<p>Hey CCers,</p>
<p>I wanted to find out if applying to Duke with an area of academic interest in Pre-Med would make my chances of admission less likely. It's definitely what I want to do (become a physician) but if it hurts my chances then I won't put it down. Should I apply into something else and join the pre med program(advising system) once I'm admitted?</p>
<p>The thing that's weird about Duke is that it's supplement on the Common App asks for our "Areas of Academic interests" and not what major we want to pursue. If they asked about my intended major, I would choose Cultural Anthropology or Sociology. I want to have a social sciences major while still taking pre-medical requisites for medical school. The supplement doesn't really let me say that...</p>
<p>If you guys have opinions about this for any other school (NYU, Northwestern, JHU, Columbia, Emory, Boston College) that'd be helpful too.</p>
<p>I signed up for Pre-Med interests with a minor in Anthropology. I think it’s a matter of how well you can distinguish yourself from all the other aspiring pre-meds; here is where essays and EC’s will become pivotal.</p>
<p>but the Trinity essay is not only optional but also limited to one or two paragraphs…do you mean the common app essays? The activity and general one?</p>
<p>You NEED to do the optional essay. If you really want to attend Duke, why wouldn’t you have great reasons to go there? Yes, its one to two paragraphs, but that still made mine 3/4’s of a page. The general essay needs to be as concise and personal as you can make it. Plenty of Pre-Meds have perfect test scores and GPA’s, but the ones that get in are the ones that can articulate the reasons Duke is the school for them.</p>
<p>First of all, you don’t have to do the optional essay. I got in RD as a high school senior without doing it. However, I strongly recommend doing it because it shows you have done your research on Duke and it is your opportunity to articulate why Duke is the place for you. If you are just going to write a generic essay for the “Why Duke?” prompt that you send to all the other schools, don’t even bother though… only do it if you can make it clear what Duke offers you that other schools do not (e.g. opportunities to volunteer at Duke Lemur Center, research opps and small class sizes at the Duke Marine Lab, opportunities to take global health classes in Costa Rica, etc.).</p>
<p>Secondly, 40% of the freshmen class comes in pre-med every year. In my opinion, I don’t think it would hurt you if you said you were pre-med. But I am not an admissions officer, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>hhmmm
okay, thanks!</p>
<p>I wrote the essay today so that’s done.
I think I will apply pre-med…it would be so weird, as if I were lying, if I tried to say something else.</p>
<p>but if anyone else knows that it would basically be a red flag, then I’d still like to find out</p>
<p>You could honestly apply for a another field that you are interested in and just complete the pre-med track. Personally, I’m majoring in economics and completing the requirements.</p>
<p>i know that you can major in whatever you want, but Duke specifically had the option of “Pre-med” for an academic area of interest. It doesn’t ask for an intended major. Because i plan to follow the pre-med track by taking the necessary pre reqs, I feel like I have to put Pre-med down as that area of academic interest.</p>
<p>Fair enough. Work on rounding yourself to come across as someone that doesn’t live only in the math/science arena. A strong set of EC’s w/ leadership and some killer essays will be the key here(IMO).</p>
<p>When I talked to my admissions officer earlier in the fall, she emphasized several times that Duke does not admit based on major or academic interest, because they know how indecisive we can be. So, I don’t think putting down pre-med will hurt you.</p>
<p>YES! That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.</p>
<p>Glad to be of assistance. 
Best of luck with your app!</p>