Chance Me Duke (Pratt) ED class of 2016!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
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<p>Hello there, I'm an Asian-American Male currently attending a very competitive public high school in Virginia (In 11th Grade now). I would greatly appreciate it if you chanced me and told me what I needed to improve on before I apply ED to Duke next year. Thanks for the help!</p>

<p>PS. I got a C in AP Chemistry this year first semester and I was wondering if that will hurt my chances a lot. Yes, I am a pretty lazy and stupid Asian…get harsh beatings with the bamboo stick every so often.</p>

<p>Objective:
* SAT I: Math 760, CR 690, CW 720 Total: 2170 *retake in September
* SAT II: 800 (Math II); 760 (Chemistry); 800 (Chinese)
* PSAT: 236 (National Merit Finalist)
* Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.82 (Yes very low, I’m well aware)
* Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.46
* Rank: Top 25%
* AP (place score in parenthesis):
European History: 4
Calculus AB: 5
U.S. History: 4
Chemistry: 4
Psychology: 5</p>

<p>Subjective:
* Extracurricular (place leadership in parenthesis):
-National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, History Honor Society
-Math Club, Invisible Children Club, World Culture Club
-Varsity Indoor Track (9th Grade)
-Varsity Basketball (10th Grade)
-Varsity Scholastic Bowl Team (11th Grade)
-Varsity Football (12th Grade)
-Leadership Class (Sophomore-Senior Year)
-Piano (10 Years)
* Awards:
-Honor Roll 3 years
-Virginia Regional Science Fair Winner (Math Category 2011)
-National Merit Finalist
* Volunteer/Community service:
Habitat for Humanity (100 Hours)
Local Library (50 Hours)
Church Projection Work (100 Hours)
Hospital Work (150 Hours)
TOTAL: 400 Hours
* Summer Activities:
Summer Internship at Pathology Department assisting in Lab experiments (2009)
Summer Junior Tennis Team (2009)
* Teacher Recommendation: One from English teacher (11th) and Calculus teacher (11th)
* Counselor Rec: Loves me
* Additional Rec: N/A</p>

<p>Other
* State (if domestic applicant): Virginia
* School Type: Public
* Ethnicity: Asian
* Gender: M
* Income Bracket: >250,000
* Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation</p>

<p>COURSES TAKEN:</p>

<p>7th Grade:
Honors Algebra I: A/A
8th Grade:
Honors Geometry: A/A</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Honors English 9: A/A
Honors World History I: A/A
Honors Algebra II: A/A
Honors Biology I: B/A
AA Spanish I: A/A
PA Info Tech Fundamentals: A/A
ST PE/Health: A/A</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Summer Gym/Health: A/A
Honors English 10: B/A
AP European History: B/B
Honors Math Analysis: A/A
Honors Chemistry I: A/A
AA Spanish II: A/A
PA Computer Science I: A/A
SE Leadership I: A/A</p>

<p>Junior Year:
Honors English 11: B/A
AP U.S. History: B/A
AP Calculus AB: B/A
AP Chemistry II: CYIKES/A
Honors Physics: A/A
AP Psychology: A/A
AA Spanish III: A/A
SE Leadership II: A/A</p>

<p>Senior Year Course-load:
AP English 12
AP Government
AP Calculus BC
AP Biology
AP Statistics
AA Astronomy
Honors Spanish IV
SE Leadership III</p>

<p>How do these stats look? I might have forgotten something, so if there are any questions, feel free to ask. Anyways just in summary, for my application essays I really want to get this message across from this very wise human being in my life because grade-wise I’m very subpar for my race; and that is that “At the end of the day, any machine can score 2400 on the SAT and 5's on ten AP tests. But very few can really sound like a unique individual with distinct passions and specific goals in life.”</p>

<p>Thanks so much.</p>

2

<p>bump bump bump</p>

3

<p>anyone???</p>

4

<p>It’s a little early. My advice is finish out junior year strong, and retake the SAT. Especially try to pull up the C in chemistry. Post this again with updated info in the fall. Best of luck!</p>

5

<p>What’s up with this attitude?
grade-wise I’m very subpar for my race
^ No, you are not. Not at all.</p>

<p>and that is that “At the end of the day, any machine can score 2400 on the SAT and 5’s on ten AP tests. But very few can really sound like a unique individual with distinct passions and specific goals in life.”
^Yes, you may have distinct passions, but having scores is not bad either.</p>

6

<p>In my opinion, your scores and EC’s look pretty good. Honestly, I think that the thing you should work on the most is the way you project yourself through writing. It’s good to be hard on yourself sometimes, don’t get me wrong, but make sure you are not doing so at the expense of coming across as pretentious. Your scores are great (for any race) and you should be a very competitive applicant, quantitatively.</p>

<p>I hope this helps. Please keep in mind that this is just my two cents and others may not have interpreted your post in the same light I did.</p>

7

<p>Since this popped up again, I’ll just add the opinion of another fellow Asian American. While “very few can really sound like a unique individual with distinct passions and specific goals in life”, Duke will have many applicants with the 2400 or the 36 AND 5’s on AP tests who can also write brilliant essays about themselves as a person. Because Duke is a top tier school, the applicants will for the most part, be top students as well. I think you might want to rethink and reword your message in your essay. As Anonymous_Poster said, it does sound a little pretentious. It’s good that you are aware of your short comings. However, you have to utilize the opportunity that the essay presents and show a different side of yourself.</p>

8

<p>you look to have a pretty good shot. But yeah, I agree with what 4everyoung and Anonymous_Poster said</p>

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<p>If you are at TJ don’t worry about your C in chemistry. When we went to the information session at Duke, the presenter specifically said that they are well aware of the difficulty of the teacher of that class at TJ.</p>

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<p>oh heyyy im in the same position as you, except your ecs are so much more awesome than mine haha. from what i’ve been seeing while hunting around duke decisions threads, your gpa, ecs and ap courses( oh my god you have a lot of APs!!!) are average or above average compared to most who got accepted. I would say pull up that SAT to 2250 and try to get all A’s from now on so you can maximize your chances. hope you see you at duke :)</p>

11

<p>how are you earning more than $250,000 a year yet a first generation student?</p>

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<p>I would think there are many entrepreneurs who earn that and more but never went to college.</p>

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<p>Lol why are you questioning his income.</p>

<p>I think you have a decent shot.</p>

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<p>He could also mean first generation American as opposed to first generation college student.</p>