shana22 wrote:
How much weight does Duke put on showing interest through a campus visit or other event? I (unfortunately) did not sign up for an open interview in time and will have to settle for trying to be invited to interview. Would it be a better decision to visit the school and submit my application in R2 or to submit in R1 and not worry about it? Some other schools (such as Stanford and Sloan) note that R1 is usually less competitive than R2 based on the # of applicants. Is this true for Duke? I haven't even attended an information session yet though I have spoken with multiple alumni. I'm scheduled for an information session in my home area, but it's not until early December. It apparently gives you the discount to a $50 application fee but is not going to do me much good in terms of showing interest in the school prior to them reviewing my application.
I'm from New England, in case it matters.
Ok, I"m talking just from my experience here, but here's how I see it:
Lots of prospects first visit the school for their interview. I did, lots of my friends did, etc. I really don't think it hurts you, especially if you've done your homework. (And I'm putting aside the whole "your campus visit will provide rich fodder for your essays" argument.) If your app is ready to go R1, then by all means go R1. You will have a better chance for getting admitted for two reasons:
1. Yes, there are fewer apps in R1 than in R2.
2. Duke handles the waitlst in an interesting way. If you are waitlisted in R1, then you will be reviewed against R2 and R3. If you get waitliest in R2, then you are only reviewed against R3.
That's my take. Also, the open-interview process is new this year. THey just won't have the data to make decisions based on when students interviewed.