What's my best option?

warblersrule
Tue, 13 Oct 2020 21:06:54 +0000

I’ve always disagreed with the common opinion that an ED school has to be the school you place on a pedestal above all others. In my opinion, it simply needs to be a place you’re 100% comfortable attending. Columbia ED/Chicago EA was a very popular combination for years, for example, because many students felt they’d be comfortable attending either university and wanted to maximize their chances of getting into at least one of them.

That said, I’m hesitant to recommend applying ED to a school you haven’t visited, particularly since Duke is a very different school from UCLA and USC. (I have attended two of these and taught at the third.)

If you feel Duke is a place you might like to attend but are worried you won’t be admitted in the RD round, consider applying Early Action to a couple of similar but less selective schools like Rhodes and U Richmond.