Applied at the Last Minute! - Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>I applied on January 2 because I simply couldn't imagine not trying to get into Duke. I absolutely love it there.</p>

<p>A girl from my school already got into Duke because a donor wrote her a letter. She's not even close to being in the top of the class. Maybe this could help?</p>

<p>SO FAR:
Brown (deferred ED)
Michigan (In)
Tulane (In)
Santa Clara (In)
Miami (OH) (In)</p>

<p>GPA (W/ Honors Points): 4.042 (Honors/AP courses add .018 per class per semester)
(7-point grading scale: 93%-100% = A, 85-92 = B, etc.)</p>

<p>Had a rough junior year. Senior year grades ---> A B A+ A A A A+</p>

<p>CLASS RANK: 18/153 (Top 11.7% - Competitive private high school)*</p>

<p>ACT: 31 Composite (35 English, 33 Reading, 28 Math, 28 Science, 9 Writing) </p>

<p>ESSAYS: Very good IMO. Recs also well-written</p>

<p>AP CLASSES:
AP Biology - 3
AP Literature and Composition - 4
AP Language (senior year)
AP Psychology (senior year)
AP Macroeconomics (senior year)</p>

<p>24 Honors/AP Courses through Junior year</p>

<p>Father is deaf and blind and is on disability - not sure if this has any bearing. Pretty low income. </p>

<p>EXTRA CURRICULARS:</p>

<p>-3 Years as Elected Class President</p>

<p>-Editor-in-Chief of award-winning school newspaper (2 years staff writer, editor senior year)</p>

<p>-Michigan Interscholastic Press Association Award for Informative/Investigative piece*</p>

<p>-Elected Peer Minister</p>

<p>-4 Years of Football (3 years as captain)
-Division 4 State Champion.
-Elected member of team Unity Council senior year</p>

<p>-4 years of Lacrosse (3 years on varsity)</p>

<p>-2 years of Basketball (2 years as captain)</p>

<p>-2-time Bronze award winner - National Spanish Exam</p>

<p>-Winner - Gerald R. Ford Museum Essay Contest</p>

<p>-Winner - Grand Rapids Economic Club Essay Contest</p>

<p>-Trigonometry summer course at Grand Rapids Community College</p>

<p>-Skipped the Seventh Grade</p>

<p>-3-time Superior rating - National Piano Exam</p>

<p>-Repeat participant in Piano Teacher's Guild Sonatina Festival</p>

<p>-Volunteer - No Barriers USA Foundation
-Guide for Deaf/Blind father</p>

<p>-Founder/CEO of SPAT Performance Footwear*
-Developing performance football cleat, worked with manufacturers/designers to eliminate wasteful athletic tape and prevent ankle injuries</p>

<p>-Member of RenegadeCEOs - Incubator for a select group of teen entrepreneurs</p>

<p>-Inaugural University of Cincinnati DAAP Summer Design Experience Participant</p>

<p>WORK EXPERIENCE:</p>

<p>Local Country Club - 40 hrs./week in the summer
Local Health Club - 4 hrs./year round
Busboy at restaurant - 16 hrs./junior year for the first few months</p>

<p>LEGACY:
Michigan State University (mother)
University of Southern California (father and brother)
Miami University (Ohio) (brother)</p>

2

<p>How did you play 2 years of basketball and be a captain for both years. And three years as football captain?</p>

3

<p>Why is that confusing?</p>

4

<p>Or relevant?</p>

5

<p>You have similar stats to me, but you’re a lot more athletic. I just play lacrosse. Anyway, I got in through ED and I think you’re more than qualified for RD as well. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>Your class rank and test scores are on the lower end for Duke, but your ECs look great. If the company you started actually has decent revenue figures, I’d certainly consider that an impressive aspect of your application, and Duke loves to take innovators/individuals who have shown initiative in their lives. If it’s basically a hobby and you’ve sold 10 items to people on your team, it’s still a nice thing to put on your application, but isn’t a game-changer. Without your ECs, I’d say your chances are low (as are almost everybody’s since RD acceptance rate will be below 10%), but your athletic and extracurricular pursuits certainly put you in position to gain an admittance, but I’d still say it’s far from a guarantee. Good luck!</p>

7

<p>How did you become a captain your first year of playing?</p>

8

<p>I applied to Duke at the very very last minute also, and now I’m about to graduate from there in May. I had really lame EC’s - but more AP’s than you and a really good SAT - but the good thing about Duke is that they LOVE diversity. And I don’t just mean race/ethnicity (I’m a white female). I’m poor and I had a story to tell. A great essay can do you wonders!</p>

<p>Duke also loves entrepreneurs - as evidenced by the success of the StartUp Challenge on campus - so even if your company wasn’t hugely successful, it’s definitely worth mentioning and emphasizing, like the other poster said.</p>

<p>Good luck! :)</p>

9

<p>Thank you for all of the responses. For now I’ll consider my chances low but I’ll keep praying for a positive outcome. I spent weeks on my essay and had it edited by people who (hopefully) knew what they were talking about and tried to portray my situation in an interesting light!</p>

<p>And I was captain of my freshman and JV basketball teams - same goes for football! Sorry for the confusion!</p>

<p>Again thanks for the replies! Go Blue Devils!</p>