Duke University Admissions: Does having a strong interest in literary criticism help or hurt?

[Anonymous]

DC has been interested in going to Duke for years now, primarily due to their literature department. I don't know much about the subject but DC tells me that they are known for having an excellent literary criticism and theory program, and I can see that it is ranked #1 in us news and world report for this. College counselor thinks DC should apply early to Duke and should emphasize the talent in this area. So here's my question: do universities like Duke give a boost for someone with interest/talent in the university's strong area, or is it really the other way around. For example, Yale gives a boost in admissions to people with an interest in engineering, because that is an area of weakness for them. They wouldn't give a boost to someone with a talent in history. Any thoughts?

[Anonymous]

What 16/17yo has been interested "for years" in literary criticism?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC has been interested in going to Duke for years now, primarily due to their literature department. I don't know much about the subject but DC tells me that they are known for having an excellent literary criticism and theory program, and I can see that it is ranked #1 in us news and world report for this. College counselor thinks DC should apply early to Duke and should emphasize the talent in this area. So here's my question: do universities like Duke give a boost for someone with interest/talent in the university's strong area, or is it really the other way around. For example, Yale gives a boost in admissions to people with an interest in engineering, because that is an area of weakness for them. They wouldn't give a boost to someone with a talent in history. Any thoughts?

They have only 25 English majors; 7 master’s degrees; and 15 doctoral degrees. They need even more undergrads and they have huge grad school dept. resources; it’s a plus.

On another level, demonstrated interest in anything that is not computer science, engineering, biological sciences, or econ is a plus.

[Anonymous]

If the school has an institutional interest in preserving or promoting an area you’ll have an edge. I know from a prof certain areas Duke likes now.

[Anonymous]

I think if it shows intellectual curiosity it’s good but an undergrad is unlikely to take that much literary theory. He might take one course in it as an English major.

So I wouldn’t overplay it either. Does he really understand what it is? Can he convey his interest authentically?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What 16/17yo has been interested "for years" in literary criticism?

Mine, obviously. They used to spend a lot of time finding and reading theorists' writing about the books they were reading, which is when their interest started, and when they noticed that everyone had been or was currently a professor at Duke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What 16/17yo has been interested "for years" in literary criticism?

Kids have gotten weirder and into super niche and specific things-age of the internet and all. I know a kid with experience in literary criticism and some are more prepared for a career than I ever will be. Competitive world.

[Anonymous]

This will help for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think if it shows intellectual curiosity it’s good but an undergrad is unlikely to take that much literary theory. He might take one course in it as an English major.

So I wouldn’t overplay it either. Does he really understand what it is? Can he convey his interest authentically?

Thanks for the excellent advice. It's not a subject that I understand at all (I'm a biotech person) but from what others tell me, he seems to have a surprisingly good understanding. Or at the very least, he seems to win a lot of awards/prizes for various essays he submits to contests. He wrote one on a piece of pop culture that a faculty member at our local state university really liked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the school has an institutional interest in preserving or promoting an area you’ll have an edge. I know from a prof certain areas Duke likes now.

What does Duke like now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has been interested in going to Duke for years now, primarily due to their literature department. I don't know much about the subject but DC tells me that they are known for having an excellent literary criticism and theory program, and I can see that it is ranked #1 in us news and world report for this. College counselor thinks DC should apply early to Duke and should emphasize the talent in this area. So here's my question: do universities like Duke give a boost for someone with interest/talent in the university's strong area, or is it really the other way around. For example, Yale gives a boost in admissions to people with an interest in engineering, because that is an area of weakness for them. They wouldn't give a boost to someone with a talent in history. Any thoughts?

They have only 25 English majors; 7 master’s degrees; and 15 doctoral degrees. They need even more undergrads and they have huge grad school dept. resources; it’s a plus.

On another level, demonstrated interest in anything that is not computer science, engineering, biological sciences, or econ is a plus.

This is interesting, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What 16/17yo has been interested "for years" in literary criticism?

For a board filled with sophisticated "elites," DCUM children are usually surprisingly anti-intellectual.

[Anonymous]

I think it's a plus.

The STEM kids are having a hard time standing out from the crowd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What 16/17yo has been interested "for years" in literary criticism?

Mine, obviously. They used to spend a lot of time finding and reading theorists' writing about the books they were reading, which is when their interest started, and when they noticed that everyone had been or was currently a professor at Duke.

That's pretty cool. Good for them.

Totally use this in that application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's a plus.

The STEM kids are having a hard time standing out from the crowd.

It seems like high school STEM kids have a hard time standing out because their projects typically involve linking up with a professor at a local college to do research.