Who’s Waiting for Duke ED tomorrow!

[Anonymous]

^ wait - what is an overrepresented minority? I think one is either URM or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A kid from DD’s high school was accepted. DD said he’s considered the best student in the school so it didn’t come as much of a surprise. Congrats to everyone who was accepted, it’s a major accomplishment!

My friend’s kid is an athlete; had a 1590 and a 4.0 and was deferred. Very disappointed.

Yep yep yep Duke seems as tough of an admit as it comes. Friend’s kid from NE public with a 36 ACT and near top of the class was deferred. I’m getting the sense Duke cares about much more than stats, they must be paying close attention to the essays or recommendations. We’re keeping that in mind for next year when our son applies

PP here with the unhooked, overrepresented minority niece who was accepted. She’s just one data point out of 745, of course, but her essays were deeply personal and beautifully written (she let Nosy Auntie read them because my DC may apply next year). Having known her since babyhood, I can only imagine her recommendations were out-of-the-park too. It definitely seems that high stats alone aren’t enough, but legacy/URM/other hooks aren’t necessary either.

Wow your niece sounds like the whole package. Duke is lucky to have her!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ wait - what is an overrepresented minority? I think one is either URM or not.

overrepresented minority is Chinese/Indian. They are disproportionately high achieving academically compared to their population in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A kid from DD’s high school was accepted. DD said he’s considered the best student in the school so it didn’t come as much of a surprise. Congrats to everyone who was accepted, it’s a major accomplishment!

My friend’s kid is an athlete; had a 1590 and a 4.0 and was deferred. Very disappointed.

Yep yep yep Duke seems as tough of an admit as it comes. Friend’s kid from NE public with a 36 ACT and near top of the class was deferred. I’m getting the sense Duke cares about much more than stats, they must be paying close attention to the essays or recommendations. We’re keeping that in mind for next year when our son applies

PP here with the unhooked, overrepresented minority niece who was accepted. She’s just one data point out of 745, of course, but her essays were deeply personal and beautifully written (she let Nosy Auntie read them because my DC may apply next year). Having known her since babyhood, I can only imagine her recommendations were out-of-the-park too. It definitely seems that high stats alone aren’t enough, but legacy/URM/other hooks aren’t necessary either.

Wow your niece sounds like the whole package. Duke is lucky to have her!

You’re very kind to say that, thank you. Our entire family is so proud of her for defying the odds!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Daughter flat-out rejected with 1590/4.0, principal cellist, lots of volunteer work and leadership. Several national awards too. Just a data point if anyone wants it, but she’s strong and has already started finishing her other supplements. I suppose the Duke dream will have to wait for medical school.

Congratulations on getting first chair! That is not easy. Are they applying to any of the conservatories? Juilliard? Peabody? Eastman?

It depends on first chair in what symphony. First chair in school orchestra, one EC in common app; first chair in NYO-USA, you are holding the ticket to T5.

[Anonymous]

Two of DS friends applied ED- both female, same GPA (4.0 uw), similar test scores (1500 and 1520), both white, no hooks, each have two varsity sports. One was admitted and one wasn't. Suburban public school in MA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, daughter was deferred. She’s now going to be applying to several peer schools like Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, but her heart was with Duke. She’s doing alright though!

Columbia may be a peer to Duke, but not Harvard and Princeton. https://www.quora.com/Is-Duke-considered-inferior-by-people-that-went-to-Harvard-or-Columbia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, daughter was deferred. She’s now going to be applying to several peer schools like Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, but her heart was with Duke. She’s doing alright though!

Columbia may be a peer to Duke, but not Harvard and Princeton. https://www.quora.com/Is-Duke-considered-inferior-by-people-that-went-to-Harvard-or-Columbia

I am a Duke grad. I went there on athletic scholarship but was in top third of the class in terms of grades and scores. Was ranked in the top 3 in the nation in athletics so never dealt with admissions uncertainty. My daughters did, although they were far better students than me. They chose Princeton, arguably about as rigorous as an undergrad as one can experience.

I was exceedingly poor, and I think from that perspective there is no other school like Duke - such a contradiction in its entirety. Witness:

Wash Duke started his tobacco business by walking home from being released from a union prison. He used the five dollar coin Lincoln insisted go to prisoners.

The Dukes were slave owners. Yet they donated the land for NC Central University and endowed Johnson C Smith.

They were the ultimate monopolists - producing tobacco no less - a product that has harmed millions. Yet Duke Hospital has saved countless lives.

Wash Duke saved Trinity College - still a part of Duke today - in the 1890’s by insisting that women be admitted on equal footing. Yet black students were not admitted until 1963.

Duke is brash and has a reputation for paying dearly for professors they want. On Campus Drive connecting East and West campuses there a mansions. These were built to attract professors from the Ivy League. The place has the feel of an aggressive upstart. Buck Duke bought half of Park Avenue to be respectable. The Duke Gardens - an unreal oasis is drab Durham - was built when Duke was told he could not put a lake there to mimic Princeton because of mosquitoes.

ESPN ran the I Hate Christian Laettner documentary tonight. Only Duke could have developed one of the best college players ever (giving Duke incredible exposure) while at the same time being one of the most obnoxious and arrogant players ever. I think both statements are very accurate. And in another irony, he was a lower middle class kid from Buffalo who had little in common with the 1 percenters who make up the student body. Of course Grant Hill from Reston on the same team one of Duke’s best African American athletes ever was an upper middle class kid with Yale parents.

And one could go on…I say all of this in a neutral way but the school still has much of the impetuous character of the Dukes (I went to school with a great grandson Duke heir and the history of the place lives). I came away not liking parts of the school but also found the journey in reconciling the contradictions a healthy exercise. I for years spent a lot of time working in New York and would drive up there so I could stop at Princeton to see the kids. Not sure I have ever felt so privileged as I felt there, even though I was spending 70 grand a kid each year for it. But Duke challenged me in ways I often didn’t like, and I am not sure that is a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two of DS friends applied ED- both female, same GPA (4.0 uw), similar test scores (1500 and 1520), both white, no hooks, each have two varsity sports. One was admitted and one wasn't. Suburban public school in MA.

It seems that they care a lot about essays so one of them could’ve had a very interesting story. We’ve already seen 3 people get deferred or denied with a 1580+ and 4.0 so it’s clear that test scores aren’t everything to Duke. Congrats to your son’s friend!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, daughter was deferred. She’s now going to be applying to several peer schools like Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, but her heart was with Duke. She’s doing alright though!

Columbia may be a peer to Duke, but not Harvard and Princeton. https://www.quora.com/Is-Duke-considered-inferior-by-people-that-went-to-Harvard-or-Columbia

C’mon are you really going to nitpick, you get PP’s point. All hyper-competitive schools with sub-5% acceptance rates, most of the kids at all 4 of those schools will go on to lead similar careers except for a few outliers here and there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, daughter was deferred. She’s now going to be applying to several peer schools like Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, but her heart was with Duke. She’s doing alright though!

Columbia may be a peer to Duke, but not Harvard and Princeton. https://www.quora.com/Is-Duke-considered-inferior-by-people-that-went-to-Harvard-or-Columbia

C’mon are you really going to nitpick, you get PP’s point. All hyper-competitive schools with sub-5% acceptance rates, most of the kids at all 4 of those schools will go on to lead similar careers except for a few outliers here and there

She said Harvard and Princeton were “peers” to Duke. They are not. Nitpick away!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, daughter was deferred. She’s now going to be applying to several peer schools like Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, but her heart was with Duke. She’s doing alright though!

Columbia may be a peer to Duke, but not Harvard and Princeton. https://www.quora.com/Is-Duke-considered-inferior-by-people-that-went-to-Harvard-or-Columbia

C’mon are you really going to nitpick, you get PP’s point. All hyper-competitive schools with sub-5% acceptance rates, most of the kids at all 4 of those schools will go on to lead similar careers except for a few outliers here and there

She said Harvard and Princeton were “peers” to Duke. They are not. Nitpick away!

It says a lot about you that instead of wishing PP’s daughter well wishes in her application to Harvard and Princeton after her unfortunate Duke rejection (with a 1590, 4.0, and good extracurriculars, a profile which you would certainly find among Harvard’s or Princeton’s student bodies) you chose to focus on her use of the word “peer.” Bottom line, most kids would be over the moon to get into either. Schools that selective are always a lottery

[Anonymous]

Mine was accepted and he is a preferred walk-on in his sport. Coach said he provided a little support but provided no guarantees. 1500 SAT and 4.4 W GPA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, daughter was deferred. She’s now going to be applying to several peer schools like Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, but her heart was with Duke. She’s doing alright though!

Columbia may be a peer to Duke, but not Harvard and Princeton. https://www.quora.com/Is-Duke-considered-inferior-by-people-that-went-to-Harvard-or-Columbia

C’mon are you really going to nitpick, you get PP’s point. All hyper-competitive schools with sub-5% acceptance rates, most of the kids at all 4 of those schools will go on to lead similar careers except for a few outliers here and there

She said Harvard and Princeton were “peers” to Duke. They are not. Nitpick away!

You may be able to make the argument for Harvard, but what’s so special about Princeton? Kids who go to Princeton are very similar to kids who go to Duke and some other Ivies. Professors at Princeton are not much different either ( I read through professors’ bio and their publications)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, daughter was deferred. She’s now going to be applying to several peer schools like Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, but her heart was with Duke. She’s doing alright though!

Columbia may be a peer to Duke, but not Harvard and Princeton. https://www.quora.com/Is-Duke-considered-inferior-by-people-that-went-to-Harvard-or-Columbia

C’mon are you really going to nitpick, you get PP’s point. All hyper-competitive schools with sub-5% acceptance rates, most of the kids at all 4 of those schools will go on to lead similar careers except for a few outliers here and there

She said Harvard and Princeton were “peers” to Duke. They are not. Nitpick away!

It says a lot about you that instead of wishing PP’s daughter well wishes in her application to Harvard and Princeton after her unfortunate Duke rejection (with a 1590, 4.0, and good extracurriculars, a profile which you would certainly find among Harvard’s or Princeton’s student bodies) you chose to focus on her use of the word “peer.” Bottom line, most kids would be over the moon to get into either. Schools that selective are always a lottery

I was thinking the same. People who nitpick over trivial differences don’t realize that it says more about them and their small mindedness or black and white thought process than about the actual schools. I never went to a top 25 school but I think it is ridiculous to argue about differences between the calibre of students at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Duke, Princeton, Cornell, Chicago, etc.