Love EVERYTHING about Duke.. my chances?!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>Asian male
Class Rank: 4/550
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.9/4.22
(4 semesters of Bs: Honors Frosh Eng and AP Junior Eng)
Residence: California
Intended Major: Chemistry + pre-med</p>

<p>SAT Reasoning 2280
Reading: 690 =(
Math: 800
Writing 790</p>

<p>SAT Subjects
Chemistry 800
Korean 800
Math 800
Bio 760 (I probably will not report this score)</p>

<p>AP Scores:
5- Chem, Stat, Calc, Bio
4- World History, English, Comp Sci</p>

<p>EC:
-Eagle Scout
-300 community service hours (from the Boy Scouts and a hospital)
-JV Tennis 9th and 10th, Vars Track 11th, Vars Cross Country 12th probably
-member of the Citizens' Corps: Community Emergency Response Team
-Foothill Emergency Alert Team (city's emergency team)
-Open Source Club: VP 10th, Prez 11th, should I run for reelection in my senior year?
-officer for two other major clubs (STEP and Bio)</p>

<p>Art Portfolio (thinking about turning one in if it will help my app, but I'm a chem major):
-4 large oil paintings (at least 2.5ft x 2.5ft.. most are larger)
-6 smaller paintings and sketches</p>

<p>Internship (during junior summer):
-took place @ one of Korea's top national medical universities
-similar to all other interns: saw surgeries, performed lab procedures, "job shadowed" doctors, etc</p>

<p>Awards:
-First Place Laws of Life Essay Contest
-national merit commended student (maybe semifinalist, i don't know until school starts); score was 228 for the PSAT
-honorable mention in an art contest (oil paint)
-AP Scholar with Distinction (does this help at all?)
-CA Standards Testing Excellency Award (this is a line filler ]=</p>

<p>Job Experience:
Worked at a tutoring company for 6 months.</p>

<p>Senior Schedule:
AP Physics
AP Human Geo
AP Psych
AP Eng
AP Gov/Econ
PE</p>

2

<p>t3mp,</p>

<p>I realize that these chance threads are very popular but let me tell you what I usually tell anyone who asks.</p>

<p>1) Your SAT is above average for Duke, so you can check that off your list
2) Your SAT II scores are above average, check that off of your list
3) Your GPA and class rank are in line with what Duke expects, check that off of your list
4) You are taking a challenging schedule, average to above average on the number of AP’s you are taking, so again check that off of your list
5) Your EC’s are ok, but not great. You don’t seem to have a focus, other than scouts. You played tennis, then ran track, and now cross country, and you also aren’t telling us how many hours a week these activities take, or how involved you are. If you merely show up to meetings then it isn’t impressive if you are taking an active role and are deeply involved then that is a plus.</p>

<p>But as you can see most people that post chance threads are giving us numbers and 99% of the time these numbers fall either in Duke’s range or are even slightly above Duke’s range.</p>

<p>But, numbers only tell one part of the story. These accomplishments are great, but those are the stats, the only thing you have control over now are the recommendations (who you pick) and your essays (can you deliver a convincing story). Duke will receive several applications like yours and you will need to stand out in some way, I always tell people who meet the “basic stats” for Duke to now focus on the essays because that is all you can really change now.</p>

<p>You have a great chance at getting into Duke, but just remember great is still probably only 50% for a school like this.</p>

3

<p>Your ECs are really scattered. Dropping tennis, then running track, then running cross country?
There is no real focus.</p>

4

<p>As other posters have said, your numbers are great but the subjective material on your app could be a problem. Just concentrate on your essays to give your app an identity. A pretty good shot, but still a tossup with Duke’s selectivity-- especially as of late.</p>

5

<p>shaky but not too bad
but shaky</p>

6

<p>Again, like everyone else has said, your numbers are great. As far as what Duke accepts, you fall definitely within the range of being accepted.</p>

<p>Just a few things: Your ECs reflect your interest in going into pre-med. This is good; it shows you have ambition and know what you want instead of being wishy-washy. The community service is also great, thought the majority of it is through Eagle Scouts. I had approximately the same amount of hours on my application (less, actually, since quite a few hours were done in my second semester of senior year). Your interest in art is good; I wouldn’t bother sending in a portfolio, however, since you aren’t planning to go into art and it’d superfluous.</p>

<p>To raise your chances:
Increase you SAT Reading score; it’s a bit low and most schools only look at Math and Reading.
Get good, unique recommendations (from at least one science teacher if you plan on going into pre-med, and pick the teacher that knows you best personally). Ask your counselor for advice about which teachers write the best recommendations. Some teachers are known for writing generic letters and some teachers are known for writing great, elaborate ones; you don’t know which teacher writes the best until you ask someone.</p>

<p>The most important part will be your essay, however. You need to spend the most time picking an essay topic and revising it. As hard as it is, I’d ask friends, family, and teacher to read and revise it for you. You might go through multiple essays before you find the perfect one; I wrote three complete essays before I found my final one to use. The essay is the longest, hardest, and most important part so focus on that aspect of your application. Pick a topic that is natural to write about; if you have to force a topic, it’s probably the wrong one.</p>

7

<p>don’t report your Korean Sat II score
they won’t be impressed that you got an 800 with your native tounge :/</p>

8

<p>^^^
Doesn’t matter just submit; Korean SAT II should pretty much worthless. Everyone who submits has basically a 800. Rice University reported an average Korean SAT II of 800. Duke probably has the same.</p>

9

<p>so no one thinks the 690 will be partially offset by a 800 in another language, assuming the OP is an ESL student?</p>

10

<p>I think the 690 might be offset if he had recently moved to the U.S. and is currently an ESL student. However he seems to have been at the U.S. for quite a bit, so the CR score should stand. I believe Duke probably wouldn’t, and shouldn’t, take the Korean into account.</p>

<p>That isn’t to say that a 690 is bad at all. I got a 690 in CR and got into Duke if that means anything to anyone. </p>

<p>As for the OP I think you have a very decent chance. Your academics are good and the fact that you participated in a variety of EC activities will only help you. The most important thing you can do now is to focus on your essays and to make sure they are top notch.</p>