Anyone Want to Chance Me RD?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

I would love any feedback!
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Waiting for Jan Scores
ACT (breakdown): 32 (E 35, M 32, R 33, S 29, W 10)
SAT II: Math I 740, US History 770
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.25 (unweighted unknown)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/295
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calc AB Subscore (5), BC (4), Eng Lang (4), Human Geography (5), US (5), World (5), AP Physics B and Chem did not report
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Environmental Science, AP Comparative Government, AP English Lit, AP US Government, Health&PE, ITE 119 dual enrolled, AP Microeconomics, AP French, and AP Euro self-study
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Eagle Scout, Congressional Award Silver Medalist, Military Child of the Year 2014 Top-5 Finalist, Rock the Statue Green American-French Embassy Semi-Finalist, Gold Level Presidential Volunteer Service Award, AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Scholarship Commended, West Point Leadership Award, VA Boys State Lt. Governor Party Nomination Runner-Up, National Honor Society (Sec.), 2015 US Senate Youth Program Virginia Delegate

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Varsity Swim Team 10-12 (Captain, VHSL 3rd Place Boys Team)
Varsity Forensics 9-12 (Captain, VHSL 3rd Place Prose Interp)
Student Council Association 9-12 (9-Class Treasurer, 10-Class Rep, 11 School VP, 12- School Pres)
Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society 11-12 (Special Events Coordinator)
Boy Scouts 1-12 (Senior Patrol Leader among other things)
Model United Nations 10-12 (Research Chair, Best Delegate at Maggie Walker and William&Mary conferences)
Student2Student (transfer student group) 9-12 (Founder at new high school and President 10-12, Frances Hesselbein Student Leadership Program Participant)
EqualizeOurEarth Humanitarian Club 10-12
Société Honoraire de Français and French Club 9-12 (VP-12)
Freshmen Orientation Crew (freshmen mentoring) 11-12 (Captain-12)
VA Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminar 10-12 (Ambassador-10, Junior Staff and Leadership4Service Keynote Speaker-11, Team Alumni-12, Alumni Association Public Relations and Recruitment Team Board Member 11,12)

Job/Work Experience:
Lifeguard at an indoor retirement community’s health club and spa’s pool year-round 10-12 (15-19 hrs/wk)
AidData Research Assistant at the College of William&Mary, mapping aid to developing countries, its implantation and effectiveness
School Division Honors Project, an oral history project of my town

Volunteer/Community service:
Probably near the thousands if I add up all four years. I did 350 hours junior year.
KidZone, elementary afterschool program 9
Missouri Special Olympics 9
Eagle Scout Service Project 9/10
Chemical Corps Regimental Association 9 (Volunteer of the Year 2012)
Freshmen O-Crew 11-12 (Captain)
Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center Weekly Volunteer 10-12
French, English and History Honor Society Tutor
National History Day Projects middle school mentor 11-12
Capernaum Special Needs Club Volunteer 10-12
Summer League Swim Team Volunteer Assistant Coach 11-12
Honors Project Community Service Element, introducing technology to the lives of aging adults 11-12
VA HOBY Alumni Association, VA HOBY Seminar Junior Staff

Summer Activities:
Lifeguarding Job
Virginia Boys State
Volunteering
Nicaraguan Mission Relief Trip
Stanford Online’s International Women’s Health and Human Rights for no credit

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App- 7/10 about growing up in a military family and overcoming my fear of the doorbell as a child.
Duke Sup- Overall 8.5/10: I talked about Duke Engage and continuing my passion for service coupled with development. For the diversity one I talked about growing up in a military family with 6 kids and how it is they who have made me who I am by accepting each facet of my quirky personality. Why Duke 7/10 and Diversity 9/10

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: AP Human/APUSH teacher, swim coach, rho kappa and EqualizeOurEarth sponsor, Yale alumna- didn’t read, but assume 10/10
Teacher Rec #2: Student2Student sponsor and librarian who mentors my online classes (AP Environ, Comp Gov and World last year), knows me very well and was a military brat- didn’t read but assume 10/10
Counselor Rec: Knows me very well, work with him often, told me he spent over an hour writing and editing (which at a public school like mine is incredible)- didn’t read but assume it was also 10/10.
Additional Rec: AP English Language teacher and former honors project sponsor, don’t know but probably 8.5/10
Interview: Literally the best of anything. 10/10 the interview loved me and was so engaging. She was so sweet and complementary and excited for me. I was in the paper the day before our interview and she brought it to coo about. It was the best interview ever.
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: (Trinity) Economics, Public Policy (but I applied with Global Health, Human Development, Women’s Studies)
State (if domestic applicant): VA
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~115,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not much, I just love people. Is that a hook?

Reflection:
Yale rejected me SCEA.
I was disappointed that I wasn’t deferred. But I respect Yale’s decision, and I feel comfortable knowing it’s for the best. I fell in love with Yale when I visited. The incredible, humble and passionate student body propelled me to apply early action.
The competition is fierce though, and I’m so proud to be part of such an amazing class of graduates!

Strengths: ECs, Service, Awards, Recs
Weaknesses: Test Scores, Test Scores, Test Scores (taking the ACT again in Feb maybe…), essays and Bs in AP Physics B/Physics Lab and AB Calculus.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: No idea
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Rejected Yale SCEA

General Comments:
The outpouring of love and thoughtful notes from those who actually know me assures me that it is nothing personal. I don’t know what’s next. But honestly, it’s going to be pretty exciting undiscoverable adventure for the next few months!
I just want to help people. All I’ve ever really wanted to do is serve. And I know I don’t have to go to Yale to do that; I’ve been doing it for years without Yale even in the picture. I guess there’s just somewhere else that needs my rays of sunshine more than New Haven.

2

I hope your SAT I scores are VERY solid (2200+). If they are, you have a fair shot. Good luck

3

@TopTier‌ I got them back yesterday. It was a 2210 with a 10 essay. What do you think?

4

First, CONGRATULATIONS on the 2210/10; it’s a fine score and, for Duke and in combination with your entire application, you’re obviously entirely competitive. Your ECs are superb and, as a retired military officer, your total background makes me sincerely hope you become a Dukie. I believe your recommendations and essays are likely to be decisive; as outstanding as your record is, you’ll be competing with literally tens-of-thousands of essentially equally distinguished applicants. Under those circumstances, essays and recommendations often make cause some applications to to “stand out.” Good luck and please remain in touch, is I can assist you in any way.

5

Congrats. Those were exactly my scores and I got into duke RD last year. Best of luck

6

You’ve got the basic qualifications. I like the fact that you feel you had a very good interview. What comes across in your resume above is passion, love for others, and others loving you. Because of this and your academic record, I think Duke will take a strong look at you. Best of luck.

7

@TopTier‌ Thank you so much! I’ll definitely keep you posted as the decisions come in!

@spuding102‌ and @kaukauna‌ Thank y’all too. Your input gives me some hope to rest on during this purgatory before decisions.

8

I think you have an amazing shot. Your 2210 definitely overshadows your few Bs. You have solid ECs and come off as very passionate. I would not be surprised if you are accepted, and then again I would not be surprised if you aren’t. I would say you have as good as a chance as anybody would. But again, these decisions can be very random. 2 students from my school last year got accepted to Duke (1 attended and the other didn’t because of money), and they were definitely not nearly as qualified as you are. Both of their essays were phenomenal though, so that will be very important. Best of luck, and I am sure you will hear positive news.

9

Stats and scores look good. I think you were probably rejected from Yale because of the somewhat ‘low’ ACT score. The 2210 SAT score certainly makes you more competitive.

Have you notified the admissions office of the new SAT score? Otherwise they may have already reviewed your file with the ACT score in mind. Might be worth notifying your admissions representative to watch out for the new score.

You seem to be a good fit for Duke Engage, I think you have a great shot. Good luck. Let us know if you get in.

10

I have no idea what these people are talking about, honestly. A 2210 is below the average of Duke’s accepted students. It’s frustrating to see people pretend that a 2210 is a plus on a Duke application, though it is a great score. The 2210 keeps you in contention for admission but certainly does not positively differentiate you from the average Duke applicant. Sorry to speak the truth. I wish you good luck on your admissions journey! I hope it’s at Duke if that is where you want to go!

11

@StanManYeah‌ (re post #9): Perhaps your understanding of admissions at Duke – and most/all of its LAC and National Research University peers – differs from many other individuals.’ Duke does NOT always admit candidates with the best quantitative “statistics,” using some sort of secret mathematical algorithm; rather, it evaluates applicants holistically.

The OP’s initial standardized test results probably indicated that he would not exceed the threshold to permit his application to be competitive through holistic assessment. However, his new SAT I scores likely exceeds that level. This is precisely why several posters have congratulated him – and their judgement is correct.

Every year Duke (and all the other most-selective institutions) deny hundreds (probably many thousands) of valedictorians, 4.0 GPA students, and 2400 SAT recipients; EACH of those individuals, almost certainly, has the “arithmetic” qualifications to be admitted, however they are rejected because they are found less-competitive in their holistic evaluation.

To summarize, successful applicants must, first, have excellent “numbers,” but then they must be assessed as the sorts of individuals Duke desires in its freshman class. Fine curricular rigor, GPA, and standardized test scores are necessary – but not sufficient – conditions for admissions.

12

I never said anything different, @TopTier‌ . Read my post next time. I said that the SAT score will keep the applicant in the ballgame but do nothing to positively differentiate this student from other applicants. This is an indisputable fact.

13

@StanManYeah (re posts #11 and #9): What you did not do is explain the two-phase admissions approach that generally applies, and that knowledge is likely vital to the OP.

14

@toptier to update you, I sadly was waitlisted by Duke.

It’s definitely my top choice, so I accepted my place on their waitlist, and I’m preparing to show my continued interest. These are my thoughts:
~Call my regional admissions officer tomorrow and introduce myself, present the situation and affirm my interest
~Email him with follow up information/overview/questions
~Fill my interviewer in on Duke’s decision and gently encourage her to write on my behalf to the admissions team. I think she really liked me. It was by far my best interview, and I really enjoyed her.
~Email the specialities regional admissions counselors who I could fall under (LGBTQ for example)
~Hand write and send letter outlining my accomplishments this semester (like meeting with President Obama 3 weeks ago) and demonstrate how much I want to get into Duke.

I know Duke has such varying ranges of accepting people off of the waitlist. And I know I shouldn’t put much hope in getting in off the list. But do you have any experience with it?

15

@cvisser96‌:

I am sorry you were waitlisted, but it does mean Duke finds you absolutely qualified for matriculation. I’ll offer a few thoughts – not to suggest they are “magic” or better than anyone else’s – but your overall “action outline” is good;
a. The waitlist is essentially dormant until at least 1 May, the deadline for those accepted to make their “I’ll attend or go elsewhere” decisions. Thereafter, waitlisted applicants will be offered admissions thorough May and June (rarely, but possibly, into July).
b. Therefore, you might want to wait a few days before calling your Regional Admissions Officer (I suspect, s/he still is administratively recovering from the aftermath of RD).
c. You certainly want to send a handwritten letter, only because it will be included in your file (whereas a phone call, I suspect, would be noted, but every point you wish to make would likely be not be recorded).
d. Your alumni interviewer probably should not be contacted; s/he cannot not amend the post-interview report and there’s really no normal vehicle for the alum to express support (unless s/he would be willing to write a letter/e-mail to Admissions, which would be VERY unusual and possibly not too meaningful since it’s based only on a single, one-hour (?) meeting). Further, Duke will advise the interviewer of your status (probably this week).

In recent years, Duke’s waitlist approach has widely varied; a few years ago, as I recall, the waitlist included a few thousand (~3,000 ??) names, but I suspect this year’s will be MUCH smaller. This is entirely speculative, since specific numbers have not yet been released. In general – and this is NOT particularly solid information – approximately 100 (+/- perhaps 10 or 15 percent) individuals have been accepted from the waitlist. However, while this is an adequate “rule of thumb,” it is NOT firm, Class of '19 information.

I sincerely wish you good luck.

16

@toptier thank you so much for your thoughtful response!
It really means a lot.
I also considered sending an additional letter of recommendation, but I plan on doing so only if the admissions committee encourages it.
I realize this is largely out of my hands. Though I will not be timid in my attempts to pursuade, I also don’t want petulance to annoy the committee into rejecting me.
Again, thank you for your recommendations and encouragement!

17

@TopTier I’m taking my name off of the waitlist.
I’ve committed to Princeton! :slight_smile:

18

^^^^
Sincere CONGRATULATIONS!!