<p>The reason I’m finding applying to Duke ED a good choice is because, for the class of 2011, their acceptance rate for ED was 42.5% (a pretty high number considering the caliber of Duke), where as the RD acceptance rate for 2011 was about 19.7%. Compared to Stanford, which has an SCEA acceptance rate of 16.1% and an RD acceptance rate of 10.3%, Duke seems to be by far a better choice to make (if you’re choosing between ED Duke and Stanford SCEA).</p>
<p>I see that applying early vs. regular logically should not be the difference between an acceptance and rejection. But the numbers for Duke are overwhelmingly to the contrary (42.5% vs. 19.7%). It seems that applying early to Duke gives much more weight on your application than applying early at Stanford.</p>
<p>I prefer Stanford. But I do not want to apply SCEA to Stanford if it does not have any real benefits.</p>