By the end of my junior year, it is very likely that I will have a cumulative GPA of 3.86 unweighted throughout my freshman, sophomore, and junior year. If I get really lucky it will be a 3.88 unweighted but that is unlikely. Is this within Duke’s range for accepted applicants?
It really depends on your school, your other academic and extracurricular factors, as well as the competition in your area. I got into Duke with a 3.81 unweighted from a competitive suburban public school in New Jersey over others with much higher GPAs in my class. So people have gone in with lower GPA than yours if it’s of any comfort to you.
This is likely fine, as GPAs from high school are difficult to compare against one another anyway. Your ACT/SAT scores are what will differentiate you, at least stats wise. Focus on doing well on those!