Chances for Duke University and more!?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am currently a junior in high school and Duke is one of my top choices for potential colleges.

I am a white female looking to pursue areas in STEM and/or medical sciences.

Current SAT score: 2040
Breakdown: 620 CR, 650 M, 770 W
(I am taking the test one more time later this month and hope/plan to improve my score)

Unweighted GPA: 4.0

Four national honor societies in the fields of math, science, history, and English. (I also plan to apply for Spanish honor society this year, as I exceed all of the requirements.)

I have been a dedicated member of my school’s Key Club for three years, and I was recently inducted into the Interact Club. These clubs are volunteer organizations devoted to giving back to the community as well as the nation on a larger scale. Key Club is my main priority, and I partake in almost all of events (which there are a lot of). Some include:
A talent show to raise money for cancer (annual), I work on the raffle committee.
Sears Tour: We are assigned an underprivileged child from our community and take them on a trip to sears where we have $150 per child to spend on cold weather attire (we then wrap them as gifts for Christmas, and include donated toys and books)
And many more small events and drives!

Relay for Life since freshman year, last year I was captain of my team.

In the way of extracurriculars, I have always been in concert band, have completed two years of marching band (with one more year to go), and am a member of my school’s crew (rowing) team.

As I am only a junior, I am still working on SAT II tests and finishing up AP classes. I am currently enrolled in two AP classes, took one AP my sophomore year, and am scheduled to take six AP classes next year. Whatever classes I have that are not AP are honors.

Here is a list of my top choices at the moment, I would appreciate if you would chance me for as many as you can:
Duke University
Boston College
Boston University
Northeastern University
Carnegie Melon (my brother is currently a freshman here, if that counts for anything)

Any possible Ivys that may accept me please list!! As well as any recommendations!

Given this information, I was hoping to receive some feedback with regard to my chances of being admitted to Duke and any advice you have to offer to help increase these chances.

Thanks so much!!

2

Your SATs are too low to be competitive for Duke. Try to retake or the ACT.

Main factors will be your class rigor, class rank and standardized test scores.

Would also be nice if you had some ECs of national prominence. The Key club stuff sounds pretty good but you’ll need more than that to get their attention.

3

You need about 200 SAT points to be competitive. Also your math score is really low for a top stem program (where close to an 800 is to be expected).

4

My Ivy recommendation is not to choose schools based on their membership of an ages-old sports league. There’s scarcely a student on this earth who’d be a perfect fit for all 8 of the Ivy League schools. Dartmouth and Princeton are both in decidedly rural settings, Columbia is in the US’ biggest city - very different environments. If you’re looking for an extensive liberal arts education, Columbia is great, but if you want to pursue a specific interest in most of your classes, Brown is probably the better choice. In these, and countless other aspects, the Ivy League colleges differ hugely, and choosing a school just because “It’s an Ivy” is a serious mistake.

As others have mentioned, you’ll need to bring your SAT scores up for Duke, or any Ivy, to be a realistic goal (and these schools are still unlikely to accept you, or anyone not named Malia Obama - 75% of kids with a 2400 don’t get in).

I do hope you have more activities beyond Key Club and honor societies - universities care little about the latter, since many/most applicants are capable of meeting all the criteria for these clubs, which are rarely the same at different schools in any case.

5

What types of ECs should I get involved with outside of school? Would it look better to get a job, do more volunteer work, or apply for an internship? Also, I am working very hard to bring my score up this month and I am confident that I can, however with my current score would I have a good chance at any of the other schools I mentioned on my list?

6

Go to the Duke forum and look at the profiles of accepted applicants. Pay attention to the ECs that they list. Its not about quantity of ECs, but quality.

7

You don’t “partake” in events. You “participate” in them. Don’t make your language overly flowery to impress-especially when you write your college admissions essays.

8

If you want insight into Duke admissions there is a very good video of an interview with the dean of admissions on the Forbes website

9

Your list of schools is A LOT like my list! Duke is my top choice as well, with both Boston pretty close. I think you shouldn’t list all 5 NHS’s on your app. You want to show well roundedness. And also maybe register late for the January SAT and STUDY LIKE CRAZY. If you want you can PM me!

10

@camtheman98 There is no reason she should not list all 5 honor societies… If she was accepted and her school has them, why take away from your own achievements?

11

Duke University: Reach – I don’t know your weighted GPA though. Write good essays
Boston College: Match – You have a good shot
Boston University: Match
Northeastern University: Match
Carnegie Melon: Reach – I’d be very surprised if you got in but then again you do have a really good GPA.
Chance back if you have the time?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1846622-chances-for-usc-ucb-ucla-ucsd-will-chance-back.html#latest

12

Might look at Holy Cross in Massachusetts. HC has great science programs and imo stronger academics than BC, BU and Northeastern. Holy Cross has nice campus and meets 100% of demonstrated financial need.