Applying to US Ivy League
It’s been a dream of mine to go to Duke University and now’s the time where I actually can start the application process. Since it’s my top choice, I’m applying Early Decision in hopes to submit my application by November 1st this year. My only concern is that since I haven’t done ACT/SAT test, I wouldn’t get in and I know it’s a bit foolish to think but since I really want to go here I’ve been panicking.
My A Level predicted grades are all A’s but I’m wondering if that, alongside some extracurriculars I’ve done over the years will be enough?
Update::
I’m in the process of writing my application and I’ve done A LOT more research since posting this and I believe I have a good shot of getting in. It’s not the only school I’m applying to though so my chances of going to US for uni is still around 98% lol. Some other schools I’m applying to are a lot safer than Duke with its 6% acceptance rate (16.5% in my case — Early Decision)
I’ll keep on updating until the results are in and if successful, I’ll tell y’all what I did to get in!
My A Level predicted grades are all A’s but I’m wondering if that, alongside some extracurriculars I’ve done over the years will be enough?
Update::
I’m in the process of writing my application and I’ve done A LOT more research since posting this and I believe I have a good shot of getting in. It’s not the only school I’m applying to though so my chances of going to US for uni is still around 98% lol. Some other schools I’m applying to are a lot safer than Duke with its 6% acceptance rate (16.5% in my case — Early Decision)
I’ll keep on updating until the results are in and if successful, I’ll tell y’all what I did to get in!
(edited 8 months ago)
The early decision acceptance rate at Duke is 16.5%, which, while a lot higher than their 5% rate for regular applicants, is still of course very competitive. The only way to guarantee you don’t get in is not to apply of course, but you should definitely approach this as a highly aspirational target to avoid disappointment, if, as is statistically very likely, you don’t get in, and considering that you’ll be competing against lots of applicants with near-perfect grades and a long list of extracurriculars. The US admissions process is just inherently a lot more unpredictable, opaque and, frankly imo, unfair than the UK one. The other thing to bear in mind about early decision is that its major disadvantage is that the college is much less likely to be generous with financial aid if they do accept you, as you are not then allowed to apply to any other US college that year who might give you more financially enticing offers.
On the SAT and ACT, Duke requires you to take one of them. However, fortunately it appears it may not be too late for you, as the deadline has not yet passed to take one of them before you apply. Finally, a bit of a nitpick, but Duke is not Ivy League.
On the SAT and ACT, Duke requires you to take one of them. However, fortunately it appears it may not be too late for you, as the deadline has not yet passed to take one of them before you apply. Finally, a bit of a nitpick, but Duke is not Ivy League.
Hello - Are you applying via the Common App or is it direct to Duke ? My daughter is working her way through the common app and it is ( understandably) not overly friendly to Non US students in terms of inputting qualifications. She is also applying direct to Berkeley and we have been passed between International Students and Admissions as their admissions platform has Intermediate 2 exams for Scotland and these were replaced in 2014 and use a Grade rather than number - so we are totally stumped on where to submit this without her application looking weak. Good Luck with all your applications and I hope you get a place at your Uni of choice.
Original post by imamilana
It’s been a dream of mine to go to Duke University and now’s the time where I actually can start the application process. Since it’s my top choice, I’m applying Early Decision in hopes to submit my application by November 1st this year. My only concern is that since I haven’t done ACT/SAT test, I wouldn’t get in and I know it’s a bit foolish to think but since I really want to go here I’ve been panicking.
My A Level predicted grades are all A’s but I’m wondering if that, alongside some extracurriculars I’ve done over the years will be enough?
Update::
I’m in the process of writing my application and I’ve done A LOT more research since posting this and I believe I have a good shot of getting in. It’s not the only school I’m applying to though so my chances of going to US for uni is still around 98% lol. Some other schools I’m applying to are a lot safer than Duke with its 6% acceptance rate (16.5% in my case — Early Decision)
I’ll keep on updating until the results are in and if successful, I’ll tell y’all what I did to get in!
My A Level predicted grades are all A’s but I’m wondering if that, alongside some extracurriculars I’ve done over the years will be enough?
Update::
I’m in the process of writing my application and I’ve done A LOT more research since posting this and I believe I have a good shot of getting in. It’s not the only school I’m applying to though so my chances of going to US for uni is still around 98% lol. Some other schools I’m applying to are a lot safer than Duke with its 6% acceptance rate (16.5% in my case — Early Decision)
I’ll keep on updating until the results are in and if successful, I’ll tell y’all what I did to get in!
They will definitely also look at your GCSEs and care about them in the absence of SATs. Good luck!
Original post by thirdtimebuyer
Hello - Are you applying via the Common App or is it direct to Duke ? My daughter is working her way through the common app and it is ( understandably) not overly friendly to Non US students in terms of inputting qualifications. She is also applying direct to Berkeley and we have been passed between International Students and Admissions as their admissions platform has Intermediate 2 exams for Scotland and these were replaced in 2014 and use a Grade rather than number - so we are totally stumped on where to submit this without her application looking weak. Good Luck with all your applications and I hope you get a place at your Uni of choice.
Hi, yes i’m applying through the common app! and i really believe that talking to the administrators at her school (college) would help out. I was really struggling and felt like i had to do everything on my own but my schools written me really good recommendations and my predicted a levels are A’s & A*’s. I believe that your school has to submit the grades you have/will receive via the common app (that’s how it worked for me) but definitely talk with somebody at her school even if they don’t know much about the us application process. And do as much research as you can.
I also wanted to put out there im guessing when you said Berkeley you meant the school in LA? UC Berkeley no? I just wanted to put out there that they don’t offer financial aid to international students and the tuition for that school is really high. So unless you guys are able to pay around $100k+ out of pocket (because student loans don’t apply when you’re applying to schools outside of the country - unless it’s different for scotland), i wouldn’t recommend applying there.
Original post by imamilana
It’s been a dream of mine to go to Duke University and now’s the time where I actually can start the application process. Since it’s my top choice, I’m applying Early Decision in hopes to submit my application by November 1st this year. My only concern is that since I haven’t done ACT/SAT test, I wouldn’t get in and I know it’s a bit foolish to think but since I really want to go here I’ve been panicking.
My A Level predicted grades are all A’s but I’m wondering if that, alongside some extracurriculars I’ve done over the years will be enough?
Update::
I’m in the process of writing my application and I’ve done A LOT more research since posting this and I believe I have a good shot of getting in. It’s not the only school I’m applying to though so my chances of going to US for uni is still around 98% lol. Some other schools I’m applying to are a lot safer than Duke with its 6% acceptance rate (16.5% in my case — Early Decision)
I’ll keep on updating until the results are in and if successful, I’ll tell y’all what I did to get in!
My A Level predicted grades are all A’s but I’m wondering if that, alongside some extracurriculars I’ve done over the years will be enough?
Update::
I’m in the process of writing my application and I’ve done A LOT more research since posting this and I believe I have a good shot of getting in. It’s not the only school I’m applying to though so my chances of going to US for uni is still around 98% lol. Some other schools I’m applying to are a lot safer than Duke with its 6% acceptance rate (16.5% in my case — Early Decision)
I’ll keep on updating until the results are in and if successful, I’ll tell y’all what I did to get in!
good luck omg! duke is my dream uni as well, currently in year 12, what advice would you give me and what extracurriculars did you do?
Original post by ch444tine
good luck omg! duke is my dream uni as well, currently in year 12, what advice would you give me and what extracurriculars did you do?
With US colleges, it's a lot more about growth and progress - if there's something you've been doing in your free time for the past few years, it's a much better idea to think about how you can grow those activities into something you can write about in your essays. Think about what you can do to turn an activity you are passionate about into something that has an impact on lives of others. These are generally the highest leverage activities. If you pick up an activity at Yr 12 with the hopes of impressing colleges, admissions officers will generally be able to smell the BS - remember they review thousands of applicants every year. lmk if you have specific questions!
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