********Official Duke 2015 RD Results Thread********

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Trinity College of Arts & Sciences</p>

<p>Objective:

[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2360 (790CR/800M/770W)
[</em>] ACT: 35
[<em>] SAT II (if submitted): 740 World History, 750 Math I, 760 Spanish, 770 US History, 780 Math II, 790 Chemistry
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Grades in AP/IB/honors classes (if applicable): Nearly all 95+
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8/670…
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5), Computer Science A (5), Chemistry (5), Calculus BC (5), English Language (5), US History (5), Spanish Language…not a five :confused: (but passing)
[</em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load:
AP English Literature
AP Spanish Literature
AP Physics C
AP Statistics
AP Human Geography
AP Macroeconomics
AP US Government
Marching band
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction or something, 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in state Science Olympiad tournament, if that counts</p>

<p>[/ul]Subjective:

[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership and number of years participated in a certain activity in parenthesis): Band (loading crew, uniform crew)- marched tenor drums last two years, Science Olympiad- probably my favorite, I did 5 of our team’s 23 events at state, where we were 2nd overall and got to compete in the National Tournament in Illinois, UIL Academics (vice president), The Grind (member of the board)- current events club, Senior Men, etc. Black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do. I also listed family responsibilities bc it is a very large time requirement for me.
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: none
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: I started youth ushering at my church and have ushered since middle school, lots of band related fundraising/hosting contests/ helping out, bunch of other school-related things
[</em>] EC short answer (subject and personal opinions on it): very sincere but could easily come across as very fake/cliche to someone who doesn’t know me
[<em>] General Essay (subject and personal opinions on it): Well written and unique, but risky
[</em>] Second Essay (subject - and personal opinions on it): didn’t do
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation (only if you saw it): didn’t see
[</em>] Counselor Rec (only if you saw it): didn’t see
[<em>] Additional Rec (only if you saw it): didn’t see
[</em>] Interview: none</p>

<p>[/ul]Other

[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Texas
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: very large, competitive public
[</em>] Ethnicity: White…
[<em>] Gender: Male…
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): more like antihooks lol…
[/ul]Reflection

[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Grades, test scores, transcript, EC’s
[</em>] Weaknesses: no job exp? maybe my writing and volunteering
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’d like to know
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/rejected/waitlisted: Accepted: Texas, Baylor, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame
Rejected: Princeton, Yale, Duke
Waitlisted: WashU (need-aware)
[li] Would you rather have seen your Duke decision after or before Ivies? Didn’t really matter I guess</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments:
Congratulations to those accepted! You have a wonderful choice and opportunity. I liked Duke ever since I got to go to some State Recognition ceremony for the Duke TIP program in 7th grade and was hoping to get to visit, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Still have some good options.</p>

<p>Decision: Rejected </p>

<p>Trinity College of Arts & Sciences </p>

<p>Objective:

[ul]
[<em>] ACT: 36
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
[<em>] Grades in AP/IB/honors classes: Straight A’s in all AP classes
[</em>] Rank: 7/293
[<em>] AP: Comparative Politics (5), US Gov (4, self taught)
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP - Chem, Physics C, Calc BC, Statistics and Latin; English literature and office aid
[li] Major Awards: National Merit Commendation, CAPPY nomination for Best Show (theater critics award)</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:

[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars: Soooo many. Student council (11th treasurer, 12 president), community service club (exec board, 9-12), Jewish Community Teen Relations (group leader, steering committee, 11-12), Jew and Muslims (award winning diversity program, 12), Improv Theater Troupe (11-12), Ultimate Frisbee Club (11-12), Mainstage theater productions (10-12), National Honors Society (Secretary, 11-12)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Worked in the summer in my Uncle’s lab at SLU doing research. I also have worked as a camp counselor for special needs kids
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Kidsmart (2 hours a month, Project Help (2 hours a week), Ready Readers (2 hours a week), Senior Men and various other side projects. I’ve never added it up, but definitely 200+ just by virtue of the time commitments.
[</em>] EC short answer: About the Cabeza lab and neuroscience research at Duke. Showed a lot of interest in the school. I also wrote about my research at SLU.
[<em>] General Essay: A dissection of my brain. All my interviewers have enjoyed it.
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation (only if you saw it): One was beautiful, i didn’t see the other
[<em>] Counselor Rec (only if you saw it): We are very close, so I hope it was good
[</em>] Interview: Bleh, the interviewer was boring and uninterested. Just bleh.</p>

<p>[/ul]Other

[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): MO
[</em>] School Type: Competitive Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: White
[</em>] Gender: Male
[li] Hooks: none</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection

[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Basically everything
[</em>] Weaknesses: Essays and bad luck?
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: There’s definitely some luck involved in admissions nowadays. No kid is a surefire shot at any school. I guess I just had some bad luck
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/rejected/waitlisted: Accepted: Vanderbilt (CV), UVA (Jefferson), UMiami (Singer), WUSTL, Brandeis, CWRU (w/aid), UNC, Mizzou; Waitlisted: UChicago (applied to a program that isn’t there d’oh)</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments: I wasn’t going to go anyway because of money, but its an interesting case study on admissions at different schools. How many other people got Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jefferson scholarships, but were flat-out rejected from Duke? Its unlikely, and says a lot about the RNG nature of college admissions these days. Applicants are too competitive and there needs to be another way to distinguish them from one another. I see a lot of people who have been rejected or waitlisted by institutions that would have been drooling over them one or two years ago.</p>

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 770 M, 790 CR, 760 W (2320)
[</em>] ACT: n/a
[<em>] SAT II: Chinese 800, Chemistry 790, Math II 800, World History 780, Literature 690
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/1036
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5) Statistics (5) English Lang and Comp (5) US History (5) Chemistry (5) Microeconomics (4) Macroeconomics (4) Calculus AB (5), Taking this year: Calculus BC, Literature and Composition, Biology, US Government, Computer Science, Psychology
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Literature and Composition, AP Biology, AP US/Comparative Government, AP Computer Science, AP Psychology
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMF, Siemens Competition Semifinalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, National AP Scholar, Coca Cola Scholars Semifinalist
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): FBLA (Treasurer), SGA (Treasurer), Future Health Occupations Club (Treasurer), Ping Pong Club, Chinese Cultural Club, NHS, Jazz Band (Sax), Piano, JV Tennis (Captain), Spring Track, Cross Country
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Abacus Chinese Restaurant (3 years), Drexel University Summer Intern (2010 summer)
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Chinese School Teacher’s Assistant, Reporter for SAPA-GP, Volunteered at a lab at University of Pennsylvania summer 2009, Various hours with NHS such as Special Olympics etc.
[<em>] Summer Activities: Research, Vacations
[</em>] Essays:
Common App: Wrote about the hardships of leading a team research project with unmotivated team members and lessons learned, etc.
Supplement: Pretty good
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Awesome, one from a math teacher I had for 3 years for Precalc, AP Calc 1 and AP Calc 2, one from AP Chem teacher
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Average, our school has one counselor per 300 students
[<em>] Additional Recs:
One from a professor at UPenn that I worked under during the summer of 2009
Mentor for Siemens Project and ISEF project from Harvard
[</em>] Interview: Decent
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[</em>] Intended Major: Biological Sciences
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): PA
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): n/a
[<em>] School Type: Large Suburban Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: 95k
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nothing really, valedictorian, being Asian male is probably negative hook
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[</em>] Strengths: Class rank, research experience, Good leadership and extracurriculars
[<em>] Weaknesses: Essay writing is somewhat average, though content was okay. Average awards
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Maybe something wasn’t there that they were looking for, w.e
[/ul]General Comments:
I got Accepted to UPenn Vagelos LSM so I’ll be having a great time there instead. I never thought the day would come when I would view a waitlist/rejection so carelessly.</p>

<p>Harvard: Waitlist
Princeton: Waitlist
Stanford: Rejected
UPenn LSM: Accepted
Duke: Rejected
UChicago: Waitlist
WUSTL: Accepted
Cornell: Waitlist
Emory: Still waiting
Penn State: Accepted to Honors College</p>

<p>Congratz to all that got accepted and for those that were rejected or waitlisted, hold your head high! You will all still succeed wherever you are if you put the effort in!</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Trinity College of Arts & Sciences </p>

<p>Objective:

[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown):
[</em>] ACT: 34
[<em>] SAT II (if submitted): 800 WH, 780 US
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Grades in AP/IB/honors classes (if applicable): 5.2 weighted
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Our school has two ranks, mine were 4th and 7th
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Human (5), World (5), Bio (4), US (5), Comp Gov (5), Lang (5), French (2)
[</em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Enviro, AP Lit, AP Euro, AP Psych, AP Gov, Econ, Financial Algebra, Team Sports, Band, Jazz Band
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
[/ul]Subjective:

[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership and number of years participated in a certain activity in parenthesis): Amnesty International President (4), Junior State of America CP, SFR Mayor (2), Young Democrats President (4), A.R.T.S.S. Club (4), Student Council President (2), LDS Seminary President (4)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Intern for Klein for Congress
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: over 1000 hours focused on either social/political activism, or the arts.
[</em>] EC short answer (subject and personal opinions on it): Well, it got cut off accidentally, but the first part was good! It was about a political activism project I have developed in my county from the 2008 election until now.
[<em>] General Essay (subject and personal opinions on it): It was creative and quite different. It generally reflected finding a balance of my mother’s culture and father’s culture and being a liberal Mormon.
[</em>] Second Essay (subject - and personal opinions on it): The subject was VERY specific to Duke’s Political Science Department and how I would benefit from it. I also discussed how I would contribute to the political Duke community.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation (only if you saw it): didn’t see
[</em>] Counselor Rec (only if you saw it): Mediocre, it was pretty general
[<em>] Additional Rec (only if you saw it):
[</em>] Interview: didn’t have an interview
[/ul]Other

[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Florida
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: Arts Magnet
[</em>] Ethnicity: White
[<em>] Gender: Female
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.):
[/ul]Reflection I am so happy about this!

[list]
[<em>] Strengths: Really involved in politics, plus I go to a really competitive high school.
[</em>] Weaknesses: Not very involved in math and science.
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I am really passionate about everything I do and I tried to make that clear to Duke.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/rejected/waitlisted: Accepted: Fordham, NYU LSP, BYU, Waitlisted: Barnard and Villanova, Rejected: Havard, Princeton, Yale, UPenn, Georgetown, Columbia (deferred ED), UC Berkeley, Northwestern.
[*] Would you rather have seen your Duke decision after or before Ivies? I was really disappointed about the results I was getting. I know that getting accepted into these schools is difficult regardless of how qualified the applicants are, but I expected more than this. Now I don’t even care about those other schools because I am going to Duke and I am ecstatic! It was very climactic! Duke is a lot better than some of the other schools I was rejected from!</p>

<p>Waitlisted (Please excuse the format)</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<ul>
<li>SAT: 2270</li>
<li>SAT II: 800 Math II, 770 Bio MC</li>
<li>ACT:</li>
<li>GPA: 4.0</li>
<li>Rank: tied for 1</li>
<li>Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):</li>
</ul>

<p>[ b]Subjective**</p>

<ul>
<li>Essays: Pretty good</li>
<li>Teacher Recs: idk</li>
<li>Counselor Rec: idk</li>
<li>Supplementary Material: research mentor rec and research paper</li>
<li>Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): come from a school filled with thugs, idk</li>
</ul>

<p>Personal

  • Location: AL
  • High School Type: Large public with lots of black ppl
  • Ethnicity: Asian
  • Gender: male</p>

<p>Other</p>

<ul>
<li>Extracurriculars: underwater basketweaving and other mediocre stuff</li>
<li>Awards: Siemens semi, USABO semi for this yr</li>
<li>Advice? Awwwwwww… oh well</li>
</ul>

<p>Decision: Accepted (Trinity)</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2350 - 800 W, 780 CR, 770 M
[</em>] ACT: N/A
[<em>] SAT II: 800 Math II, 790 US History, 790 Physics
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.845 (don’t have unweighted)
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Microeconomics (5), Language and Composition (5), US History (5), Physics B (5), Calculus BC (5)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP French Language, AP Literature and Composition, AP Physics C, AP Statistics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Psychology
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist; AP Scholar with Distinction; FBLA Parliamentary Procedures: 3rd regional, 4th state; FBLA Business Calculations: 1st regional, 5th state; FBLA Business Math: 2nd regional, 3rd state; Harvard National Invitational JV Public Forum Quarterfinalist; Borelli Memorial Varsity Public Forum: 6th; SIFE Enterprise Business Presentation: 1st; Le Grand Concours National French Contest: 6th; Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music Grade 8 Piano Certification; Robert F. Lucas Outstanding Lieutenant Governor Award
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Key Club (District Secretary, Lieutenant Governor), FBLA (President [2 years]), Forensics (Captain), Mu Alpha Theta (President), Board of Education (Student Representative), French Honor Society, Science League, Model UN. There were others I didn’t list on my application.
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Tutor
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: ~250 hours
[<em>] Summer Activities: National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine, Congressional Student Leadership Conference - National Leadership Summit, Leadership in the Business World
[</em>] Essays: CommonApp (pretty good), Supplement (good)
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Great
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Great
[<em>] Additional Rec: Great
[</em>] Interview: Good
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): NJ
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): N/A
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: $100,000+
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[</em>] Strengths: Essays, recommendations, leadership positions, interview
[<em>] Weaknesses: Awards, though numerous, were okay
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: See strengths
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/li]Accepted: Harvard, UPenn Jerome Fisher M&T, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Northwestern, NYU, UVA Echols Scholars, Rutgers
Waitlisted: Princeton, Yale, Cornell
Rejected: MIT, Stanford
[/ul]General Comments:</p>

<p>Happier than ever!</p>

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Trinity College of Arts & Sciences</p>

<p>Objective:

[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): n/a
[</em>] ACT: 32 Composite (32 E, 28 M, 32 R, 34 S)
[<em>] SAT II (if submitted): not submitted
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.78
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Psychology (5); will take macro, micro and stat tests this spring
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Stat, PreCalculus, AP Economics, Span 4 H, Physics
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none
[/ul]Subjective:

[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership and number of years participated in a certain activity in parenthesis): Football (3 yrs), Soccer (4 years, captain of state champion team), JROTC (1 year, platoon sgt. responsible for fourteen other cadets at my military academy)
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: none
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Youth soccer coach
[<em>] General Essay (subject and personal opinions on it): Experiences at an all-boys military academy in Alabama. Definitely not the greatest essay I’ve written, but the subject and story was probably one-of-a-kind.
[</em>] Interview: Pretty awkward, lol. I didn’t try to impress the interviewer; I just tried to be myself and have a good time.
[/ul]Other

[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): CA, AL
[</em>] School Type: Large public and all-boys military academy
[<em>] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[</em>] Income Bracket: My dad runs the largest hedge fund in California…
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None
[/ul]Reflection

[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Essay
[</em>] Weaknesses: GPA, test scores, course load
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Duke was a reach, so I assumed I would get rejected.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/rejected/waitlisted: Accepted to Tulane, Miami, USD, Chapman, Penn State, and a few other. Waitlisted at Vanderbilt (shocked I wasn’t rejected, really). Rejected from Duke and Boston College.
[li] Would you rather have seen your Duke decision after or before Ivies? I didn’t apply to ivies. And this question is pretty ridiculous, but conceivable considering that many college applicants are extremely impatient. </p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments: Congrats to all who were accepted! I have committed to Tulane University, where I will study economics and finance.</p>

<p>Son Waitlisted, by Duke…How Demoralizing.
ACT 34
GPA 4.0
Rank-Val</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Trinity College of Arts & Sciences</p>

<p>Objective:

[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2100: 700M, 660V, 740W, 11 essay
[</em>] ACT: N/A
[<em>] SAT II (if submitted): 730 French w/ Listening, 760 Biology M, 800 Math II
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
[<em>] Grades in AP/IB/honors classes (if applicable): A’s in all so far
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/~500
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5,5,5
[</em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: 6 AP courses
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None</p>

<p>[/ul]Subjective:

[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership and number of years participated in a certain activity in parenthesis): Varsity Swimming (9,10,11, Captain 12), French Honors Society (10, 11 VP, Pres 12), Math Honor Society (10, 11 VP, 12 VP), National Technical Honor Society (11,12), Duke TIP 2009, Harvard SSP 2010
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: None
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Hospital Volunteer (10,11,12), over 100 hours
[</em>] EC short answer (subject and personal opinions on it):
[<em>] General Essay (subject and personal opinions on it): Very personal and original, I talked about my unique background and blended it together with my interests. I tried to make my interests absolutely clear but at the same time give them some of my personal life.
[</em>] Second Essay (subject - and personal opinions on it): Okay, might have been too dramatic. Talked about experiences on a summer trip to Central America
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation (only if you saw it): One was excellent, the best I have ever read. Other was probably generic
[</em>] Counselor Rec (only if you saw it): Probably very good
[<em>] Additional Rec (only if you saw it): Generic (from coach)
[</em>] Interview: 15 minutes… The guy seemed like he was in a hurry! I guess interviews have no effect on the admission :P</p>

<p>[/ul]Other

[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): NC
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): US
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[<em>] Gender: M
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): URM (likely letter), in state</p>

<p>[/ul]Reflection

[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Essays were creative, good recs, in state
[</em>] Weaknesses: Test scores and no eye-popping extracurricular activities
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: No clue, just tried to put my personality into the essays so the admissions officers could get to know me better.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/rejected/waitlisted: Accepted: Duke, Vandy, UNC. Rejected: everywhere else
[li] Would you rather have seen your Duke decision after or before Ivies? I would have preferred to see this after; got my hopes up for some reach schools. I’m still thrilled to have the chance to go somewhere great :)</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments:
I am really excited to attend Duke in the fall. For some reason for the past 2 years, I felt like I was destined to go here :slight_smile: I look forward to meeting spectacular people and becoming a Blue Devil! Congrats to all acceptees, and to all the waitlistees and rejectees: you are all phenomenal candidates who will attend the best colleges and universities in the country and you will all excel in the fields of study of your choice! I feel honored to call you all my peers!</p>

<p>REJECTED
2210 sat
34 ACT
3.96 GPA
4.56 HPA
250 HOURS</p>

<p>GOING TO CHAPEL HILL!</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Trinity College of Arts & Sciences</p>

<p>Objective:

[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (750 CR, 730 MA, 760 WR)
[</em>] ACT: n/a
[<em>] SAT II (if submitted): 790 Lit, 750 Bio M, 730 US History, 710 Math I, 700 Chem
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.71
[<em>] Grades in AP/IB/honors classes (if applicable): As, with maybe one B+ per trimester
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): unranked, but I’d guess around 6/63
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (4), USH (5), English Lang (5)
[</em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Euro, AP Latin, AP English, AP Chemistry, Calculus, History of American Film (elective)
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit
[/ul]Subjective:

[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership and number of years participated in a certain activity in parenthesis): Rowing (Captain, 4 years); Stage Crew (4 years); Quidditch Club (Co-founder, 2 years); GSA (4 years)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: none
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: about 60 hours, including an 8 day trip to the Dominican Republic to volunteer at an orphanage
[</em>] EC short answer (subject and personal opinions on it): about founding Quidditch club, probably not the strongest but I wanted something quirky to write about
[<em>] General Essay (subject and personal opinions on it): about my parents’ divorce and how it affected my perception of myself - I thought it was pretty good, but who knows
[</em>] Second Essay (subject - and personal opinions on it): about how Duke has always been in my life because of my father, and how it represents family to me
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation (only if you saw it): didn’t see them but I’m sure they were fine
[</em>] Counselor Rec (only if you saw it): same
[<em>] Additional Rec (only if you saw it): from my rowing coach, more about my personality and work ethic
[</em>] Interview: probably the best interview I had in the entire college process. I really clicked with the interviewer and we ended up talking about everything from why Duke to our favorite Beatles songs.
[/ul]Other

[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): PA
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): n/a
[<em>] School Type: small, private
[</em>] Ethnicity: white
[<em>] Gender: female
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): legacy - dad went to Duke law, though I’ve heard conflicting accounts on how much graduate school legacy helps
[/ul]Reflection

[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: I’m generally well-rounded - grades, scores, sports, ECs, etc, all solid
[</em>] Weaknesses: same as above - I don’t have that wow factor that makes me stand out
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think legacy definitely helped a lot. I made sure to emphasize in my interview and 2nd essay that I grew up with Duke and that I wanted to keep the tradition in my family
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/rejected/waitlisted: Accepted: UCLA, Emory, McGill, Boston College, Syracuse, UC Santa Barbara
Waitlisted: Northwestern, Penn, Vanderbilt
Rejected: Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Brown, USC
[li] Would you rather have seen your Duke decision after or before Ivies? I don’t think it would have made a difference - because I had an awful time with the Ivies Duke ended up being an unbelievable relief</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments: My application experience didn’t go anything like I’d hoped, but I’m glad how it turned out. My dream school for years had been Stanford, and I struggled a lot with whether to apply ED to Duke or EA to Stanford - I did EA to Stanford because I knew that otherwise I’d always wonder. After I was rejected I was completely crushed, but I realized USC and Duke were my clear next choices. I was shocked again when I was rejected by USC, and I felt even worse when the rejections and waitlists piled up - UCLA was the only school I’d gotten into at that point, and I love it but I have no way to afford it out of state. I got shut out of the Ivies and I thought I was gonna be left in an awful position, but then Duke was truly my saving grace. It was a stressful experience but I’m glad it went the way it did - if I hadn’t been rejected by both USC and Stanford, I probably would have chosen one of them over Duke - and in retrospect, Duke is a MUCH better fit for me. I am ridiculously excited to join the class of 2015, I can’t wait!</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Pick one:
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences </p>

<p>Objective:

[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 750 CR, 800 M, 790 W
[</em>] ACT: 32 but did not submit (Took it after getting 1 hour of sleep and no studying, Felt like throwing up the entire time)
[<em>] SAT II (if submitted): 800 Physics, 790 Math II
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Not sure, but pretty good
[<em>] Grades in AP/IB/honors classes (if applicable):
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5, 5, 5, 5, 4
[</em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: 5 AP’s, Multivariable, Band
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit finalist, AP scholar with distinction, bunch of others
[/ul]Subjective:

[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership and number of years participated in a certain activity in parenthesis): Bunch of music, President of a few clubs, Tried to cut out the garbage and do only what I cared about after sophomore year
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: None
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Some, mostly music-related
[</em>] EC short answer (subject and personal opinions on it): Very good, Talked about my visit to Duke last year as a story and how it left an indelible memory on me. I think it was a primary factor of why I was accepted.
[<em>] General Essay (subject and personal opinions on it): Good, spent alot of time on it.
[</em>] Second Essay (subject - and personal opinions on it): IDK what this is.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation (only if you saw it): Both should have been decent.
[</em>] Counselor Rec (only if you saw it): Decent, he likes me.
[<em>] Additional Rec (only if you saw it): None
[</em>] Interview: It went fairly well. Wasn’t my best but I had lots to ask and talk about.
[/ul]Other

[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): GA
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): US
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None
[/ul]Reflection

[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Focused activities, SAT score
[</em>] Weaknesses: Should have branched out more leadership-wise
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Very convincing essay of why Duke is a good place for me
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/rejected/waitlisted: Alot of rejections, Waitlists at Columbia, Dartmouth, and Cornell,
[li] Would you rather have seen your Duke decision after or before Ivies? After</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments:</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Pratt School of Engineering </p>

<p>Objective:

[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 720 CR; 750 M; 710 W = 2180
[</em>] ACT: 31 (didn’t send)
[<em>] SAT II (if submitted): 690 Math II, 780 US History, 720 Bio M, 660 Bio E
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Grades in AP/IB/honors classes (if applicable):
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 US His, 4 Lang. & Comp, 4 Bio, 4 Calc AB
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: English IV Honors, AP Latin, AP Chem, AP Govt. & Pol, AP Econ, Adv. Calc, Senior Capstone
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major except for some latin stuff, 2 publications, Governor’s School for the Sciences, Questbridge College Prep
[/ul]Subjective:

[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership and number of years participated in a certain activity in parenthesis): a lot. Science Olympiad, scientific research, JCL (latin stuff), Speech/Debate stuff, Mu Alpha Theta, etc…Various positions here and there
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Intern at research lab.
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: not a lot
[<em>] EC short answer (subject and personal opinions on it): I wrote about how doing research taught me to preserve and pay attention to detail. I really liked it.
[</em>] General Essay (subject and personal opinions on it): About education and my bike, going to a magnet school, my goals were at first and how they evolved, values, stuff like that
[<em>] Second Essay (subject - and personal opinions on it): I wrote about my experience working with a project for some biomedical engineers and what I learned from it. And then I talked about Harry Potter and the invisibility cloak, which Duke developed.
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation (only if you saw it): I waived my rights, but both teachers like me.
[<em>] Counselor Rec (only if you saw it): I waived my rights
[</em>] Additional Rec (only if you saw it): From my Primary Investigator at my lab. I waived my rights.
[<em>] Interview: he was Chinese and also an immigrant. I told him my life story, which apparently was very similar to his fiance’s (that might have helped)
[/ul]Other

[ul]
[</em>] State (if domestic applicant): TN
[<em>] Country (if international applicant):
[</em>] School Type: Public Magnet
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[</em>] Gender: Female
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): First generation, did research for 4 years, immigrant, female applying to engineering, I guess being Vietnamese might be a URM
[/ul]Reflection

[ul]
[li] Strengths: Research experience, extracurricular activities, strong recommendations (all of my recommenders really like me, including my interviewer) [/li][</em>] Weaknesses: Test scores. A 690 in Math II is bad for an engineering school.
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
I think I got lucky and my admission officer was probably a very nice person.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/rejected/waitlisted:
Accepted: Harvey Mudd College, Case Western Reserve, Centre, UNC Chapel Hill (full ride), Vanderbilt; Waitlisted: Washu, Columbia, Harvard; Rejected: Yale, UPenn
[li] Would you rather have seen your Duke decision after or before Ivies?[/li]No, the Duke decision saved me on that night of rejection.
[/ul]General Comments:
I am extremely grateful. Duke is my dream school and it was nice enough to let me in. I know it’s going to be a great 4 years at Duke :)</p>

<p>Hi Blake,</p>

<p>Decision: Waitlisted –> Accepted</p>

<p>See page 3 for my stats. I’ll visit Duke this week and then I’ll decide whether or not to forsake Notre Dame. </p>

<p>Waitlisters, maintain hope!</p>

<p>Decision: Waitlisted –> Accepted</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12305364-post34.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12305364-post34.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Decision: Waitlisted – Accepted</p>

<p>Stats: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12306053-post42.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12306053-post42.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Trinity College of Arts & Sciences </p>

<p>Objective:

[ul]
[<em>] ACT: 35 Composite with 12 Essay
[</em>] SAT II (if submitted): 800 Math II 730 US History
[<em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
[</em>] Grades in AP/IB/honors classes (if applicable): All A’s except for 1 B+ in BC Calc
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5% (highest rank given)
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): BC Calc (5) APUSH (5) Lang and Comp (5) Physics C Mech (4)
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: A lot of APs haha
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None… Other awards: Young Leader Scholarship, Student of the Month from multiple regional organizations, School Student Achiever Award, NMF, EC awards.
[/ul]Subjective:

[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership and number of years participated in a certain activity in parenthesis): Student Council (Student Body President 12, Class President 9-11, raised $12k+ in 3 years)
Football (Varsity Captain 12, JV Captain 10,11, Most Dedicated Award Winner x2)
Academic Competition Team (Varsity Captain 11,12 All County All Star 11, Club President)
FBLA (Vice President, National Qualifier, 2 Top 10 State places, 3 Top 2 Regional places, other awards at States and Regionals)
Newspaper (2x Editor, Editorial Writer)
JCL (2x officer)
Student Curriculum Council (Board of selected students to work with curriculum supervisor to discuss possible changes to district curriculum)
Saxophone (8 years)
Choir
Musical (1 year cast, 1 year pit orchestra)
Track and Field
Squash
Model UN
NHS
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Intern for US Senate Campaign, worked in press office, did research and wrote letters
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: 300+ hours. Co-founder of a local environmental cleanup organization that has since become state sponsored.
[</em>] EC short answer (subject and personal opinions on it): About football and the obstacles I faced with it, very bad in retrospect, probably should’ve talked about student council instead haha.
[<em>] General Essay (subject and personal opinions on it): Terrible. I turned in the essay as a memoir senior year and I got a C+ on it.
[</em>] Second Essay (subject - and personal opinions on it): School Spirit essay about Duke, not bad but not great.
[<em>] Interview: Very good, told me he’d give me the highest recommendation
[/ul]Other

[ul]
[</em>] State (if domestic applicant): PA
[<em>] Country (if international applicant):
[</em>] School Type: Semi-Competitive Public School (13 national merit scholars in a class of 286)
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Asian Males are the best hook.
[/ul]Reflection

[ul]
[li] Strengths: Leadership, recommendations, solid numbers[/li][</em>] Weaknesses: No real awards. Essays were terribad on new levels haha.
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Luck, absolute luck.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/rejected/waitlisted: Accepted- UNC-CH(OOS) Honors, Umichigan(OOS) Honors, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Pitt Honors Full Ride. Waitlisted: Yale, UPenn, Georgetown. Rejected: Stanford EA :frowning: and Northwestern? If anyone has any feedback on the last one I’m still perplexed haha.
[li] Would you rather have seen your Duke decision after or before Ivies? What kind of question is this?</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments: I realized that I never posted this after I got in, I must have been too excited. I’ve been at Duke and I LOVE IT, so I can’t wait for the new batch of blue devils to come in. Good luck to y’all! Message me with any questions!</p>