Chance Me for ED to Duke

Ethnicity: Korean male
Currently in 11th grade at Enloe High School in Raleigh, North Carolina
SAT Score: 770 Math, 710 Reading/Writing, 1480 Composite (Planning to retake)
ACT Score: 34 Math, 29 Science, 32 English, 34 Reading, 32 (Planning to retake)
SAT II: Planning to take Physics and Math II
Composite GPA:4.8 Weighted out of 6, 3.5-3.6 Unweighted(Big Problem is I got C’s in Calc AB and BC)
AP Classes:
AP Calc AB-C
AP Calc BC-C
AP World History-B
AP Environmental Science-A
AP Biology-A
AP Physics C: Mechanics-A
AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism-A
AP Statistics-A
AP Language and Composition-A
AP US History-B
IB Further (Taking senior year)
AP Gov Pol (Taking senior year)
AP Macro (Taking senior year)
IB Chemistry (Taking senior year)
AP Literature and Composition (Taking senior year)
AP Psych (Taking senior year)
IB Sports Med (Taking senior year)
Extracurriculars: Research in the largest single-site lab in the US at Duke University under a Duke Professor to find a protein that binds to HIV. Will hopefully get published in paper of some sorts and get good recommendations from Professor
Student Council
Raised $2000 dollars towards goal of $100000 and organized charity event
Highest level youth symphony for 6 years
Runner on Junior Varsity Cross Country
Member of Key Club with over 200 volunteer hours
Church Sunday School Teacher
Chemistry Club Board Member
Member of Church Chamber Group
Volunteering with Children with Autism
Planning to ED to Duke
Intended Major: Chemical Engineering or Biomed
(Also, when I apply ED to Duke should I apply for financial aid because I don’t think I can get much since my dad makes good amount and it might make me come off as greedy if I applied for it)

You seem like a very qualified candidate and I think you have a good shot at ED. That being said, nothing is guranteed. I think essays will make or break you.

I would imagine admissions will hold this recommendation in very high esteem and it could help your application tremendously if that professor thinks highly of you. Not many high school applicants have something like this, so certainly this could be a “hook.”

Not a good look for an engineering major…you took AP Calc BC as a junior? If you were that “ahead,” seems odd that you struggled with it.

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Makes no difference. Won’t make you “come off as greedy.” Duke is need blind and doesn’t care if you can pay or not, so it won’t hurt you in any way to apply for financial aid. I would try Duke’s NPC online and see what it says as a general guideline to give you an idea.

Good luck!

Your extracurriculars look very good, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that, except to maybe delve deeper into one or two of your EC’s this summer to top it off. Yes, your standardized test scores will hurt you, so good luck and I hope yours retakes are better. Your GPA will hurt you as well, but there’s not much you can do about that. Of course, if your class rank is high, then the admissions officers will realize it was more difficult to get A’s at your school. I think you have a decent chance. Write incredible essays, and it’ll help you a lot. Good luck, and let us know if you got in!!!

Your AP scores would help alleviate the issue with AP calc grades if they are at least 4’s preferably 5’s.

Get the SAT scores a bit higher. Applying for financial aid won’t hurt. You should be in good shape as long as you spend time on essays. Good luck.

Impressive resume, though I do think the two C’s in math and the 29 math ACT, will hurt you if you are going for engineering/bio med. Duke doesn’t like to see many B’s, so the C’s may be an issue.