Priorities and Chances at Duke

Colleges & Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>Personal:
Ethnicity: Asian Male
Location: New York
School Type: Moderately Competitive Medical Magnet High School
Intended Major: Biology/Chemistry or Computer Science/Engineering</p>

<p>GPA:
3.1 UW</p>

<p>SAT I :
Critical Reading: 740
Mathematics: 780
Writing: 760
(1520/2280)</p>

<p>SAT II:
United States History: 750
Physics: 790
Math Level II: 780</p>

<p>Extra-curricular Activities:</p>

<p>H.P.R.E.P. (Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program) at
Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University</p>

<p>R.E.A.D.Y. Program (Responsibly Employed And Dedicated Youth)</p>

<p>Islamic School at Jamaica Muslim Center (8 years)</p>

<p>Leadership Positions:
Treasurer of Student Government (11)
Founder of the Chess Club
President of the Chess Club</p>

<p>Club Activities:
Member of the Health Sciences Club (11,12)
Member of the Social Wellness Club (12)</p>

<p>Instrument :
Experience Playing Piano (8 years)
Experience Playing Harmonium (10 years)</p>

<p>Work Experience :
Private Student Tutoring in literacy, grammar, and mathematics (9,10)</p>

<p>Community Service :
220 hours for Website Design
30 hours as Teacher's Assistant</p>

<p>College Now Courses at York College : (11)
PSY 102 : Introductory Psychology – B
POL 103 : Politics and Government in the United States *
College Now Course at Borough of Manhattan Community College :
CHE 110 : General Chemistry *
PHY 110 : General Physics **</p>

<ul>
<li>Will be completed before applications are due.
** Will be completed after applications are due.</li>
</ul>

<p>Senior Year Schedule: (Most rigorous schedule possible)
AP Biology
AP Calculus AB
Honors English IV
Participation in Government/Economics
POL 103 : Politics and Government in the United States (Semester One)
CHE 110 : General Chemistry (Semester One)
PHY 110: General Physics (Semester Two)</p>

<p>Here is the Admission Policies and Factors of Duke at Collegeboard:
Admission requirements:</p>

<pre><code>* Essay(s) required
* SAT Reasoning and SAT Subject or ACT with writing Required
</code></pre>

<p>Very important admission factors:</p>

<pre><code>* Application Essay
* Extracurricular Activities
* Recommendations
* Rigor of secondary school record
* Standardized Test Scores
* Talent/Ability
</code></pre>

<p>Important admission factors:</p>

<pre><code>* Character/Personal Qualities
</code></pre>

<p>Considered:</p>

<pre><code>* Alumni Relation
* Class Rank
* Geographical Residence
* Interview
* Racial/Ethnic Status
* State Residency
* Volunteer Work
* Work Experience
* Academic GPA
</code></pre>

<p>Does Duke really abide by these priorities? Also, have any of you Duke students gotten in with a low GPA?</p>

<p>So I guess the main question is do I have a chance at Duke considering its admissions policies? Also, it would be gladly appreciated if you could suggest solid safety, and match schools. Thank you for your help!</p>

2

<p>Also, is there anything I can do to increase my chances?</p>

3

<p>you look like a very capable applicant, just make sure u do the basics. i suggest applying ED and making sure you write a thoughtful essay</p>

4

<p>Anyone else?</p>

5

<p>I say little chance because of your low GPA... sorry, but most acceptees are pushing a 4.0</p>

6

<p>being an asian male from ny wanting to study what you want to study makes things kind of hard. there's plenty of students who fit similar traits to you... and your gpa isn't making things any easier. i really wouldn't know where to begin when assessing safeties, matches and reaches for you since i'm unfamiliar in your chosen academic area... but duke would be a reach. your best bet is to write incredible essays and go out and let duke know how much you want to be there -- genuinely, though. use the essays and the interviews to your advantage.</p>

7

<p>It says academic GPA and rank is just considered. How true is this? Considering that, what are my chances?</p>

8

<p>piano,</p>

<p>you've been to a lot of forums asking about chances at schools. Unfortunately most of the schools you're looking at are not going to look at you with a 3.1 gpa. you need to be realisitic here. You may be better off looking lac's where SATs may offset your gpa somewhat, or at schools ranked in the 25-50 range.</p>

<p>Unfortunately for you, almost every school in the top 50 has students with an average GPA of 3.5+. You're SATs offset that for the bottem half of hte scale, but not necessarily for the upper half. You should apply to 1 or 2 really high ranking schools if you want a chance, but I would not put all your eggs in 1 basket.</p>

9

<p>Your above comment about how GPA and rank are just considered, was that information taken from Princeton Review? Princeton Review is usually pretty accurate in description of avg. SAT score of students at a college and the the Students Say section is great as well, but their page on how much each part of the application ranks is NOT correct. Same thing for the tuition amount they list. Colleges will say that there is no "dropping point", that when they see a low GPA or SAT, they don't automatically throw the applicant out. They claim that the highschool GPA's of their students are high only because the kind of students they tend to admit. In a way, this is true. But GPA's DO matter, just like everything matters in your app when to apply to a top school.</p>

10

<p>GPA and rank are considered, mostly to see if you have the basic skills to do the course load at Duke. But it's not everything. A person from my high school went to Princeton with a 2.8 GPA, so anything's possible. Write an amazing essay. I would recommend that in edition to writing a great creative essay, send in an extra one explaining why your GPA is so low, and why you think with your other great attributes you would be an asset to the school. Duke reviews your application as a whole, so anything that you send in will be considered. It couldn't hurt. I also recommend sending in a portfolio of sorts of the work you have done (perhaps a video portfolio, it may be a bit more creative). Do everything you can to play up your good points, and play down your bad points and you should be fine.</p>

11

<p>You arent a URM and you have a really low GPA compared to your fellow applicants...who knows, worth a shot</p>