Hey y’all!
I applied to Duke and it’s one of my top choices. My friend from school got a likely letter and I’m a little worried. I know I shouldn’t expect a likely letter, and my school is not one that sends like 25 kids to different Ivies/elite schools. While we are doing rather well this year, we don’t get multiple acceptances to top schools. Unlike most of what I hear about likely admits, my friend is not some Intel finalist/world champion in classical Thai dance. She is a rather smart and creative girl (URM). I’m glad she got in and do not doubt her merits, but if she didn’t get in you would shrug your shoulders and say “luck of the draw” and not act like it was some grave mistake. Because of this, I’m worried that my chances of getting in when regular people find out are gone. Do you think I can still get in even with my school’s history of really only getting a couple kids in to different schools?
Little off topic but I think one reason I may not get in is that I followed what College Board said and used score choice. I realized my mistake in mid-late January and rushed all my scores in to get to Duke ASAP. Do you think it negatively impacted my application? I take responsibility for this and so I will understand if this is the reason I get rejected (I will never fully know). My first score was 2190 and my second a 2400; hopefully they did not think I was purposefully misleading them.
Sorry for the mess of a post – I’m new. Thanks.
Just wait and see what happens, not every admitted student gets a likely letter …
To provide one more data point-- my school does not send people to ‘elite’ institutions, I did not get a likely letter, and I still got in (and now attend)! If you’re referring to a likely letter that was also an invite to BSAI, those letters logistically have to be sent out before admissions sends regular letters out because of the timing of BSAI.
There’s really no way of knowing, but just breathe and wait for decision day. I drove myself nuts panicking, and things worked out the way they worked out. Enjoy senior year. (-:
Just to add on to that train of thought of Duke admissions officers… I emailed a Duke adcom officer about being a National Merit Finalist. I don’t know what to think of her response… and I feel like she knows I got rejected. She knows my school extremely well. Do adcoms generally drop hints in their email responses when they know a kid got in or not?
Bigarmer: Duke will take multiple persons from one school. My son’s school, which is a small private in the Southeast, had two kids accepted two straight years. Your classmate no doubt got the LL because she fit the profile of something Duke might not have seen yet in their applicants. You probably are qualified academically too so it will probably come down to how many applicants are close to you in terms of your resume (scores, grades, geography, gender, race, potential contributions outside the classroom, etc). Best of luck to you.
- Far less than half of those accepted receive "likely letters."
- The CB's ScoreChoice erroneous information error will have no impact, presuming your file eventually complied with Duke Undergraduate Admissions' guidelines.
- Admissions Officers simply could not be busier than they are right now -- there's a week remaining and things certainly are very hectic -- therefore, the idea that they might currently have the time to "drop hints" (one way or the other) ranges somewhere between silly and ludicrous.
- Duke does not employ any "secondary school limits;" each application is judged individually.
Finally, every one of these questions has been often discussed in this forum; a little research might quickly resolve your concerns.
Admitted!!!
Thanks everyone for your advice! Future applicants: read Duke SAT policies carefully but don’t freak out if you mess up – just go and correct it! and don’t be intimidated by likely letter recipients! 