<p>I am an African American junior who lives in VA. I am really worried about my chances of getting into a university such as this one so I would appreciate the insight of students who have been accepted. Here are my stats:</p>
<ul>
<li>3.7 GPA</li>
<li>No SATs at the moment (will be taking them June 3rd)</li>
<li>I Co-Founded a not-for profit organization called Teens 4 Peace, which encourages adolescents in promoting human rights in the internatioanal community</li>
<li>Under Teens 4 Peace I was able to help organize a huge rally in order to stop the genocide occuring in Darfur, Sudan. It was a huge success, mostly becuase it was organized in Washington D.C.'s popular Dupont Circle</li>
<li>I am a regular Volunteer at the Amnesty International Headquarts in DC</li>
<li>I was an intern at INOVA Fairfax Hospital's Blood Bank</li>
<li>I Volunteered for Time Kaine's Campaign for Governor during the summer of 2005</li>
<li>I am a regular volunteer at my public library</li>
<li>I attended the Boston Area Darfur Activism Conference at Harvard University last Winter</li>
<li>I am taking a french literature course at George Mason University (dual-enrollment)</li>
<li>I will be teaching English at a Sudanese public school this summer when I go visit my famly there</li>
<li>I will also be shaddowing Sudan's Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs</li>
<li>I am the president of my local Sudanese Youth Group</li>
<li>I am the president of my school's French Honor Society</li>
<li>I am a member of Model United Nations</li>
<li>I am the president of my school's Young Democrats chapter</li>
</ul>
<p>My workload for this year has included
- AP Biology
- AP French Language
- AP Government
- Debate
- AP English Language & Composition
- Precalculus Honors</p>
<p>Please read my stats and candidly evaluate my chances! Thank you!</p>
<ul>
<li>Arwa</li>
</ul>
<p>I don't mean to be flippant, but I'm trying to figure out how low your SAT score would have to be to get you rejected. 1700, maybe?</p>
<p>I am hoping to score at lease a 2150</p>
<p>If nothing else, you're in at Virginia. Congrats.</p>
<p>aw come on bluedevilmike..she posted some great material and the remark on her future SAT score is definitely flippant. Why not give her some tips on how you did a successful college application instead?</p>
<p>Arwa..I am a Duke Mom in Virginia. You are lucky to be in Virginia because we do have outstanding public universities. Your ECs are superb and your GPR is also excellent. Please work hard to prepare on your SATs and or ACTs and take some practice exams if you are not a test savant. I am gonna tell you right now that many kids at Duke did fantastically well on standardized tests without sitting at home practicing. Also consider that your AP test scores senior year won't show in the admissions game..and it is a game to get your assets on paper by deadlines. So consider taking an SATII in a subject that you are very sharp in..they are only one hour tests and tend to not be "tricky." However, you really must take a practice exam at home to get the feel for each of those tests and many of my son's friends did not review one bit and then hated their scores. Getting a strong SATII or two on your application is a plus..just like showing an AP score of 4 or 5. You really do not have to have tons of these extras..so concentrate on what you would do well in. Don't try to do everything! Also for schools at Duke's caliber, the SATII Math Second Level has more weight and covers higher math concepts but also has a more forgiving curve. </p>
<p>My son actually was not a test savant and after some review of his mistakes on the SAT (you can get your answers back for a fee some SAT sittings and see your errors) and with some pratice exams in his room on Sunday afternoons (boring but helped him change his speed and guessing strategies) he got a big boost in his SAT score his senior fall and totally changed his college list options.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that means he is in class daily with kids who may not have had to try so hard to be exam successful. While you are looking at your favorite college options, I recommend you go for the most challenging peer group where you will also be happy and feel a social/mental health fit. Duke has a very diverse student body which is pretty invigorating to be around and there is a good bit of school spirit despite the fact that the students are a group of rugged individual types.<br>
Now I am going to say something in the Advice Column. I recommend you change your identity on CC if you like these boards. Why? Just because if you are using your own name, you will not be able to get on the boards and really be quite as honest unless you want to risk the adcoms who are younger than myself reading things like which school is your favorite and which school you thought was stuffy and which school is your safety.<br>
The reason I bring this up is that my son is not attending the school that was his first choice. He was waitlisted there and he never counted on getting an admission to Duke. Often seniors on CC will spend a lot of time in October and November talking on the boards of their Dream School and of course a big percentage of them are rejected or waitlisted and end up going to another university. It is smart to A. Try not to have a Dream School <em>but you are only human right?</em> And B. Treat each school on your final list with ultimate respect because you never know who will admit you and who will offer you merit or need aid.
In fact, your "favorite" schools may shift over time. So keep your crushes to yourself and don't give away too much information about yourself on any public forums like your name.
I really like your ECs and plus I voted for Tim Kaine..ha. Anyway, keep your ECs focused and again..don't spread yourself thin..instead do a couple things very well. I really don't like Katherine Cohen's college books but I do like her rewrites of student Activity Sheets. Go to the Book store and see how she helped her clients redraft their Activities ..in Rock Hard Aps.<br>
Anyway..don't forget to take a good serious look at UVa and Wm and Mary either. Make sure to apply to match schools (duke is a reach for almost all applicants due to numbers of qualified students in the applicant pool). Make sure to be reality based re finances. Good luck!</p>
<p>I hope I didn't come across as disrespectful - I meant to be offhandedly complimentary. I simply meant that the application looks very strong, and she'd have to really do poorly on the SATs to get rejected.</p>