Likely letter from duke...and then waitlisted

So I got a likely letter from duke about a week ago…when I when to check my admission status today it told me I got waitlisted. I was told that a LL is basically an acceptance so I told all my friends and stuff that I got into Duke and now im just really bummed…just wondering if anyone knows why this happened? My grades didn’t drop or anything and I didn’t commit any murders…just some background info: I applied at an international student ( Korea ) but I’ve been living in Texas since I was 5

That’s very strange. I got a likely letter as well and got officially accepted today. Maybe they received your mid-year report? Sorry to hear that man, I never thought I’d see the day where this would happen.

I hope you call admissions tomorrow to ask what happened. I think either the likely letter was sent by mistake or the waitlist status is a mistake, especially since they occurred only one week apart.

my mid-year report grades were pretty good . … I mean my rank only dropped from a 3 to a 4 so I honestly don’t know what went wrong . . ugh :frowning:

Are you sure it was a likely letter? Not a regular notification email you misinterpreted? Regardless, check with the admissions office tomorrow.

nope it clearly says “the admissions committee enthusiastically expects to offer you admission formally later this month” but yeah I think I will call tomorrow!

@hihihello‌: I agree, that is quite irregular and I hope Undergraduate Admissions can quickly rectify this error.

Please post and let us know what ends up happening. I have to admit to a level of paranoia about those likely letters. My son got one from an Ivy and until we get the official word next week, I am very nervous about it falling through!

I thought that the Duke likely letters only went out to URMs??

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@sgopal2: Nope, URMs and some others, BUT way less than half of those who will be admitted.

I check my portal again today and for some reason it says that I am now accepted! Will call Monday just to make sure put I think that I am in :slight_smile:

That’s great news, CONGRATULATIONS. I suspect this was some sort of IT glitch, but no matter.

Yeah the Dean of admissions sent me an email today saying it was a mistake. Thank you!

So very glad to hear that! Congratulations! I hope it came with a big apology!

Glad it worked out for you!!!

Congrats!

Doesn’t make me have that much confidence in their IT system / QA process, though. Particularly for something so meaningful. I wonder if there was anybody who did not receive a LL had the wrong decision displayed, but Duke won’t feel the need to double check/fix it for fear of looking bad. I bet it happens more than you think (not specifically at Duke, but everywhere). Back in the day, I’m sure adcoms inadvertently sent a few applicants the wrong admissions package every year. I remember some school recently that told everybody they were accepted when they weren’t … oops!

Congrats to you! Glad it worked out :).

Sorry to hear about your story. But I too wonder like @bluedog‌. How many other students does this happen to each year? If it weren’t for the fact that you received a LL, most people wouldn’t have had the guts to challenge the admissions decision.

Admissions people are human afterall, and mistakes do happen. However it makes me wonder what type of quality control system the admissions office has in place (if any).