<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I just had a few questions about the admissions process as well as the lifestyle at Duke. Does Duke "throw your application away" if you don't meet certain qualifiers. Will they look into your essay and your extracurriculars as well as things you have had a passion for? Will they accept a pretty good student, with a 30 on the act and a 3.6 GPA and high positions in a few clubs? What is it like at Duke? What are some popular classes? Thank you</p>
<p>They say they weight GPA, SAT/ACT, essays, recs, ECs, and something else all equally</p>
<p>They look at the whole picture, but low academics will probably hurt.</p>
<p>will having a low act/sat make or break the whole application?</p>
<p>I was wondering this too!
Thanks!</p>
<p>What do you consider low?</p>
<p>My SAT is below 2000, but I have stellar grades. I assure you, no grade inflation whatsoever.</p>
<p>It depends on lots of factors: races, Ecs, school competitivity. General speaking, for schools, such as Duke, SAT under 2000 is considered on the low side. Again, I see people with low scores got accepted last yr. Good luck!</p>
<p>To answer your question, no university in the United States will “throw out” your application by simply reading a number, such as the SAT score, because universities are smarter than that. They take a holistic approach to evaluating your application, and of course, will read the entirety of every single one before making a decision. A “low” SAT score can be remedied by demonstrated talent + ability in other areas of your application.</p>
<p>To put it bluntly, a low SAT/ACT score should not prevent you from applying to a college that you want to get into, because you may get in as your application is viewed holistically. Likewise, you shouldn’t be cocky thinking you’ll get in for sure if you have a perfect SAT either.</p>
<p>Secret100: Thank you so much for the advice. 
I’m glad I applied - I am deferred, but I don’t think I would even have applied without your post. Thank you so much.</p>
<p>Haha, no problem. Good luck with the college search process.</p>
<p>They look at everything. However, if your test score or GPA is lower than Duke’s standards, and your ECs, essays, rigor, and everything else simply meets Duke’s standards, dont expect an acceptance. A low GPA or test score won’t break it, but your other areas, Rigor, Essays, ECs, need to be outstanding and above the average Duke acceptee in order to make up for it.</p>
<p>I was admitted ED with a 3.6 GPA, 33 on my ACT, several core EC’s in which I held one or multiple leadership positions. What I want to stress is that on paper, I was a weaker stats applicant, but my essays and teacher recommendations shined through to the adcoms. There is absolutely no validity to the belief that a college tosses you out for not having perfect grades.</p>
<p>^Same. Looking at the thread, so many people had better stats than me (I have a 33 and a 3.7), but I felt my essays, ECs, and rec (especially the optional peer rec) really helped me.</p>