Duke???

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So, I visited Duke over the weekend and I have fallen in love with the school. It has everything I'm looking for and more, but I'm not to sure about my chances of getting in. Anyone input about my chances would helpful. If you could chance me for both ED and RD that would be amazing, and perhaps suggest schools similar to Duke for match/safeties?</p>

<p>Classes:
-8th grade: Algebra 1 HN (A), Spanish 1 (A)
-Freshman year: World History 1 HN (A), Biology HN (B+), English 9 HN (A), Geometry HN (A-), Art (A), Gym (A), Spanish 2 (A)
-Sophomore year: AP World History (A), Chemistry HN (A-), English 10 HN (A), Algebra 2 HN (A-), Fashion Marketing (A), Gym (A), Spanish 3 (A-)
-Junior year (this year, the grades in paranthesis are my expected grades): AP US History (A), Physics HN (A), AP Lang (A), Precalc/Trig HN (A), SGA (A), AP Economics (A-), Spanish 4 (A)
-Senior year (classes I have signed up for): AP Comp Gov, AP Lit, AP Calc BC, AP Environmental Science, AP Spanish, SGA, Applied History (unique class to my school)
My weighted GPA is 4.3 and unweighted is 3.92. We don't do class ranks but I think I would probably be in at least the top 10% of my class.</p>

<p>ACT: 32 (I've taken the SAT, but my ACT is much better)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
-Girl Scouts since I was 5. I've earned my Bronze and Silver Awards and I am currently working on my Gold Award (making an educational booklet for Mount Vernon).
-Competitive Dance (think 15-20 hours a week, 6 days a week) since I was 4.
-I played field hockey in 9th and 10th grade but had to stop because of an ACL injury
-Math League 10th grade
-DECA 10th grade
-I joined Key Club, History Honor Society, National Honor Society, Student Government, and Model UN (I'm vice president) this year.</p>

<p>Other:
-I won first place at the school, regional, and state level for National History Day
-I was a Girl Scout Congressional Aide last summer (a mini internship at a congressman's office)
-This summer I am going on a Girl Scout service trip to Costa Rica</p>

2

<p>Duke is an ultra-competitive school that’s very difficult to get into. You have all the requisite stats to get in, but it’s still a reach because of the low acceptance rate. What are you interested in studying at college - and do you have any geographical preferences? That will help us give you matches and safeties. </p>

3

<p>I want to double major in economics and international relations. And for geographical preferences I don’t want to go any farther west then the mississippi river.</p>

4

<p>Well, here are a few schools that have good economics and international relations programs (And are less selective than Duke!).</p>

<p>NYU (strong in both economics and international relations.)
Georgetown. (Extremely strong in international relations - strong, but not as strong in economics)
George Washington (Extremely Strong in international relations - less so in economics.)
Syracuse University (Very strong in international relations - less so in economics).
UVA (Stellar in both economics and international relations)
Boston U (Stellar in both economics and international relations).</p>

5

<p>I don’t know about Economics, but I’ve never seen BU ranked highly for IR anywhere. If OP likes the Duke environment, the very urban vibe and lack of emphasis on sports at BU, NYU and GW might mean none is a good fit. I agree that if OP could explain what exactly makes Duke so appealing, it would be easier to suggest schools that are “similar to Duke”. There are so many variables to consider.</p>