I just saw on prepscholar that Duke has an average ACT of 34. Is that true?? I understand that Duke is an incredible school but I find it hard to believe that they have a near-perfect average.
First of all I don’t know if you realize that Duke is ranked #8 on the national rankings, all along with schools like UPenn, Johns hopkins, and MIT, which all have average scores of around 32-35
Duke’s testing statistics all depends on which part you’re applying to for example their Arts and Sciences report an average 25-75th percentile composite of around 32-35 respectively, while their engineering reports a 33-35. So yes, their scores are near-perfect average because it’s basically an ivy league having an acceptance rate of 10.4%
@SamChang I realize that Duke is an amazing school! The prepscholar site often overshoots the average test scores of schools so I was just confirming
Duke does not report an “average” so prepscholar site is simply guessing. As SamChang said, on the admissions site they report the 25th-75th percentile range of ACCEPTED students (NOT the same as students that matriculate). In fact, I’d say with confidence that prepsholar’s report of 34 is inflated based on Duke common data set that can be found here:
https://finance.provost.duke.edu/sites/default/files/u24/CDS_2015-2016.pdf
At the top of page 8, you can see Duke reports an ACT range of 31-34 for ENROLLED freshmen, so saying the average is 34 can’t be right. Again, that’s the difference between “accepted” and actual Duke enrollees.Not sure what prepscholar is trying to capture, but they probably try to be consistent university to university. A more likely median score for enrolled students thus is around 32/33, but note that if you don’t have a hook (athlete, legacy, first gen college, URM, etc.), you probably should aim for the 75th percentile (34 on the ACT) to be considered a competitive applicant.
There’s some interesting stuff in there. You’ll notice that it indicates 86% of Duke freshman scored at least a 30 on the ACT, meaning 14% scored less than a 30. So,yes, it IS possible to get into Duke with a “sub-par” score, but there must be something truly compelling in your application to make up for that. If you’re a “run of the mill” applicant and get a 29, you’ll likely be rejected fairly quickly.
@bluedog i got a 33.25 on the ACT and I’m white (no major hooks or anything) Is that high enough? I understand it’s not a 34 but its super close. Btw thanks, that’s some really useful information. I wonder if other colleges follow suit
Yes, a 33 ACT composite score should put you in the competitive range. I wouldn’t worry – that’s not going to be why you’re rejected. I probably shouldn’t have been so absolute in my statement above. I simply meant to suggest that there is less wiggle room of a score in the lower part of Duke’s “range” if you don’t have some sort of hook. But the difference between a 33 or 34 isn’t going to make or break your application. I’d focus on shoring up other parts of your application and convey why you’d be a good fit for Duke and what you’d contribute to the community. Good luck!
DS is a sophomore at Duke. I met some of his friends. They all had 34-36 ACT. I was curious myself too 