<p>just finishing up my duke application (kind of long/confusing compared to others)</p>
<p>3.97 gpa (18/636)
4.73 weighted gpa (3/636)
10 AP courses taken in all of h.s.</p>
<p>ACT: 31 (i know) :-/</p>
<p>SAT IIs: US- 660 MATH II: 720 PHYSICS: 710</p>
<p>volunteer work through church</p>
<p>captain of varsity football team
captain of varsity basketball team</p>
<p>Nice GPA! Since Duke cares a lot about challenging courseload, your weighted GPA would be considered more than your UW one.</p>
<p>EC's could range from so-so to pretty good depending on how much time you volunteer at the church.</p>
<p>I'd say though that Duke is a Reach, but your chances would increase if you retake the ACT or try the SAT (depending on which test you think you can do better on). </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>really... a reach? Well if Duke does take the best of all subjects then I have a 32 ACT and i thought the average was like 32 33 so id be right around the average plus my gpa would makeup for wat i lack wit my act-- then captain of 2 varsity teams i assume is very helpful... idk I just don't see how it's a "reach" when everything i have is abover average except my act which is right around average</p>
<p>^ captain of 2 varsity teams is a good thing to have on your resume, but it's not "very helpful," because other applicants will have that and more. Don't think that I'm trying to belittle your accomplishments, I'm not at all- I'm only the captain of one varsity team, and I know how much work it is. Still, you're competing with people who excel in sports AND music/research/community service/etc. Then there's the athletes that aren't getting recruited, but have made it to States or a similar level of competition, the Intel finalists, the legacies, the URMs, people from underrepresented geographic regions, etc. These people all have a special "hook". Let's not forget the rumor that Duke in particular has a high percentage of "developmental admits," who get in partially because their families have the potential to donate a lot of money to the university.
Overall, I agree with CoolaTroopa. Of course, if you gave more info, my opinion might change. How are your essays/recs? How much community service have you done? Do you have one of the special "hooks" that I mentioned?
Sure, there are many applicants without a "hook" that get in, but it's a small percentage compared to the amount who apply. That's what makes Duke a reach for you, but I still think that you should apply. It's not that you're not a good applicant, it's more that admissions gets more and more competitive every year as the number of "super-applicants" increases.</p>