I am a rising senior at a very competitive school in new jersey. My GPA is on a 6.0 scale, and i have around a 5.1 while taking at least 3 aps/honors courses a year. This is probably top 10% of my class (we do not get class ranks so that is just a guess but i know i’m near the top). I have good extra curricular and a 30 on my ACT. Recommendations will be strong, and essays should be as well. I was very close to a 31 on my ACT (one point higher on any section would have brought me up). I got a 36 on reading, 33 english, 27 math, 25 science. So i know i am a little under qualified for duke, but if i applied ED there i would have a chance- my dad is friends with people who are pretty high up there (professor who is THE most respected at the school and a nobel prize winner, and also friends with head of their medical department). My question is this: are people at duke happy? I know the academics are at another level than Colgate and Wake, but i love both of those schools too. I’ve narrowed down ED to those three schools, but I’m not sure if i should waste my ED on two schools that my counselor told me i should get into (wake and colgate). I want to go to a fun school, but one where work is still important. Does duke have an extreme only work no play environment?
Is Duke your dream school? Don’t just apply ED there because of your position or anything like that. I do believe Duke has that work hard-play hard mentality but I don’t know how much it controls the environment. Others may be able to comment better. Don’t let the presence of the partying affect your decision too much; there are always ways to go around it.
Also, with a 30 ACT applying from NJ, Wake and Colgate aren’t exactly sure deals. Get your ACT up to 32+ no matter what.
Contra your counselor, I think both Colgate and Duke are long shots for you.
Duke 5%
Colgate 10%
Wake Forest 35%
Something roughly like that, assuming your application is decent. The Wake Forest number could be a little low because I’m not sure of the number of applicants that submit the ACT versus the SAT.
I would suggest either retaking the ACT to try to bring up the math and science scores or trying the SAT, which doesn’t include the science section since that seems to be your lowest score. I agree with the others that you are not a shoe-in for any of those schools, but I think you should apply ED to your top choice. Your dad being friends with a professor at Duke, regardless of how highly regarded a professor he is, isn’t going to help you at all unless that professor doubles as an admissions officer and reviews your application.
I’d also like to point out that if you were to get into Duke because of your connection, you are taking a risk that you will not be able to keep up with the other academically gifted students. The kids that are going to Duke from our high school are stellar students with near perfect standardized tests. Are you up for the challenge?
I want to respectfully point out that Colgate and Wake Forest are not usually considered to be in the same league as Duke. If Duke truly is your dream school, you’d do well to apply ED and hope for the best. If you settle for a school you’re less enthusiastic about attending, you might keep asking yourself how life would be different if you had made the decision to apply to Duke.
The only chance you have at Duke early or otherwise is b/c of the connection, but I know Duke legacies who were rejected with stats higher than yours. For Colgate, I disagree with your counselor and think the only shot you have is ED. 30 ACT is low for Colgate as it is not in the middle 50% of ACT for enrolled students. Your best shot is Wake ED