I want to go to Duke!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I just posted this on the Duke thread but I think I might get more advice here...</p>

<p>I'm a rising Senior and Duke is my dream school. I am not a minority and I go to a very competitive public high school in the northeast. I am applying early decision and want to know if there is anything I can do to make myself stand out in Duke's very competitive applicant pool. How do my chances look?</p>

<p>STATS:</p>

<p>GPA: 3.9 UW (school doesn't weight)
SAT I: 2140 (Math - 700; CR - 720; Writing - 720)...will retake in October
SAT II: Math Ic - 750; US History - 770...will take Math IIC in November
AP: US History - 5 (my school only offers AP US and AP Stat to juniors)</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule:
AP Calculus AB
AP Chemistry
AP Comparative Government
AP English Literature
AP Spanish
Advanced Latin III</p>

<p>ECs (broken down into sub-categories)</p>

<p>Sports:
9th - Varsity Tennis (youngest player ever on school's team; All-League); Varsity Track
10th - Varsity Tennis (All Conference); Manager of Boys Varsity Tennis
11th - Varsity Tennis (All Conference); Ranked Top 60 in Girls under 16's Tennis on the east coast
12th - Varsity Tennis (Captain...awards not known yet)</p>

<p>Academic/Awards:
School Newspaper Reporter (9th)
School Newspaper Assistant Editor (10th, 11th)
School's Honor Society (11th, 12th)
NAAPT Physics Bowl Participant (11th)
National History Day Competition Regionals - 4th Place (11th)
National History Day Competition States - 3rd Place and alternate for National Competition (11th)</p>

<p>Community Service:</p>

<p>Midnight Run Club - brings food, clothing etc to homeless in NYC - one saturday night every month - 9th, 10th, 11th (Treasurer), 12th (Treasurer)</p>

<p>Children's Hospital Club - President/Founder (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th)</p>

<p>*I have been volunteering at a group home for men with down's syndrome and autism for over a year. I am currently taking a training course at the group home and will become a certified counselor at the end of the month. I will then be able to give the men their medication and I will become an employee of the home. The men I work with are extremely low functioning (their mental capacities range from 1 yrs old to 5 yrs old). As a volunteer, I baked cookies with them weekly and played memory games. I also taught them about animals and animal sounds.</p>

<p>*I spent the month of July interning at a school for severely mentally disabled and autistic children in London.</p>

<p>*I babysit weekly for a severely autistic 5 year old boy</p>

<p>I would greatly appreciate any comments/input/advice. Thanks in advance...</p>

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<p>Please Respond...
Anyone?</p>

3

<p>Bake some more cookies and bring them to your interview. Or to NJ if you're passing by. :P</p>

<p>You have a great shot. I especially love the service and contributions to your community. You sound like a great applicant. The scores could use some improvement, but they definitely won't be a showstopped. Good luck!</p>

4

<p>I think you're volunteer work is really great--especially if you're going to write an essay about working with people who have autism. I'm by no means an expert, but by what I've seen on here, I'd say just bring your SAT score up--beyond 2200, and I think you have a shot. Good luck!!!</p>

5

<p>It's going to be a reach, but you definately have a chance! You sound personable and intelligent; have a interview, it could make a big difference. If you make your personality shine, I believe you have a great shot.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice so far. Anyone else?</p>

7

<p>I would agree that things look good with a higher SAT score.</p>

8

<p>Who doesn't want to go to Duke? Only crazy people.</p>

<p>You look like a smart, caring person. That's more important than any SAT score--and if you retake that in October and get slightly higher, it will be incredibly impressive.</p>

9

<p>I don't want to go to Duke. Too far away and homogeneous from what I've heard. I don't consider myself crazy.</p>

10

<p>Well, I'm crazy and I want to go to Duke. So maybe I got it backwards ;)</p>

<p>Collegegrl88, we must band together and defend our insanity. Genius borders on insanity, if you go to Duke you could be the former and therefore, by being lunatics, we prove our worth! Gotta love circular reasoning.</p>

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<p>Hahah keep trying. I think you're onto something, though. :P</p>

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<p>Ooh, I got it. Duke people are geniuses, genius borders on insanity, therefore insane people go to Duke, we're insane for wanting to go to Duke so we must be geniuses and we've proven we deserve to go there!</p>

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<p>We're totally stealing Collegegrl88's thread.</p>

<p>How about this. People in love are often referred as crazy in love (<em>cue in Beyonce and Britney Spears</em>) and people in love are freakishly happy, so people who don't want to go to Duke are freakishly happy. Since people who do want to go to Duke are not crazy people, they are not freakishly happy, and therefore... suicidal?</p>

14

<p>Okay okay I got another one.</p>

<p>Crazy people are ignorant towards the real world, the real world is a vicious place, crazy people are sheltered from viciousness, people who want to go to Duke are not crazy, people who want to go to Duke are not sheltered from the real world, people who want to go to Duke are vulnerable to viciousness.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Crazy people are ignorant towards the real world, the real world is a vicious place, crazy people are sheltered from viciousness, people who want to go to Duke are not crazy, people who want to go to Duke are not sheltered from the real world...

[/quote]
...people who want to go to Duke become worldly-wise, so wise people want to go to Duke.</p>

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<p>I think the OP has a great shot</p>

<p>and yes... Duke is where one goes to be worldly with other wordly people using worldly words</p>

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<p>Bleh, I KNEW you were going to say that.</p>

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<p>Collegegrl88 , your SATs are good, but not spectacular. GPA id good, your taking the toughest courseload it seems. SPorts(capt. of tennis), newspaper(ass.editor), volunteer work(Prez and founder of C.H. club) are good,. ANy other ECs? Part time job or summer program would be good. National awards would be helpful too, National Merit, etc. U R competitive in the applicant pool, but not quite standout. Hope I could help...Good LUCK</p>

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<p>Greendayfan,
Thanks for the input. I listed my part time job and summer program in my stats. They both involve working with disabled people. I think I will write my essay about working with disabled people.</p>

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<p>Are you taking SATI again, another 100 points would really help.</p>