<p>I was visiting its page on the Collegeboard.com "College Search" and saw that Duke only "considers" GPA, whereas places "very important" emphasis on Standardized Test Scores, Extracirrculars, and Character. If this is the case, can a high SAT (2250+ make up for a 3.7 GPA) to get into Duke?</p>
<p>yes of course. your gpa isnt that bad. but im not sure how much duke considers gpa</p>
<p>i think when they mean "considers" the reason why it isnt very important, b/c the actual gpa may not tell a lot about u versus other students. what is very importnat is the specific courses u took and the grades received in them. cuz if anything your grades are the most importnat thing any college will look at</p>
<p>I don't think the case is that GPA isn't much of a factor.. I think it's more so that Duke will accept 'imperfect' people.
I got in with a 'mediocre' GPA (3.75 UW.. but Weighted put me in top 5%) but with an SAT score which puts me above the 75th percentile... however, I've met many people here with high grades and 'low' SAT's as well.
I think it's how committed a Duke applicant is to his or her extracurriculars which makes the decision of whether he or she gets in or not.
Duke looks for confident people who are willing to make a positive impact on the world, the only other school with an admissions policy similar to Duke's is Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Like nmehta4 suggested, maybe the actual GPA # isn't as important since schools all calculate it differently, but I do know that grades are very important at most any school, Duke included. They want to see that you have taken the most challenging course load available to you and that you have done well in them. I think we have often been told in information sessions that grades are the single most important factor in determining how successful a student is likely to be at college. Some students may test well (good SATs), but didn't apply themselves in class and may have lower grades--the admissions department won't be impressed. If there is a big disconnect between the high scores and low grades, there had better be a good explanation, or it will be a red flag for the application. Coola Troopa, I'd hardly call your 3.75 mediocre (and that's not what I am talking about when I say a big disconnect) :) I think the overall application is what they look at. They can be forgiving of some areas if the others are outstanding. I agree with Coola that Duke is looking for people who can make a difference in the world, but I don't think there is as much sole emphasis on extracurriculars as he/she might suggest.</p>