Duke Univeristy in NC is my dream school, and I was just looking for some insight into my chances of getting in.
I have a 95 UW average, with all my averages being at least a 90 except for one (I got an 86 in physics honors, which is one of the hardest courses my school offers). I’ve taken 4 APs (1 sophomore year, 3 junior year) and gotten a 5 on all of them; in addition, I’ve received the AP Scholar with Honors Award. All my other classes have been Honors, and I plan on taking 5 APs next year and 1 college class with a local college (College German 5). I am part of a science research program and won an award in an international competition. I’ve also been on cheerleading the past 4 years and was JV captain, and am now varsity captain. I’m in Nationals Honors Society and gotten numerous awards within the school. I also have a really good relationship with my two teachers who are writing my letters, of recommendation, also my guidance counselor as well. I’m a very good writer and have a good story to write about for my common app essay (my struggles with depression and anxiety and how I’ve grown as an individual). I work 2 jobs (1 at the local library, and 1 with a youth cheerleading program), and also have done over 100 hours of community service within the past 4 years.
I know the college admission process is very subjective, but I was just looking for some insight. Please be honest and don’t be scared to say something that might upset me. Any tips are also great, thank you so much!
Glad to hear Duke is your top choice! Your resume is strong. Excellent extracurriculars - a fair amount of diversity among them between research and cheerleading - and your academics are certainly competitive.
Be careful with your common app essay though. Talking about personal struggles can be dangerous because you don’t want to come across as playing the victim or making excuses for shortcomings elsewhere in your app. Also, a lot of people try to write about personal struggles so if it doesn’t come across as genuine to the reader then your app could get thrown in the rejection pile right away. My advice would be to make sure you are HONEST and VULNERABLE. Do not lie or stretch the truth because it will be detrimental to your credibility. Also, remember that you want to be somewhat unique, so make sure you aren’t telling a generic story that the reader might hear from 10 other people that same day.
Good luck!