Official Duke University Class of 2017 RD Results

lemming101 · March 28, 2013, 5:29am

** Decision: Accepted**

College and Program: Trinity CAS

** Objective:**[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t send
[] ACT: 34 (35, 34, 33, 32)
[] SAT II: 770, 720 (Math 2, Lit)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): I do A levels, but pretty much 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: Most rigorous available : 4 A levels + EPQ
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): -
[/ul] Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Deputy Head Girl, continuous role in Student Government, Theatre (Actor/ Musical Director / Director), Choirs - Been on four studio recorded CDs, Awards for creative writing
[] Job/Work Experience:
[] Volunteer/Community service: Young Leader’s Program in community, cabin leader on numerous camps, lead worship at church, run church camps for younger children in holidays
[] Summer Activities: went to Oxford on a summer school to study geography
[] Essays: really not that great…
[] Teacher Recommendation: Really great (1st student to the US in my school so they went all out)
[] Counselor Rec: Again, amazing.
[] Additional Rec: none
[] Interview: none
[] Supplementary Material(if any): none
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):
[] Country (if international applicant): ENGLAND
[] School Type: Catholic grammar
[] Ethnicity: white
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket(specify if applied for FA): low, applied for FA
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I’m British?? …
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Academic performance in school, ECs
[] Weaknesses: Essays, international needing full aid
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: miracles happen…
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Duke, Williams
Waitlisted: Middlebury, Carleton
Rejected: Bard

[/ul]General Comments: YAYYYYYY

MuffinMan17 · March 28, 2013, 9:08am

Decision: Accepted

Pratt School of Engineering

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2080 (one sitting; didn’t send)
ACT: 33 (one sitting); 34 superscored (35E, 35M, 31R, 33S, 10W)
SAT II: None
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 UW, 4.45 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School only sends the college the highest GPA in the class to compare to the applicant’s GPA. I have the first or second highest GPA
AP (place score in parenthesis): 9 AP’s, let’s not get into scores
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C, AP English Literature, AP European History, AP Spanish Language, Religion IV (required every year), Fine Arts Survey (needed an art credit)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing big

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Cross Country (Varsity Letter), Mu Alpha Theta VP, Spanish Club Officer, Key Club Board Member, Church and School Choir, Theatre, and I think that’s it
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteers of America, Key Club, used to be a Church Media Operator in children’s church, an officer of massive annual food drive at school
Summer Activities: Volunteering
Essays: Suckish Common App; it was only about 330 words, haha. Supplement was pretty good I guess
Teacher Recommendation: Fantastic
Counselor Rec: I’m guessing it was good
Additional Rec: None
Interview: I rejected the interview. I didn’t really want to do it.

Other
Intended Major(s): Biomedical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Louisiana
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Catholic
Ethnicity: African-American and Puerto Rican
Gender: Male
Income bracket (if applicable): ~150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection
Strengths: Test scores and GPA (for a URM), Rec letters, Supplement
Weaknesses: Common App essay
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: For my strengths
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Vanderbilt, UVa, SMU, U of Alabama, Louisiana Tech, Auburn, U of Arkansas

ksheja · March 28, 2013, 12:47pm

Posted for son (Amphear)
Decision: Rejected

Trinity

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (780 M, 780 CR, 750 W)
APs: all 5s
Weighted GPA: 99.91
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%. #4 in class.
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, College English, AP Calculus, Church History (required) Participation in Government, AP Psych
Major Awards: National Merit finalist

Subjective: 
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Track, some community service at school, National Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: None.
Summer Activities: none last year. National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine, summer before junior year. 
Essays: thought they were very good
Teacher Recommendation: At least one of them was really great.
Counselor Rec: Probably good.
Additional Rec: None
Interview: Did not interview.

Other
Intended Major(s): Math, premed.
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Catholic
Ethnicity: White/Korean
Gender: Male
Income bracket (if applicable): less than 30,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.

Reflection
Strengths: Test scores, GPA, rigorous curriculum.
Weaknesses: ECs
Why you think you were rejected: lack of ECs to make me stand out
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Deferred for early action at Princeton. Accepted: SUNY Geneseo, Emory. Still waiting on others.

jeff2936 · March 28, 2013, 1:35pm

Decision: Rejected

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT: 33 one sitting, 34 comp (30 E, 36 M, 32 R, 35 S)
SAT II: 770 Math 2, 730 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 45/703
AP (place score in parenthesis): physics B (5) calc AB (4) psych (4) world history (3) stat (3) lang (4) chem (1)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, Calc BC, Lit, Gov/econ, human geo, physics C, honors law studies
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Swim team, Variety of honor clubs
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard, Busboy
Volunteer/Community service: 300+ hrs
Summer Activities:
Essays: good
Teacher Recommendation: Excellent, physics and calc
Counselor Rec: Average
Additional Rec:
Interview:
Other
Intended Major(s): Computer science
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: very competitive public
Ethnicity: asian
Gender: m
Income bracket (if applicable):
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
Reflection: Not surprised
Strengths:
Weaknesses: grades within school. GPA.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: the same as above I guess?
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: UIUC, RPI, UF, FSU, UT austin
Rejected: UCLA
Waitlisted: Carnegie Mellon
General Comments: not surprised, kinda bummed

Anonanimal · March 28, 2013, 4:27pm

Decision: ACCEPTED!!!
Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

SAT I (breakdown): 2080 (w-660, m-770, cr-650)
ACT: 31
SAT II: 730 bio, 710 math 1
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/500
AP (place score in parenthesis): 14 APs. 5’s and 4’s
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: 5 APs

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):National AP Scholar, etc.
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): (president) Interact Club, (VP) Science Club, NHS, Lots of music quartets/orchestras
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: 800 hours
Essays: unique
Teacher Recommendation: pretty good
Counselor Rec: great
Interview: none

Intended Major(s): Biology
State (if domestic applicant): FL
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female

Reflection
Strengths: community service + grades/rank
Weaknesses: test scores

To Future Applicants: Always apply, even if you think you have no chance of getting in. I was so sure that I would be rejected because of my test scores, and I was shocked to find out that I was accepted!

myamyamya3 · March 29, 2013, 12:20am

Decision: Accepted!!!

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

<pre><code>SAT I (breakdown): 2040 (670 CR, 710 M, 660 W, 8 Essay)
ACT:28
SAT II: 610 Math, 600 Physics, 670 Biology E
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/280
AP (place score in parenthesis): Terrible, didn’t send
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP English, AP Calculus, AP Gov & Pol, AP Statistics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):Ventures Scholar, Questbridge Scholar, Right to Life Speech Comp Winner, Speech & Debate State & National Qualifier,
</code></pre>

Subjective:

<pre><code>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):NHS(Treasurer 11-12), Speech & Debate(VP Speech 11-12), Math Team(Captain 9-12), Book Club(11), Track Team(10), Key Club(11)
Job/Work Experience:Key Food Cashier(10)
Volunteer/Community service:Tutor(9-12), Athletic Trainer Assistant(11), a bunch of NHS stuff(11-12), any other miscellaneous volunteer work = over 180 hours
Summer Activities: Pre-Calc summer course (to go from Trig straight to Calc)
Essays:Common App Essay on a specific moment with my father that made me end my childish/selfish way of thinking, Duke specific essay focused on undergrad research(never even visited!)
Teacher Recommendation: 2 Amazing recs from my tric/calc & chem/physics teachers that both love me
Counselor Rec: Confident it was awesome since my counselor loves me and knows my whole life story
Additional Rec:
Interview: Was probably the only reason I got in- Me and my interviewer connected on a whole other level (she’s taking me out for a congratulatory lunch soon!!)
</code></pre>

Other

<pre><code>Intended Major(s):Pre-Med
State (if domestic applicant):New York City
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:Private-Religious
Ethnicity:African-American
Gender: Female
Income bracket (if applicable): Really Poor <15K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM(African-American), terribly poor, have one parent(mother deceased)
</code></pre>

Reflection

<pre><code>Strengths:URM, poverty-stricken, essay was from the heart,recs freeeeeking amazing, leadership positions, overly-optimistic attitude
Weaknesses:Test scores(no where near good enough), applied pretty late (like 2 days before deadline), not a lot of ECs or volunteer work
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:I truly believe the only reason I was accepted was because of my interview, everything else is way below Duke standards. Maybeeee my essay was good too? Just Maybe
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:— Accepted- SUNY Stonybrook, Macaulay Honors(CUNY City College), CUNY Hunter, BostonU, Johns Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania, & Duke. — Rejected by Columbia & MIT — still waiting on NYU (likely acceptance)
</code></pre>

General Comments: Interviews are super important! I did interviews for JHU,Upenn, & Duke and I got into all of them even with my terrible resume. Columbia was my first choice and i was rejected without the interview (applied too late to get one). I definitely don’t deserve to go to any of these top schools at all. Someone up there must be looking out for me.

jakemd27 · March 29, 2013, 12:28am

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2370 (800 CR, 770 M, 800 W)
[] SAT I superscore (breakdown):
[] ACT (breakdown): Didn’t report
[] ACT superscore (breakdown):
[] SAT II: Chemistry (800); Literature (780); U.S. History (800)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Weighted GPA: 5.2 (?)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/466
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Chemistry (5), Psych (5), Eng. Lang. (5), U.S. History (5), Stats (5)
[] IB (place score in parentheses):
[] Senior Year Course Load: 7 APs
[] Number of other applicants in your school: 2 or 3, I think
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Debate (Secretary), Academic Challenge, some others
[] Job/Work Experience: Job for three years
[] Volunteer/Community service:[/ul]Library, Habitat, nothing special really; not that many hours either[ul]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[li] Common App Main: Four fragmented anecdotes about my life, on the weirder end of the spectrum[/li][] Other:[/ul][] Teacher Recommendation #1: Great
[] Teacher Recommendation #2: Great
[] Counselor Rec: Don’t know
[ ] Additional Rec:
[] Interview: Good
[] Art Supplement:[/list]Other[ul]
[] Date Submitted App: Don’t remember
[] State (if domestic applicant): OH
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Large public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: $40-45
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul]QB Finalist, maybe geographyReflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Solid academics, maybe debate
[] Weaknesses: Volunteering, maybe singular focus on debate in extracurriculars
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Lots of other qualified applicants
[] What would you have done differently?:[/ul][/list]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: Princeton '17!

MissxSilverwing · March 29, 2013, 2:55am

Decision: Accepted (likely)

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2210 (660 M, 800 CR, 750 W)
[] ACT: 34 (33 E, 31 S, 34 M, 36 R, 12 essay)
[] SAT II: 790 Lit, 740 Spanish w/Reading, 620 Math II (did not send)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank; top quartile
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro (5), Lang (5), Enviro (5), Spanish (5), Gov (5), Music Theory (4, did not send)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Micro, AP US, Calc AB, Advanced/Honors Physics, Forensics, Newspaper
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMF, AP Scholar with Honor, Top 8 nationally in my speech event
[/ul]Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech and debate (team captain of an event/debate, 10th at CFL nationals, one of 8 students invited to a tournament in my events, 2x state qualifier, 2x NFL nationals qualifier, NFL All American, Degree of Premier Distinction, lots of local awards - attached a sheet with extra info), Journalism (school newspaper Web EIC, EIC of teen page of local paper, member of panel of local student journalists), Mock Trial (A-team), NHS
[] Job/Work Experience: private tutor
[] Volunteer/Community service: NHS, Link Crew
[] Summer Activities: Internship with high-profile Senate campaign, state summer honors academy, NCFL nationals, private tutoring
[] Essays: Everyone who read them liked them and I was very happy with how they turned out. Spent a ton of time on them.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Should’ve been above average, but nothing incredibly special.
[] Counselor Rec: He knows me pretty well, so fairly good, I assume.
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: Went well. She definitely liked me but said she liked most students she interviewed yet most didn’t get in.
[/ul]Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Midwest
[] Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type: Competitive public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Female
[]Income Bracket: 250K+
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
[/ul]Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: I think speech and debate was the strongest part of my app, along with my essays.
[] Weaknesses: No really huge national awards.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I honestly wish I knew! I don’t think my app is any better than many of the others in this thread and I don’t know why I got a likely and got in, while others didn’t. Honestly, I think my essays were the defining factor.
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted Emory (13K), USC (Mork Scholar), Rice; rejected Princeton[/li][/ul][ b]General Comments:** Mork scholar at USC so I will attend there. If money wasn’t an issue I would look harder at Duke, but as it is, I’m going to be a Trojan in the fall. Congrats to everyone else who got in!

OnMyWay2013 · March 29, 2013, 10:16am

Decision: Accepted!

Pick one:

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 730/790/780/9 (2300)
[] ACT: Didn’t take
[] SAT II: Biology M (750), Math IIC (800)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 22/345
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (3), Biology (5), BC Calc (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): Didn’t take
[] Senior Year Course Load: 4 APs and rest Honors (except for mandatory Economics)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Just Academic (AP Scholar, Award from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, National Merit, National Achievement)[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Color Guard, National Honor Society, Orchestra, Best Buddies, French Club
[] Job/Work Experience: None
[] Volunteer/Community service: A *lot of volunteer work with my church (Teaching Sunday School, Bible Clubs, Vacation Bible School, etc.)
[] Summer Activities: Color Guard, Independent orchestras, Bible Clubs
[] Essays: Cheesy, but in a good way (Compared my love for Duke to my love for libraries XD)
[] Teacher Recommendation: Hopefully good, but I don’t know…
[] Counselor Rec: Should be good, my counselor is very nice.
[] Additional Rec: None
[] Interview: Pretty good, although I’m not much of a conversationalist

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): PA
[] Country (if international applicant): N/A
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: African-American
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: 90k-ish
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, Child of immigrants[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Definitely academics, SAT scores, and hooks
[] Weaknesses: Weak ECs, General naivety about the admissions process and how to market myself…
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I don’t know actually. I guess I’m qualified academically, and probably because of my hooks… And I did the optional essay…
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Rejected: MIT, Brown, Yale; Deferred to Rejected: Harvard, Accepted: Johns Hopkins, Boston University, University of Richmond, Northeastern University, George Washington University

[/ul]General Comments:

If my life was a movie, then HYB and MIT would be the crush who’s really sadistic and mean and Duke would be the kind of nerdy “friend-that’s-a-boy” who I never really noticed until he was the only one there for me. I kind of just tacked it on at the end of my applying for colleges because I decided that I should have some more safeties, but as I was writing my essay for it and doing research on the school, I realized that it had what I was looking for even more than the ones I was chasing after because of their prestige.

Only problem now is financial aid… I hope it works out…

My advice to underclassmen reading these posts is EDUCATE YOURSELVES. I made the mistake of not thinking about college until the summer of my junior year and believing my parents (who are immigrants and know nothing about American colleges now that I think about it) when they said my grades could get me into college, no problem. Learn how to write an essay. Practice interviews… Don’t blow off PSATs or SATs. Start thinking about what you want to do for a career and make an effort to try those fields out in high school (Take language courses if you’re interested in language, intern at a hospital if you want to pursue medicine).

Congrats to everyone who got in! Hopefully, I’ll see you in September!

shoegazer · March 30, 2013, 2:05pm

Decision: Accepted

Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Objective:
• SAT I (breakdown): Superscore of 2370 (Math 790, CR 800, Writing 780)
• ACT: Nope
• SAT II: US History 750 / German 760 / Literature 790
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97—B in Physics killed the four-point-oh
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/1 (homeschooled kid here)
• AP (place score in parenthesis): English Lang. and Comp. (5) / German Lang. (5) US Gov’t and Politics (5)
• IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
• Senior Year Course Load: applied after graduation during gap year; N/A
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar
Subjective:
• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): I emphasized my international travel and volunteer work, and while I didn’t hold a leadership position in the traditional sense during those events, I was able to demonstrate their collective effect on my leadership abilities. Other ECs: musician and producer, intramural sports at local grad. school, homeschool honor society (hehe. we have those too. weird.)
• Job/Work Experience: ran guitar studio with double-digit student count, camp counselor at HandiCamp (focused on serving disabled teens and adults), babysitting (very common teenage experience), director’s assistant for local youth choir
• Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer worker in Germany from August 2012-2013 (ongoing during time of application—applied from Germany), various and sundry local volunteer positions, church musician and youth leader
• Summer Activities: lots of travel in Europe, HandiCamp job, concentrated music production and collaboration efforts, Ancient Greek summer course, fundraising for gap year (after senior year of HS)
• Essays: strong and eager writer; good hooks and reflections (ie great content) multiple edits to shore up solid drafts. I was also honest about my documented love for UNC Basketball.
• Teacher Recommendation: never saw them, but I had great relationships with the teachers in question—one was a Princeton prof. with whom I studied.
• Counselor Rec: as a homeschooler, my father was my counselor, so I’m sure Duke took that bias into consideration. On the other hand, he got his Ph.D from Duke, so maybe that’s an equalizer.
• Additional Rec: A prof. from the German department put in a word.
• Interview: very nice hour-long talk with a Duke grad at Panera. It was more of a conversation than an interview, but a conversation in which I gave a very good picture of my academic interests and indie kid musical achievements (I knew his daughter thru shows with some other local bands; that was cool and unexpected). We totally hit it off.
Other
• State (if domestic applicant): NJ
• Country (if international applicant):
• School Type: Homeschool (supplemented by online courses, local U courses, and cooperative courses)
• Ethnicity: White, with moderate tanning ability
• Gender: Male
• Income Bracket: <100k
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): legacy. and maybe being homeschooled…?
Reflection
• Strengths: grades, test scores, essays, recs—all in all, I was able to provide a great picture of me, both as a student and as a teenager in love with life.
• Weaknesses: ECs—non-traditional schooling meant I had to be quite resourceful, and by showing that, I think I kept my ECs from being much of a weakness.
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: solid application bolstered by the fact that I was taking a gap year. I think the concept of taking a year to mature and gain pracitcal experience appeals to a lot of University people.
• Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Rutgers (New Brunswick), UNC-CH (Robertson Scholarship Finalist), Princeton University (in thru SCEA)—accepted
General Comments
I’m not sure where this ride’ll end up, honestly. But it’s cool to know I’m in!

altered · March 30, 2013, 2:30pm

Decision: Rejected
Pratt School of Engineering

Objective:[ul]

[] SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (superscored CR-800 M-750 W-690; single sitting same but W-640)
[] ACT: 32
[] SAT II: MathII-740 and BioM-730
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/54
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A (this and the directly below are not offered at my school)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load:
1st Sem-Calc I, English IV (British), Chemistry, Statistics
2nd Sem-Calc II, English II (World), Chemistry, Statistical Analysis, Physics(I took Mechanics as a junior)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist[/li][/ul]Subjective:[ul]

[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Honor Society (Treasurer), Mu Alpha Theta(President), Math Olympiad, Teen CERT (Community Emergency Response Team)
[] Job/Work Experience: 1 job, 1500+ hours over the past four years.
[] Volunteer/Community service: I volunteered at a local middle school from second semester of sophomore year through first semester of junior year and at a local hospital from second semester of junior year through now. ~500 hours all together.
[] Summer Activities: People to People after sophomore year, NC Governor’s School after junior year.
[] Essays: I thought they were decent.
[] Teacher Recommendation: I know that the one from my math teacher had to be great. One of my favorite teachers of all time. I’m starting to doubt the letter from my other teacher. I thought I had a good relationship with her, but I’m starting to doubt it. She didn’t seem at all sad when I told her I didn’t get in.
[] Counselor Rec: Didn’t read it, but she was very visibly upset when I told her I was rejected. She actually yelled “NO!” in the hall way. I feel like it was good though. I go to a small school and I have a good rapport with her.
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[li] Interview: I thought the interview went well. Ended amicably, I sent a thank you letter, and my interviewer was nice. I messed up on one question (“Why you?”), because it took me a while to think of an answer that didn’t sound like I was trying to put others down; that’s not who I am. My only complaint was that he wouldn’t meet my eyes through the whole interview (which is normally my problem, but I had practiced looking into people’s eyes for the whole week just for this).[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]

[] Intended Major(s): BME
[] State (if domestic applicant): NC
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Early College at CC
[] Ethnicity: White (Arab-American)
[] Gender: Male
[] Income bracket (if applicable): ~50K
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

[/ul]Reflection[ul]

[] Strengths: I don’t really know anymore.
[] Weaknesses: Is everything an applicable answer? Mostly my EC’s. I’m doing most of the ones that meet during school since I can’t get a ride for after school ones like SciOly
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Tons of other more qualified applicants, or less qualified but with much better EC’s. I feel like I maybe fell in between the two groups.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to UNC and NCSU

[/ul]General Comments:
I’m just really upset. I’ve dreamed of Duke for most of my life, and I just don’t feel like the same person anymore. I feel like I’ve let down a lot of my teachers and my counselor (telling them when they ask always nets an “Oh…” or a “Really???” It makes me feel like a total failure.)

I wish that I could get a more definite reason for what was wrong with my application (even though they claim that for the vast majority the answer is “Nothing”).

I feel a bit purposeless now. It’s all I wanted, especially since my other choices have started to seem increasingly unpalatable. If UNC would offer acceptance to Honors Carolina I would accept in a heartbeat, but for now I’m just a bit lost and want to stay inside while refreshing my Duke decision letter and hoping for it to change.

aastudent · March 31, 2013, 9:56am

Decision: Waitlisted
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2300 (770/760/770/11)
[] ACT: 36 (36/35/36/36/8)
[] SAT II: Math II 800, Chem 800
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not do ranking
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc II, Chem, Bio, US History, Euro History (all 5s)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Calc III, Physics, Religious Studies (at local University), AP Chinese, English Literature, Piano Playing etc.
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major [/ul]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Four year Varsity X-country and Track (Captain senior year); Research at local University for the last two years; Piano; School newspaper etc.
[] Job/Work Experience:
[] Volunteer/Community service: Coach for local elementary school Science Olympiad team; Funding raising for school children in China and Tibet etc.
[] Summer Activities: Research, travel to Tibet, X-country training
[] Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app essays (9), Duke essay (?)
[] Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):[list]
[li] Teacher Rec #1: English teacher, as good as it gets (10)[/li][] Teacher Rec #2: Biology teacher, not sure (8)
[] Counselor Rec: Counselor sent e-mails to more than ten people in the community to solicit their feedbacks. I was told our local school district superintendent put in some nice words for me (9)
[] Additional Rec: letter from my summer research mentor [/ul]
[li] Interview: one of my worst interviews, simply didn’t click [/list] [/li]
Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): MI
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 120K
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nothing [/ul] [/li]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Academics, well-rounded, strong recommendation letters, research, unique Tibetan experience
[] Weaknesses: Demographic, too well-rounded perhaps, no major awards, interview
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Likely to be my Duke essay. Here is how I ended my essay: “… or simply sitting in the Cameron Indoor Stadium on a Saturday afternoon cheering on Coach K and his team, unless of course they are playing the Wolverines.” I tried to be a little funny here but I guess the admission committee were not amused.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Yale (SCEA), Michigan, Vanderbilt, Swarthmore, Chicago, Williams, Columbia, Penn, Stanford; Rejected: MIT, Harvard, Princeton [/ul]

General Comments: This has been a crazy admission season. I am blessed with many good choices. It will likely be a choice between Yale and Stanford. One lesson learned: be very careful about putting jokes into your application because it may backfire.

admit2017 · April 1, 2013, 3:23am

Decision: Accepted (Pratt)

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2390
[] ACT: 35
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chem, 710 USH
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/250
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 8 fives so far
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: 5 APs + 2 Ind. Study APs, + 2 comm. college math
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, AP w/ Distinction, NM Commended
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity sport, robotics team, volunteering, ind. science research
[] Job/Work Experience: lab assistant at state university
[] Volunteer/Community service: 300+ hours
[] Summer Activities: living…you know…
[] Essays: good, thoughtful, my voice came through
[] Teacher Recommendation: 8/10 and 10+/10
[] Counselor Rec: 9.5/10
[] Additional Rec: 10/10 (boss at work)
[] Interview: 8.5/10

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: white
[] Gender:
[] Income Bracket:
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: scores, essays
[] Weaknesses:
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: ACCEPTED–Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Stanford, Hopkins, Duke, safeties… WAITLISTED–wustl, Northwestern… REJECTED–Yale-NUS

[/ul]General Comments: Super excited. Between Yale and Stanford.

rhandiebrew · April 2, 2013, 7:41pm

@Altered… I hate to see young people beat themselves up like this. One day you will look back and realize, it is not that serious. You have accomplished a lot in your short life and you should not feel like a failure by any means.

A lot has changed since I was heading off to college, but I can tell you that I do not remember my high school GPA or what score I got on my SAT…Because it doesn’t matter. Go to one of the schools you were admitted to and hold your head up high.

Things tend to happen for a reason even when we cant see it while its happening. You were not meant to be there.

swagsohard · April 3, 2013, 4:38pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2310
[] ACT: 35
[] SAT II: 780 Bio M, 740 Math Level II, 710 German
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 x 5s
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Rigorous w/ 6 APs
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Study Abroad and Language Awards, AP Scholar with Distinction[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):[/li]Policy Debate (16th at nationals)
Scholar Bowl (National Qualifier)
Model United Nations (Secretary General)
National Honor Society

[] Job/Work Experience: Lol no
[] Volunteer/Community service: 170+ hours
[li] Summer Activities:[/li]Research Internship at WUSTL on Lung Cancer (published a paper)

[] Essays: Hit or miss essays
[] Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read
[] Counselor Rec: Didn’t read
[] Additional Rec: Didn’t read
[li] Interview: Didn’t have one[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): MO
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian Indian (Brown People FTW)
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): meh
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): um no?

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Grades and Test Scores, ECs
[] Weaknesses: Essays, anti-hooks galore
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: lol who knows?
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[/ul]General Comments: So glad I’m done with this process! To all those rejected or waitlisted I wish you the best of luck; you guys will end up somewhere awesome.

suzannelee · April 29, 2013, 6:15pm

D cleared the waitlist at Duke today…thrilled!!!

unreal2013 · June 5, 2013, 10:51pm

Decision: Accepted (likely letter)

Pratt School of Engineering

OBJECTIVE:

SAT I (breakdown):2230, M 710 / R 720 / W 800 (essay 12)
(Ok yes, maybe I have a low score. And I am ok with how things turned out because I got into the school I wanted to! I dislike the Collegeboard and the premise of standardized testing generally, so I took the test cold. I also feel like prepping is sort of cheating, and there are a million ways I’d rather spend my time.)
ACT: 36 W/ 35 M/ 34 S/ 34 R/ essay 10
SAT II: Math II 760, Chem 780, Bio 770, Physics 750, Chinese 720

Unweighted GPA (out of 100): 94.9
AP:
Euro (5)
US (4)
English Language (4)
Physics B (5)
Calc AB (5)

Senior Year Course Load:
Physics C
Calc BC
AP English Lit
Political Theory H
Science Research
Adv. Orchestra

Major Awards:
NASA Engineering Design Challenge, 1st place national winner
NCWIT National Runner Up (2x)
Girl Scout Gold Award
Statewide Historical Research Award Honorable Mention
Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge Semifinalist
Selected to participate in statewide and countywide music ensembles
NASA Space Habitat Innovation Challenge, 2nd place
National Merit Finalist
AP Scholar w/ Distinction

SUBJECTIVE:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
School newspaper (EIC)
Science Olympiad (Captain)
Music Club (President)
Girl Scouts
Youth Orchestras
Ocean Bowl
Quiz Bowl
NASA INSPIRE

Job/Work Experience:
Science museum floor staff, freshman thru senior years
Columbia University lab intern, sophomore and junior summers
NASA Goddard lab intern, junior summer

Volunteer/Community service:
Various Girl Scouts activities–cooking at Ronald McDonald, organizing a towel drive for the homeless, playing music for senior homes
Volunteer assistant at local summer music program

Summer Activities: research and work, see above

Essays: sounded pretty, but could have shown deeper personal reflection

Teacher Recommendation: pretty good
Counselor Rec: pretty good
Additional Rec: good, I imagine
Interview: alright

Other
Intended Major(s): environmental engineer
State (if domestic applicant): NY
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income bracket (if applicable): 60-100,000
Hooks: still not quite sure what this means

REFLECTION
Strengths: passionate
Weaknesses: scores, Asian, didn’t win major research awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: well-rounded, extremely active/involved, generally good credentials
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: UIUC / none / Stanford, MIT, H-Y-P
General Comments: it’s pretty important to keep your grades up. I think you’d have a better chance getting into schools–for students from competitive demographics, particularly–if you 1) keep your average high and 2) focus on one activity (and by focus, I imply a very high intensity–high ability in specified subject area, significant awards, etc.), which should also be reflected in your recs and school classes. Particularly high level (coveted) students will excel in perhaps two areas, and exceptional students will excel in still more. Again, by excel, I really mean EXCEL. You’re selling yourself as a package. Personally, I believe I spread myself out too much to devote as much effort as possible to all my endeavors, but I was interested in a lot of things, and it was my choice to remain involved in all of them rather than condense and create a neat package for admissions officers. Fortunately, it’s not a place that defines you; it’s what you do there.

bellath · August 22, 2013, 8:02pm

Decision: Accepted

Pratt School of Engineering

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 800 Math, 770 Writing, 700 Reading
ACT:
SAT II: 800 Math, 800 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.88
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP US(5), AT Physics (5), Calc BC(5), Macro/Microecon(5 and 4), AP Euro(5), AP Gov(5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:Calc BC, AT Physics, AP Euro, AP Gov, honors english, etc
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Best Speaker in Debate, National Merit Semifinalist, National Honor Society, 2-year varsity volleyball

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate Club (leader), Chess Club(leader), varsity volleyball, Photography(published in school magazine), NHS, Math Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: tutor in Kumon
Volunteer/Community service: about 100 hours
Summer Activities: summer school usually, religious class
Essays: Excellent
Teacher Recommendation: both very good
Counselor Rec: great, me counselor was very impressed with me
Additional Rec: from a Princeton University’s chaplain, great rec
Interview: Excellent, we got along very well

Other
Intended Major(s): engineering
State (if domestic applicant):New Jersey
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:Public
Ethnicity: Tibetian
Gender:Male
Income bracket (if applicable): 120K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I came to the US 5 years ago and learned english within 5 yrs.

Reflection
Strengths: The way I adapted to the US I think impressed the admissions people, I got a seperate letter from the Dean of Admission explaining how unique my experience was. Also, my mother died when I was young.
Weaknesses: Didn’t do anything special.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think my essays were very good
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Cornell, Dartmouth, U Mich, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, Boston College. Rejected: Brown, Princeton, Harvard, UPenn. Waitlisted: Carnege Mellon
General Comments: In the beginning, Duke wasn’t really my first choice, but now I couldn’t be happier. Also, ignore what people say about grade no mattering much because it DOES!! Grades and scores are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. If you don’t have the BEST grades, you won’t get in anywhere unless you’re an athlete.

SteelTrapMindset · March 27, 2014, 11:30pm

Choose One:
[color=red]Decision: Rejected[/color=red]

Objective:

[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2200 770 Math 720 Critical Reading 710 Writing
[]ACT (breakdown):
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Math II, 770 Biology-E, 730 U.S. History
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 12/547
[]AP (place score in parentheses): 5 AP U.S. Government, 5 AP World History, 5 AP Comparative Government & Politics, 4 AP Statistics, 4 AP U.S. History, 4 AP Human Geography
[]IB (place score in parentheses):
[]Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP Physics B, AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature & Composition, AP Computer Science A, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, Writing Center
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction (Not really major)[/li][/ul]

Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Mu Alpha Theta, History Bowl, numerous clubs
[]Job/Work Experience: Math Tutor
[]Volunteer/Community Service: 220 hours from volunteering at homeless shelters, at the library, at my school, and outside of school at Key service club projects
[]Summer Activities: Shadowed at a hospital over the summer and took online classes
[]Essays: I guess they were good, I talked about some family/personal issues and why I wanted to go to Duke.
[]Teacher Recommendations: Didn’t look at them, but were probably amazing. 
[]Counselor Rec: Not sure, but should be decent. I am in a huge public school, so my counselor might not know me very well.
[]Additional Rec:
[li]Interview: Went pretty good, we talked for over an hour.[/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): Florida
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]School Type: Public
[]Ethnicity: Asian American
[]Gender: Male
[]Income Bracket: < $30,000
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None[/li][/ul]

Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: Test scores, GPA, low income
[]Weaknesses: Asian American, lack of major awards
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: No national awards or hooks
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Harvard (Rejected), Vanderbilt, USF (Accepted), UF (Accepted), Georgia Tech (Accepted), Emory (Accepted), Stanford
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Don’t expect too much going in…[/li][/ul]

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