Early Decision School

I am a senior, and I am trying to decide between a few schools for early decision.

My top 5 choices are:
Williams
Duke
Northwestern
UChicago
Brown

Hoping to major in statistics (possibly double major in economics)

I have toured them all, and I really like all of them

I was hoping that someone could help me choose the one that I might have the best chance of getting into.

My scores are…
SAT: 1500 (780 math, 720 verbal, 22/24 essay)
Subject Tests: 730 U.S. 760 Math 2

GPA: 104.564 on a 100 scale
Rank: 1/231

Freshman classes:
English Honors (A+)
French 2 Honors (A)
Biology Honors (A+)
World History Honors (A+)
Geometry Honors (A+)
Chrous Honors (A+)
Gym/Health (A+)

Sophomore Classes:
English Honors (A+)
French 3 Honors (A+)
Accelerated Algebra 2 (A+)
AP Euro (A+)
Chemistry Honors (A+)
Chorus Honors (A+)

Junior Classes:
AP U.S. Gov (A+)
AP U.S. (A+)
AP Stats (A+)
AP English Lang (A)
Accelerated Pre Calc (A+)
Physics Honors (A+)
French 4 Honors (A+)

Senior Classes:
AP Economics
AP Human Geography
AP Calc BC
AP Physics 1
AP Psychology
AP Englsih Lit
French 5 Honors

Extra Curriculars: (relatively average activities)
President/Founder Social political awareness club
Treasurer mock trial
Secretary of the class
Math team
DECA
Varsity Cross Country and Team Manager
NHS

Awards/Honors: Harvard Book, Overall academic achievement, excellence in ap stats, excellence in accelerated algebra 2, excellence in accelerated pre calc, DECA 3rd place regionals

My essay is definitely good – very personal about my growing up and overcoming selective mutism.

Recs are from ap us history teacher (we got along really well) and ap stats teacher (my best class and my favorite teacher ever)

I may have missed some things, but this is an overview.

Personally, I wouldn’t apply ED at all unless BOTH of the following are true: You have decided for sure that one particular school is your first choice; You can afford to be full pay without taking on any debt (and without dipping into money that would be better saved for graduate school).

@DadTwoGirls My top choice is Duke, but I am really concerned with my test scores since Duke’s averages are so high, so I don’t know if I would even have a shot.

I would be very happy at all 5, and money won’t be a problem. If applying ED will boost my chances, I really want to pick one of these.

Why be concerned about your test scores particularly for Duke? All of your potential choices enroll student bodies with very high standardized scoring ranges – and, not incidentally, for which your scores would seem to be competitive:

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-smartest-colleges-in-america-2016-10/#4-harvey-mudd-college-average-sat-score-1500-48

@merc81 so do you think I should just go for Duke, since it is the one I would love to go to?

It provides a boost, yes.

Note that Chicago also has EA. If you really want to apply early, you could apply ED somewhere (Duke, if it’s your first choice) as well as Chicago EA. EA won’t help you as much at Chicago as the new ED program, admittedly, but it may be good to have two results in December rather than only one.

Yes, particularly since the school, in economics, would be so strongly established in at least one (and maybe both) of your potential academic interests, @John123456789.

“so do you think I should just go for Duke, since it is the one I would love to go to?”

If being full pay is fine, then yes.

Given that they are all affordable for you, choose the one you love the best. You’ll be living and studying there for almost four years. ED can be a huge advantage at all or most of these schools. You seem competitive. However, you can’t know at any of them. A similar student could get accepted at Duke and not Northwestern, and another vice versa. So go with the one where YOU want to be. Good luck!

Go with your first choice or you’ll regret your decision later.

  1. I would only ED if you have a definitive top choice (sounds like Duke) and you have no need to compare financial offers from different schools (which seems to be the case).

  2. I don’t understand why you are concerned with your test scores for Duke in particular when the other schools you listed are also hyper-competitive in terms of admissions.

  3. Hopefully your complete list also includes colleges that are match and safety schools that you would be happy to attend. The schools you listed are reaches for pretty much every unhooked applicant.

@happy1 @I was worried about test scores for Duke because Northwestern, UChicago, and Williams do not require or recoomend subject tests, and I feel like my US History one might hurt me.

All five schools can help you with your goals (major). They all have Econ/Stats programs. Assuming you like all five schools, if I were you, here is how I would approach…put them into three buckets…
Williams (small, top, liberal arts school)
Brown (ivy league…brand, if you care)
Duke, Northwestern, UChicago

If you want a small, liberal arts education, apply to Williams.
If you want an Ivy brand, apply to Brown
If you want a school that you liked the most, apply to Duke

Your grades and rigor are as good as it gets, your test scores are good enough, and your EC’s are decent but at best average for this tier of schools. Applying ED will in all likelihood help you, because you are certainly good enough to be admitted to any/all of these schools, but you are not quite at the level to feel comfortable about your chances in RD either (I would not bet against you, but these are all sub-10% schools …).

The five you mention have some real differences in culture, and that should help drive your choice for ED, as another poster suggests. Williams in a rural LAC and will be completely different from the others–smaller, more isolated, but most likely the most intimate with the smallest classes across the board. Duke and Northwestern are prestigious and large-ish universities with competitive Division 1 athletics and a slight pre-professional bent to their student bodies, but NW is in a huge city and Duke is in a small city; if you like the vibe of these two schools, ask yourself whether you want a huge city or a small one. Brown is in a medium-sized city but in the northeast and relatively near other major metro areas, as well as having a diverse student body which includes a substantial artsy community; Brown also has the most open curriculum of all of your choices. Last, UChicago is an academically-bent community, not pre-professional, with a reputation for hard work and a quirky intellectual student body, plus you are also in a huge city.

These are such different schools, albeit all of top-tier caliber and reputation, that surely the environment and atmosphere of one of them stands out to you. You are not in class for every minute of your four years–you live on the campus, interact with the students, and run around the local area most of the time. Where do you see yourself between classes and on weekends?

Good advice above. I would suggest that you apply ED to Duke – your numbers are terrific and you’ll have a decent chance of admission. But, given that all of these schools are reaches for pretty much everyone, I’d encourage you to prepare RD applications to the other four along with a few matches and even a safety. The application process can be brutal for those without hooks. Good luck!

What state do you come from? Would you provide geographic diversity to any of these schools? I would think being from an underrepresented state might help. Also, according to your school’s naviance, which school takes more kids from your school/ gets the fewest apps from your school etc?

This is one way to look at it: say I could see that Duke accepts 22% of students with my scores/grades and Northwestern accepts 28% of students with same. I’m making up the numbers, but that is the type of choice that you and other students face when applying to these very competitive schools. If Duke were my #1 and and Northwestern my #2, I’d probably go for Duke and forego the slightly higher chances at my #2, but if they were essentially equal, I might go for NU to up my odds. There will always be a chance for regret, but just go for what feels right to YOU. The best thing, though, is that you are in great shape and will be going to a tremendous school next year, so be grateful and happy for that. Good luck!