*****Duke University RD 2020 Results Thread*****

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
41

Decision: Rejected

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (breakdown): M 800, CR 700, W 690 (1500/1600 CR+M)
    [    ] ACT: 32 (34 super scored - 35 English, 32 Math, 34 Reading, 34 Science)
    [] SAT II: Chemistry 710, Literature 710
    [    ] Unweighted GPA (4.0 scale): 4.0
    [] Weighted GPA (4.0 scale): 4.72
    [    ] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/62
    [] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem 3
    [    ] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP US Hist, AP Eng, DE English, DE Psych, H Spanish 4, H Anat/Phys
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (President); Varsity Football - starting off. back and all-county punter; Varsity Track (captain); Partners in Education Youth Leadership Institute (competitive selection); Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering - 9th in state in Chemistry, 13th in state in Physics
[] Job/Work Experience: landscaping
[] Volunteer/Community service: youth-led charity (outreach chairperson); Catholic Heart Work Camp
[] Summer Activities:
[] Essays: 9/10
[] Teacher Recommendation: 10/10
[] Counselor Rec: 9/10
[] Additional Rec: 10/10
[li] Interview: Didn’t get one.[/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: no
[] Intended Major: Physics
[] State (if domestic applicant): IL
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Catholic Parochial
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: >$250,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): [/li][/ul]

Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: 800 math score, GPA in most rigorous courses available at school, essays, relatively strong ECs
[] Weaknesses: 690 Writing, ACT composite, erratic test scores, marginal SAT II scores.
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred: Who knows. Solid application but scores slightly less than 50th percentile. Small school competing with many strong schools and high number of applicants from greater Chicago area? Don’t know what I would have done better without losing my sanity![/li][/ul]

General Comments: Duke was the only school I didn’t visit. Just couldn’t get there. Getting accepted to Notre Dame mid-march has helped with the rejections, since it is very high on my list.

Accepted: Notre Dame, SLU; Waitlisted: Vanderbilt; Denied: Stanford EA, Northwestern, Duke, Georgetown; Awaiting: UPenn, Princeton and UMich.

42

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2170 (770 CR, 740 WR, 660 MA)
ACT (breakdown): 32 (can’t remember exactly; ranged from a 36 in reading to a 29 in science)
SAT II: 800 Lit, 650 Math I
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9
AP (place score in parenthesis): Lang 5, Euro 3, US 4
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Lang, AP World, Chorus III, dual enrollment Spanish, dual enrollment statistics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): I won a regional award for LGBT+ activism. Not sure that counts

Subjective:

Extracurriculars: GSA (founder/programs coordinator), acapella (student director), NHS (president), ITS (Vice President), internship at a LGBT youth nonprofit, grant to attend a national LGBT advocacy conference, some journalism internships and chorus and theatre-related honors (I’ve been a lead in 7 of the 10 shows my school has put on since I’ve been there). I also successfully campaigned for some LGBT-inclusive policy changes at my school, and fundraised to donate LGBT-inclusive literature to the school library.
Job/Work Experience: Tutoring and babysitting
Volunteer/Community service: I was student chair for a youth literacy nonprofit last summer
Summer Activities: What I mentioned above, a Duke TIP Shakespeare camp, and some other minor stuff
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App was good. It was about the suicide of a trans student at a local high school and how that shaped me as an activist - maybe an 8? My Why Duke was really good, I think, very well-researched - 9. My supplemental was pretty edgy and I was sure that I would be rejected partially because of that - it was the diversity question, specifically calling out gender identity and sexuality, and I talked about how people try and define me by my perceived sexuality but I have been shaped much more by my involvement in theatre, reading, etc than by what I can check off on a census. I didn’t get an interview, so instead they let me submit an additional writing sample. I sent an essay about my school auditorium and my involvement in theatre that I think is a 9.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: AP Lang teacher. Only knew me for a year, but knew me really well for that year. He let me read the rec and it was incredible - lots about my extracurricular involvement and my academics, “best of my career” type stuff. A 10.
Teacher Rec #2: APUSH/Psych teacher. Knew me very well, very praiseful, but not very in-depth. 8
Counselor Rec: I’m not sure. I don’t know her very personally, but I’m pretty well-known in the school and she’s hooked me up with some great opportunities so I’m sure she likes me.
Interview: Wasn’t offered one

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: English
State (if domestic applicant): North Carolina
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, small, kind of backcountry. We haven’t had a Duke (or similar caliber school) admit for as long as I can remember.
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 200k-250k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I don’t know - maybe the LGBT advocacy would count? And I didn’t go into it very much in my app, but my mom has multiple sclerosis and survived a nearly-fatal boating accident when I was a freshman.

Reflection

Strengths: Extracurriculars. I think my app also made it clear that I live in a small town with very few opportunities, so I made them for myself and used them to their fullest potential.
Weaknesses: My numbers (GPA/tests), demonstrated interest (I didn’t tour because I’d already seen the campus at a Duke TIP camp/already knew I was in love with the school)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Leadership (especially the LGBT advocacy)
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Columbia, Duke, Davidson (Belk semifinalist), Wake Forest, UNC Chapel Hill (honors college), Clemson, Emory (and Oxford at Emory)
Waitlisted: Johns Hopkins (I decided not to apply halfway through and never submitted the supplemental essay)
Rejected: Brown
General Comments: I think I really demonstrate that it’s totally not just about the numbers at Duke - they really look for genuine passion.

43

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2400 (first sitting)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: Math 2 - 800, Physics - 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96/4.0 (2 Bs in 6th grade french)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): US Gov’t (5), Stat (5), US Hist (4), English Lit (5), BC Calc (5). Physics: Mechanics (5), Euro Hist (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): SL French (6)
Senior Year Course Load: IB Global Politics, IB HL Math, IB SL Chemistry, IB Psychology, IB HL Physics, Linear Algebra, IB HL English
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AIME qualifier, AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Year-round club swimmer (22hrs/week, since 4th grade), Clarinetist (since 4th grade), Orchestras/Bands, Debate Team member (all of HS, County Playoffs 3rd-round contender), Writer for the school newspaper (all of HS)
Job/Work Experience: Assistant Coach for local summer swim team (30 hrs/week), Technical Intern at a small IT company the summer prior (30 hrs/week)
Volunteer/Community service: ~150 hours, National Honor Society, National Math Honor Society, etc.
Summer Activities: swimming, coaching, giving private swim lessons, working as a technical intern the summer prior
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9-10, spent months on them, couldn’t find anything to improve upon. Had my great English teacher and several peers (college and high school) review them and they seemed good…

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9-10 (history teacher), really loved her class and we had a really nice relationship. We still always say hi when we pass each other in the halls.
Teacher Rec #2: 9-10 (physics teacher), really liked him and did excellent in his class. Our class was rather huge but I am quite sure that I stood out in his eyes.
Counselor Rec: 7+, Didn’t have that many interactions with my counselor, but all of my interactions were positive and I was really respectful.
Additional Rec: (Club Swim Coach) 7+ Been swimming with my club swim coach throughout high school and we have a very positive relationship. He mentioned that he was a bit crunched for time though (I officially requested 2 weeks prior to the deadline), so I dunno about the quality of the rec.
Interview: No interview
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: County Magnet Program (IB)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation born in America

Reflection

Strengths: Great, dedicated swimmer, Accomplished student, Talented Musician, Caring Swim Coach, Enthusiastic Intern
Weaknesses: 3.96 GPA? Maybe teachers actually didn’t like me that much? No especially significant math/science awards. Unimpressive summer positions?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Maybe recs were worse than expected? Maybe 3.95 GPA is unacceptable? Who knows.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Carnegie Mellon (IS, MCS), University of Maryland (Banneker/key), University of Virginia, Georgia Tech
Waitlisted: Carnegie Mellon (CS), NYU Stern, Dartmouth
Rejected: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Northwestern, Cornell, Hopkins, Duke, UChicago, UPenn, Columbia

General Comments: Overall really disappointed with how my years of hard work turned out.

44

By the way, the 6th grade Bs do count on my high school transcript because french is a foreign language and counts as a “high school class” in my county.

45

Decision: Accepted Trinity

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I: 2200 (700 CR, 790 M, 710 W)
[] ACT: didn’t take
[] SAT II: 790 Math II, 770 Chemistry
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/397
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): not available in my school/state
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): not available in my school/state
[] Senior Year Course Load: we can’t choose classes, so all students take the same curriculum. Algebra, Introductory Calculus, Portuguese, English, German, Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Biology, Introductory Genetics, Brazilian Geography, Global Geography, Brazilian History, Global History, Writing, Sociology, Philosophy, Human and Christian Studies, Physics, Modern Physics, 21st Century Studies, Physical Education.
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Jesuit Schools Standout Student (9th-12th), Silver at State Chemistry Olympiads (10th-12th), Gold at National Geography Olympiads (12th), several other academic/scientific prizes [/ul][/li]
Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: Class President (9th-12th), Student Council Communication and Media President (11th-12th), Model UN President (12th), Volunteer Group President (12th), School Olympiads Class Director (9th-12th), Editor-in-chief of a magazine (11th), redesigned the school’s uniform (12th), tennis (9th-12th), piano (10th-11th), around 10 different science/academic competitions (all with medals), photography.
[] Job/Work Experience: -
[] Volunteer/Community service: around 1000 hours
[] Essays: 10/10. CA about leadership, with lots of personal thoughts and unexpected twists. “Why Duke” mentioned specific clubs, professors and classes. Duke supplement about my cultural background and ambitions written in a poetic writing style, later praised by the admissions officer. I really made sure I was sending the best essays I could have written, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
[] Teacher Recommendations: 9/10. 12th grade Algebra teacher emphasized class participation, and 12th grade Global History teacher emphasized extracurricular involvement and leadership. Those were the first recommendation essays they had ever written though, so naturally they weren’t perfect!
[] Counselor Rec: 10/10. Although my counselor couldn’t help me apply to colleges outside of Brazil, he’s one of my greatest friends, knows me incredibly well, and wrote a carefully crafted essay that describes me both as a student, a friend, and a leader.
[] Additional Rec: -
[] Interview: wasn’t offered one [/ul]

Other

[ul]
[] Country (if international applicant): Brazil
[] School Type: private/religious
[] Ethnicity: white
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: 250k+
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none [/ul]
Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: essays, leadership, will to change what needs to be changed at school and in my community, recommendations.
[] Weaknesses: SAT score, lack of AP/IB classes, my school didn’t have any clubs or organizations, and we weren’t allowed to create either of those.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think my essays really stood out, as well as my leadership
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted at UPenn, Carnegie Mellon (School of Computer Science, Georgia Tech, University of Michigan, University of Washington. Waitlisted at Cornell and Pomona College. Rejected at Harvard, Stanford, Princeton and MIT, which was expected considering the incredibly tough competition for international students. [/ul]

**General Comments: believe in yourselves, aim high, don’t listen to what others say. As said Eleanor Roosevelt, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Duke Class of 2020! **