Early Decision at Duke

Early Decision at Duke November 28, 2013 The Duke Early Decision applicant pool is up 26% this year. Thats quite the jump! Applications for Early Decision at Duke are up tremendously this year. With almost 3,200 students submitting applications in the Early Decision round, Duke saw a whopping 26% rise in applications this fall. The applicant pool was in fact up by more than 600 students over last years pool. According to an article on the Early Decision figures at Duke in Duke Today, The jump from last years 2,540 applications to this years 3,191 represents a record for the number of students applying Early Decision (ED) as well as the largest jump in ED applicants in a single year. 26% is indeed quite the jump for a university! According to the article in Duke Today, Were very pleased with this increase in interest in Duke, said Christoph Guttentag, dean of undergraduate admissions. Its not always easy for students to be ready to make this level of commitment to a college so early in their senior year. The breadth of the pool this year reflects an understanding of the value of a Duke education and the Duke experience among a wide range of students.' An additional 600 applicants is quite the unusual jump in application numbers for Early Decision. Were curious what Duke did differently this year to increase its applicant pool so dramatically. Their basketball team didnt win the NCAA title and applications at Duke are always up the year after a great basketball run in March Madness. Do you think they sent more brochures to students who dont have a shot of getting into Duke? Probably so. Last year, 44% of the incoming class was filled through Early Decision applicants. Do you think this figure will stand for this year? Let us know your thoughts on the subject by posting a Comment below. We look forward to hearing from you! Early Decision at Duke Early Decision at Duke November 7 Dukes Early Decision applications are down this year and, yes, we do believe Mercers upset of Duke in March Madness had something to do with it. The figures for Early Decision at Duke are in. In all, 3,146 students applied through Dukes binding Early Decision program this fall. The 3,146 students are not a high for the university and are indeed down from last years mark of 3,180 Early Decision applicants a drop Ivy Coach accurately forecasted months ago. As weve been saying on the pages of this college admissions blog for years (and as we accurately predicted back in March), Duke is  one of Americas most prestigious universities  but  the number of students that apply both through its Early Decision program and through Regular Decision is correlated with Dukes success in March Madness. As much as Duke may be one of the nations greatest universities outside of basketball, basketball still impacts the undergraduate admissions figures if you track the data over the course of many years. Are there years in which there are exceptions? Yes. But youll note that the 3rd seeded Duke Blue Devils were upstaged by the 14th seede d Mercer Bears in one of the NCAA Tournaments greatest if not the greatest upset last March. Duke did not advance far in the tourney and their admissions figures are down. Coincidence? We think not. According to an article on Early Decision at Duke  in The Duke Chronicle, Through the mid-2000s, Duke consistently admitted approximately 30 percent of each incoming class through early decision. As applications have increased, however—more than doubling from 2002 to 2013—Duke has admitted more of its class early, hitting nearly half of the class last year. We’re pleased at the number of students who have already decided that Duke is their absolute top choice for college, [Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph] Guttentag said in the release. These are students who have outstanding academic and personal qualities, and who are excited at the prospect of attending Duke. They’ve applied from all 50 states and from 62 countries, and we look forward to reading their applications and hearing their stories. According to the release, the Pratt School of Engineering saw an increased number of early applications. The most popular states for applicants were Nor th Carolina, New York, California, Florida, New Jersey and Virginia. Do you disagree with our assessment that Dukes admissions figures are tied, in some way, to Coach Ks teams success in March Madness? Have you read our blog on the admissions impact of our friend Jim Larranagas run with George Mason University  to the Final Four in 2006? If not, check it out and then get back to us on Duke.