Duke ED Results Class of 2022

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

Hey guys, I didn’t know if anyone was ready to post this yet… So here it is!
Congrats to everyone that got in and good luck, Class of 2023, your time is now!
Post your stats below using this template :slight_smile:

Pick one:
Decision: Accepted
Decision: Deferred
Decision: Rejected

Pick one:
Trinity College of Arts and Sciences
Pratt School of Engineering

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown):
ACT:
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays:
Teacher Recommendation:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
Intended major(s):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments:

2

Decision: Deferred

Pratt School of Engineering

Objective:

[ul][]SAT I (breakdown): 1460:790 M, 670 EBRW (Dec scores come tomorrow)
[]ACT: 35 C: 36 R, 36 S, 34 E, 34 M
[]SAT II: None taken
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.3
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 61/293
[]AP (place score in parenthesis): AB Calc (5), Physics 1&2 (4), World (4), Human (5)
[]IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[]Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Chem, AP US Gov, AP Lit, AP Macro, AP Seminar
[]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Furman Scholar, Lander University Junior Fellow, AP Scholar with []Distinction (nothing really significant)[/ul]

Subjective:

[ul][]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Academic Club at school, Mock Trial, Varsity Lacrosse
[]Job/Work Experience: YMCA Counselor, Grocery store Janitor
[]Volunteer/Community service: MCA Counselor in Training 500+ hrs, Operation Christmas Child packaging center, NHS/Beta Club
[]Summer Activities: Summer Camp counseling[/ul]

Essays:

[ul][]Common App: used “teenager” prompt from coalition
[]Duke specific: talked about interest to solve problems as an engineer and about transitioning from an all black to an all white school for the “community” essay[/ul]

Teacher Recommendation:

[ul][]Calc Teacher 10/10: One of the top 5 students she’s ever had
[]Physics Teacher 7/10: didn’t really work that hard in his class but I really showed interest in the material
[]Counselor Rec: 8/10, talked with her for about an hour so she create her own “brag sheet”
[]Additional Rec: N/A
[li]Interview: Didn’t answer interviewer request[/ul][/li]
Other

[ul][]State (if domestic applicant): SC
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]Intended major(s): Applied under Engineering but recently found new desire to switch to Economics
[]School Type: Public
[]Ethnicity: African American
[]Gender: Male
[]Income Bracket: ~100k
[]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM applying to STEM field[/ul]

Reflection

[ul][]Strengths: Test Scores, Community Service, Academic Rigor, Hook, Recommendations
[]Weaknesses: GPA, Extra-curriculars, Awards
[li]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Honestly surprised I was even deferred but my weakness was definitely not trying in classes and having a lower GPA and not really devoting my time to any outside school activities i.e. science club, Olympiad, etc. [/ul][/li]
General Comments: For the RD round I will see if I can get a recommendation from my principal who happens to be a Duke alumni to see if I can get a little more pull.

3

Decision: Accepted

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

[ul][]SAT I (breakdown): 1560 (780 M, 780 CR)
[]ACT: 35 (35/35/35/36)
[]SAT II: 800 math II, 780 lit
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[]Weighted GPA: 5.3
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/300
[]AP (place score in parenthesis): None sent
[]IB (place score in parenthesis): None sent
[]Senior Year Course Load: IB HL ITGS, IB HL HOTA, IB HL English, IB SL Math, IB SL Environmental Systems, IB SL Spanish
[]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Girl Scout Gold Award? Nothing major.[/ul]

Subjective:

[ul][]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Track/cross country (9-12), Science Bowl (9-12, Pres 11 and 12), Girl Scouts (Gold Award), lots of volunteering (in depth and a little different)
[]Job/Work Experience: Taught at a YMCA camp over the summer
[]Volunteer/Community service: library, food pantry, small stuff at school- pretty generic
[]Summer Activities: YMCA job
[]Essays: Common App: 8-9/10 (not too risky), Why Duke-6/10 (not risky), Diversity-10/10 (risky, unique, and probably the best thing I’ve ever written)
[]Teacher Recommendation:10/10, 9/10, not sure how the third was but my teachers are great.
[]Counselor Rec:Idk. New counselor.
[]Additional Rec: N/A
[li]Interview: I requested one but did not receive it. Note to future applicants: you can get in without an interview if you are thorough in your application![/ul][/li]
Other

[ul][]State (if domestic applicant): NC
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]Intended major(s): sociology
[]School Type: small public.
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender: F
[]Income Bracket:
[]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): legacy [/ul]

Reflection
Wow.

[ul][]Strengths: Test scores, unique extracurriculars (could not discuss in depth on CC).
[]Weaknesses: No national awards or research experience.
[li]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: No idea. While I could not be more excited right now, I know that many people who are just as qualified as I am did not get in. [/ul][/li]
General Comments: GO DUKE!!!

4

Decision: Deferred

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

[ul][]SAT I (breakdown):
[]ACT: 32 (One sitting) (35 M, 35E, 30 R, 28S)
[]SS:33 (35M, 35E, 31R, 30S)
[]SAT II: N/A
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94 (4.687 W)
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8/321
[]AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH(5) AP Lang(4) AP Gov (didn’t take)
[]IB (place score in parenthesis):
[]Senior Year Course Load: Econ H, Euro His AP, Spanish 4H, AP Lit, Physics H, AP Calc (AB), Adv. Bio
[]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Not much to put here, State Scholar???[/ul]

Subjective:

[ul][]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Softball (2015 State Champ, 2016 State Runner-Up), Class VP, Prom Committee, Leadership Committee, Tennis (JV/Varsity)
[]Job/Work Experience: 2-year Receptionist at Park Pool
[]Volunteer/Community service: Rec. Volunteer at a Local Nursing Home, Wrestling Statistician
[]Summer Activities: Club Softball
[]Essays: Nothing spectacular, I’m revising for my RD apps
[]Teacher Recommendation:

  1. 9/10- He was my APUSH teacher and sent his LOR to me, his grammar wasn’t that good but he loved me as a student and was super excited to write it.
  2. 7-8/10, Chem teacher who I now TA for. She uses a format so probably wasn’t super heartfelt.
  3. 7-8/10 Math teacher who had me as a cheer coach, not her favorite student but she doesn’t hate me
    []Counselor Rec:
    7/10, probably very generic, we have a good relationship but I had to fill out a form for her
    Additional Rec:
    8/10, softball coach, she loves me but I’m worried it was based off of a template
    [    ]Interview:[/ul]

Other

[ul][]State (if domestic applicant): IL
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]Intended major(s): Biology
[]School Type: Medium-Sized Public
[]Ethnicity:W
[]Gender:F
[]Income Bracket: >$200,000
[]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul]

Reflection

[ul][]Strengths: Eh… GPA?
[]Weaknesses: Basically everything
[li]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I guess they saw something in me that warranted a second chance???[/ul][/li]
General Comments: Glad they’re willing to give me a second chance!

5

Decision: Deferred

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

[ul][]SAT I (breakdown): 1520, 790 math, 730 ERW
[]ACT: did not send
[]SAT II: 800 math II, 740 US History
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9/4.0
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8/277
[]AP (place score in parenthesis): Statistics (5), US History (5)
[]IB (place score in parenthesis):
[]Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc, AP Econ, AP Lit, AP Chem, AP Spanish, Digital Photography, Gym, Lunch
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): no major award just general awards: national merit commended scholar and some honor societies[/ul][/li]
Subjective:

[ul][]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Basketball three year starter, all conference (co-captain for two years); DECA w some state/regional awards (Chapter VP); Peer Leadership, organize freshmen orientation and field day, serve as tour guide (Co-Pres); JSA, attended some conferences (Chapter VP); FBLA, placed nationally; AAU basketball for three years
[]Job/Work Experience: paid management consulting intern in summer; bball camp counselor for two summers
[]Volunteer/Community service: organized fundraiser for underprivileged children raising $15k by myself; volunteer in kitchen of rehab/homeless center since 7th grade
[]Summer Activities: went to enrichment program for two summers, summer college at an Ivy for business course, internship mentioned above, and camp counselor mentioned above
[]Essays: Personal statement was really personal/intriguing (9/10); supplementals pretty solid too (9/10)
[]Teacher Recommendation: Decent, one from stat teacher and other from english teacher, both liked me a lot (8/10)
[]Counselor Rec: good, he writes a lot of them but likes me (8/10)
[]Additional Rec: very strong from my boss at internship, loved me (10/10)
[li]Interview: very strong (9/10)[/ul][/li]
Other

[ul][]State (if domestic applicant): NJ
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]Intended major(s): Econ
[]School Type: Public
[]Ethnicity: Asian (other)
[]Gender: Male
[]Income Bracket: very high
[]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/ul]

Reflection

[ul][]Strengths: extracurriculars and essays
[]Weaknesses: sat, gpa, and school reputation
[li]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I was deferred because of my first quarter grades. I received all As except a C+ in AP Lit, which really offsets the rest of my transcript. They probably want to see if I improve-- hopefully. [/ul][/li]
General Comments:
Hurts to be deferred to my top choice, but I have a lot more schools to apply to. Wish everyone all the best!!

6

Decision: Deferred

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

[ul][]SAT I (breakdown): Did Not Take
[]ACT: 32 C - 30E 30M 36R 33S
[]SAT II: Did Not Take
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.71
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
[]AP (place score in parenthesis): APES-5, Psych-4, APUSH-3, Lang-3, Did not report AB Calc
[]IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[]Senior Year Course Load: Contemporary World Problems (World History), Civics, AP Chem, AP Calc BC, Anatomy & Physiology, Biomedical Engineering, World Literature, Leadership (Link Crew - its on my transcript but idk if this is a real class)
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None but did participate in a couple science fairs and did my own research [/ul][/li]
Subjective:

[ul][]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 3 years in National Honors Society, nominated to be a link crew leader and interact with freshman throughout the year, Scuba Diving since I was 10, which is the youngest age you can be certified, and have become a master scuba diver which is the highest level before going professional, Waste Management Internship,Conducted research in junior and senior year.
[]Job/Work Experience: Fast Food - Taco Time, during senior year
[]Volunteer/Community service: Have volunteered with a organization since I was 6 that packages food and sends it to food banks across Western Washington. Its called Food Life Line.
[]Summer Activities: 3-week service project to the Dominican Republic to build houses, schools, farms, and clean water filtration.
[]Essays: Personal was about when I was elementary school and shows how I’m still that passionate and energetic but how I have also matured (9/10). “Why Duke” essay was lighthearted to show my personality again, but still showed that I’ve put my research into the school (9/10). Supplemental was how I myself don’t really have a culture I represent, but through my experiences, like spending time with the locals in the Dominican Republic, I have developed and interest to explore other cultures (8/10).
[]Teacher Recommendation: (9/10) APES teacher from sophomore year and English teacher who taught my in sophomore and junior year (AP Lang in junior). Had great relationships with both and both saw me as a hardworking and friendly person.
[]Counselor Rec: (9/10) Go to a small school with only about 150 in my class so counselor knew me by name. I’ve also done many school events like info and curriculum night so they’ve seen my help around.
[]Additional Rec:
[li]Interview: (10/10) Had a great conversation and I spent about 3/4 the time just asking her questions about Duke and about life after high school. Probably would have talked for another hour if they didn’t have to leave. [/ul][/li]
Other

[ul][]State (if domestic applicant): Washington State
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]Intended major(s): Pre-Med
[]School Type: Public
[]Ethnicity: Multiracial (Asian and White)
[]Gender: M
[]Income Bracket: High - 150,000+
[]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None really, my dad is the only one to graduate with a Bachelors in our family, but about twenty years after he first attempted.[/ul]

Reflection

[ul][]Strengths: Not really sure, my school is ranked the #1 public school in Washington State so maybe that helped. Great recommendations and interview, and possibly good essays. Unique extracurriculars?

[]Weaknesses: GPA, Lower-end Test Scores
[li]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I’m fortunate that my high school is one of the best in the country so I have a lot of opportunities and have a rigorous and unique course load throughout all 4 years. Pretty much all the classes offered are either honors or AP. Also possibly because I have some unique extracurriculars like scuba diving and going to the Dominican Republic. [/ul][/li]
General Comments: I was honestly surprised that I was deferred because I thought for sure I was going to be rejected with my weaker test scores and lower GPA. Glad that they decided to give me a chance and I hope I can get in during the RD process!

7

Decision: Accepted!

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): None

ACT: 35C (35E, 35M, 34R, 36S)

SAT II: 780 Math II

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94

Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.695

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A (probably top 2-3%)

AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), BIO (4), CHEM (4), COMP (4), PHYSICS 1 (4)

IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

Senior Year Course Load: Current Issues/Civics (required lecture class), AP Calc AB (couldn’t take BC due to scheduling conflict), AP Physics C, AP Literature, AP Statistics, ARM (Advanced Research Mentorship)

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Bowdoin College Book Award for an Unusual Passion for Inquiry, Discovery, and Innovative Thinking, CT Junior Sciences and Humanities Symposium Finalist, CSEF Special Award, AP Scholar with distinction

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Model UN (VP - Senior Year, Secretary - Junior Year, Chair of a committee at University of Hartford Simulation; Awards - Most Innovative Delegation 2x, got into Harvard MUN, security council at Choate Rosemary Hall Sim), Varsity Tennis (Varsity Starter for 4 years (played 4th singles), Conference Winners in '14-'15 and '16-'17, Top 5 Team in State in '14-‘15, 10-1 record as Junior), Editor-in-Chief of Research Journal (Compiled, edited, and reviewed 20 research papers into a journal, selected out of 18 students who interviewed, 153 page published scientific journal), Debate Team (Series of CT debate competitions. Qualified for State Tourney (9th place). 2nd place team in 3 Regional Contests. 12-1 Record as Sophomore), Science Bowl A Team Member (Jeopardy Style Quiz Bowl, placed 8th in state/regional competition, ‘A’ Team co-captain as a senior), School advisory facilitator (Chosen by Assistant Principal, leader/mentor for underclassmen, meet once a month to give tips/presentations and discuss teens’ problems)

Job/Work Experience: None

Volunteer/Community service: Key (Kiwanis) Club (Secretary and Treasurer) - 80 hours - co-created an event called “Hunger Games” (students pay $20 and 2 cans to compete in various events: raised $3000 + 1000 cans), Camp Sunrise Jr Counselor - camp for kids w/ special needs - 60 hours, UConn Hospital Volunteering (Escorted patients, Messenger, Distributed paperwork-40 hours),

Summer Activities: UCSD Research Scholars (prestigious research 3 week (~40 hours a week) program in UC San Diego - 30 accepted applicants - summer '16), Boys State Delegate (House of Representatives Minority Leader - 70 hours, 1 week - summer '17)

Essays:
Common App: 9.5/10 (personal, unique I think, my comp teacher loved it, about my innate curiosity)
Why Duke: 9/10 (talked about research, great first and last sentence)
Diversity: 8.5/10 (interesting but kinda weird)

Teacher Recommendation:

1 - Research Teacher: she loves me and is a great teacher who really cares about teaching, so probs 9.5/10

2 - APUSH Teacher: always asked great questions in the class, saw my inquisitive side so probs 8.5 or 9/10

Counselor Rec: Know her better than most, great lady, probs has a little generic stuff so probs 8/10

Additional Rec: Research Mentor, amazing guy, very well written, writes rec letters for a lot of people regardless of stage of life so probs a 9.75/10

Interview: Overall, thought it went very well. We talked for an hour and I ended up asking most of the questions.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): CT
Country (if international applicant):
Intended major(s): Biology (may double major in econ)
School Type: Large Suburban Public (competitive)
Ethnicity: Asian Indian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: ACT, GPA, course rigor, RESEARCH RESEARCH AND AWARDS, summer activities
Weaknesses: Asian Male in Bio, bunch of solid awards but no huge ones, maybe AP scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I’m fortunate that my school is such a competitive one, pushing me to my limits and offering courses and opportunities not open to many other places around the country. My involvement and awarded research was probably one of the biggest things that helped me.

General Comments: I am so ECSTATIC! It’s been my dream to come since 8th grade and it came to fruition. To all those who got rejected or differed, keep you head up, yall are amazing cuz you even were able to apply to here.

8

Accepted!

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1490 (didn’t send) - 780 math, 710 english
ACT: 35C (36 reading, 36 math, 35 science, 31 reading, 8 on essay)
SAT II: (didnt send) -750 math 1, 730 math 2, 640 biology E
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 28/540
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geography (5), World History (3), US History (4), English III (4), Capstone Seminar (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Football, theater tech, AP Calc AB, AP Gov/AP Econ, AP English IV, AP Biology, AP Capstone Research
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Football 4 years, Track and field 3 years, Wrestling 1 year, NHS, Spanish honor society, had small leadership role in friend’s club.

Job/Work Experience: None

Volunteer/Community service:
-Led in church’s Children’s ministry, meaning I taught elementary school kids at church for past 6 years.
-Led in church’s Student ministry, meaning I welcomed new high schoolers.
-Mission trips (mentioned directly below)

Summer Activities:
-Mission trips (Nashville, New Orleans, Istanbul, Beijing) over past 4 consecutive summers
-Participated and led in church camp over past 5 consecutive summers

Essays: Pretty good I thought, don’t want to say what about.
Teacher Recommendation:
-Really good, from a man I really like and trust that had been my football and wrestling coach, teacher in a science course, and now assistant principal. He knows me well in any and every academic situation.
-Can’t say exactly, from a math teacher I liked in a class I think I represented myself well in both academically and socially so probably pretty good.
Counselor Rec: Didn’t really know her so can’t say
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Really good and genuine conversation just about Duke and why I wanted to apply early.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant): USA
Intended major(s): Undecided, however mentioned in “Why Duke” essay that I intended to pursue a medical career.
School Type: Pretty good and competitive public school.
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Youngest of 6 children?

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, ACT, rank, extremely involved in church, essays
Weaknesses: No background whatsoever in research, academic competitions, or medical experience like shadowing.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Not sure, probably accepted due to consistent academic performance and church involvement

General Comments: Extracurriculars are quality, not quantity!! I didn’t have to do anything I genuinely didn’t want to do to get into my dream school.

9

Decision: Deferred

Pick one:
Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown):
ACT:34
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Weighted: 4.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):NA
AP (place score in parenthesis): Statistics-5 Biology-5 AP Calc AB-5 Did not take too many APs as my school offers college classes
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:AP Calc BC, AP Biology, AP Chem, Spanish, AP Research
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
International HOSA Qualifier
Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge Semifinalist
State Math Contest (Top 8% in state) placed top 20
TSA Internation Qualifier
Hospital volunteer award 200 hours

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Founded a nonprofit to help children in rural counties get a better education
Tennis- 4 time state qualifier
Key Club- Created events such as Trick of Treat for Unicef Raised $600
Math Club- Qualified for AIME and did many other math competitions
Created Math and English classes for refugees
Cultural Club officer
Biology Club officer
Piano player did many competitions received excellent rating by state.

Job/Work Experience:
Clinical Internship at Duke (300 hours)
Hospital Intern (400 hours)

Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities: Internships
Essays: 8/10
Teacher Recommendation: 9/10, 10/10
Counselor Rec: Knew her very well 10/10
Additional Rec: Rec letter from doctor I shadowed at Duke 8/10
Interview:None

Other

State (if domestic applicant):NC
Country (if international applicant):
Intended major(s):Chemistry
School Type: Public large
Ethnicity:Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:<300k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):Asian male

Reflection

Strengths: ECS, scores, grades
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
I thought I had a great chance.
I am just bitter, I saw Duke as something I could actually get into and to see many other applicants who are much more under qualified than me angers me.

General Comments:

10

Decision: Accepted!! Trinity

ACT: 34 (R:36 E:35 M:33 S:33 Writing:10)
GPA: 3.8UW 4.1W
Rank: NA
AP: 10 classes by graduation, all 4s/5s on tests I’ve taken so far

Essays: 9.5/10
Reccs: 10/10
Interview: 8/10

US, White, female

Reflection:
Strengths: Essays, reccs, ACT, legacy, working while in school
Weaknesses: GPA, only JV sports not varsity

General Comments:
This has been my dream school since about 4th grade. Even if you get a couple B+’s and think your dream is gone for, continue to take hard classes and still apply!! While it’s a huge gamble, it could work out! Good luck everyone!!

11

Decision: Accepted

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): NA
ACT: 35
SAT II: Math II- 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4 (5.2 weighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/183ish
AP (place score in parenthesis): APES (5) AP Lang (5) Calc BC (4) AP Chem (4) AP World (4) APUSH (3, didn’t send)
IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
Senior Year Course Load: H. Orchestra, AP Lit, AP Physics I&II, AP Stat, H. Epidemiology, H. Applied Math, Multi-Variable Calculus
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NA

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Started a Symphony Club, pres of a service/community club, did online classes with NCSSM
Job/Work Experience: worked at a medical training tools startup doing researchish
Volunteer/Community service: about 300 hours
Summer Activities: orchestra camp, aforementioned job
Essays: really good
Teacher Recommendation: probably good, did not read them
Counselor Rec: probably good, did not read it
Additional Rec: NA
Interview: good, but could hardly get a word in, the guy talked so much

Other

State (if domestic applicant): NC
Country (if international applicant):
Intended major(s): bio, global health
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: >100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nada

Reflection

Strengths: essays, good test scores, grades, local school
Weaknesses: no interesting extracurriculars or competitions, etc
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
The person who read my and all of my regions applications, wrote those who were accepted a handwritten note (which was super nice omg) telling us why we got in and mine was almost entirely about my essays. Also, I lived kind of nearby so they were acquainted with my school idk if that helped tho.

General Comments:
its somewhat a crapshoot, I know qualified people who did not get it or who were deferred and I know not-so-qualified people who did get in. I would totally recommend writing the “optional essay” because that stood out to the person who read my application, even though I would not traditionally bring diversity to the campus.

12

Decision: Accepted

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): didn’t do
ACT: 34 (E 33 M 31 R 34 S 36) writing: 9. (one sitting)
SAT II: did not send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): n/a
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): n/a
IB (place score in parenthesis): Predicted: Math HL (6) Chem HL (7) Econ HL (6) Phy SL (6) Eng A lit (6) Swa B (7) EE/TOK – (not yet)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Science fair award 2nd place

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): basketball Varsity, Co-founder of basketball camp for local students in my town, Leader of Mwereni orphanage School teaching, Basketball coach of local school, East African MUN conference ambassador, Inter-school debate club, French Club, Co-leader of school’s Math club, Student Editor for school’s Summit Magazine, Student govt. rep.

Job/Work Experience: ROAD contractor and civil engineering company (Rocktronic)
Summer Activities: Coach of basketball camp for local schools.

Essays: Common App – tribute to my mother and how her story has impacted my life (9/10)
Optional essay: This was the best 250 words I have ever written, a memoir for what inspires me and the battles I was faced with growing up (10/10)
Why DUKE essay: It was rather conventional and not as fascinating as the others but that’s because I am not sure about what I wanna do in Uni…whether trinity or Pratt is the better for me; that I hope to find out next year! (6/10)
Teacher Recommendation: Chemstry HL teacher, Math HL teacher (they both really like me!! So must be good but didnt see them (8/10))
Counselor Rec: He is great, we had been thinking of Duke or Princeton all the way through summer but his advice for me to pick Duke was the best choice ever! (10/10)
Interview: none.

Other:

Country (if international applicant): Tanzania
Intended major(s): I am not sure.
School Type: IB School
Ethnicity: black
Gender: M
Income Bracket: Received a Full Scholarship Award!!! (low income)

Reflection:

Strengths: Essays were good, I really tried my best on them and I was doing 2 schools at once, so a lot of writing and thinking was put into essays. Extra-curricular always suited my interests. My Test score was pretty strong too.
Weaknesses: could improve SAT II scores, didn’t send though.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
I thank God for everything! I put a lot of effort and time into especially the essays, I am glad they intrigued the admission officers.
General Comments: Good luck to everyone applying regular decision and all those deferred. I hope everyone gets what they have worked for, for those rejected, there may be better opportunities else for you so keep your heads up…good luck everyone! Go DUKE!!!

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Decision: Accepted

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): didn’t do
ACT: 34 (E 33 M 31 R 34 S 36) writing: 9. (Single sitting)
SAT II: did not send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): n/a
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): n/a
IB (place score in parenthesis): Predicted: Math HL (6) Chem HL (7) Econ HL (6) Phy SL (6) Eng A lit (6) Swa B (7) EE/TOK – (not yet)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Science fair award 2nd place, Gold & Bronze book reading comp.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): basketball Varsity, Co-founder of basketball camp for local students in my town, Leader of Mwereni orphanage School teaching, Basketball coach of local school, East African MUN conference ambassador, Inter-school debate club, French Club, Co-leader of school’s Math club, Student Editor for school’s Summit Magazine, Student govt. rep. (9/10)
Job/Work Experience: Road contractor and civil engineering company (Rocktronic)
Summer Activities: Coach of basketball camp for local schools.
Essays: Common App – tribute to my mother and how her story has impacted my life (9/10)
Optional essay: This was the best 250 words I have ever written, a memoir for what inspires me and the battles I was faced with growing up (10/10)
Why DUKE essay: It was rather conventional and not as fascinating as the others but that’s because I am not sure about what I wanna do in Uni…whether trinity or Pratt is the better for me; that I hope to find out next year! (6/10)
Teacher Recommendation: Chemstry HL teacher, Math HL teacher (didn’t see them but they both really like me!! So must be good (8/10))
Counselor Rec: He is great, we had been thinking of Duke or Princeton all the way through summer but his advice for me to pick Duke was the best choice ever! (10/10)
Interview: none.

Other:

Country (if international applicant): Tanzania
Intended major(s): I am not sure.
School Type: IB School
Ethnicity: black
Gender: M
Income Bracket: Received a Full Scholarship Award! So incredibly delighted!!! (low income)

Reflection:

Strengths: Essays were good, I really tried my best on them and I was doing 2 schools at once, so a lot of writing and thinking was put into essays. Extra-curricular always suited my interests. My Test score was pretty strong too.
Weaknesses: could improve SAT II scores, didn’t send though…only took once in Oct. and it was too late to retake.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
I thank God for everything! I put a lot of effort and time into especially the essays, I am glad they intrigued the admission officers.
General Comments: Good luck to everyone applying regular decision and all those deferred. I hope everyone gets what they have worked for, for those rejected, there may be better opportunities else for you so keep your heads up…good luck everyone! GO DUKE!!!

14

Decision: Accepted

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1520 (780 math 740 english) 2 sittings highest single:1500
ACT: NA
SAT II: 780 math 2, 710 spanish
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank or use percentiles
AP (place score in parenthesis): US (5) World (4) Calc BC (5) AB subscore (5) Lang (4) Spanish Lang (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
Senior Year Course Load: AP US gov, AP Chem, AP Lit, Multivariable Calc (1 term), Linear Algebra (1 term), Spanish 307 (oral skills), hopefully another spanish class, TA for precalc and spanish 2 (spanish and math taken at the university of oregon.)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Soccer (JV Captain), Stage Manager at circus show for women, Student government (class officer 2 years, site council this year), National Honors Society, Peer tutoring (vice president and founding member), American Red Cross Club (Vice President), probably something small I’m forgetting.
Job/Work Experience: Supervisor in Training at Jamba Juice (20 hours a week starting junior year)
Volunteer/Community service: peer tutoring, stage manager, etc
Summer Activities: Stage Manager, work
Essays: Community 10/10 common app 8/10 why duke 7/10
Teacher Recommendation: 8/10
Counselor Rec:8/10
Additional Rec:NA
Interview: 9/10

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Oregon
Country (if international applicant):
Intended major(s): Can’t remember what I said on app
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >250000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy (my dad)

Reflection
Pretty surprised I got in, but I think it helps that no one has gone from my city in at least 5 years.

Strengths: GPA
Weaknesses: No national awards, pretty well rounded, not pointy
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think it was a combination of legacy, underrepresented location, and being generally qualified.

General Comments: Good Luck!

15

Decision: Accepted

Pratt School of Engineering

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1520 (didn’t send) (R740 M780 VERY poor writing score that I’ve forgotten; I hated the prompt)
ACT: 36 (35E 35M 36R 36S 08W lol)
SAT II (forgot to send both rip): Math II 780, Physics 790
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 45/649 which is barely top 7%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics C Mech (5), Physics C E&M (5), English Lang (4), BC Calc (5), Chem (3), CompSci A (3), World History (4), Physics 1 (4), Physics 2 (3), Psychology (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Ceramics (3D art), Multivariable Calc/Linear Algebra (semester courses), AP Stats, AP Gov, AP Macro, AP Lit, Organic Chemistry
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): A few minor art awards, nothing past regional level. Same with latin awards. Nothing else.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Rowing (14hr/wk, 48wks/yr, 9-12, bow seat/stroke seat), National Honor Society (2hrs/wk, 16wks/yr, 11-12), Mu Alpha Theta (9-12), Latin Club (9-10), Cleaning Up the Environment Club (12)
Job/Work Experience: none, see volunteer work?
Volunteer/Community service: Teacher’s Assistant at a summer school (21 hrs/wk, 4 wks, basically unpaid job), NHS work, CUTE club (see above), peer tutor in math+physics.
Summer Activities: Rowing (2hrs a day, 4 days a wk)
Essays: 10/10 Common App (“Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others”) about struggling with rowing and what I have had to teach myself, 7/10 “why Duke” (why engineering was good, why pratt wasn’t so much), 9/10 “background” essay about being an only child + interested in art even though my main interests lie in STEM.
Teacher Recommendation: BC Calc teacher, and Physics C teacher. I’m guessing 9 or 10/10, I didn’t see either but I have a good rapport with both teachers.
Counselor Rec: Probably 7/10.
Additional Rec: none
Interview: 10/10. Had a very similar life to my interviewer, similar interests and reasons for choosing Duke. It was an awesome interview! We had great conversation, and I was comfortable for most of the time.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant): N/A
Intended major(s): Electrical Engineering
School Type: Public (2.5k students, very competitive)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <10k, but assets in other places so I didn’t get any aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Girl in STEM, immigrant family (one parent immigrated to US)

Reflection

Strengths: ACT score, strong dedication to one EC, all A’s (admittedly not awesome A’s), and essays.
Weaknesses: Very little community service and leadership, no experience (internships, job, etc.), really only 1 EC so no time for anything else.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I have a pretty strong academic record, and my ACT score.

General Comments: I’m going to try to major or minor in math or physics alongside doing engineering. And I want to do a FOCUS program. I visited the school and loved it! I did make the decision to ED pretty quickly though (Oct 24th, to be exact), I haven’t really been thinking about Duke as a choice for me until the end of Junior year. Excited to be a blue devil!

Write the optional essay, do the interview, and make sure it is right for you! Don’t spread yourself thin––don’t do EC’s that you aren’t interested in, don’t do things to stuff your resume. Make sure your main essay tells something about you! Good luck!!!

16

Decision: Accepted

Trinity School of Arts and Sciences

View common app essay: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUT2x2D2dk1_YAE8BaO2f2w?view_as=subscriber

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT: 34 (35E, 34M, 33R, 35S)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), Chem (2)yikes, Lang (5), Bio (5), Chinese (4), Calc BC (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP enviro, AP euro, world lit, AP comp sci, AP stats, college bridge course at the University of Chicago
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Chicago Children’s Choir, Student Government, Cancer research at Northwestern, Martial Arts, Religious Leadership, Tennis, Soccer, Musical Theater
Job/Work Experience: Babysitting, Tutoring
Volunteer/Community service: The choir is a non-for profit organization where I travelled internationally working with students from third world countries, the research was unpaid
Summer Activities: Research, Choir tours
Essays: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUT2x2D2dk1_YAE8BaO2f2w?view_as=subscriber
Teacher Recommendation: BC Calc teacher, AP lang teacher, AP bio teacher
Counselor Rec: not sure
Additional Rec: choral instructor
Interview: 10/10 we had a really great conversation and she is involved in environmental science which is something I may be pursuing so we had a lot to talk about.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
Country (if international applicant): N/A
Intended major(s): Biology and Economics
School Type: Public (3.5Kstudents, very competitive)
Ethnicity: Pacific Islander and White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

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Any other results?

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I would also be interested

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Apologies for the very late post (just started revisiting reddit and CC knowing that RD is coming out in a few days)

Decision: Accepted

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

SAT I (breakdown): 1570 (800M, 770 R)
ACT: none
SAT II: 770 US History, 800 Math II (twice), 800 Chem (twice) (I was particularly stupid and took them twice each)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 20%
AP (4,5,5,5,5): Chem, Seminar, US History, Calc BC, Psych
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1, AP Biology, AP Research, AP Literature, AP
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Two Local ISEF Excellence, One third place Life Science

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science NHS (President), Gastronomy Club (President), Science Magazine for Elementary Schoolers (Editor), ISEF Research Projects, Jazz Band, Symphony Orchestra

Volunteer/Community service: Taught english for free at a Chinese government sponsored “weekend class”

Summer Activities: 9th UC Berkeley ATDP, 10th Self Studied Honors Chem, 11th RISE Boston University

Essays:
Common App Essay: This one was kind of a montage style essay where I took a few key defining events in my life and kind of strung them together to demonstrate my core value of studying science not just to learn more, but to share more. I tried to direct the essay and how I was portrayed not by highlighting how good I might be at math/science but by my dedication to helping other people understand math and science.

Duke Specific:
Why Trinity?
This one kind of talked about the interdisciplinary approach Duke education took and kinda spoke to my status as a third culture child. Not anything particularly innovative but not anything mundane or repetitive either.

What Perspective?
This one was all about my music. I figured that since I had spent so much time in my extracurriculars highlighting my passion for science, my LORs would definitely all mention my science I wanted to highlight that I wasn’t just a nerd who studied textbooks nonstop. I told the story of how my experience playing music had allowed me to connect with Jazz Musicians completely in an improvised style the one year I was at Berkeley for the Summer.

Sexual Orientation?
Okay this might be controversial, but I actually did NOT talk about my own orientation. Since it asked “experiences with sexual orientation” I actually brought up my experiences of when I discriminated/attacked another person for their orientation. I wasn’t trying to be particularly edgy or cool or trying to claim a sob story, but I was (and still am) reeling from a really bad break up and felt the need to get it out there: that I had been really mean to someone for being “asexual”. I don’t know if this helped me or harmed me, but I figured I would be really honest and tell them that I had made mistakes in my anger of attacking another person for being different.

Chemistry Teacher: 9/10 I was one of the very few juniors taking AP Chemistry at my school on top of that I always loved learning about chemistry. Even though I didn’t end up getting a 5 on the AP exam I still think she was a huge advocate for me and really tried to understand me as a person when writing my letter of recommendation. She asked in particular about things I did outside of academics solely for fun and we started talking about cooking shows (which I hadn’t known beforehand she enjoyed watching as well).

English Teacher: 9.5/10 He was one of those teachers that you couldn’t always tell what he thought of you but you knew that if he wrote you a LOR and he liked you it would be damn good. I only later found out (since he was fired over a scandal at our school) that he actually observed me in the classroom and spoke to my strengths as a natural leader that I hadn’t really discussed with other teachers and only mentioned in my essay. I think this may have been super beneficial as now you had a teacher backing up the claims I made in my personal statement.

Counselor Rec: 6.5/10 He knew me, but I definitely was not the closest to him, he knew I was a very strong science student and that I participated in a lot of community service centered around that science aspect but beyond that I was never the type to visit his office on a daily basis or talk for great lengths of time on subjects not directly pertinent to the college search/application process. Tl;dr he knew me as a student but not a person.

Additional Rec: none

Interview: 5/10 I think the interviewer liked me but it was a very shady interview since it was in his office in the East part of Shanghai and there were a few other applicants there which he initially started us all off with a group interview.

Country (if international applicant): China
Intended major(s): Chemistry/Biology/Environmental Science
School Type: International Private
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: (I’m not sure how to calculate based on US standards)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Strengths: Everything I wrote was very honest and down to earth. I didn’t try to portray myself as a particularly smart person nor as a particularly kind and passionate person. A lot of people who later on read my essay noted how strong my voice was which I think might have helped me really stand out as an applicant. I mean if we’re honest here, how often do people really write about them attacking another person for their sexuality, especially in this PC culture? Idk, I honestly wrote that supplement in a reckless fit of emotion and didn’t have anyone else read it but if my voice wasn’t showing through in my other essays, that one definitely showed through.

Weaknesses: I did not have the most recognition at our school for achievements. I was one of those people that when people thought of they would go like “yeah he’s great at science” but when you ask for achievements they would probably falter and hesitate to answer. I didn’t have any concrete evidence of my abilities (not many awards) and so I tried to work them into my essays as soft skills rather than brute force an argument that I was good at science.

Why you think you were accepted: Honestly, I would say it was plain honesty and discussion of my skills as soft skills rather than as a hard achievement.

General Comments: I think that while it’s very tempting in the college application process to try and hide mistakes you made in the past, or to write yourself as a super kind/smart/caring whatever person, admission officers aren’t stupid and probably have enough experience to see through some “BS” so I would say the best approach (at least it worked for me) is to be really honest about everything and try to portray yourself as a normal human being with unique characteristics rather than an altruistic hero (particularly if you normally aren’t one).

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Any others?