Chance an Oklahoma wanting to be a Dukie!

Colleges & Universities Duke University
1

<p>First off, Duke is definately my first choice school. I applied for regular decision though, mainly because I did not want to immdiately bind myself and my middle income family down with 200K+ tuition payments yet. I already have a full scholarship to the University of Oklahoma, but I am working on ways to pay for Duke, if I am lucky enough to get accepted. Anyways, my high school in located in a town of about 30,000-35,000 people. We have about 151 students in my graduating class, of which about 40-55% are college bound. Most students from this public school go to local community colleges, with about 10% going to OU or larger universities. Here is my resume, thank you for anyone who chances me. Any additonal input would also be appreciated.</p>

<p>Education:
Public High School
Rank: 1 of 151 (3 others are ranked 1 with me)
GPA: 4.00 out of 4.00 (school does not weight)
Courses: I have taken all AP/Pre-AP/Honors courses offered by my school, with the exception of AP Calculus
Senior Classes: AP Chemistry, AP European History, Debate, Computer Applications, American Federal Government (concurrent enrollment with Murray State College), College Algebra (concurrent enrollment with Murray State College). I took Spanish III and AP Literature my junior year.
Test Scores:
ACT: Composite: 34, Math: 32, English: 35, Science: 33, Reading: 36, Essay: 12 of 12
SAT: Critical Reading: 780, Math: 720, Writing: 730
SAT II: Literature: 760, United States History: 780
AP Tests: AP English Language: 4, AP English Literature: 4, AP US History (May 2008): 5, taking AP Chem and AP Euro this May. These are the only AP courses my school offers, with the exception of Calculus.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
12th Grade-County Campaign Coordinator of U.S. Senate Campaign (was main campaign chairperson for my county. Organized all political events and volunteers. Sadly, it was for a Democrat, a party that, on a federal level, does not have a snowball’s chance in Hell in Oklahoma)</p>

<p>9th-12th Grades-Student Council Sr. Secretary, Jr. Secreatry, So. Treasurer (projects include annual fundraiser for American Cancer Society, campus recycling project, annual canned food drives, with over 8,000 cans collected, homecoming festivities, dances, freshmen orientation, and I founded a canned food drive that takes place before the first home football game)</p>

<p>11th-12th Grades-National Honor Society President (organized toy drive for needy children, organized area-wide soccer tournament that raised money for Grassroots Soccer, an organization that provides AIDS awareness and education in Africa)</p>

<p>10th-12th Grades-Yearbook Photography Editor</p>

<p>10th-12th Grades- Interscholastic Team, Captain Sr. year</p>

<p>12th Grade-Speech & Debate Team</p>

<p>9th-12th Grade-Native American Club (I am a member of the Quapaw Tribe, given the tribal name “hi kkae” when I was 6)</p>

<p>9th-12th Grades: Varsity Track (average discus thrower, not very good)</p>

<p>12th Grade-Science Club</p>

<p>10th-12th Grades-Sponsor for child in Dominican Repulic through organization known as Compassion International</p>

<p>Awards:
12th-National Merit Semifinalist, competing for Finalist status
11th-AP Scholar
12th-Oklahoma Indian Education Student of the Year
12th-National Young Leaders Conference Delegate
12th-Youth Leadership Oklahoma
9th-12th-Oklahoma Indian Honor Society
9th-12th-Chickasaw Nation Governor’s Honor Roll
10th-Chickasaw Nation Student of the Month
12th-Kiwanis Club Student of the Month
12th-Daughters of the American Revolution Citizenship Esay Winner
9th-12th-Local Blue Ribbon Scholar
9th-12th-Superintendent’s Honor Roll
Also on the different Nation Honor Rolls, U.S. Achievement Academies, etc…</p>

<p>Work Experience:
April 2007-current-sports official for YMCA, about 9 hours/week</p>

<p>Service: With NHS, Student Council, Science Club, and random projects outside of school (church, hospital volunteer, Main Street volunteer, Festival of Lights holiday worker), I served almost 300 hours during my high school career. I know that this is not alot compared to most of the college confidential students.</p>

<p>Any chances or advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>I think your chances are looking good! Perfect gpa, high test scores, good extracurriculars. 300 hrs of volunteer work is pretty good considering the time your other extracurriculars probably take. Also, your Native American status will be a plus-- schools are always looking for diversity. The only thing for you to do at this point is make sure your essays are polished. Especially try to show the adcom why you are a good fit for Duke. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>spinme7 basically summed it up in the last line of his post. Your application honestly looks perfect, but somewhat stereotypical of an “ivy plus applicant”. This is obviously not a bad thing but you need to show who YOU are and why you are a fly kid. Duke rejects some people for no clear reason in an attempt to create the impressive, accomplished, and interesting class. Your application basically looks flawless (with the possible exception of passing up calculus) However, I got in early decision with a 33 ACT and heard of a student with a 2360 SAT getting deferred. What im trying to say is that there are no sure things, but stat-wise you are definitely qualified for Duke. Just take spinme7’s advice to be personable and unique in your essays because you never know. I would be suprised if you didnt get in but at a school like Duke there are no guarantees. Best of luck! I hope you are able to come to Duke if its your first choice!</p>

4

<p>spinme7 basically summed it up in the last line of his post. Your application honestly looks perfect, but somewhat stereotypical of an “ivy plus applicant”. This is obviously not a bad thing but you need to show who YOU are and why you are a fly kid. Duke rejects some people for no clear reason in an attempt to create the impressive, accomplished, and interesting class. Your application basically looks flawless (with the possible exception of passing up calculus) However, I got in early decision with a 33 ACT and heard of a student with a 2360 SAT getting deferred. What im trying to say is that there are no sure things, but stat-wise you are definitely qualified for Duke. Just take spinme7’s advice to be personable and unique in your essays because being memorable is very important and you never know what an admissions committee will do. I would be suprised if you didnt get in but at a school like Duke there are no guarantees. Best of luck! I hope you are able to come to Duke if its your first choice!</p>

5

<p>i truly believe you’ll get in!</p>

6

<p>(sorry for the double post above)…and yeh to basically “chance” you like you wanted i am very confident in your chances (more confident than i was in mine) I will be shocked if you dont get in!</p>

7

<p>Awesome! Thank you guys very much. I have my fingers crossed. Hopefully the essays make me seem pretty personable. I sent in two, one about my reaction to the Obama election (topic of chioce) and one (addtional info) is a type of newspaper article I wrote about myself winning a Senate seat. It’s written from a perspective of 30 years in the future. Again, thank everyone for all of their input, I appreciate it very much.</p>