ok, so i’m cruising through the 2020 RD/2021 ED threads, and everyone that got in seemed to have a 4.0 or very close. It didn’t seem like anybody had anything less. I’m an Indian male, with very good test scores, decent ECs, pretty good essays, and a 3.85 on the upward trend (3.95 --provided u take away frosh year). Do I stand a chance against the 4.0 demigods?
If you don’t mind me asking, what are your test scores?
@chaley122 35 ACT, 790 Math II, 770 Physics.
I’m pretty sure you’ve got a shot. I’m an Asian male myself, and got into Duke (Class of 2019) with a lower GPA than yours.
bump bump
@idoc97 may i ask if you had any outstanding, national level ECs? and what major are you right now?
You have an excellent shot! I am no expert but colleges tend to be more lenient with GPA if the test scores are as good as yours! I’m assuming a pretty competitive course load? Just boost your ECs and really make your essays personal! You’re going to go somewhere great!
If you come from a strong high school who has sent a bunch of students to top colleges, 3.85 is perfectly fine. The average accepted GPA accepted to Duke coming from my high school was a 3.72.
@MBVLoveless nobody from my high school gets into Duke, but we do send a handful of kids to the Ivies. I think this is becuz we are in New England. Due to the sad, but true state of yield management, I don’t think Duke will accept many from our region unless they believe they have a real reason to come there.
Your fine… schools barely look at freshman year anyways, some don’t even consider it. First of all a 3.85 GPA isn’t bad and won’t disqualify you for any school or be looked down on (as long as you took challenging courses) and colleges will probably view your GPA more like a 3.93 given freshman year and the upward trend.
From what I understand, once you’re academically qualified, they move on to recs, essays, and ECs, vs nitpicking between a 3.85 and a 3.94.
I got a B in calc BC. I was so scared this would hurt my chances. I got in. Don’t worry, you’ve done all you can and they know you can handle the work. Have faith in the process but also don’t take it personally because it is incredibly competitive.
Considering some of the states that Duke students hail from in largest number (NY, NJ, PA) are in New England, your statement does not appear to be correct. Duke does not practice yield management by trying to gauge somebody’s likelihood to attend (unlike a school like Wash U which does actively assess that). They do not track level of interest, if you visited, etc. The only “yield management” may be by virtue of some bump during the ED round, but as part of the RD pool, Duke tries to admit the strongest applicants and then convince them to attend. Some people agree with this strategy and some do not (as they lament Duke’s “low” yield). California always has a very large number of Duke students (second to NC only) and obviously isn’t anywhere close to NC (and there are plenty of good schools in Cali that Duke would be competing with).
NY, NJ and PA are not part of New England. 
I also do not believe yield management is the issue and they will seek to accept a good fit regardless of where the student is from.
Yeah, I extended the boundary a little admittedly. 
I get that they’re technically not New England, but if you’re only going to count Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont as states from that part of the country, no school outside that region is going to have many students from those states since their populations are tiny. MA and CT are #14 and #15 on Duke’s list, which is pretty decent. (As those are the only two true NE states within the top 40 of US population).