Chances at Duke and MIT? Any comments greatly appreciated!!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I applied to MIT Early Action and I'm going to apply to Duke (Pratt School of Engineering) Regular Decision, but I'm quite unsure of my chances of getting admitted to either. With MIT's decisions coming out soon, I'm getting increasingly nervous!</p>

<p>I took my SATs twice, highest was 2360 (760 CR, 800 M, 800W- 12 on essay)
I also took the Math level 2 SATII and Chemistry SATII, and received an 800 on both.</p>

<p>GPA wise, I have a 3.98 unweighted (I got 1 B first semester of junior year in AP Language but got an A the next quarter.. Does this look bad if I had gotten straight A's throughout high school except that one semester?)
I also have a 4.71 weighted GPA and by the end of senior year I will have taken 8 AP classes (Chemistry- 10th grade, Biology, Psychology, English Lang, AB Calc-11th grade, BC Calc, World, Physics (Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism)- 12th grade)</p>

<p>The summer after junior year and for two periods of my senior schedule, I am interning at a pharmacology lab, mainly learning and utilizing skills in molecular biology. We had proven a part of our hypothesis in the summer, and hope to be working on a manuscript that should be published sometime in the next year (if we get all the kinks to work out)</p>

<p>I am the president of a club that goes to nearby elementary schools after our school lets out to perform small experiments for these children that are relevant to the material they are currently learning (both teachers and students find it extremely fun and informative!)</p>

<p>I am also a 4 year varsity player on my school's softball team, and was captain junior year and will be captain again this year. My sophomore year, I was recognized by my local newspaper as one of the best 9 players out of all the schools in our county. I've gotten recruited to Swarthmore and MIT (which i still can't believe), meaning I'm not terrible at the sport, but the only problem is that MIT is a Division 3 school and, well, its MIT.. So they don't rely heavily on recruits and even though the coach will be supporting me in the admissions process, most of it is dependent on my academic merits. I even had a family friend who was recruited for basketball but was rejected by the school.</p>

<p>As for Duke, there is no softball program there yet, so I could not get recruited for that school, but I still really love the campus and the academics there and I was wondering what my chances were? I am thinking of applying to the engineering school, although i think it may be harder to get in, as a biomedical engineering major.</p>

<p>Can anyone tell my my chances at either of these schools?
Thank you all so much!</p>

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<p>wow great shot!</p>

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<p>I believe you’re quite competitive for Duke (and, yes, so too are thousands who will be declined for '19). However, it seems to me that you may be somewhat ahead of the honesty “highly distinguished pack.” Your essays and recommendations will be critical (more so as an RD than and ED applicant); therefore, I urge your to work both long and hard on them – substance, creativity, subtle humor, humility, and a strong focus on what you’ll bring to Duke (classmates, faculty, collaborative research, in and beyond the classroom) will be very important.</p>

<p>As you’re aware, Duke’s intercollegiate softball program commences competition in 2018, but obviously serious work is required before then. I don’t know the newly hired coach – and I am a novice concerning NCAA regulations, and I don’t want to lead you or Duke into trouble – but you might want to e-mail her if you’re interested in playing in three years (or assisting earlier).</p>

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<p>@TopTier, wow! Thank you so much for the input! I had actually searched for the newly hired coach’s email for quite some time before while I was still going through the recruitment process but I could not find it anywhere.</p>

<p>I also had a quick question about recommendations. Aside from teacher recommendations (My AP Lang and AP Bio teacher), I was also thinking about asking my internship mentor for a rec as well. He is actually a Duke Alumni and actually offered to write me one because he said he was extremely impressed with my learning and accomplishments in the time I’ve spent in his lab. Would it be a good idea to take him up on his offer?</p>

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<p>@studentath22‌: Yes, a Duke alumnus who is your internship mentor (and who, evidently, is very pleased with your performance) would be an excellent recommender. It may help – you’ll have to assess this based on each recommender’s personality and how committed he is to your success – to provide some/all with a concise bulletized list of points for potential inclusion in their recommendation (these points would be additions to, not replacements for, their areas of emphasis). They should understand that these bullets will substantiate and augment key areas in your essays.</p>

<p>I, too, couldn’t ascertain the new coach’s name (although she has been appointed), but I may be able to find out on Tuesday, when I meet with some Duke senior staffers for lunch. You also might be interested to learn that Duke has a long-standing “club level” softball program: <a href=“https://web.duke.edu/hper/sportclubs/softball/”>https://web.duke.edu/hper/sportclubs/softball/&lt;/a&gt;. You’d be able to participate as a freshman. </p>

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<p>You have a great shot at both. MIT may be a little tough, but your relationship with the softball coach will definitely help in admissions. I’d say Duke is a no-brainer, but they can be very spontaneous with acceptances. I know somebody last year that got in with a low 2200 and was not even top 10 class rank. Your SAT is well above required for Duke and ECs are fantastic. I like your chances.
Duke- Solid match
MIT- High match to slight, slight reach.
Good luck!</p>

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<p>Honestly, even MIT and Duke aren’t really big reaches for someone of your calibre. I can definitely see you getting into one or even both of them! </p>

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<p>@TopTier, Thank you again for your advice! I will definitely take everything into consideration!
@TrueOverachiever, @horsesmith, @ivyornah, Thank you so much for the kind words and encouragement! I will just hope for the best!</p>