Although I have tours to attend and more research to conduct, right now, I’m planning on applying early decision to Duke. Below are my stats and plans before November.
Demographic: White Straight Male (currently a junior)
Intended Study Area: Business Administration (or something business-related, such as finance or marketing)
School: South Iredell High School. Rural school. More info: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/north-carolina/districts/iredell-statesville-schools/south-iredell-high-14512
Coursework:
9th - All IB/Honors weighted classes with straight As
10th - 1 traditionally weighted class (PE), 5 IB/Honors weighted classes, and 2 AP weighted classes
11th - 8 AP/DP (IB Diploma Program) weighted Classes.
- Taking two business-related AP weighted classes online from a local community college
Current GPA: 4.4688 (I take year-long classes, so my 11th-grade GPA boost hasn’t kicked in yet)
Standardized Test:
ACT: 31 (Planning to get to at least a 33 before applying)
1400 SAT (Planning on submitting an ACT score anyways)
Awards:
1st Chair Alto-Saxophone for the all-county jazz band for four years
Silver Congressional Award Holder
2018 Varisty Tennis Conference Championship winner
2019 Varsity Tennis Conference Championship winner
Keystone Award (Award for one student out of entire class. Pretty much student of the year.)
Inquirer Award (Award for one student out of entire class. Awarded to the student who had to most interest and passion for learning.)
Working towards an FBLA Award
Extracurriculars:
- Holding leadership and trainer role of Coach at Chick-Fil-A. Active for at least 12 hours a week and have been working there since I was 14.
- Year-round tennis player (Freshman-Junior)
- Founder and President of the Future Business Leaders of America Chapter. The team didn't qualify for state competition. Still, I am working on multiple fundraisers with the team, working towards next year's competition, and creating a website for my team with our current work and resources for others. (Junior Year)
- Team Captain of the Conference Championship Varsity Tennis Team. I was the second seed on the Varsity Tennis Team during my Freshman year, my Sophomore year, and plan on being the first seed in the spring of my Junior year. (Freshman - Junior)
- Student Ambassador in the selective program (Sophomore - Junior)
- First Chair Alto-Saxophone and Section Leader for Marching Band. (Freshman-Sophomore)
- First Chair Alto-Saxophone and Section Leader for Jazz Band. ( Freshman - Junior)
- Junior Class Representative of the Science National Honor Society. (Junior)
- All of the Honor Societies and Beta Club. (Junior)
- Self-designed and co-coded personal website. Besides my resume, personal projects, and other information on my website, I also upload self-written research papers with business and economic premises.
- Working with a friend on Co-founding non-profit business. Aiming to be ready to launch in March by the latest.
Internships
- I spent a day shadowing Rafic Dahan, the Head of Capital Market Operations and Risk Management at Bank of America in Charlotte.
(The internships haven’t happened yet but are confirmed)
- Interning with Rafic Dahan, the Head of Capital Market Operations and Risk Management at Bank of America in Charlotte.
- Interning with Jason Ferouni, the Marketing Manager at a large insurance company called Willis Towers Watson
- Interning at a local art gallery business on and off during the summer
- Interning for a week in the Spring with a local website design business in the area
Summer Programs
(I had to apply to each program below. They are ordered from least selective on the top to the most selective on the bottom)
- Wake Forrest Summer Immersion Camp. Commitment: 1 Week. Status: Confirmed
- NC State Youth Leadership Challenge Week. Commitment: 1 week. Status: Confirmed
- Martha Guy Summer Business Institute Commitment: 2 weeks. Status: Pending
Community Involvement
- I am a Red Cross Blood Drive Leader, meaning I've hosted a blood drive. I plan to host at least three more blood drives by November.
- Saint Therese Church volunteers. Active at least 2 hours every week. (7 Years)
- Community Awareness Volunteer and Volunteer Trainer at the Ada Jenkins Center (Nonprofit with resources for economically disadvantaged people). Active at least one hour every week. (Since September 2019)
- Member of the Mooresville Youth Council. (December 2019)
- As an IB student for the past six years, I am required to meet a requirement of hours each year. I have over 200 service hours completed since 6th grade and 150 of those hours from high school. I've been involved in numerous service activities throughout the community, from volunteering at food banks to soup kitchens. These hours will only increase with time.
Questions, Advice, and Summary.
To be completely honest, I am still a confused Junior. I want to pursue a career in business and am exploring different opportunities. I want to go to a top tier school, with Duke being my stretch School. It’s incredibly competitive, but it would offer me a great atmosphere, every opportunity for networking, interviews, internships, etc. Possibly to the point where I might not even need to go through an undergraduate business program.
What are my chances to get into Duke ED (Assuming I raise my ACT score)?
If not Duke, then where?
Should I be working on more, focusing on maintaining what I have, or both?
Other Schools I’m Interested in
- UNC-Chapel Hill
- Wake Forrest
- Vanderbilt
- NC State