Unversity Scholar? Duke Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>I'm a junior, going to competitive IB school in Oregon (public)</p>

<p>SCHOOL STATS:
GPA - 3.99 unweighted/ 4.2 weighted (all As in AP US last year)
- I am an IB Diploma student taking IB Enlgish, Bio, Psychology
(HL) and French, Calculus, Business (SL)
- this tri i got a 4.8, first b in IB Calculus
- major: Government & Economics
- taking Most rigorous courses available</p>

<p>Awards:
-Scholar of the Month
- NHS fundraiser, Prez. next year
- Honor Roll
- Duke of Spirit
- Coach's Award</p>

<p>Extracirriculars:
-Track (3 years) - Varsity Letter
-Cross Country (3 years) - Captain, Varsity, Prestigous Coach's Award for Leadership and excellence on the team, 1 per year
-Mayors Youth Advisory Board (2 years) - Co-Chair, going to Washington DC for a National Conference on it
-Uganda Club (3 years) - Organized fast for malaria, Prez next year
- Diversity Club - went to Diversity Summit, VP next year
- Freshman Treasurer, Sr. Prez next year
- Varsity Ultimate Frisbee - starting defender
- FCA - Prez this year and next year. Organize every week by myself</p>

<p>Running - 17:32 PR. I could run for Pomona, Whitman, Claremont</p>

<p>Volunteer Work:
- 190 Hours at Beaverton Library helping Children
- 40 Hours working at Senior Center
- IB Executive Committee, organized/made advertising
campaign for IB Iron Chef fundraiser</p>

<p>Hobbies: Photography</p>

<p>Hook: Planning an event w/ a local running company owner to give 100 pairs of shoes to lower income children in Portland who cannot afford shoes. By end of Senior year i want to give 250 pairs of shoes through donations of corporations etc.</p>

<p>SAT & ACT:
haven't taken either, but practice tests land me at:
ACT: 30-32
SAT: 2150 - 2250
SAT II: took US History 660, disregarding that and taking:
Biology, Literature, Math IIC? or French? Above 700 on all of them...</p>

<p>Colleges:
- Pomona (ED)
- Claremont Mckenna
- Duke University
- Whitman College
- UO Honors College</p>

2

<p>I don't know what a University Scholar even is but you should just work on getting in. Sure you're good but so are many other people applying. You just don't know what type of student will get a scholarship so worry about gettin in and let the rest take care of itself.</p>

3

<p>And to address the chances of getting in... they seem good. You have good grades and a challenging schedule. Your test scores should improve to give yourself the best chance possible.</p>

4

<p>Does anyone know what kind of people get University Scholar? Do they look for leadership, insanely academic kids, or what? Are my stats too low to even be considered</p>

<p>University Scholar = Full Ride Scholarship</p>

5

<p>I'm sorry but you aren't getting a scholarship. Good chance at getting in with similar stats as me and I'm at Duke from Oregon. You still have a ways to go though as you are only a junior and haven't taken any standardized tests or had more than a semester of really challenging classes.</p>

6

<p>I've heard Duke's financial aid really sucks.. is this true?</p>

7

<p>I'd say Duke's financial aid is on par or better with it's peer institutions, perhaps not as good as say...harvard with their 29bil endowment, but still very decent. And they are willing to work with you. I had a somewhat unexpected financial difficulty first semester this year, and they were very understanding and reevaluated my package. Overall, I don't think not being able to pay for tuition is a big problem, but your finances just might be a bit strained for the 4 years you are there.</p>

8

<p>My IB advisor just said a lot of people turn down Duke because they mostly give their accepted students loans and very little grant money..</p>

<p>Question: If Claremont Mckenna and Pomona are my top choices (i love them both, more than duke sadly) should i even apply to Duke if it's only a 25% chance I would go assuming i got in?</p>

9

<p>As a Duke students, I'd say no, cuz that negatively impacts our stats ;)</p>

10

<p>You will get into Pomona ED... Nice running time you got there and good luck on the CC team.</p>

11

<p>Thanks everyone!</p>

<p>What is your opinion on Davidson? I am thinking about applying to it, but I like Duke more.. is it worth applying to both?</p>

12

<p>Sure, you have a better chance of getting into Davidson than Duke as it is somewhat less, although still very selective. My take is that you will get into Pomona if you get into Duke, thus there is a slim chance of you ending up in Durham. But, hey why not? And, yeah to get a merit scholarship at Duke takes leadership, near perfect grades and test scores, and an additional hook. A solid student like yourself is not enough. If you need merit money, look to state schools or slightly less selective privates. Davidson may be just what I'm talking about.</p>

13

<p>"The selection committee focuses on exceptional, creative, risk-taking, high-merit students who could profit most from an interdisciplinary program."</p>

<p>An example of a competitive applicant for this program would be someone who has received national awards in mathematics and theater, and wishes to pursue the two in college. Unfortunately, you are not competitive for this scholarship.</p>

14

<p>Your PR is a 17:30s and you could run for those schools????? I run in Iowa, I made state this year and had a pr of 16:35 5K but no school ever has done much recruiting for me!</p>