<p>My son attends a large west coast high school that is quite academically strong. He is very interested in Duke (and obviously will have to put up the numbers, etc. to be qualified). The problem is, Duke does not seem interested in students from this area. The guidance counselors have basically told the kids to forget about it because year after year, the school gets multiple admits into Ivies and Stanford but maybe one (or none) into Duke.</p>
<p>Any comments or suggestions welcomed.</p>
<p>Interesting. My S is a sophomore at Duke. The year he was admitted, California was third in terms of number of students admitted to Duke (North Carolina #1, Florida #2, New York #4, and Texas #5). So, Duke does recruit actively in Cali. I don’t know where in Cali you live, but what your counselors are telling kids doesn’t sound right.</p>
<p>I suggest you directly contact the Duke admissions officer responsible for your area of Cali and/or your local Duke alumni club for advice.</p>
<p>We’re from Texas. S is a long way from home, but he couldn’t be happier and the first year couldn’t have gone better. </p>
<p>Duke is awesome! Apply!</p>
<p>Really? I meet lots of west coast kids at Duke. Hmmmm, maybe your S can draw attention to some unique aspect of himself that makes him stand out as an applicant? As I’m sure most people are aware, merely putting up the numbers will only qualify an applicant to be considered but won’t guarantee admission. Your S can also show an active interest in Duke, perhaps by drawing attention to his interest in an essay or doing something. I know that when I applied, I wrote a paragraph or two on the supp about how I can imagine myself feeling right at home on the campus while giving a few examples etc.</p>
<p>Thanks, of course you’re right about CA in general. At the same time, the counselors at his school are also right about the results their students have seen. Maybe another way to ask is whether anyone has a sense about things Duke definitely doesn’t like. Perhaps our area scores highly on some of those.</p>
<p>That’s a difficult question. SBR is correct that high scores aren’t enough (most Duke applicants have those). But, I can’t think of any regional issues that would turn off the Duke adcom.</p>
<p>There is one well-known generality out there about the kind of student Duke is looking for as opposed to HYPS…and it’s very general, so take it for what it’s worth and expect naysayers. It is this: HYPS tend to look for kids that are “silo” prodigies…the best in the world, country, or a large region at one thing. In contrast, Duke leans toward the kids who are best in their school or area in a number of diverse arenas (class president, team captain, all-district athlete or musician, eagle scout, etc). In short, Duke looks for the well-rounded applicant (with stellar grades and scores); HYPS look more for the mega-rock stars in a single thing.</p>
<p>Many will tell you that produces a very different student body personality. Well-rounded students tend to be more interactive and social than “silos” and that tends to produce a very close-knit student body. It has been my observation that Duke alumni I know are far more rabid about, and devoted to, their alma mater than HYPS alumni…and I believe that isn’t simply a product of what goes on over in Cameron Indoor Stadium.</p>
<p>Maybe I’m wrong…but that’s my two cents.</p>
<p>According to the parent newsletter, I believe California was number two this year, in terms of the freshman class. We are from a smallish suburb in N. California, 45 miles from any Duke events, if that means anything. At one of the events, a rep said they get a lot of applicants from the Bay area, not as many, but some from Sacramento. I think it might be easier to stand out if you are NOT from either of those. OTOH, if you are not from either of those, it’s quite possible that you know nothing of Duke, and your school and peer influences might not provide the “stuff” of Duke applicants. No way my D would have applied if didn’t happen to have a sister who married a man from Durham ( no way she would have ended up living there!). My D’s GC ( she’s not really a GC; school is small and doesn’t really have one) attended some kind of meeting in which the other GC’s said the same thing as yours. I have not mentioned this to my D, but apparently the Duke rep said it was my D’s “parents letter” that he remembered. It probably did draw attention to the things Darius mentioned. She is not a hot shot by Duke standards, but around here, she does stand out ( and yes, I imagine being a URM helps in that regard, not just at Duke, but in our suburb as well). As far as I could tell, no one else for several counties around was admitted. I have no idea what this means, as applicants may be rare. Around here, assuming you graduate HS, community college is most common, then “Cal state” schools, then UCs.</p>
<p>OP (carlman): I like darius’ point but I do have to say I doubt the low acceptance numbers from your area are a result of some sort of lack of well-roundedness or something. (now, if you said your son went to a magnet arts school or some specialized private school, things might be different).if the hiuh school is pretty normal (or even if it is especially good) the only rationalization I can think of for why Duke’s numbers are lower is simply that as select as these elite colleges have become, their connections to some high schools still count for something. it may just be that the ivy’s have a stronger link to your son’s high school, or that the duke admit officer in your area has most ground to cover, or, and this is just conjecture, has less pull in the admissions office (and I’m sure there are a number of reasons why that is not a valid point but anyway, conjecture.) </p>
<p>It may also be coincidence. Rule 101 with applying to colleges: listen to the counselors, but DO NOT ASSUME they know best. often they are dead wrong. my counselor told me that getting into Duke ED would be much, much harder than another peer school ED, for instance, but I applied to Duke anyway and the percentage admitted from my high school was MUCH higher ED (like 50%) than to the other school.</p>