<p>The regional admissions counselor came and spoke to us about Duke and ever since then, I've been hooked! Please help me out and let me know if I have a chance and if not, what I can do to try and make my chances better. Feel free to be brutally honest.</p>
<p>Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Indian
Graduating Year: 2010
High School: Very Competitive</p>
<p>Unweighted GPA: ~3.6
Weighted GPA: ~3.9
Course Load: So far, 9 honors courses and 5 AP courses. Planning to take 5 AP courses and 2 honors courses next year.</p>
<p>PSAT CR: 72
PSAT Math: 71
PSAT Writing: 73
(99%ile, possible National Merit in my state)</p>
<p>SAT CR: 770
SAT Writing: 780
SAT Math: 800</p>
<p>ACT Comp: 33</p>
<p>APs:
European History: 4
Environmental Science: 5
American History: 4
Biology: 4</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
- #1 rated girl in the state at chess
- In top 50 girls in the country in chess
- 2nd at All Girls Nationals in chess
- Girl Scout Gold Award -- started camp to teach kids how to play chess
- Chess Team at school (4 years, All League First Team, #1 team in the league for the last four years, I'll be captain senior year)
- Academic Quiz Team (3 years, #1 team in our league for the last three years)
- Science Olympiad (2 years - 1st in a couple events at regionals, my team was first in regionals)
- Volunteering at hospital (last 3 years)
- National Honor Society (2 years)
- Part of a team of about 10 kids in a P&G Mentorship Program that raises awareness of IT
- Internship at GE Aviation [working in IT] for the summer (first time it was allowed in the history of GE Aviation)</p>
<p>Thank you very much, I appreciate any and all help!</p>
<p>Your chances are quite decent considering that although your GPA isn’t great, your ECs are excellent. I would just make sure to actually visit Duke to make sure you like it in person. I would apply ED, because I think that would definitely improve your chances, unless you want 1st semester grades to bolster your GPA. Good Luck!</p>
<p>but you MUST make great grades your first semester of senior year Most of the applicants you’re going up against will have a 3.9 UNweighted, so it’ll be very tough for you unless you can make straight As first semester! You can do it!</p>
<p>@ Sirensong – Regarding ED, is it a good idea to apply ED at Duke? Are the acceptance rates much higher for those who apply ED? I’ve heard that applying ED can almost hurt you sometimes, because you have to face a tougher pool of applicants? </p>
<p>@ hookem168 – I was planning to write my essays about chess, maybe somehow tying in the chess class that I started, but I’m afraid of over emphasizing chess. Do you think that writing my essay about chess and how it has affected me/says a lot about me will be too much?</p>
<p>@ SBR – I’m not entirely sure, but the AdCom made it sound like a magical place almost XD. She described all the clubs/activities that it has, and how pretty it is (she had pictures) and quite simply, how it was a great school all-round: in both academics and athletics. </p>
<p>Also, I left out quite an important statistic (one that might make you change your mind). I’m only in the top 20% of my class :(. However, my high school (which is fairly competitive) does not disclose rank unless requested by the college. Will this dramatically lower my chances of getting into Duke?</p>
<p>This is mainly true for schools that practice SCEA (or just EA, rather than ED), such as Stanford and Yale. Your GPA is a ~low, I’m not going to lie. But if you combine the right combination of essays and teacher recs, and if you emphasize your ECs, you are definitely within the range of Duke. If you apply ED, (and if you love Duke, I’d recommend it), I’m pretty sure you have a really, really strong shot. And you’ll have a much better senior year as well ahhaa.</p>
<p>Btw, your passion for chess will truly help you stand out. Most applicants to top ten schools usually have to beef up some sort of passion or try extremely hard to make their passions evident to the admissions officer. You have an advantage here. Make use of it!</p>
<p>only apply to duke ED if you are 100% SURE it is the school you want to go to. With your stats, you could get into any school in the country, and you have a great shot RD.</p>
<p>I would be careful with what frenchhorngirl said- there were some very unhappy kids at our school this year that thought that schools should overlook their low gpa. I agree that you have a lot going for you…make sure that you really focus on the first semester grades they will be very important, Your course load should help up your gpa. It’s easy to fall in love with Duke it is a great school. You will go to a great school if you keep up your hard work so relax about that.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on the first semester grades. Sure, it’s important to keep up with the good grades, but it won’t replace grades from any other semester. And if you think that you’ll have way better luck with ED (and you really are sure you want to come to Duke), I would do ED because one good semester won’t make up for the advantage that you lose by going RD.</p>
<p>Again, the only thing hurting your chance is your GPA, though understandable if your school is highly competitive. However, it is possible that your excellent EC may allow them to overlook it as long as you emphasize your ECs and try to keep your GPA higher in the next year. </p>
<p>Quite honestly, even with your GPA, you still have a pretty decent chance of getting in. I had much, much fewer ECs (and less prestigious ones as well) and only decent recommendations, and was still accepted. (Though my GPA was admittedly, quite a bit higher.) If you are worried about your class rank, try talking to your counselor. If your school is extremely competitive, its likely Duke will know and take your GPA and rank into consideration. The application doesn’t blatantly ask for rank, if I recall, and if your school doesn’t disclose it unless requested, don’t worry. (Mine was evident on my transcript and was actually quite misleading.)</p>
<p>To try and make up for the GPA, make sure your essay is spectacular. Don’t be afraid to ask teachers to read over your essay and make multiple revisions. If you plan to write about chess (which I would say, go for it, since it’s an obviously large part of your life), steer away from being cliche.</p>
<p>But before you decide that Duke is perfect for you, try your best to visit. It’s amazing what a visit can do for your decisions; I visited my first-choice school the summer before senior year and discovered I hated it there. It’s worth the visit just to make sure you’ll enjoy it, especially if you want to consider ED.</p>
<p>Actually, my rank is not very good at all – I’m only in the top 20% :[ But if Duke doesn’t specifically ask for my rank, this shouldn’t be a problem, right?</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice, guys! I will definitely keep it in mind. I will try to visit, but my parents rarely have time off from work to drive down there, so it might prove difficult. It’s true though, that I really have no idea until I visit. </p>
<p>I was considering writing my essay about the chess class that I started and maybe why chess is such a big part of my life, but I was worried that I would overemphasize chess, which I’ve heard is not a good idea? How much is too much?</p>
<p>Just had to correct something really quickly.</p>
<p>@ Sirensong, You’ve got the wrong stats, son! Those are like a year or two old. The RD rate for my beautiful class of 2013 was a paltry 14.7% :)</p>
<p>whateverrr - I lurk on this board quite at bit but I rarely post. I just want to add that you should apply to Duke. You’re interesting and obviously have the basic elements to succeed at Duke. Whatever contibuted to your current GPA is probably something to try to correct before going to college - especially a top ten university like Duke.</p>
<p>My older kids are at elite dream schools. In the college process we visited Duke and I have a become a big fan. It’s still early for my next child but I have my fingers crossed for Duke. (We’re visiting again soon to look at specifics)</p>
<p>Hookem168 - love your humor and perspective! Keep it coming.</p>
<p>Top 20% isn’t amazing by any means, but your contributions outside of the classroom may make a difference. But as a general rule of thumb, GPA > everything. Obviously a 4.0 GPA with no contact with the outside world <<< 3.9 GPA & top 10% with stellar EC’s, but do grades matter a lot.</p>
<p>getting hooked just because of listening to a regional admissions officer speak about Duke does not seem adequate. have you researched all the other schools out there? if not, i suggest you do. you might find yourself liking another school better, and you could probably get into that school.</p>
<p>being ranked #2 nationally in chess can make up for your low GPA. who would i rather take? a girl with a 4.0 GPA and average ECs, or a girl with a 3.6 GPA who is ranked #2 in the NATION for chess?</p>
Hype that up in your essays or something. Show the passion.</p>
Most of the applicants you’re going up against will have a 3.9 UNweighted, so it’ll be very tough for you unless you can make straight As first semester! You can do it!</p>