<p>What does Duke (Trinity) look for in its applicants? How does this compare to its peers in the Ivy League and other elite institutions? Basically, how is Duke admissions DIFFERENT?</p>
<p>Here you go: <a href=“http://admissions.duke.edu/ask”>http://admissions.duke.edu/ask</a>
First question: “1) What does Duke look for in an applicant?”</p>
<p>@bluedog, I was looking for perspectives outside of the admissions :P. The admissions spiel does not really tel me how Duke’s admits are different than admits of their peers.</p>
<p>@yikesyikesyikes : I’m a Duke alum, and a member of the alumni interviewing committee. I’ve interviewed loads of potential Duke candidates over the years. By in large, I can say that Duke admissions is pretty much on par with the Ivies/Stanford/MIT. The type of candidates these schools admit overlap to a large extent.</p>
<p>To my knowledge, Duke doesn’t practice yield protection, and admits students based upon merit. So if a student receiving acceptances from HYPMS will likely also be accepted at Duke. </p>
<p>Thanks! That sort of gets rid of the misconceptions I had gained from word of mouth (things like alumni relation matters less at Duke than at Ivy schools). </p>
<p>"(things like alumni relation matters less at Duke than at Ivy schools)." </p>
<p>I found sgopal2’s comment to actually be supporting this statement. </p>
<p>I’m also an alumni interviewer and I can tell you that there really isn’t a “type” of student that Duke admits. The University wants an eclectic and diverse incoming freshman class. In any give class there are students who are well-rounded (excel at many different things) and there are students who are lop-sided (excel at a specific thing)–each student contributing to and learning from one another’s experiences prior to Duke.</p>
<p>There are, however, two things that nearly ALL Duke students have in common: intellectual aptitude and a willingness to work very hard. I think it’s only fair to be honest about the fact that your chances of admission to Duke are vastly improved with excellent grades and test score supporting your application. But Duke is no different in this regard than the other top 15 schools.</p>
<p>sgopal’s and especially Jwest’s remarks are entirely correct. I, too, am a Duke alumni undergraduate admissions interviewer (also a regional alumni chairman and a former Board and Annual Fund Executive Committee member) and I will add only two thoughts to their excellent comments:
- Enthusiasm and commitment count; this is why ED provides a marginal advantage. We want undergraduates who passionately care about Duke (however, this cannot overcome deficiencies in the critical application fundamentals: GPA, standardized test scores, essays, recommendations, excelling at the most intellectually challenging preparatory courses available, and so forth).
- Over 95 percent of 2019’s (probably about 33,000) applicants will have truly excellent performance records and potential, worthy of admission to Duke (and to its peer institutions). Your application and recommendations MUST explain and document how your matriculation will benefit key Duke constituencies – students (especially your undergraduate peers), faculty, eventually alumni, as well as the University’s aggregate stature – both during your residential years and throughout the decades after your graduation. In essence, “why you, instead of literally tens-of-thousands of other extremely well qualified and distinguished candidates?”. This certainly is not easy, but it is vital. </p>
<p>Thanks for the insightful answers everyone :).</p>