Getting in?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>A very general question, but, I'm an IB student and I was wondering how to get into this school. Right now I am going to 11th grade and I did lacrosse last year, and will also do it this year. I was wondering what I will need (grades, ap scores, gpa, sat, act, psat, etc.) to get into this school. Thanks</p>

2

<p>My first suggestion is that you do research into this school. Why do you want to go to Duke University? What other universities are you considering? The most important part of your application will be your essays and a lot of your essays has to do with understand what makes Duke, Duke. I suggest you take a visit to campus (if possible) and talk to some students. But I will give you some information.</p>

<p>There is no cut-off for getting into Duke. I know students with 2400 SAT and 4.0 GPA’s that have been rejected and I know students with 1500-1700 SAT’s and 3.5-7 GPA’s that have been admitted, but here are some numbers:</p>

<ul>
<li>The average SAT at Duke is roughly 2200</li>
<li>The GPA of incoming students differs depending on grading systems and what school you are coming from. Duke will ask your college counselor to give them the highest GPA possible in your school as well as the highest GPA a student has at your school for comparative purposes. But for the most part Duke students are in the top 5-10% of their class.</li>
<li>Last year, although currently unpublished the overall admissions rate was roughly 17-18%. This includes roughly 27% acceptance rate for Early Decision applicants, and I believe just under 15% for Regular Decision Applicants. </li>
<li>You will rarely find students with no AP credits, this usually only occurs with AP classes were not offered at the school. Duke wants to see you take the most challenging schedule available to you. Most students score 4 or 5 on their AP exams, and I have seen students with 14-15 AP credits, but I am guessing (wild guess here) that the average is around 8-9ish.</li>
<li>Average ACT score is around 32</li>
</ul>

<p>But again these are just numbers, biggest thing is putting together a COMPLETE application. You have to be well rounded, involved outside of the classroom, and in the upper range of most of the things you participate in. I hope this helps.</p>

3

<p>While there are no magic formulas, a little research can’t hurt…</p>

<p>[Duke</a> University Admissions: Class of 2012 Profile](<a href=“http://admissions.duke.edu/jump/applying/who_2012profile.html]Duke”>http://admissions.duke.edu/jump/applying/who_2012profile.html)</p>

4

<p>Yes check the site that SBR gave. Those scores are what you should be trying to shoot for (and even surpass them).
Also there are recommendations on what kind of classes you should take. </p>

<p>

[Duke</a> University Admissions: What We Seek](<a href=“http://admissions.duke.edu/jump/applying/who_whatweseek.html]Duke”>http://admissions.duke.edu/jump/applying/who_whatweseek.html)</p>

5

<p>I also did IB.</p>

<p>A word of advice- take the corresponding AP tests as well.</p>

<p>For instance, I took IB English AND AP English Lit/Lang, IB Chem AND AP Chem, IB Math AND AP Calc, and so on. </p>

<p>IB tests are waaaay harder than AP, but most colleges in the U.S. haven’t caught on yet. Be sure to take some AP tests, especially the ones that correlate to your HLs. You won’t even need to study for them.</p>

6

<p>^Why? Your spending more money like 85 dollars more I think for reach AP test. I mean if you score a 6 or 7 on the IB test you get the credit, you don’t need to waste money and take the AP test. You don’t get double credit. I mean unless you think you might not be able to score a 6 or 7 then take the AP test but really there is no point taking the AP test also just to spend the money and not get the credit because the IB test already fulfilled that credit.</p>

7

<p>cdz: </p>

<p>1) You take the vast majority of IB tests at the end of Senior year. By then, you’ve already gotten your college decisions and they’ll be entirely useless as an admissions factor.</p>

<p>2) It’s damned difficult to get a 6/7 on an HL test, but much easier to get a 4/5 on the AP. </p>

<p>3) Like I said, there IS a lot more recognition for the AP in the U.S.</p>

8

<p>Oh never mind, your school is different from mine. At my school you can take IB tests at the end of junior year.</p>

9

<p>cdz512:</p>

<p>Its not necessarily that his school is very different, although it very well may be. The truth of the matter is, that while you can take IB exams at the end of your junior year (I took SL Psych), most people tend to take the “majority” of their IB exams during the end of the year when most people have already decided where they are going to college, where it doesn’t factor in as much. In addition, Ketty is definitely right in saying that its hella hard to get a 6/7 in a HL compared to a 4/5 on an AP.</p>

<p>magicfan:
If you want to make the best of your applications, definitely…

  1. Take the most rigorous course available to you first of all.
  2. Involve yourself in a variety of E.C., as well as maintaining commitment in these E.C.'s (preferably E.C.'s in the major of your choice)
  3. Involve yourself in volunteer work and make sure your summers don’t go to waste. The more active you stay, the better your credentials are.
  4. When choosing a college, do your research and take in account things like…surroundings areas, size of undergrad class, academic rigor, geographic area, etc.
  5. Do the best you can in school and make sure you tell the admissions officers what kind of person you are, why you want to go to this school, and what you can achieve with their help.</p>

<p>Hope that helps. =P</p>

10

<p>I do agree that it is harder to get a 6/7 on a HL than a 4/5 on the AP.</p>