<p>Do any A.B. Duke finalists have a conflict with the scholarship weekend? I see that Mitchhhs is off to Poland (!), but what about other campus preview weekends? I have a conflict (2 other previews) and I'm unsure as to what I should do.</p>
<p>pandraagon - I'm not positive about the whole self help thing, but I think for finalists who don't get the scholarship and choose to come to Duke they turn all the loans into grants. Don't hold me to that though.</p>
<p>I looked at my likely letter again. They (Duke admissions office) said that people with conflicts should contact them and they will help make alternative arrangements.</p>
<p>Mallomar I think I love you. Thanks for that information, I hope it is true because otherwise I would be screwed. Now I can go to Poland and Israel and not have a guilty conscience. Thanks a lot. Oh and for the person who asked about stats, here are mine:</p>
<p>Academics :</p>
<p>Rank: 2/135 in class, 11/10500 in county (our county ranks us in the whole county)
GPA: 3.98 UW/7.15 W
SAT I: Math:780 Verbal:710 Writing:710
SATII: Math II:770 BioE:740 Phys:740
AP: 9 AP exams in soph and junior year, 5 4s and 4 5s. This year I have six more, and am an IB diploma candidate.</p>
<p>ECs:
Founded High Power Rocketry club. We have level two National Association of Rocketry Certification, and have built rockets that have gone 1000mph and 7000 feet high complete with altimeter and tracking system. Have candy business where we sell candy and tshirts to make money for club.</p>
<p>Guitar: Played guitar for 4 years and am in a band.</p>
<p>Judaism: Involved with synogogue, treasurer of jewish awareness club at school, won essay contest regarding the book Night and will be going to Poland, Hungary, and Israel as a result.</p>
<p>Science Fair- 1st in county twice, 3rd at states, 10 corporate awards. Did work with lift maximization with airfoils.
Science Bowl co-captain- national invitational finalist, 2nd in division at states, 4th overall</p>
<p>Mu Alpha Theta statistics captain - about 6-7 awards in various divisions</p>
<p>Did research this past summer at the University of Florida in the Computational NeuroEngineering laboratory. Developed an algorithm for Motorola that reduces background noise from cell phone signals.</p>
<p>National AP Scholar</p>
<p>Scuba Diving, cross country team, and a few other ECs listed on app</p>
<p>Work Experience: Web site design, teach at sunday school, and work at grocery store 10 hours a week</p>
<p>Essays: 9/10
Location: Tampa, IB school, school ranked 10th by newsweek</p>
<p>i am an ab duke finalist, and here are my stats. hope this isn't underwhelming or anything. :) i truly am shocked to have made it this far, but i am NOT complaining!</p>
<p>sat scores: 800 verbal, 800 writing, 640 math; 730 literature sat 2, 670 us history sat 2, 640 bio sat 2 </p>
<p>grades: straight A's throughout high school (taking most difficult schedule possible!) 4.0 unweighted gpa, 4.31 weighted
class rank: 3rd out of 850
school: large, california public</p>
<p>ap classes: ap euro, ap us, ap english language and comp, ap bio, ap stats, ap english literature and comp, ap gov, ap spanish (5's on all exams except bio, which was a 3)</p>
<p>extra-curricular activities: editor-in-chief for 3 years and founder of school newspaper; clarinet player for top school band; member of marching band; president of california scholastic federation; secretary of school interact club (a volunteer organization); copy writer for yearbook; member of national honor society; member of City of Murrieta's Youth Advisory Committee</p>
<p>awards: CA chicano news media association journalism scholarship for $2000 (awarded to only one student in southern CA); City of Murrieta Award for Leadership; City of Murrieta Award for Service to Community; Trailblazer Award for student leadership; National Merit semi-finalist; superior rating at Southern California School Band/Orchestra Association festival; 1st clarinet at All-Valley Honor Band (for 3 years); finalist at Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Academy; Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (1 of 3 students selected from district); Certificate of Scholastic Achievement from CA State Assembly; Certificate of Recognition from CA State Senate; Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Congressman Darrell Issa; Certificate of Recognition from Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone </p>
<p>employment: paid staff writer for regional newspaper (circulation 200,000; only teen to hold such a position); 10 hours a week as a waittress at a local bagel shop</p>
<p><em>on a side note, i volunteered at an orphanage in India for 6 weeks. i wrote my essay about this experience, and i think it was pretty good. i guess it must have been. :)</em></p>
<p>Congrats everyone! I'm a current AB Duke, and I'll do my best to answer your questions. :)</p>
<p>For ABs and finalists, all financial aid is grant aid (rather than work-study or loans). I'm not entirely sure of the value of this, but I think it's standard practice to offer several thousand dollars in so-called "self-help" aid and grant money thereafter; finalists and scholars would receive grants exclusively.</p>
<p>I'm sure if you have a conflict the admissions office/selection committee will do their best to work around your schedule. We're aware that our finalist weekend will interfere with other schools' admitted students weekend, but I do think, quite frankly, that our scholarship interviews should take priority over other schools' general "preview" weekends. I'm not sure of our official position on this, but, personally, I would find it highly suspect if you missed your interview here because you wanted to visit another school instead. We're considering you for a scholarship worth some $150,000, so I think the least you can do is show up. (If you're out of the country, obviously that's a different matter.)</p>
<p>And, to TGDad: I would caution against putting odds on the AB scholarship. It's both very selective and very idiosyncratic. Hopefully your daughter will want to come to Duke -- if she's offered a scholarship, so much the better. Hopefully the finalists will approach the weekend with the same mindset. :)</p>
<p>(PS -- We'll be contacting finalist at some point soon, if we haven't yet. This week is spring break, but we'll be diving in head-first when we get back to campus so we can prepare for a great weekend!)</p>
<p>so, does the AB Duke or University Scholars Duke give out more money? or, what's the difference between the two?</p>
<p>I truly appreciate both of you to take the time and provide your stats. I wish you both the best of luck in your interview and final scholarship. I hope to hear from you more after the interview.</p>
<p>Thank you again,
TGdad</p>
<p>hey, I was wondering, on the questionnaire, when they ask for you to list some leading public intellectual figures, what kind of people do they mean? at first, I thought they meant political, but after reading it again, I started thinking pretty much any stance... anybody?</p>
<p>I got the likely letter too. Is everyone here that got the letter definitely going or is the whole provincial yokel problem to overbearing?</p>
<p>^You're joking, right?</p>
<p>[I'm a jerk]</p>
<p>Out of curiosity...you ever been to North Carolina? Like, the Durham/Raleigh/Chapel Hill area?</p>
<p>Mallomar, if you disagree with what I said why don't you respond to me like a civilized person instead of just proving me right by altering my posts. What I wrote was: No, I’m not joking. At first I wasn't into Duke because I wanted a better school (and you know how the South can be- lmao...Imean who the heck wants to see a bunch of rednecks hanging upConfederate flags in your dorm house). However, Duke is starting togrow on me and although it?s not exactly HYP or MIT (waitlisted- Ireally couldn't believe it) I guess settling for a year of being a BlueDevil won't be too awful (then transfer baby!).</p>
<p>BN Duke finalist, can't wait to meet all the others :)</p>
<p>All A.B. finalist:</p>
<p>Did you all apply Duke ED? Do you think Duke will give scholarship to RD applicants who has outstanding stats and awards? Thanks.</p>
<p>I doubt Duke gives scholarships to students who apply ED. I know of zero ED applicants who got scholarship offers. Scholarships are meant to draw top-notch candidates away from other schools (like Ivies). ED applicants applied to Duke under a binding contract so Duke doesn't need to spend money enticing them.</p>
<p>Redbirdz, I'm not sure what you mean by "altering posts." I didn't attack your statements. All I did was ask questions--"are you joking" and "have you ever been to NC"...I'm sorry if that offended you?
I just was curious about your point of view. I am a native West Coaster and dislike the South, to be honest...but I also have lived for many years in the Carolinas and I don't think your statements are on the mark.
You're obviously entitled to your own opinion; I just wanted to know what motivated it because I haven't heard or experienced such things during my time in Durham or North Carolina in general. I am considering Duke and would (really) like to hear what you mean.</p>
<p>Thanks MallomarCookie for sharing the information.</p>
<p>I completely agree. I only know of RD applicants that scholarship offers. It really stinks and is one of the reasons I am supportive of getting rid of ED.</p>