Chances for a Duke obsessed girl

Colleges & Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>GPA:
4.30 weighted, 3.93 unweighted. Our school only weights for AP classes, not honors.
Class Rank:
4 out of 800 (weighted), then 80/800 (unweighted)
School Profile:
-Offers 22 AP classes
-about 30 students attend top 25 universities and top LACs
-86% go on to four year colleges
-3500 h.s. student population
AP classes taken:
AP Calculus A, AP Calculus BC, APUSH, AP Government and Politics, AP Biology, AP Literature, AP Composition, AP Comparative Government and Politics
AP Classes will take Senior Year:
AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP Art History, AP Micro, AP Macro
(13 by the time I graduate)
SAT Score:
730 CR/680 Math/710 Writing (11 essay)→2120
ACT:
32 M/31 R/32 E/27 Science → 31 composite
AP Scores:
4-AP Comparative, 5 AP Gov, 5 AP euro</p>

<p>Extracirriculars:</p>

<p>Violin:
-played violin since 5
-in State’s youth symphony since ninth grade
-Freshman orchestra assistant chair
-Three superior ratings from state high school league (most in school)
-Started quartet Freshmen year to play at nursing homes-especially during the holiday season </p>

<p>Future Problem Solving:
-Team Captain
-Alternates for International Competition, third place at state (11th)
-Received the 2/6 award at Regions (10th)
-Advanced to State (10th and 11th)</p>

<p>Medical Club:
-Started Medical club, president
-Get speakers from around the medical field-->dermatology, optometry, physical therapy, etc.
-got Medical Club as a school sponsored club, very hard to do in my bureaucratic school.</p>

<p>Community Service:
-Quartet plays during the holiday season at around five nursing homes around the city
-Quartet plays around daycare centers and educate kids about music
-Tutored Hispanic immigrants for one month during the summer
-Camp Counselor for younger children during the summer
-updates web pages for the state Library
-National Honor Society</p>

<p>Awards:
-Influential Women Essay Contest-3rd place, won 100 dollars, two years in a row (10th and 11th)
-Writings have been published multiple times in TeenInk (literary magazine)
-Youth President’s service Award three years in a row
-I was featured on city’s newspaper about my community service
-AP Scholar (hope to get National Scholar if I get fours on my test)
-National Merit Commended (210)</p>

<p>Employment:
-Full time employment at Starbucks Coffee from May to September
-Nannies two boys after school for two hours, every day of the week (starting middle of sophomore year to now)
-Nannies full-time during the summer. I work during the day, from 9-5 nannying, and then I work at starbucks from 5-11, so I work two full time jobs in the summer
-Quartet plays at Weddings occasionally. </p>

<p>Sports:
-Junior Varsity Gymnastics (9th grade)
-Varsity Gymnastics (10th grade)-->i had to wear a backbrace because I sprained my back and then I quit gymnastics
-Varsity Track (10th grade)
-Varsity Cheerleading (10th grade)
I quit sports altogether in junior year because of family issues...</p>

<p>Extra stuff:
-My essays will be awesome. I know that, because I'm very creative and I've gotten my essays published in various newspapers
-Recommendations: I guess the ones from the two teachers will be above average, but I'm not expecting "superior" recommendations; however, the recommendation from my counselor should be better, since I cried and talked to her while my parents were going through a divorce, and we carry conversations very well.
-Parents consistently argue, became divorced during sophomore year
-have a 5 year old sister I take care of
-Lost two best friends to car accidents Junior Year</p>

<p>Chances for applying ED?</p>

<p>How are the SAT/ACT scores? are they a bit too low?</p>

<p>anything I could improve on?</p>

<p>Thanks a lot!</p>

2

<p>I would say your extracurriculars and GPA is there. Your SATs aint bad, however a higher SATs will always help ya. I got in with a 2210. Have you taken your SAT IIs or are u planning to? But basically i think you have a pretty decent shot...but you can never tell with colleges</p>

3

<p>Not a bad shot for ED...but make sure you can communicate a solid passion that ties together your entire application.</p>

4

<p>I'm sure that you have ideas for your essays already, but one thing that really struck me while reading your post was the quartet that you started, and how you bring music to the community. I think that that would make for a great essay topic... talking about teaching children the values of music. Maybe I noticed this because I wrote my own essay about the barbershop quartet that I started at my high school (though it wasn't nearly as successful) and how great it felt to put in hard work and see the benefits.</p>

<p>Anyway, that's my two cents. Your stats look great. Best of luck to you.</p>

5

<p>I think you have a solid shot - Also, you mentioned you had some family issues during the middle of you high school experience. If you feel that this significantly impacted what you were able to do in high school (i.e. your mom suffered from terminal cancer, etc.), you should really consider letting the admissions office know that as well with an addendem or whatever. It may give them a better picture of who you are and what has shaped your experiences.</p>

6

<p>Something to consider when applying is that Duke wants people with initiative and drive, people that will go off and do amazing things and start new things and find a passion and stick with it and all that noise. Once you meet the basic qualifications of grades and test scores, they need this third thing that makes them think that they can set you loose on campus and expect great things. Think about how to structure your application so they see that you'll be one of those people. No clue about your chances - but good luck anyway.</p>

<p>Also, don't be afraid of sending in supplemental materials. A photo you took that you're especially proud of, a xerox of a certificate showing that you won some award, a brief (brief!) letter explaining some hardship that caused a drop in grades. While I certainly didn't send any, I heard that a lot of the people who end up being considered for merit scholarships send in a decent number of extra things. I have no clue how any of that works, but they're not going to punish you for adding one little thing that might set you out from the crowd. Use your common sense... more is obviously not always going to be better here.</p>

7

<p>bump bump bump</p>