| DD is a sophomore at a feeder (non-DMV), and looking at SCOIR/Naviance data, it seems like we're on an unofficial Duke blacklist. The graph is barren: a sea of red. Other elite schools are nothing like this. Does anyone else know if these universities have unofficial blacklists against certain high schools? |
Are you a UNC feeder? Because Duke hates UNC. I find most of that data to not be statistically significant and not to tell the whole story. I think some schools definitely are more harsh towards some high schools for reasons that are often difficult to explain. But there is often a story behind it. |
Nope, we barely send any to UNC. And I'm curious about that story, which will likely never surface. |
I was largely kidding. It is a big rivalry but I don't think it impacts admissions. |
| I do think that Duke has favorites and unfavorites among high schools. Not much to be done about that. Apply and see. |
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Princeton at our HS. For decades. Every other Ivy/T10 well-represented. Never Princeton. Our HS counselor told my son do he didn’t SCEA. He was WL RD. I have other kids - younger and still
See no Princeton. |
| My kid is at a DC magnet that regularly sends kids to Ivy league schools but I can't remember anyone getting into Duke in the last 5+ years at least. |
OP here, and same with us, honestly. Non-legacy top 5% gets waitlisted RD. Legacies with subpar GPAs get in SCEA, but nobody else. They confuse me. |
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Happens in lots of places for reasons that are sometimes clear (like a school allowing a kid to weasel out of an ED) and sometimes not obvious.
I went to a public high school that sent significant numbers of kids to ivy leagues schools every year and could get a single kid into Georgetown for more than a decade. The good news is that there are lots of great schools. |
+1 Translation since it seems to have gone over the OP's head: the PP is gently mocking you with the UNC comment, and also telling you that making conclusions about a "blacklist" because your tiny private school hasn't had success at Duke is not supported by data. Most HS don't have success at Duke--they're not "blacklisted," they're just not competitive in a tough admissions environment. |
The data supports my theory -- ~100 kids applied in 4 years and 3 were accepted. And those 3 were all HYP admits. And our school isn't some irrelevant private either. |
| What do you mean by feeder? |
50% of kids who apply to Ivies earn admission to one. That stat is partially true because the counselors steer, but not to an extreme level. |
ED/REA violations? Ethical concerns? |
| A feeder can’t be a feeder to all top schools. Simple as that. |