Has Duke acknowledged the mistake where they sent congratulatory messages to deferred and rejected applicants upon opening notifications? Or are they just pretending that screw up never happened?

I just heard of one from Churchill

An Admissions Dean wouldn't change a university's policy on legacy. The president or board would.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a new director of admissions, so it’ll be interesting to see how the profile of legacies, etc, admits change. The previous director was there for 30 years.

I’m an alum with a DC who desperately wants to go in a couple of years, and the deferred and rejected legacies above will have me strongly reconsidering whether to even let DC try for ED. Those are crazy good stats.

Likely similar to Penn's director of admission change, with legacy becoming devalued in their admissions.

Devaluing legacy is one of the responses to the end of affirmative action, it disproportionately benefits whites. . .

I don't see wealthy legacies who are reasonably competitive being rejected at Duke.

Duke is all about money. Duke's endowment has grown tremendously - particularly during Nan Keohane's tenure (thank you Duke Basketball). Terry Sanford really kickstarted the focus on fundraising in 1970, and even hired a guy (his son was my classmate) to seek out students who later could contribute $10M or more. Sanford treated students well - immediately removing the cap on Jewish admissions in 1970, and started - with a long way to go - welcoming African American students.

The common refrain is that all these top schools are about money - true. But with Duke it is an added factor and very obvious to those who attend. Anyone who matriculates should do a quick read of Robert Durden's the Dukes of Durham. That DNA is still there.

Anonymous wrote:4.8, 16 APs, 2 sport captain, part time job, many ECs, several leadership roles, TO (1490), fluent in 3 languages, CERT certified (community emergency response team-basically trained to react in an emergency. Tip 5% in class (they do not rank). NIH internship. Also received the congratulations email that turned into a rejection. Can’t describe how upset we all were. Eff Duke.

Your kid sounds amazing, and it pains me that we live in a world where 1490 is better to be TO than report it. That's a very good score.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another deferred legacy. NoVa IB public, 1580 SAT, 4.38.

That is outrageous. My DS was one of the kids WL and the accepted in August. There is something very wrong with their admissions strategy.

Genuinely, thanks for that post. Takes some of the sting out.

Really? I’m sure there were many students applying with a similar profile. Stats alone does not an acceptance make.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a new director of admissions, so it’ll be interesting to see how the profile of legacies, etc, admits change. The previous director was there for 30 years.

I’m an alum with a DC who desperately wants to go in a couple of years, and the deferred and rejected legacies above will have me strongly reconsidering whether to even let DC try for ED. Those are crazy good stats.

Likely similar to Penn's director of admission change, with legacy becoming devalued in their admissions.

It's extraordinary how much change a new director of admissions brings to a university. It's almost like college admissions are extremely... subjective.

Anonymous wrote:There is a new director of admissions, so it’ll be interesting to see how the profile of legacies, etc, admits change. The previous director was there for 30 years.

I’m an alum with a DC who desperately wants to go in a couple of years, and the deferred and rejected legacies above will have me strongly reconsidering whether to even let DC try for ED. Those are crazy good stats.

Likely similar to Penn's director of admission change, with legacy becoming devalued in their admissions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another deferred legacy. NoVa IB public, 1580 SAT, 4.38.

That is outrageous. My DS was one of the kids WL and the accepted in August. There is something very wrong with their admissions strategy.

Genuinely, thanks for that post. Takes some of the sting out.

What’s wrong with the South? That’s one of Duke’s pluses.

There is a new director of admissions, so it’ll be interesting to see how the profile of legacies, etc, admits change. The previous director was there for 30 years.

I’m an alum with a DC who desperately wants to go in a couple of years, and the deferred and rejected legacies above will have me strongly reconsidering whether to even let DC try for ED. Those are crazy good stats.

Anonymous wrote:Another deferred legacy. NoVa IB public, 1580 SAT, 4.38.

That is outrageous. My DS was one of the kids WL and the accepted in August. There is something very wrong with their admissions strategy.

Another deferred legacy. NoVa IB public, 1580 SAT, 4.38.

Anonymous wrote:4.8, 16 APs, 2 sport captain, part time job, many ECs, several leadership roles, TO (1490), fluent in 3 languages, CERT certified (community emergency response team-basically trained to react in an emergency. Tip 5% in class (they do not rank). NIH internship. Also received the congratulations email that turned into a rejection. Can’t describe how upset we all were. Eff Duke.

It's especially difficult to get admitted TO. It's mostly there for athletes and the children of donors.