I Need You To Be Brutally Honest!!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>What are my chances at Duke? Could I still get in with my rank?</p>

<p>Barely top 10%:
Rank 126/1300</p>

<p>PSAT: 229 (NMF)
SAT: 2310
SAT II: 780 US History, 770 Chemistry, 800 Math</p>

<p>Course Schedule: (10 AP's)
AP Geography, AP English III & IV, AP US History, AP Psychology, AP Government, AP Economics, AP Spanish IV & V, AP Biology, AP Calculus BC</p>

<p>EC's:
Band (Drumline)
Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout, Patrol Leader)
Hospital Volunteer (200 Hours)
Kid's Summer Camp Volunteer (120 Hours)
Worked With Autistic Kids (40 Hours)
NHS
Psychology Club
Spanish Club</p>

2

<p>Yes. Top 10%, 2300 plus SATs, good SATIIs. Unless your GPA is really bad - which I doubt - you probably have a somewhat better than an average chance, say 20%. The one sticking point I see is that your ECs are, well, mundane. Nice, regular, but nothing stands out. Where are you from, by the way? If you're from a state that doesn't send that many kids to Duke, or you're from NC, it may help.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the reply. My GPA is actually 4.02 out of a 5.0 scale, but the set-up is weird. Our first rank has a GPA of 4.41 and it drops significantly from there. I am from Texas. I am junior right now, so what sort of EC's do you suggest I take? You aren't the first one to tell me that, but I honestly don't know what else I could do.</p>

4

<p>Simple. Do something you really like. Better, do something you really like that ties into what you want to do in college. Do it well, and get into a leadership position if what you're doing offers such a thing. For example, I'm an art kid, so most of my ECs had to do with artsy stuff - I made movies and animations, acted in plays, wrote movie scripts and stories, drew and posted web comics. I won art awards. I have leadership stuff too. I'm president of the Film Club, vice-president of the Forensics Club (public speaking). All stuff I liked to do. And for the record, I got accepted to the School of Art at Wash U in St. Louis Early Decision 2.</p>

5

<p>I think you'll get in :) . If you're barely 10% with those stats, your school must be really crazy!</p>

6

<p>OK. I'm going to revise my estimate of your chances at Duke just a bit. Last year, Duke accepted about 22% of all applicants. The median SAT was 2195, 25th percentile 2060, 75th percentile 2330. You're well above the median and close to the 75th percentile. So, you're a strong candidate. Problem is, even strong candidates probably have only about a 30% chance because the competition is so strong. So, figure you've got about a 30% chance, which is way better than average. I'd say definitely go for it, but make sure you've got some reasonable matches and safeties lined up as well.</p>

<p>Here's a link to the Duke website where they explain what they're looking for. You might find it helpful.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.admissions.duke.edu/jump/applying/who_whatweseek.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://www.admissions.duke.edu/jump/applying/who_whatweseek.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

7

<p>Thanks guys. Appreciate it. And yeah, our school (Plano Senior) supposedly offers the most AP courses of any high school west of the Mississippi.</p>

8

<p>I agree that your chances are around 30%. The rank isn't that great, and neither are the EC's. With the strong SAT scores, you're probably slightly above the average applicant.</p>

9

<p>You go to PESH? heh, st. mark's here.</p>

<p>jeff nanney is a genius, if you know him ;)</p>

10

<p>I believe your EC's will hurt abit, nothing unique, but you are slightly above avg on everything else</p>

11

<p>well the ec's are adequate, and you academics are strong, so i think you have a decent chance</p>

12

<p>thanks to everyone who has replied, and i dont go to PESH, i go to plano senior high.</p>