<p>So i know everyone posts these types of things, but I come from a small school and I really don't know if I'm being unrealistic in hoping to possibly get in to Duke. So I'm white, and here's my info:</p>
<p>Academics:
Four AP classes out of Six my school offers:
AP English Literature (two block-schedule semesters)
AP European History (one block-schedule semester)
AP Physics (two block-schedule semesters)
AP Calculus (two block-schedule semesters)
- Model United Nations
- National Honors Society</p>
<p>Athletics:
- Varsity Cross Country (two years)
- Varsity Track & Field (one year)
- Berkshire Scholar Award (having an A average while doing varsity athletics)</p>
<p>Employment:
- Mayflower Inn & Spa- a Five star restaurant/hotel, ranked number #2 in the nation, been working for over a year</p>
<p>Other stuff:
- 5 years of formal guitar lessons and performing for church concerts
- Peer Leadership (a teambuilding trip for a few selected "leaders")
- Various music recording workshops</p>
<p>Thanks for any help you can give, and for telling me if i'm being a bit dreamy by thinking I can get in.</p>
<p>Your academics and ECs look fine, if you’re taking advantage of all the advanced classes and opportunities available to you… just try to get those test scores up as high as you can in the next few months (assuming you’re a rising senior), and you’ll have a good shot.</p>
<p>I saw this program called 4+1 to get Masters of Science and Bachelor’s in five years…</p>
<p>Does anyone know about this and how Engineering Management program is like in Duke???</p>
<p>I’d like to apply to Duke Pratt (possibly ED), and I want to see what the program is really about and if it’s a safe degree for future job markets…</p>
<p>And how prestigious is EE in Duke?? Compared to UCLA??</p>
<p>well thanks guys!
and yes i’m a rising senior so i hope to improve the ACT, and possibly take the SAT for a third time.
are those standardized test scores the weakest point in my “resume”?</p>
<p>I don’t see anything that special in your resume that would make up for your below average SAT/ACT scores compared to other dukies. So unless you raise your standardized test scores, duke might be a high reach for you. Just work real hard on getting those scores up. Best of luck</p>
<p>My son was a Duke tour guide and he was informed that one in four Dukies has an 800 in Math on the SAT. He had a 780 and still struggled…there are many math savants in every classroom. The engineering program is very demanding and relies on top math skills.<br>
Without a hook, I would say Duke is a no go for you. That said, our Duke son increased his test scores mightily October of his senior year and this could also be your fate if you focus on your testing. Your scores are very solid now for many very fine colleges with excellent profs and demanding classes…
Do not make the mistake of considering Duke to be anything but a big reach…and make sure to apply to schools thrilled to get you. Males with your scores are sought after in many of our nations best liberal arts colleges that get too many female applicants and want to keep their student body balanced by gender.
PS…big melville fan here…and the Duke U President…is a Melville Hawthorne expert BTW.</p>
<p>“Without a hook, I would say Duke is a no go for you.”</p>
<p>I disagree. I had a 720 in Math and I was able to transfer into Pratt Engineering where they accepted 50 students out of a pool of almost 800. I didn’t have any special “hooks” for me seeing how the only things I did were ECs like track and student government, which TC is clearly doing.</p>
<p>Just keep up with all of your ECs, and try to get leadership positions in as much as you can. If there’s no penalty in retaking your SATs, then I would study up again and just do the best you can to see if you can score higher to up your chances.</p>
<p>Make sure your teachers can write you solid recommendations and try to make your essays honest and unique.</p>
<p>There are so many applicants that apply and almost all of them are top students. Honestly, I believe that it’s all up to luck in the end.</p>
<p>Unless you come from a severely underrepresented state, things don’t look very good for you. An unhooked white male would need about a 2250 composite SAT score/33-34 total on the ACT, a 3.9 UW GPA in the hardest curriculum possible and a ranking in at least the top 10% to be considered “competitive”.</p>
<p>None of your extracurriculars really make you stand out either from the rest of the Duke applicant pool. Your best shot if you really love Duke would be to raise your SAT score to at least 2250 and apply ED. Even then, I would put your chances below 50%.</p>
<p>“Unless you come from a severely underrepresented state, things don’t look very good for you. An unhooked white male would need about a 2250 composite SAT score/33-34 total on the ACT, a 3.9 UW GPA in the hardest curriculum possible and a ranking in at least the top 10% to be considered “competitive”.”</p>
<p>Really, I must admit that the stats are abit below median. However, you might wanna add to the list of “unless…” Sometimes a hook is unnoticed, and college wanna shape up diverse classes, so the classic profile is just plain ridiculous. At a college like Duke, its often not surprising for a guy with a same profile being admitted at one year and rejected outright at another year if he happens to apply (hypothetically, I know this doesn’t happen). This is why admission stuff is complicated. You never really know your real “chance.” There are ppl rejected by Berkeley and got into MIT, etc. It’s extremely hard to know your chances at a selective college like Duke.</p>
<p>Unless you come from a severely underrepresented state, things don’t look very good for you. An unhooked white male would need about a 2250 composite SAT score/33-34 total on the ACT, a 3.9 UW GPA in the hardest curriculum possible and a ranking in at least the top 10% to be considered "competitive</p>
<p>my take on this is that a 34 ACT is not competitive at Duke and other peer institutions…it just puts you in the under consideration pile. It is not top quartile at these institutions. Test scores are never enough since tons of valedictorians and 800 score students are waitlisted due to lack of spots for fully qualified students.</p>
<p>I agree with tutydau that is simply hard to know your chances at peer institutions to Duke period. It is best to do your darndest on standardized exams and to not kid yourself re the quality of your peers and their test taking abilities for the next four years…at Duke there are fierce test takers in every classroom…be prepared to admire them and accept them and if possible learn from them. </p>
<p>it is best to make plans to attend a great match college and to put out your best effort on reach colleges and be surprised at any open doors. </p>
<p>The committees at these colleges have multiple agendas and you may be picked up someplace and overlooked elsewhere for no reasons you will ever discern. Recognize that the match college will present you with excellent faculty advisors and mentors and that you will learn tons at match colleges and the reach colleges will be there in random and not personal outcomes.</p>
