Hi! I was hoping you could notify me on the practicality of applying to duke (possibly early) and being admitted. Here is a rough skeleton of my application accolades)
GPA Weighted: 4.62/5.0
Unweighted: 3.9/4.0
Class Rank 43/833
SAT: 1560
Math 2: 790 (will retake)
Have not taken second yet
EC’s
Speech and Debate: State champion, 4th at harvard tournament, 9th at UT tournament, 12th at nationals, 7th at Emory Tournament
Ranked 10th in the nation
Texas High School democrats of America
JSA Club Founder/ best speaker fall 2017
FBLA: Parliamentarian freshman year, 5th at state in Future Business Leader Interview
Taekwando 3rd degree level 4 black belt
Leadership:
Founder/President of BackPAC (largest student run political action committee in the country)
Founder/President of JSA School Chapter
Texas High School Democrats State Officer
Class Treasurer
Congressional Debate Captain
Historian of MSA
Summer Stuff:
Notre Dame Leadership Program 2019 (fully paid for summer program)
Rohingya Refugee Camp Volunteer 2018
Co-Founder of summer camp for debaters
Katy Speech and Debate Academy coach
This is a lot to go through haha, but i’d really appreciate if you could take a look
Thank you!
Yeah, you probably don’t need to retake the math subject test, especially with a strong SAT. I also got a 790 and got in. I don’t think small things like that matter too much. You have great EC’s which should definitely help your case.
I guess im just scared of scrutiny and being brown and everything. My school is also really competitive so im trying to get the upper hand in every possible aspect
You’re solid. A second SAT subject test may be needed if you are looking at other colleges which require 2 subject tests. There is absolutely no reason nor is there any benefit in retaking either your SAT or your SAT subject tests. The differences between what you got and a perfect score is within the range of a minor brain fart, another test taker coughing at the wrong moment, or a question that was dropped by the test graders. Despite the large number of people on CC whispering that every point under a perfect GPA and perfect SAT counts against you, admissions people are not ranking SAT scores or GPAs at that fine a level, such as counting two Bs versus three Bs, or 1560 versus 1580.
Continue exactly what you are doing, and remember that, at an acceptance rate of about 10%, no applicant is better than a high match.
Well, the type of debate that I do is called Congressional debate, focused around public policy, international relations, American economy, and public speaking. The event has helped me foster knowledge and skills in these aspects over the years, and I would like to apply them at Duke - a school that is famous for its collaborative environment (just like debate) and is filled with opportunity to expel these skills in other areas. I want to double major in Econ and Public Policy if i go to duke, and see what I do afterwards.
Duke is indeed active in debate, but I’m not sure if they see it that way. The debate accolades are more so to flex my investment in an activity that encompasses research, presentation, and networking skills. In attempt to apply these skills in high school, I went to Bangladesh for the Rohingya Refugee camps and also started a political action committee.