<p>I am wondering if I am good enough to get into duke. Currently, I have a 3.7 UW GPA and a 3.215 W GPA. I have taken almost all of the AP classes my school has to offer, and am taking all IB/AP classes for my senior courseload. My extracurriculars include making a group where my peers and I go to a school and help underachieving 3rd graders with reading comprehension, a school club which raises money for Smile Train, and the starting of a quidditch league, among just regular volunteering at my local hospital. I have played Lacrosse for 2 years, and have wrestled for 3. I have gotten all 5s on my AP tests, with the exception of AP Chem and AP Environmental Science, on which I got a 4 and 3 respectively. On the SAT, I got a 2310, and I have not yet taken the SATII, but I plan on taking US History and Bio. I plan on going for a degree in Neuroscience, and possibly double majoring with Biochem. I hope to one day become a neurosurgeon. Also, I skipped 7th grade, which makes me a year younger than most people going into college.</p>
<p>So, what do you guys think? Am I good enough for Duke? Where would you guys recommend looking at for neuroscience majors? Thanks for all of your help in advance.</p>
<p>Do you mean that you have a 3.215 UW and a 3.7 W? I don’t know how you could have it the other way around. I’m also concerned about you high score on the SAT I because although I must congratulate you on doing well, it contradicts with your GPA and suggests that you don’t care much about schoolwork. What hooks, if any, do you have?</p>
<p>A hook would be something like being a low-income, first-generation, URM (underrepresented minority) student, but those are just examples. Other hooks could be having a legacy at a school, being recruited for sports or music, or even having parents that have the potential to donate large amounts of money to the school. It’s basically any trait that will make your application stand out among a group of applications with comparable stats.</p>
<p>As for your chances at Duke, I’d say they’re reasonable, but nothing stellar. Your GPA is pretty good but probably around the same level as most who apply. Your test scores are all great, though. And as someone who’s also going to be a year younger than everyone else going to college and who has spoken to admissions officers about this, it doesn’t really affect your admissions decisions either way. If you’re sure that you want to go to Duke, maybe you should consider applying Early Decision to show them that you’re committed, or visiting to demonstrate interest.</p>
<p>I’m no expert on Neuroscience majors, and I’m not sure what kind of schools you’re into… but a couple strong, selective programs that I think are similar to Duke’s would be Vanderbilt, Emory, UPenn, WashU in St. Louis, Johns Hopkins, and MIT, and I think you could be competitive for admissions there as well. Or, if you’re interested in the liberal arts college route, I’ve heard amazing things about Neuroscience at Pomona, Amherst, Hamilton, and Middlebury.</p>