Chances at Duke ED?

thenshersaid
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:20:51 +0000

First post on CC - be nice, I’m fragile
Applying to Duke Early Decision, it’s my dream. And apparently everyone else’s.

PROFILE
East Asian female
Region: South Jersey
School: uncompetitive public school, pretty big
GPA: 3.78/4.0 weighted, unknown unweighted.
*I might mention that my GPA went from 87/100 freshman year, 94/100 sophomore year, 98/100 junior year with increasing difficulty in classes.
Class rank: 149/658. Blargh.

SAT Composite: 2270
CR: 720
M: 770
WR: 780

SAT II
Math IIC: 710 (will retake)
Literature: 710 (will retake)
Chinese: 800

PSAT: 202

First-generation immigrant and first one to go to college.

FRESHMAN () means weighted
Spanish Intermediate
Honors Intro to Physical Science*
Algebra 2*
English
Required PE
Lunch
Intro to theater (ugh)
World History

SOPHOMORE
Spanish Intermediate II*
Honors Geometry*
Honors Biology*
Required PE
English
Lunch
AFJROTC
US History I

JUNIOR
Spanish Advanced*
Honors Pre-Calculus*
Honors Chemistry*
Honors English*
AFJROTC
Honors US History II*
Accounting*
Required PE

SENIOR (registered)
AP Spanish*
AP Calculus AB*
Honors English*
AP Economics*
Honors Physics*
AFJROTC
AP Statistics*
Required PE class

EXTRACURRICULARS:
Mock Trial Attorney, Captain senior year (10,11,12)
AFJROTC Officer, Head Staff, Kitty Hawk Air Society Commander (10,11,12)
Peer Facilitator (10,11,12)
Student council homeroom representative (9,10,11,12)
Interact Volunteer Club (9,10,11,12)
National Society of High School Scholars (11,12)
X^2 Cheerleading (7,8,9,10,11), out-of-school, varsity cheerleader.
Science League (10,11,12)
Math League (9,10,11,12)
DECA (11)
Nominated for Rotary Leadership Conference at Stockton College (11)

AWARDS:
Student of the month (11)
Renaissance Gold Card Holder (93+ GPA) (10,11)
People’s Choice Award (11)
Honor Roll (9,10,11,12)

LEADERSHIP:
Peer facilitators trainer
Mock trial captain
AFJROTC head staff
Kitty Hawk Air Society (NHS of JROTC) Commander
X^2 Cheerleading JV captain.

VOLUNTEER WORK: every year unless noted
Monzo Madness – helped friend go door-to-door to raise money.
Buddy Walk – Down Syndrome awareness walk.
Thanksgiving with the Seniors – volunteered an hour per year to spend thanksgiving with senior citizens at the center.
Epilepsy awareness fair – helped with serving lunch and organization.
English tutor to prospective foreign exchange students: went back to China in the 2008/2009 summer to tutor future FE students.
Festival of Friends – dance for mentally challenged adults, helped organize and attended.
Offered SAT tutoring sessions for classmates.
Tutored in word memorization, math skills, and essay improvement. 5+ hours a week.
Tutor for students ages 6-14 in mathematics.
(A few more, relatively minor).

ESSAYS:
Writing is my strong point, I consider them very on-target essays. (10/12 on SATs)

RECS:
Good to excellent, from Mock Trial Coach, Math, History, English teacher, as well as AFJROTC instructors (will pick as the number each college needs from these), employer and prospectively a Duke record-holding alumnus.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Took a Chemistry 111 class at the community college, received an A.
Took an MIT opencourse on Causes and Preventions of War, with written essays.
Worked for a private businessman for five years, handling bills and advertising.
My counselor for three years decided to retire, telling me so on the last day of school.

PLANS:
Pursue the Public Policies track.
Obtain Master’s degree.
Obtain Ph.D.
Join the United States Air Force after ROTC in college.

Other colleges; chance if you’d like:
College of William and Mary
Harvard University
Princeton University
Pennsylvania State University
New York University
Wellesley College