted scientific research and remote sensing to analyze environmental changes relative to climate change. My personal project was published on the NASA JPL website (highly competitive application and LOR required).
Varsity soccer 4 years (Captain)
Varsity track 4 years (Captain)
National Honor Society
President and founder of a youth soccer mentoring program at my school
Volunteer weekly at a local hospital for 3+ years.
Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy volunteer
Volunteer for Pasadena Humane Society
Friends of the LA River volunteer
Babysitting for 4+ years
Pop-up bakery entrepreneur
Essays/LORs/Other
Strong essays
I’ll have strong LORs from my Physics and History teachers. My professor from the UCLA summer program I attended is also writing me a LOR. Considering a supplemental essay from my journalism teacher.
Cost Constraints / Budget: Both schools have a NPC cost that falls within my family’s budget of under $35k/year.
After visiting both campuses, I’m currently deciding between applying ED to either Duke or Dartmouth. I understand that the probability of acceptance at either school is low, but I would appreciate any guidance or advice you might have to help me make this decision.
Another question, since Duke is test optional, do you think I should submit my SAT score?
At this point I’m leaning towards applying to the school where I have the better chance of acceptance, but it seems like they’re tied on this front. Dartmouth’s NPC cost is substantially lower. However, Duke is closer to my family, makes travel easier, and offers better weather. I’m a bit nervous about Greek life at both schools, but it seems like it might be easier to avoid at Duke than at Dartmouth. I’m really excited about the academic programs available at both schools.
75% submit a test - even if a little less (some submit both) - when you take out athletes and other hooked like QB, legacy.
1470 isn’t gonna make your case for admit but not submitting it would be far more damaging in my opinion. In other words, they may not require a test but I think they expect to see one.
Good luck
Ps - you know these are your top 2 but work on the schools that aren’t your top. They are your most important bcuz it’s a good chance you’ll end up at one. Do dig deep to find those you’ll love, get in and can afford.
IMO, you should apply to Dartmouth ED. You are equally excited about the academic programs & avoiding Greek life given the state of things shouldn’t pose a problem. The Dartmouth & Duke RD admit rates are virtually the same, around 3.7% but what about the number of available seats? 1200 at Dartmouth vs. 1750 at Duke. The Dartmouth yield rate is also 10% higher (69% vs. 59% at Duke). Duke has to send out more offer letters to construct its next incoming class.
If you have no plans to invest any time in a retake, then no. Apply test-optional to Duke. The 720 math SAT score is likely to screen you out, in ED or RD. You scored a “5” in AP Precalculus and “4s” & “5s” in several APs. Self-report all of these AP scores to Duke.
I don’t think a person in your position can really judge where you are most likely to be admitted.
So from my perspective, this really comes down to you appear to overall like Duke better, but Dartmouth would be less costly. And then whether the cost difference is worth it becomes a very personal decision for you and your family.
So unfortunately, I think this is one of those things where strangers on the Internet cannot really provide much help as you make a final decision.
The only thing I can add is I personally do not think there is a generic ED “boost” available at these colleges, so I would personally be fine with EDing neither, and seeing what actual offers I got from these colleges and others before finally deciding on how to balance cost versus other attributes.
This means that a large minority (~40%) do not – about 2000 undergrads who are not part of the formal Greek scene. Granted, some of them probably attend, or try to attend, some Greek events. But some surely do not, so if the aim is to avoid Greek life while maintaining a social presence, a kid can likely find opportunities.
Does having to take a bus multiple times daily - bother you - which is what happens first year as the dorms are on another campus (Duke)? Does weather matter? Duke will be moderate where Dartmouth will have a harsh Winter. Does being close to society matter? Duke is - to airports, shopping and more. Do sports matter? Duke has the Cameron Crazies.
There are differences between these two, for sure.
How did past applicants from your HS do (based on Naviance/Scoir data) with similar GPA and test scores? How does your test score compare to the high school average? Beyond that, I would follow your gut feeling as to which one you should ED to. You will also have to make a very compelling and specific argument as to why you belong there, so the more genuine it is, the stronger your application will be.
I noticed you said it’s a title one school - but you also said the #1 magnet. So I thought it might not be low.
Bottom line is - there’s no right answer here.
The likelihood is neither accepts you but at the same time, ED might not matter.
Make sure you are spending the bulk of your time finding those affordable and desirable schools that you’ll likely end up at. These two are easy. You know you’re applying.
But you need to find one to like - that you know you can get into and afford. That part of the list is far more important.
I think you are confusing acceptance rate with yield rate. If College A needs to enroll a first-year class of 900 but only needs to send out 1000 admit offer letters to achieve the target, the result is a 90% yield rate. On the other hand, if College B needs to send out 1800 admit offer letters to achieve the same target of 900, that result is a 50% yield rate.
By the way, the ED admit rate at Dartmouth (≈21%) is actually higher than at Duke (≈14%).
That is 60% of Eligible- eligible doesn’t include first years so its not 60% of all students… rush is second year- which is very different than many schools
Also they don’t have dining in them and most of the members don’t live in the houses. (Though some do) a number are co-ed.
(That said I am all for abolishing Greek life everywhere fwiw) but just pointing that out
I probably overstated my nervousness in light of recent news. I just don’t want Greek life to be the only way of socializing. It seems that won’t be the case at either school. Dartmouth wasn’t even high on my list until I visited it. I really love that they put a lot of consideration into building a tight-knit community.
You might still apply RD - NPCs aren’t always entirely accurate. Many on here post that they got more (sometimes significantly) than the NPCs show. So maybe in reality, if you were accepted, Northwestern might surprise you.
But I still go back to - what are your safe spots - because Duke, Dartmouth and NU would all be highly unlikely. There are schools similar in many ways to all three - but of course, you have budget constraints that will impact that list.