Chance Me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>I feel like I do these all the time... but with apps coming out a week from tomorrow, it's do or die time. :) AND Duke is my number 1 choice. :)))</p>

<p>Grade: Rising Senior
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Intended Major: Biomedical Engineering
Intended Minor: Theater Studies
School Type: Highly competitive (Valedictorian has a weighted GPA of 7.9)
Languages Spoken: Russian, English, French
Hooks: Parents are both immigrants, I am the first born American in my entire extended family. My mother completed community college but my father, who passed away, did not finish college. Also, I am a year younger than my peers. I graduate early due to the fact that I skipped a grade when I was younger, so when I graduate I will be 17 for three months.</p>

<p>ACT: 32 (plan to retake it in September just to see if I can boost it even higher)
GPA: UW~ 3.5208 W~5.0428
Rank: Hasn't been determined yet for me. Will find out when office re-opens in fall.</p>

<p>Freshman Course Load:
- English I Honors
- Geometry I Honors
- Semantics & Logics
- Government Honors
- French I
- Biology I Honors
- Psychology 1
- Journalism I
Sophomore Course Load:
- English II Honors
- Algebra II Honors
- Chemistry Honors
- AP World History
- French II
- Chorus I
- Journalism II (Yearbook)
- Spanish I
Junior Course Load:
- AP English Language
- AP United States History
- AP Biology
- French III Honors
- Chorus II
- Painting I
- Journalism III Honors (Yearbook, Editor-in-Chief)
- Pre-Calculus Honors
Senior Course Load:
- AP Calculus A/B
- AP Chemistry
- AP Macroeconomics
- AP English Literature
- Physics I Honors
- Chorus III (Nationally accredited Chamber Choir)
- Chorus IV (Highly competitve Show Choir)
- Journalism IV Honors (Yearbook, Editor-in-Chief)
- French IV Honors </p>

<p>Clubs:
Drama Club (9)
Leo Club (10-12)
French Club (11 [ Secretary] & 12 [Still to be decided])
French Honor Society (Same as above ^^)
Senior Council (12)
National Honor Society (12)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
- Theater, I participated in every single school show available, save one. (9-12)
- Music (Member of three seperate choirs throughout my high school career) <a href="10-12">Choir</a>
- Yearbook (10-12) [Editor-in-Chief two years in a row (11-12), youngest the school has ever had, and the only one to be it twice)
- Job at a local Coffee House, Barista (However it is a demanding job, since we are expected to be the cooks as well). </p>

<p>Community Service:
- Volunteered at a half-way-home for abused children
- Involved in community theater shows whose proceeds go to charities
- Relay for Life participant</p>

<p>Awards:
- Junior English Student of the Year
- Choirs have received multiple awards as well as many won competitions.
- Academic Letter
- Letter for Music
- Letter for Theater
- Two excellents and one superior at District Theater Competition
- One excellent at State Theater Competition
- One superior at French State Competition
- One good at French State Competition
- One Superior for Vocal Performance (Solo) at District Level
- Our yearbook received a gold medal from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (National level)
- Member of Duke TIPS
I am thankfully a talented essay writer, and am able to form my thoughts into a very coherent, logical essay filled with rhetoric. :)</p>

2

<p>I really am impressed with your accomplishments in theater and music! That sets you apart I believe. </p>

<p>Answer this for me if you will: Why is your UW GPA about a 3.5 and your W GPA over a 5? It seems that with 4 AP classes you’ve taken up to this point, you wouldn’t have the speed to get over that coveted 5 mark? What’s up with that? And, where have you made Bs and Cs?</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>the kitesurfer.</p>

3

<p>Thank you! They both take up a lot of time so I tried devoting time to them rather than spread out amongst a million random ec’s.</p>

<p>I’ve taken many honors courses, and in my school honors classes add points to your weighted GPA. Yeah, I noticed that it was a lot different than others on the site and I’m wondering if that is possibly the reason?</p>

<p>And I have never received a C, but usually the B’s I get are in my foreign language class, and for a couple of semesters in math.</p>

4

<p>Duke gets 26,000 apps a year which is insane. It’s a numbers game. You’re obviously highly-accomplished and truly talented, which I think gives you the edge (your talents) but in the end, it will come down to things which you don’t control. </p>

<p>They’ll look at that weighted average (that’s awesome by the way) as a key predictor. I don’t think you need to retake any of the standardized tests at all. Just keep doing what you’re doing.</p>

<p>Duke puts very special emphasis on the essay, however. </p>

<p>Somehow blow that out of the water and I think you have a good chance…but remember…they do get many, many applications and if you don’t make it there, you are going to shine wherever you go. Not making it into Duke doesn’t mean you aren’t a stellar student; they just get so many stellar apps that it comes down to numbers, and that is the way you should look at it!</p>

<p>the kitesurfer.</p>