CHANCE ME: Duke ED and more...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Colleges I’m applying to:
*Duke University (ED)
Chapman University (EA)
Marist College (EA)
University of Oregon (EA)
Seattle University (EA)
Boston College (RD)
University of Michigan (RD)
University of Virginia (RD)
Vanderbilt University (RD)
Tufts University (RD)
American University (RD)

ACT: 30 (31 superscore)
Highest scores: English - 35, Reading - 35, Math - 28, Science - 25, Writing - 9
SAT: N/A
GPA: 4.0 weighted, 3.7 unweighted
Rank: N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Art History, English, AP Photography, Government/Economics, AP Statistics, Biotechnology

Extracurriculars/Volunteering/Work:
Assistant at therapeutic horseback riding center for disabled children
Camp counselor during summer/helped care for horses on weekends during school year (same facility)
Student ambassador in Costa Rica for summer service trip through GLA
High school facilitator for middle school leadership program
Work at local party supply store
Tutor
Held clothing drive for abused children (clothing is confiscated as evidence when leaving hospital, this provided clothing)
Held drive for northern California fire victims
Co-president of volunteering club at school (I know its super basic)

Common App Essay: Wrote about panic attacks and anxiety experienced a few years ago and how that “shaped me” (yes, I know it sounds cliche but I did my best to avoid that). 8/10
Supplemental Essays: I think they’re pretty darn good… I was able to weave my disabled brother into the essays about equality and marginalization (of which there were many), and I think they’re decent. 8 or 9/10

Letters of Recommendation
Teacher Letter of Rec 1: AP Psychology teacher from junior year- should be very good. I was a super active participant in class and stayed after class to further discuss ideas so I think I made a good impression. 9/10
Teacher Letter of Rec 2: Junior year Math Analysis teacher- I participated in class, should be fine. He writes a lot of essays but it should be decent. 7.5/10
Counselor Letter of Rec: I think it’ll be fine. She’s a mess and never has her crap together so I had to bug her to do things a lot, hopefully she forgot about that when she wrote my letter. I filled out a detailed questionnaire as well. 7/10
Additional Letter of Rec: College counselor (outside of school), who I’ve known for years, wrote a letter that should be very personal. 9/10

Intended Major: Double major in psychology and public policy (aiming to go into marketing/business)
School Type: extremely competitive public school (top 25 in California)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Above $200k

*Both of my parents went to Duke (my mom for business school as well, and she does alumni interviews for Duke) and my grandpa is an emeritus professor there (taught at Duke for over 40 years and is also an Iron Donor) and all three of them wrote letters to admissions and submitted through Common App as well. I also have already had my Duke interview, which went extremely well. I know its a long shot because I am clearly below Duke’s standards, but I’m just crossing my fingers at this point… I’ve wanted to go there for as long as I can remember and I made sure that came across both in my interview and in my supplemental essay.

Thanks to anyone who responds!!

2

decent chance of getting in most of these colleges on the list. Although ACT could be higher, perhaps around 33? You should have a decent chance at DUKE since most of your parents affiliated there and could get you an admission there possibly. Good luck!

3

You have a solid application. I think that having your parents and grandpa write letters to admissions is a bit risky. But who knows, it may work out in your favor.

I heard from a lecture that Christoph Guttentag gave a few years back that the legacy acceptance rate at Duke is about 33%, which is considerably higher than the RD and ED admission rates.

The only thing that might hold you back is the ACT score. Are you going to retake?

4

@sgopal2 I have taken the ACT 4 times… and even if I wanted to do a fifth, it’s too late. My scores really haven’t changed at all since the first test I took, so I don’t think there would be a significant improvement even if I could take it again. I’m having my parents write letters because they can submit them easily through the common app as “recommenders.” My mom does alumni interviews so she’s also sent it to her contact in admissions, and my grandpa sent his letter to people he knew. I know it sounds snobbish, like “my parents know people in admissions” but, frankly, I need all the help I can get. I’m just crossing my fingers and waiting for December 15th…

5

Yes I understand. Have you tried the SAT? Or tutoring? The only reason I’m suggesting this is that borderline legacy kids in the ED round most often get deferred instead of an outright rejection. If you get deferred, you will need to do something to address the test scores.

So retaking and getting a higher score will certainly help. The middle 50th percentile for Pratt is: 33-35 and for Trinity is 31-35. If you can get the ACT score up by just 3 points to 33 then you’ll be right at the 50th percentile. Duke doesn’t superscore the ACT composite, so you’ll be counted as a 30, which is I estimate is at the 10th-15th percentile. If you are deferred into RD, you’ll actually have a big advantage over the other kids. The reason is that they’ll know that you originally applied ED. If you can get your scores up between now and March, then I think you have a decent shot. It seems like the scores are the only weakness in your application.

Don’t underestimate the value of your mom doing alumni interviews. The admissions office values the time and effort that alumni spend doing these on behalf of Duke. They will already know that your mom does interviews from the AAAC. But sending in a letter can be viewed as nepotism, and I’m worried that it might be a distraction to your application as a whole. But another friend of mine, who is an alumni, did the same thing when his kids applied and they were accepted.

I wish you the best of luck. Keep us posted.

6

@sgopal2 I have done tutoring and I just haven’t been able to get it up. I applied to Trinity where I’m only just under the benchmark so at least there’s that. I haven’t taken the SAT but I’ve done subject tests and the PSAT, and I didn’t so well on either. Honestly, I don’t think it’s going to get any higher. I understand the concerns about the letters and trust me, I’m not trying to be one of those people who only get places because of their connections, but I know I’m far below Duke standards so I just want to take advantage of every resource I can. In my supplemental “why Duke?” essay, I emphasized my family’s importance and how that familial connection to Duke has shaped me (not in a cheesy way, I promise) and I think it makes their letters a bit more meaningful and less “accept my kid.” I just really want to get in and hope it all works out. Thanks for the advice and luck- I’ll need it :slight_smile:

7

Do you guys think I have a decent chance at Boston College? If I don’t get into Duke, which I doubt I will, BC is probably my #1.