<p>I'm a current junior in hs...
Here are my stats so please chance me:
SAT: 2260
ACT: 33
GPA: 88.4/100 (3 AP courses SOPHOMORE YEAR, I got 5's on all exams) (Yes I know its kind of low)
Activities: Dance, tennis, lacrosse, piano, violin, president of three clubs, 600+ hours of internship with doctors, science fair projects
Parents are doctors and they went to Brown and Harvard
Income: $1M+
Not applying for financial aid. (not sure if these matter but ive seen them put in the accepted students profiles here on cc)
Race: Asian
Hooks: $? (My family will not donate to get me into a school, but we are very loyal to the institutions we have attended. We have donated a lot of money to my parents alma maters, and my parents will donate a substantial amount (1m+) to the college I attend if im happy with it... but I'm not sure what is a "lot" to the admissions committee)</p>
<p>I will comment in only one area. Your family’s affluence, potential donations, requirement for no financial assistance, and so forth will likely have no influence on Undergraduate Admissions. The fact is, things of this nature are almost always entirely unknown to those who work in Admissions. Were your parents Duke alumni, with their backgrounds possibly slightly understood by campus officials, this “might” be MARGINALLY different.</p>
<p>In the current admissions cycle, Duke is likely to receive perhaps 33 or 34 thousand applications; we do not have the time, the staff, or – most important – the desire to investigate each applicant’s financial circumstances. Moreover, to do so would place value on matters that are – AND THAT SHOULD BE – completely irrelevant to the admissions decision. What background information Duke receives – and highly values – is conveyed in recommendations, essays, occasionally in interview reports, etc.</p>
<p>Is “TopTier” a duke admissions officer?
He refers to the duke admissions staff as “we”</p>
<p>Kid2200: No, but I have served on several senior Duke Boards, Executive Committees, Councils and as the Chair of a major/regional Duke alumni group; the “we” refers to Duke institutionally.</p>
<p>alicejohnson: I don’t agree that a “double comma” donation guarantees admission to Duke. While it “might” (?) for this OP, whose statistics appear competitive, I know of several instances where a marginally competitive applicant attempted to ensure admission through a major donation; it didn’t work (and, in fact, it was probably offensive). Therefore, I respectfully suggest that it generally is misleading to indicate that all that is required is a “big check.”</p>
<p>TopTier, do my stats look ok for admission even if we don’t donate PRIOR to being admitted?
I understand that essays are important, and I do write very well</p>
<p>I do not claim to be an expert; however, I suggest:
a) Work on your GPA, currently it’s marginal (no offense intended).
b) Consider, at length and introspectively, what you can bring to your classmates and Duke (especially the faculty); I realize that this will not be easy, but every excellent candidate needs to find ways in which to distinguish his application from the “pack.”</p>
<p>You’re a solid applicant, and I wish you success, but finding a legitimate “wedge advantage” is likely to be crucial (for you, as well as essentially all of your competition).</p>
<p>Finally, ED demonstrates your commitment to Duke; if you analyze this admission cycle’s quantitative results in late-Spring, you’ll see concrete documentation of ED’s potential advantages.</p>
<p>Wonderful, thanks; I do plan to improve my GPA.
thank you so much for your help @toptier</p>
<p>What is your class rank? If your GPA puts you in the top 10%, you probably shouldn’t worry about your GPA. Did you try applying to Brown ED? I feel like you have a good shot at Brown ED because of legacy and donations. Your SATs and ECs show that you are intelligent and driven, maybe explaining your slightly subpar grades(no offense) so colleges may be able to tell that you’re not lazy, unintelligent, or unmotivated, but the opposite instead. I’m asian as well and I hope this doesn’t sound harsh, but another Asian kid who interned with doctors and plays tennis (this is what I was at one point, so don’t take it personally) is bound to bore admissions officers. I hope those clubs you were president of separate you from the hordes of hospital-interning, tennis-playing, high GPA asian applicants!</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>