<p>I am a Duke junior who stumbled upon these websites and decided to register to offer the one bit of advice I have for those hellbent on attending Duke but who were deferred.</p>
<p>One of my favorite people at Duke was deferred early decision (lucky for me she got in during regular!). In December, shortly after she learned she wasn't accepted, she researched who the reader for her area was (there are admissions reps assigned to different parts of the country) and she wrote her a candid, 2-page handwritten letter on why she felt like Duke was her home. She also included a new application essay with her letter (it went along with the letter), that she said she thought "reflected her as a candidate more precisely."</p>
<p>Who knows, maybe this won't work for you. It did get my friend, however, not only a postcard of appreciation a few weeks later (before reg. decisions) from the admissions rep, but also a thick packet in April....</p>
<p>Good luck and don't give up hope. </p>
<p>p.s. (sorry for the bad grammar & spelling, I'm quite sleepy)</p>
<p>-Duke class of 2006</p>