<p>Time: 1:16 (Not that it matters?)</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2240 Superscore (800M, 750CR, 690W); 2210 single sitting (800M, 720CR, 690W)
[</em>] ACT: 35 (single sitting)
[<em>] SAT II: 780 Math II, 780 Physics, 750 US History
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
[<em>] Weighted GPA: ~4.5
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/143 or top 5%
[<em>] AP (place score in parentheses): Stats (5), Calc AB + Calc BC (5s), US History (5), Physics B (5), AP US and Comp Gov (4s)
[</em>] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: 4 APs (Chem, Mod, Physics C, English Lit), 1 college math class (Calc III and IV), and 1 arts class (Band).
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Major is pretty subjective, but National Merit Finalist is about it, I think
[/ul]</p>
<p>Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): 4 Years Varsity Cross Country (1 x Coaches award, 2 x MVP, 1 x regional qualifier, various other local honors like first team conference, etc., senior year captain); 4 Years Varsity Swimming (1 x most improved, 2 years captain, 1 x district qualifier); 3 Years Varsity Track (1 x most improved, senior year captain). 3 years Student Government (representative); 2 Years Science Olympiad(state qualifying team, 2 x 6th place State Tournament); National Honor Society (member 11th, president 12th); Band, Marching and Concert (representative 10th, president 12th)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Medical research over summer junior year
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: 5 years at my local safety town; 1 year with my band director preparing sheet music and the marching band shows for the upcoming year
[</em>] Summer Activities:See above Work/Volunteering
[<em>] Essays: I find it very hard to accurately assess the quality of my own essays, given that I spent a lot of time writing them, but I do think that it possibly helped that I wrote two supplemental essays, one about summer research I did and one on why I thought Duke was an excellent university.
[</em>] Teacher Recommendations: I dont get to read my teacher recs, but the people I chose to wrote them are really fantastic and I had them for multiple years in high school, so I figured I had built close relationships with them. If I had to guess, since both are excellent writers, they were hopefully very good
[li] Interview: Had an interesting interview situation; was contacted for one, but then my interviewer did not follow up on it. Just goes to show you that you don’t need to fret if you don’t get one</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]
Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: Sure didn’t
[</em>] Intended Major: Physics
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): USA
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: White
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: Affluent
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Nope[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Again, hard to assess especially because its hard to judge your own essays. I would say the depth and diversity of my ECs, the passion I (hopefully) showed in my essays and activities, and pretty good grades/rank. Teacher recs for sure.
[</em>] Weaknesses: Possibly my test scores. I was pleased with them, but based on what the article seemed to convey, I might well have been on the lower end of the spectrum. Its a matter of opinion here again. I wouldve liked my SAT a bit higher, most notably in the writing section, but it was okay enough, I thought. Depending on who read them, possibly my essays.
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Luck! I cannot emphasize that enough. The applicant pool to Duke is positively outstanding and I’m just fortunate that the cards fell my way on this.<br>[/li][/ul]General Comments: </p>
<p>I am ecstatic to be fortunate (and lucky!) enough to accepted to a wonderful school like Duke! To those who unfortunately weren’t accepted, I know how trite this sounds (especially after being rejected from Stanford), but I think a lot of people underestimate the role sheer chance and luck plays in this. You are all amazing people and will attend excellent schools; this is what led you to Duke! If I could offer one piece of advice to prospective students, I would say to definitely write the optional essays - I don’t know if it helps, but I feel strongly that they did not hurt as someone who was likely a borderline applicant.</p>
i didn’t really want to go to the school, so maybe that showed in my application. but that’s okay, I don’t think I’m a good fit for the school anyway, doesn’t even have my major. also, it seems they were looking for scientists, of which I am not.</p>
You’ll fit right in, buddy.</p>