***Official Duke 2019 RD Results ONLY Thread***

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

We are just days away from decisions being released (Thursday, March 26th at 7pm EST)! As always, please respect this thread and only post decisions. There is a separate thread for RD discussion. Good luck to all of you!

Be sure to remove the spaces within the brackets to achieve the desired format.

[ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted**[/color]
[ color=orange][ b]Decision: Deferred**[/color]
[ color=red][ b]Decision: Rejected**[/color]

[ b]Objective:**
[ list]
[ *] SAT I:
[ *] ACT:
[ *] SAT II:
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ ] Senior Year Course Load:
[ ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/list]
[ b]Subjective:
[ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars:
[ *] Job/Work Experience:
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
[ *] Essays:
[ *] Teacher Recommendations:
[ *] Counselor Rec:
[ ] Additional Rec:
[ ] Interview:[/list]
[ b]Other
[ list]
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type:
[ *] Ethnicity:
[ *] Gender:
[ ] Income Bracket:
[ ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/list]
[ b]Reflection
[ list]
[ *] Strengths:
[ *] Weaknesses:
[ ] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[ ] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/list]
[ b]General Comments:

2

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I: 2180 (730: Critical Reading/800: Math/650: Writing)
[] ACT: Did not take it
[] TOEFL (breakdown) 109 ( R 27 S 27 L 29 W 26)
[] SAT II: 800 Math II 710 Physics
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 17.77/20 (One of the best in the country)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/252
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Not available in my Country
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): Did not take
[] Senior Year Course Load: Arabic, French, English, Spanish, Philosophy, Math (Very advanced), Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Physical Education, IT
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None [/ul]
Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars:
-Winner of an international educational program organized by ENI and MIT about Energy (My major). Interacted with Professors at MIT and had a test after every lecture (16 lectures). Had the highest scores.

  • Kung Fu Trainee for 4 years (1056 hours): Vice-Champion of the state in heavyweights.
  • Participated at the second edition of the theatre festival at our high school attended by more than 300 persons and had the major role in the main play. Nomination for the best actor award.
    – Taking part in an international written-debate contest (the Public Policy International Contest) Organized by New York University. Received a certificate of excellence.
    – Received the national certificate of First Aid after taking part in a training.
    [    ] Job/Work Experience: Working in a factory during two summers. 30 Hours per week for 6 weeks every summer. (360 hours)
    [] Volunteer/Community service: Different activities (10) with the Red Cross More than 650 hours
    [    ] Essays: Personal Statement 10/10 Read by more than 10 people including education USA advisors and teachers that rated it extremely Good. Wrote about getting knocked out at the kung-fu state championship.
    Supplements: 7/10 Not brilliant but good.
    [] Teacher Recommendations: 10/10. Very good with strong statements like the best student ever.
    [    ] Counselor Rec: 10/10. Outstanding. She rated me as the best student in the history of the high school
    [] Additional Rec: English Teacher + Mentor during Lab4energy. Did not read but it is supposed to be good. 8/10
    [    ] Interview: It was good even though it was short (10 minutes) just like all the other Karsh Scholarship Finalists[/ul]
    Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):
[] Country (if international applicant): Tunisia
[] School Type: Small Public
[] Ethnicity: African/Arab
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: $25000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM[/ul]
Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: Well rounded ECs/GPA/Class Rank/URM/ One of the three best Tunisian seniors
[] Weaknesses: SAT II physics
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Unique Origins and Unique Profiles
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at: Upenn/Duke/Uchicago/Duke/Umiami/Trinity University/Fordham Waitlisted at WUSTL Vanderbilt Rejected at MIT and Notre Dame[/ul][/li]General Comments: Ecstatic but don’t know which University to choose.

3

You were accepted to Duke RD prior to tomorrow’s regular decision notification ?

4

Just asking do they do International earlier ?

5

@DukeED2019‌ Karsh Scholarship winners are notified in advance

6

OK knew that and figured that was your status buy only said accepted.

7

Of those choices, no queston pick DUKE!

8

Please respect this thread and only post decisions. There is an RD discussion thread for other comments. @DukeED2019‌ @learn2019‌

9

Someone from my school got a karsh scholarship, too. Im really happy for her, but now Im getting super worried. ehhh :((

10

Decision: Accepted – Pratt

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I: N/A
[] ACT: 35C (34/36/35/35) W: 11
[] SAT II: 760 M2, 750 Chem, 730 USH
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10 %
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH, Compsci, MacroE, MicroE, CalcAB, CalcBC, Gov
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: APs, electives, and minor courses
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Minor local & state awards[/ul]
Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: President of 2 service clubs, President of School Broadcasting Club, Executive Officer of student-led leadership initiative, Senator of SGA, intramural club sports, Admissions Office Student Liaison, OP-ED Columnist for school newspaper, sat as a student body representative for various committees, other minor involvements.
[] Job/Work Experience: Intern at county-level office, database management intern.
[] Volunteer/Community service: President of 2 service clubs, spent a week in the south to experience poverty & appreciate my condition, over 1000 service hours over 4 years.
[] Essays: Detailed my unique cultural experiences, liked by everyone who read it.
[] Teacher Recommendations: Phenomenal – both teachers love me to death.
[] Counselor Rec: He chose me to represent my school for a leadership conference (HOBY) my sophomore year.
[] Additional Rec: My internship boss
[] Interview: N/A [/ul]
Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): NJ
[] Country (if international applicant): The Land of Freedom & Opportunity & Deep-fried butter stick
[li] School Type: Private[/li][] Ethnicity: Minority
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: Middle-Middle class
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):URM & My life experiences[/ul]
Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: Test score, essays, recommendations, gap-year
[] Weaknesses: Lack of major awards or accomplishments
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My unique experiences & strong academic profile
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Rejected Columbia ED, MIT deferred --> rejected, accepted to UMich with generous OOS FA, accepted to Carnegie Mellon SCS & CIT, waiting on Ivies & couple other schools [/ul][/li]General Comments:
I received a likely letter last week when I least expected it (I mean, come on, it’s a week before decision release.) But I am so excited to be given the opportunity to be part of the amazing Duke community. Congrats to all you fellow Dukies and keep your heads up if you got unfavorable news. One decision does not define who you are in any way. Best of luck to all of you!

11

Decision: Accepted!!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t send
ACT (breakdown): 34
SAT II: Math II 780, Biology E 740
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98 (W 4.182 - 4.25 Max at school)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/330
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): ESS (6), Math SL (6)
Senior Year Course Load: HL 2 English, HL2 History, SL Spanish 5, AP Chem, AP Calc BC, HL2 Art, TOK
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Global Visionaries Travel Scholarship to Berlin (I doubt this is major, but it was a national applicant pool), NSLI-Y Semifinalist (Now a finalist and going to China for free!)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Ambassadors (District Representative and Trainer), Global Visionaries-service and travel group (Executive Board Member and Communications Director), NHS-comparitively active in my school (President), Founded tutoring program at nearby K-12 school) Service Club (Service Coordinator), Investment Club (Founder and President), bunch of other minor stuff
Job/Work Experience: 2 years at fast food place
Volunteer/Community service: Probably a total of 1200ish hours or more
Summer Activities: Work at a fast food place, Trip to Guatemala
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Commonapp Essay was really good (9-10)

Teacher Rec #1: English teacher (10 - was incredible)
Teacher Rec #2: Bio and ESS teacher (8-9)
Counselor Rec: I don’t know. Somewhat generic I’m sure, but I know my counselor well (7?)
Additional Rec:Chem teacher (8-9) - All the teachers let me read them
Interview: Really good, he told me he was very impressed and I enjoyed it a lot.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: International Relations or something in the natural sciences
State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope

Reflection

Strengths: My general essay and maybe community service
Weaknesses: ACT score, it’s not as great as others’. SAT II’s were also comparatively weak. No national awards, Not really recognized ECs
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: BU with Presidential Scholarship and Kilachand Honors College, Northeastern with Deans Scholarship, URochester with 20k/year
Waitlisted: Northwestern
Rejected: UChicago, Columbia ED, and Swarthmore

General Comments: I’m still in shock…this isn’t possible.

12

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (720 CR, 750 M, 730 W) Single sitting and superscore
[]ACT (breakdown): N/A
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): Bio M (800), Math II (770), U.S. History (710)
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
[]AP (place score in parentheses): Calc AB (5), Biology (4)
[]IB (place score in parentheses):
[]Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Chem, Physics honors, AP Gov, AP Macro, British Literature
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Achievement Finalist and scholarship recipient, Questbridge NCM finalist, a couple local awards[/ul][/li]
Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): President of Muslim Student Association, secretary/treasurer of Race and Social Justice club, CSF, NHS, local religious sunday school and youth group, team leader of local tree-care non-profit, youth soccer referee, volunteer at public library, math and science tutor
Job/Work Experience: Worked for my dad’s business for last 2 years
[]Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteer at a local library quite often among other random stuff
[]Summer Activities: Class at community college, volunteering, working, etc.
[]Essays (rating 1-10, details): CA - Overall, 9/10. I wrote about overcoming adversity growing up and immigrating to the US at a young age. Powerful but definitely could have been better written. My supplements were pretty good though.
[]Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Sent in 3 - one from a teacher I’ve known for 3 years that LOVED me (10/10). The second was from a junior year teacher who actually knew me since middle school (8/10). The last was from my super upbeat Calc teacher who I got along really well with (9/10).
[]Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): He’s pretty cool. Went to his office a lot this year to talk about college so he got to know me well (8/10)
[li]Interview: Who needs one![/ul][/li]
Other

[ul]
[]Applied for Financial Aid? Couldn’t live without it!
[]Intended Major: Biology
[]State (if domestic applicant): CA
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]School Type: Competitive Public
[]Ethnicity: African American
[]Gender: Male
[]Income Bracket: pretty low <20000
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, low income, first generation[/ul][/li]
Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: Life story, range of extracurriculars, essays, test scores
[]Weaknesses: lack of research and STEM oriented activities, zero APs taken before junior year
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Hooks and showing how passionate I was about learning and accomplishing my life goals through education.
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Accepted to MIT, USC, UCLA, UCSD, Northwestern, Cal Poly SLO and UC Davis. Waiting on Columbia, Princeton, Yale, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and UCB
[*]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: To future applicants, just be yourself and know that your essays are probably the most important part of your application![/ul]

13

[ color=green][ b]Decision: Rejected**[/color]

[ b]Objective:**
[ list]
[ *] SAT I:
[ *] ACT: 33
[ *] SAT II: 760 Chem , 750 Math II
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7-3.8
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 31 Top 5%
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 on AP Chem, 5 on APUSH, 4 on English Language, 4 on WHAP
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ ] Senior Year Course Load: Lots of APs
[ ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): United States National Chemistry Olympiad Top 150 Honors, Waterloo Chemistry Competition Top 5%, State Qualifier for Science Competition , Scholastic Art and Writing Gold Keys
[ b]Subjective:
[ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars: piano for 11 years, Chinese for 11 years, art
[ *] Job/Work Experience:
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: volunteer over 100 hours at museums and for school hours
[ *] Essays: I thought they were good… demonstrated passion in chemistry
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: They should be good… but I have my doubts :neutral_face:
[ *] Counselor Rec: She knows me well
[ ] Additional Rec:
[ ] Interview:[/list]
[ b]Other
[ list]
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):
[ *] Country (if international applicant): U.S.
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: Asian
[ *] Gender: Male
[ ] Income Bracket: 150,000
[ ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): science accomplishments
[ b]Reflection
Wow, I thought Duke would at least waitlist me[ list]
[ *] Strengths: Science and Math
[ *] Weaknesses: Asian male
[ ] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I have absolutely no idea; first rejection letter; I’m just confused; wasn’t even waitlisted WHY?
[ ] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/list]
[ b]General Comments:
Waiting on others still

14

Anyone get waitlisted? I got accepted but I can’t believe it…

15

Can someone explain why I got rejected and not even waitlisted?

16

Decision: Wait List

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (breakdown): 2160 (700 Reading, 770 Math, 690 Writing)
    [    ] ACT: 33 (32 Eng, 34 Math, 33 Read, 32 Science)
    [] SAT II: 800 Math 2, 770 US History
    [    ] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
    [] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/50
    [    ] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on Calc BC, World History, US History, Lang, Macro, Micro
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Lit, Service Learning, Honors Gov, Chorale, Yearbook
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):School Student of the Year 2014, School Social Studies Excellence Award 2014, Top 10 State Individual Chess, Top 3 State Team Chess, AP Scholar with Distinction, Bughouse Chess State Runner-up, School Math League Champion 2014

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Chess Team (Captain 10-12), Student Council (Co-President), Speech and Debate (Co-Captain), Newspaper (News Section Editor), School Ambassadors Club (President), School Board Created Committee Member
[] Job/Work Experience: Chess/ Math Tutor, State Senate Campaign Intern
[] Volunteer/Community service:Junior High Chess Coach, District League Manager
[] Personal Statement: I thought my essays were pretty good.
[] Teacher Recommendations: Excellent, one from an AP Lang teacher who worked with me on a school board committee and one from an APUSH teacher who I walk history with and write newspaper for. I also had one teacher who was Duke alum write a Duke specific essay.
[] Counselor Recommendation:Excellent, we talk a lot and she’s the sponsor of a club I’m president of.
[li] Interview: I thought it went pretty well.[/ul][/li]
Other

[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[li]** Intended Major **: Political Science[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): AZ
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Small Public College Prep
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 80-100k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None[/ul]

Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: EC’s, Rec’s, GPA, AP’s
[] Weaknesses: Test Scores, Essays?
[] Why do you think yo,u were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: It’s such a small class, acceptances and rejections can be very subjective. I think I had a good shot, but maybe Test Scores weren’t good enough.
[] Schools you were accepted to: Arizona State, U of Arizona, Fordham, Georgetown, Davidson
[] Schools you were wait-listed to: Duke
[] Schools you were rejected from: CMC
[li] Schools you are waiting for: Harvard, Yale, Columbia[/ul][/li]
General Comments:
Duke was my #1 for my Junior year, but then I found other schools. I still really like Duke (and am I happy not to be rejected), but I’d love to have the chance to consider it. Congratulations to everyone that got in!

17

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2300 (770 CR, 770 Math, 760 W) (2270 single sitting)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 740 Bio E, 740 Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Not given to me by school. Probably 3.8-9? Weighted 4.33.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):Top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Most rigorous available to me
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Award for Wordmasters lol, Girl Scout Gold Award, National Merit Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Soccer (9,10)
Girl Scouts (9,10,11,12) - Gold Award, highest possible achievement
Community Service Club (9,10,11,12) - Chairperson
Mock Trial (9,10,11,12) - 3rd at state two years in a row
Spanish Club (9,10,11,12) - Vice President
Model UN (10,11,12) - Some awards
Model Congress (11,12)
Debate - (11,12)
Yearbook - (10,11,12)
FBLA - Co-founder, VP
Non-profit organization (not getting specific because it makes me identifiable) - founder, pres
Other non-profit (lol) - peer mentor

Job/Work Experience:

Volunteer/Community service:
Created a penpal program to connect disadvantaged students in my ethnic homeland with students at my school.
Volunteered as a peer mentor to a girl living in the aforementioned homeland

Summer Activities:
Internship at arguably the best cancer institute in the US. Did research, co-author on abstract. Pretty cool experience.

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App: 8/10. Idk, it was well written, but I wasn’t a huge fan of it. It was almost too deep haha. I wrote about my cultural identity, and how I want to build bridges (metaphorically, of course - I ain’t no engineer :D).

Supplement: 8-9/10 Kinda cute Why Duke essay… mentioned 2-3 specific things that interested me. I used essentially the same essay for Swarthmore and got a likely from them, but maybe it was too quirky for Duke?
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details)

Counselor: 7/10 just because I have no idea
English teacher: 9/10 she told me it was very very strong
History teacher: at least 7-8/10, but I’m not really sure

Interview: Didn’t get one

Applied for Financial Aid?: Well, I hit yes on common app, but then never turned anything other than FAFSA in, so…
Intended Major: Poli Sci and Middle Eastern Studies
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: South Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >200k (I’m not getting any need based fin aid)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc): None

Reflection: Eh, I guess it wasn’t meant to be. If I didn’t already have a few acceptances, I’d probably be more bummed out, haha.

Strengths: SAT, rank, course load rigor
Weaknesses: Common App Essay? I’m not really sure. Subject tests could have been better. Lol is being Asian a weakness?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Who knows? I’m just going to move on with the belief that this is for the best :slight_smile:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Temple, Rutgers, NJIT, Drexel, Northeastern, Swarthmore, Vanderbilt
Deferred: Yale
Rejected: Duke

18

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (780 Writing 800 Math 730 Reading)
ACT (breakdown): 35
SAT II: Math II 800, Physics 780, Bio (M) 790
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94ish
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/800ish
AP (place score in parenthesis): Lots. Mostly 5s, a couple 4s.
Senior Year Course Load: Not much, but taking a couple classes not for credit (still with a grade) at a nearby university
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Intel (ISEF) Finalist, Siemens Semifinalist, Intel STS Semifinalist, coauthor on paper submitted for review, hold a patent, a lot of experience in labs with multiple projects that have various commendations

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Founder and captain of three clubs/teams, member of state champion math team, NHS, etc.
Job/Work Experience: Only unpaid internships
Volunteer/Community service: Again, only unpaid internships. One of the clubs I founded is a “community service”. NHS assorted volunteerwork.
Summer Activities: Summer research program, then internships at labs
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Honestly, meh. Mostly typical, I’d say 7ish
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 10, physics teacher, fantastic letter
Teacher Rec #2: ?, AP Lit teacher, probably good but I never saw it and have no idea
Counselor Rec: Extremely formulaic and typical
Interview: None

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope :frowning:
Intended Major: Biomed Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): For privacy, one of the following states: Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan
School Type: Very public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: Won’t be helping me
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None besides various achievements

Reflection

Strengths: A LOT of different awards and achievements. I haven’t listed many, since they’re unique enough to identify me
Weaknesses: Essays. Maybe the couple Bs I got?
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Science qualifications

Accepted: Stanford, UMich, IU, Duke
Waitlisted: None
Rejected: None

19

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

  • [] SAT I: N/A
    [    ] ACT: 34 composite (english-35, math-34, reading-33, science-35; writing-31, essay-8)
    [] SAT II: 800 Chemistry, 750 Math II
    [    ] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 96.8/100 (i think that’s like a 3.9 or something?)
    [] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5% weighted, top 10% unweighted
    [    ] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (5), Statistics (5), World History (5), US History (5), Chinese (4)
    [] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
    [    ] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1 & C, AP Latin, AP Calc BC, AP English Lit, SUPA (dual-enrollment) Public Affairs, SUPA Econ, Senior Law
  • Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): US Rowing Scholastic Honor Roll Recipient, NYS Scholastic Rowing Scholar Athlete, AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: Crew (varsity coxswain), Science Honor Society (Volunteer Coordinator), Junior Classical League (treasurer), NHS, freshman orientation leader, youth orchestra (personnel manager), Science Olympiad, Math League, MUN, school newspaper
[] Job/Work Experience: cashier at local grocery store
[] Volunteer/Community service: hospital volunteer, library volunteer
[] Essays:
Common App (9/10) - really liked this one; it was about my growth as a coxswain and how it taught me confidence and leadership abilities
Why Duke (9/10) - really short and concise (but noticed a small typo at the beginning); focused in on Duke’s Statistical Science department and why the specific faculty there will help me succeed
Diversity (10/10) - honestly feel like this was the reason I was accepted; wrote about my unique relationship with my sisters
[] Teacher Recommendations:
AP World teacher (8/10) - loved my teacher and he loved me, but he writes recs for like 30% of my class so I feel like it was probably pretty generic, although I’ve been told that he still writes fantastic recs so who knows
Latin 4 teacher (7/10) - not entirely sure why I asked her but she’s a super nice woman and doesn’t have a mean bone in her body so I’m sure it was pretty good, not sure how well she knows me though/often used her class as a study hall
[] Counselor Rec: (6/10) she thought I was applying to too many reach schools and no safeties so probably not fantastic, she also doesn’t know me that well
[] Additional Rec:
[] Interview: (10/10) SO WELL! It was with the mother of a kid that I went to middle school who switched to a private school before high school. She had done a presentation about law for my 6th grade class so I got to ask her if she was that person and told her that she inspired my short-lived dream of becoming a lawyer. She was so sweet and such a wonderful interviewer and didn’t make it feel like an interview at all; she estimated it would take about 30 minutes and I ended up staying for an hour [/ul]

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: public high school, 350 kids in my class
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: ~$140k (got AMAZING aid from Duke! Was not expecting so much, but then again my older sister is paying almost full-tuition at another private university)
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):nope [/ul][/li]
Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: DIVERSITY SUPPLEMENT, gpa/test scores falling within Duke’s accepted range, interview, extracurriculars
[] Weaknesses: teacher/counselor recommendations, many aspects of my application centered around crew even though I don’t plan on continuing next year
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: again, I think my diversity supplement was extremely unique and heartfelt and honestly that’s it.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/ul]
Accepted: University of Virginia, Cornell (likely), Fordham, SUNY Stony Brook
Waitlisted: Northwestern, Vanderbilt, WashU, deferred ED to Penn
Waiting on: Johns Hopkins, Penn

General Comments: hope this is helpful to future applicants! I’m honestly over the moon right now, sitting on cloud 9, and absolutely refusing to do any homework. After being deferred Penn ED, I realized Duke was actually my top choice and I cannot believe this, especially after getting waitlisted at Northwestern, Vandy, and WashU! Seriously a dream come true. Congrats to all! Can’t wait to see you in the fall! Also, props to those waitlisted/rejected students posting on this forum–I couldn’t bring myself to do so for any of the schools I haven’t gotten into (but I think I may go back and do that now), so again, for future applicants, take these forums with a grain of salt–they’re skewed towards people who got the result that they wanted! Good luck! CC is a great resource, but don’t let it destroy your senior year!

20

Decision: Rejected

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2160 (760 CR, 680 Math, 720 Writing) - Did not send
ACT (breakdown):33 (36 Reading, 35 English, I don’t remember my Science/Math sections, but they were both over 30).
SAT II:760 US History, 660 Biology
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
AP (place score in parentheses): AP Macro (5), AP Bio (5), AP US History (5), AP Euro (5)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: Religion, Psychology Honors, AP Comparative Gov, AP US Gov, AP Calc AB, AP Literature, AP Physics, Spanish 4 Honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar with Honor, National Hispanic Merit Scholar, National Commended Student

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):

  • Debate Club (Founder, President, National Forensics League Student Life Committee Member)
    -Model UN (Vice President): Attend 5 competitions
    -Environmental Club : Started a new school wide recycling program
    -NHS (President): Started a new international student mentoring program at school for students on semester abroad trips. Service Chair for weekly Ronald McDonald events. Planned yearly induction ceremony.
    -Creative Writing Club (Vice President): In charge of designing and publishing quarterly literary journals. Headed publications of writing competitions at school.

Job/Work Experience:
Worked part time for a company where I was in charge of their inventory logistics

Volunteer/Community service: Over 150 hours at various organizations.
Summer Activities:
Essays: I would give my common app essay an 8. I wrote about going against the family grain and making my first political decision.

Teacher Recommendation:I asked my AP Comp/AP US History teacher and my English 3 Honors teacher. Both of them really like me (and the English teacher is the NHS moderator) so I think they wrote good recs.
Counselor Rec: I think it was fine. She knows me pretty well and says I’m among the top of my class. She also told me I had the hardest course load of anyone else in the Senior class.
Additional Rec:
Interview: Didn’t submit my app in time for one
Supplementary Material:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private (Catholic)
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: MAle
Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): <75k, applied for FA.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection
Strengths:Common App Essay, Letters of Rec, ECs,
Weaknesses:Low test scores (compared to College Confidential standards), I didn’t accomplish anything super big.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: It was a very competitive year. My Duke specific essay was pretty lackluster compared to my other essays. I also didn’t interview for the school.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted- FSU, UF, Cornell, Vanderbilt
Rejected- Duke
Deferred SCEA from Yale
Waiting on Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Dartmouth, UPenn