Chances at Duke?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Ethnicity: Indian
State: Pennsylvania

Standardized Test Scores
ACT: 33 (English-28, Reading-32, Math-34, Science-36)
SAT 2: Chemistry-780, Math II-800

APs Taken: Calc BC, Computer Science, Chemistry, Statistics, English 3, Physics 1 & 2, Biology, US History

Senior Year APs: Psychology, English 4, Economics, Physics C, German

Current Weighted GPA: 4.28
Current Unweighted GPA: 3.6

Medical Research
University of Pittsburgh Bioinformatics Department: Impact of Internet Support Groups on Depression.
University of Pennsylvania: Public opinion of Obamacare.
Duke University Department of Biological Sciences: Neuron receptors and neural circuits in Drosophila.

Publications
“Can Varying the Salutation and Subject Lines of E-Mail Prompts Increase Patient Log-Ins to an Internet Support Group for Mood and Anxiety Disorders,?” (co-author), under review in Journal of Pathology Informatics

Honors and Awards
2013-16 Member of National Honors Society and National Junior Honors Society
2014 Silver Medalist in National German Exam
2015 Silver Medalist in National German Exam
2013 Scholar Athlete
2013 Presidential Scholar
2013-14 1st place, Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Sciences, States
2015 2nd place, Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Sciences, States
2012-14 Member of German Club & Vice-President (2013-14)
2015-16 Member of Technology Student Association & Vice-President
2012-15 Member of Key Club
2014 Participated in University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute program and lecture series
2015 National Forensics League, Double-Octafinalist at Laird Lewis National Tournament for Public Forum
2015 National Forensics League, Octafinalist at Harvard National Tournament 2014 National Forensics League, Triple-Octafinalist at Yale National Tournament for Public Forum
2014 National Forensics League, 1st at Keystone Oaks Regional Tournament for Public Forum
2014 National Forensics League, 2nd in Pennsylvania State Tournament for Policy Debate
2013 National Forensics League, 2nd at Upper Saint Clair Regional Tournament for Public Forum
2013 National Forensics League, Octafinalist at Walt Whitman National Tournament for Public Forum
2012 National Forensics League, 6th at Mercer Regional Tournament for Public Forum
2012 National Forensics League, 4th at Knoch Regional Tournament for Public Forum
2013 Model United Nations, 1st at Riverview

Volunteer Work
2013 Volunteer, Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
2014-15 Secretary of Student Union
2015-16 President of Student Union
2009-15 Indian Youth Organization, community service. Various opportunities such as serving food, cleaning up parking lot,
2012-14 Pittsburgh Temple, SAT preparatory class instructor in math and essay writing
2006-09 Private Volunteer Tutor in chemistry, mathematics, physics, and statistics
2015 Pittsburgh Forensics Institute, taught Public Forum Debate to children from around Pittsburgh
2014-15 Forensics Institute, Lead Public Forum instructor. Taught Public Forum Debate to middle school students

My CommonApp essay and supplements are great. My counselor, teacher, and outside rec letters are probably good as well. Additionally, I am getting a rec letter from my lab director at Duke.

What are my chances given my test scores? Also, does the Duke rec letter help? Thanks!

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You’re competitive for admission I’d say! Solid tests scores, impressive list of awards, interesting research. The only glaring setback I see is the GPA. 3.6 is a tad low, but hey I’d say you should apply if it’s a dream school! Also, being competitive doesn’t mean you have a “great” chance at admission, schools of Duke’s caliber have to turn down excellent candidates like yourself all the time, don’t worry if you don’t get in!

3

How could you have been a Presidential Scholar in 2013? That award is for graduating seniors only.

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/psp/index.html

I presume you mean something else, but you need to be accurate when presenting yourself.

That said, your combination of achievement in German, Forensics and Biology is impressive, and you should be a fairly strong candidate. Duke would be an amazing place for you given it’s flexibility and interdisciplinary options. The biggest question mark is your 3.6 UW GPA. What is your class rank? I presume you are applying to Trinity?

4

Hello - I’m a Duke alum. Here are my thoughts:

  • ACT score shows high performance in science/math but low in English. Composite score of 33 puts you firmly in the 50th percentile for a successful Trinity applicant and at the 25th percentile for a successful Pratt applicant.
  • Without having a prior hook (legacy/development/sport) your ACT scores could actually be a bit higher
  • Extracurriculars are wide ranging - perhaps a bit too much
  • The publication is impressive - hopefully it will be accepted by the time decisions are made in March
  • A letter from the lab director will indeed help a lot

A lot will boil down to how your application is packaged together and presented. What is your intended major? Are you applying to Trinity or Pratt? What is your high school rank? Did you take the SAT? If so what did you score?

5

I’m also very worried about the low GPA. However, the lower GPA occurred primarily because I took harder classes. Additionally, my school doesn’t report class rank, just decile. I should be in the top 7% probably.

I’m applying to Trinity, and planning to major in molecular biology or some other biological science.

Thanks for all the comments.

6

Duke would be a reach in my opinion because your GPA is too low.

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I’m also applying to Northwestern, Cornell, and JHU which have slightly lower profiles.

8

I’m also wondering about you Presidential Scholar Award. What award are you talking about?

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I think that GPA may leave you out during the first “cut” the regional as com makes. Maybe find some questions to ask to get to know him/her so they will be more likely to look at your file without stopping at GPA. They do a big 1st round cut, and you want to get past that!

10

Can you elaborate on that briefly?

Also, I mistyped Presidential Scholar. This award was given to student in our school for high achievement after 9th grade.

11

@nitpik3, Duke does an initial screen of all applications, grading each applicant from 1 to 5 in each of 6 areas: academic performance (GPA/rank), standardized tests, curricular rigor, extracurriculars, essays, and recommendations. About 50% of all applicants are rejected based on their cumulative score on this initial screen:

http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2015/03/ferpa-request-gives-inside-look-duke-admissions-process

Your UW GPA of 3.6 will obvious be on the lowish side in that particular category. The danger is not making it past the first screen to where your file is looked at in more detail. That is what I presume @HRSMom was suggesting. However, I think that your other areas are strong enough that you will get through. Your curricular rigor and ECs are strong, and while your ACT of 33 is only 50th percentile for Trinity you have strong SAT IIs and APs (which don’t formally count, but which will have some impact). So unless you bomb your essay or get panned by one of your recommendations, I think odds are high that you will get through the initial screening, though nothing is a given.

Also, you need to be really careful about “mistyping” awards that you didn’t get. And, as I mentioned above in post #2, whatever award the other student received, it wasn’t Presidential Scholar, which is a highly selective 12th grade award. Listing something like that would be a huge red flag to adcoms, which could have signficant effects on the credibility of your application.

I think you should apply ED to Duke (you can also apply EA to Chicago if you like), and work really hard at making a compelling statement as to “why Duke” for you. Your research is obviously one such reason, but really think hard about why Duke is a good fit for you, and what resources you would take advantage of should you be fortunate enough to be admitted.

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^yes, that is what I meant about the first cut.

13

Thanks for the comments guys. Yes I am planning on applying ED Duke and EA Chicago. My essays are ok right now, but my rec letters are definitely pretty good. So I hope I’ll make it past the 1st round at least.

Would it be okay if I perhaps share my essays with you?

14

I think if you make it past the initial cut your chances are quite good, because you are interesting with your combination of research, German and debate. The trick will be creating a coherent narrative.

You are welcome to PM essays. DO NOT post them publicly on the forum under any circumstances!

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i think duke is a low reach for you, maybe match if you ED. You certainly are a competitive applicant though.
i’m also a PF debater who’s ED-ing into Duke

Chance me maybe?:smiley:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1816166-duke-ed-other-top-schools-ill-chance-back-d.html#latest

16

I think the critical piece for you will be the Why Duke essay. There are lots of other places that offer biology degrees. You need to give a strong reason in this essay.

I had no idea that it was possible to apply to Duke ED and then EA somewhere else. Thanks

17

What would you say my chances are at NYU Stern?