<p>GPA: 3.2
SAT: 1700 (Math-510, CR-570, Writing-620..Essay-10)
*First time taking it...will take again in October(expect to bring it up into 2000's and above)
Rank: School doesn't rank
Schedule: Taking almost every AP I possibly can
*I go to one of the hardest high schools in the nation...Ranked 26 in Newsweeks Top High Schools and Ranked 3rd in the state.
-Essay:Excellent
-Recs: Should be excellent as well</p>
<p>Senior Year Schedule:
-AP Gov't
-AP Econ
-AP English Langauge
-AP Spanish
-Adv. Dance
-Pre-Calc
-Health Ed(Grad. req)</p>
<p>ECs
*La Raza Unida Club (4 yrs- community liason and sec.)
*Spirit Committee(Skit Leader for three years)
*Mock Trial (2 yrs)
*Red Cross Volunteer (since 9th grade, actively engaged with summer camp program-staff for 2 years, Serving on Board of Directors as Youth Representative)
* Internship summer before Senior Year at San Francisco International Airport</p>
<p>Race/Ethnicity-Hispanic
Location-California
*First to go to college, Parents are immigrants to the US and never attended college.
* Would need as much financial aid as is possible</p>
<p>To start, I'm going to ask you something. What do YOU feel will make you stand out to the admissions committee?</p>
<p>Numbers-wise, your gpa and sats are low (though you seem to know that). I'm definitely not advocating that those alone will kill your chances, or that a good boost in them will push the door wide open for you, I'm just saying that in a pool of applicants, your numerical values are on the lower end. This gets back to my question. If you can prove to the admissions committee that you have something special to offer to our community, you'll help your chances a lot.</p>
<p>Hope this makes sense, I'm rather tired right now...</p>
<p>Well my dad lives in NC and he's dying for me to go to school there and Duke is my favorite school in the state(i know that doesn't sound like a lot but i just thought id let you know that) Well answering your question, i think the fact that ive proven myself as a leader in my own community shows that I am a step beyond some other applicants. Also, the transition from MS to high school was really difficult for me(which explains poor grades at the start of high school) Other than that I really dont know....but I feel that I would be a great match at Duke...and yes, though you are tired....you still make sense seahorse_05.</p>
<p>honestly, i'd say you have a slim chance. Even if you do get 2000 on your SATs, your GPA is low. However, you are a URM and a first-generation college, so I don't know how it plays out. If you can get 2000+ on your SATs and outstanding essays/recs and apply ED, then your chances would be bigger. But for a school as outstanding as Duke that rejects plenty of 1600/valdectorians, there are no guarantees for anyone.</p>
<p>You should also take a look at Wake... medium sized private with top academics and athletics that is a little easier to get into than Duke, but is still an amazing school. Just another suggestion for the NC route... I'm not saying you should give up on Duke... just spread out your hand eh.</p>
<p>At top-tier schools, being Hispanic has been shown to be worth roughly ~270 SAT points (180 out of 1600) or so (Espenshade et al. 2005). So would a white applicant with a 3.2 and a 1970 be competitive?</p>