Duke university and act

Applying to College
1

<p>Have you ever heard of someone getting into duke with a 30 on their ACT?</p>

2

<p>Only about 25% of the entire freshman class.</p>

<p><a href=“http://ir.provost.duke.edu/facts/cds/CDS%202009-10.pdf[/url]”>http://ir.provost.duke.edu/facts/cds/CDS%202009-10.pdf&lt;/a&gt; (scroll down to page 8)</p>

3

<p>Duke admits something like 30% or more from Carolinas as a rule. So the scores might be a bit deceptive since they seem to have a rule requiring that percentage and I have had friends’ children tell me about average studnts being admitted if they are local while one has to be quite good to be accepted from other States. </p>

<p>Also only 44% submitted ACT. So I am not sure how one should read the 25 and 75 numbers. Should we assume it is 25% of 44% or 25% of 100% when only 44% submitted the scores?</p>

4

<p>The SAT composite is 2020, which according to the standard conversion chart is midway between a 30 and a 31.</p>

<p>The point is that a 30 does not disqualify one, but the applicant would definitely need to stand out in some other way.</p>

5

<p>

As texaspg noted, only about 45% of applicants submit ACT scores, thus making >30 scorers about 10% of the freshmen class. Duke does not release composite SAT scores, and one cannot calculate them by simply adding the 25% ranges of the three sections. </p>

<p>The obvious problem with using the CDS is that it provides information about enrolled students, not admitted ones. The scores for admitted students are usually a good bit higher because matriculating students include many who did not get into a more selective school or a less selective one with a big scholarship. </p>

<p>The other, less obvious problem is that it fails to account for the differences between ED and RD applicants. Duke is rather blunt about the advantage ED confers to applicants. An applicant with a 30 ACT is more likely to be admitted in the ED round (28% admitted) than in the RD round (11% admitted overall, lower for Trinity).</p>

<p>

That figure seems a little too high. NC and SC residents typically make up 12% and 3% of the freshman class, respectively. It’s perfectly possible to have that percentage with a normal admit rate if you have two things – lots of NC/SC applicants and a high yield for admitted NC/SC residents. Duke definitely has the former, but strong competition from UNC Chapel Hill for in-state students may be a problematic factor for the second. From my own experience, I do think NC applicants get a (slight) nudge in admissions, though probably not enough to seriously affect overall admissions stats. In any case, the ACT is rather uncommon in NC; only 669 NC students sent ACT scores to Duke, compared to 5220 for the SAT.</p>

<p>I do agree with annasdad’s last statement – a 30 will not disqualify someone from admission, though I do think a 32+ would make an applicant more competitive. In the end, however, it’s quite possible that other factors (e.g. outstanding and unusual extracurriculars) will outweigh test scores. They are only one piece of the puzzle.</p>

6

<p>Warblesrule - you are correct about the percentage. It sounds like 15% for north and south carolinas.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.bnduke.org/Media/Downloads/NCSCProfile2009.pdf[/url]”>http://www.bnduke.org/Media/Downloads/NCSCProfile2009.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

7

<p>Point still remains: lots of people get into Duke with a 30 ACT.</p>