<p>I saw the supplement for 2013 and noticed they got rid of the optional question that asks to explain a significant research experience. Why did they do this?</p>
<p>Most likely bc most/a good number of applicants do not do research. just my 2cents</p>
<p>A little annoying right? I wanted to do that one and skip the why duke one xD</p>
<p>Why not incorporate it into your why Duke essay? Assuming you did a significant research experience and liked it enough to want to continue in college (specifically at Duke), then make it one of the reasons for why you want to go to Duke and back it up with actual past experience.</p>
<p>That was brilliant.</p>
<p>Why didn’t I think of that…</p>
<p>Skipping the Why Duke essay is the best way I know of not to get admitted to Duke. If you can’t write “Why Duke” then “Why Apply?”</p>
<p>I bet they got rid of it because so many kids have so many interests beyond research in high school. Plus tons of kids wrote about other activities in this space, and it wasn’t what Duke was looking for.</p>
<p>I don’t agree with this statement:</p>
<p>“Skipping the Why Duke essay is the best way I know of not to get admitted to Duke. If you can’t write ‘Why Duke’ then ‘Why Apply?’”</p>
<p>I got into Duke without writing the “Why Duke” essay. Its certainly not a prerequisite to being accepted by any means.</p>
<p>There are certainly students that get accepted that don’t submit a Why Duke essay. Clearly their applications must have be strong enough in other areas to be admitted without it. With that being said, in the current state of highly competitive admissions, I cant fathom not taking every possible advantage to differentiate yourself from the crowd and show why you are a good fit at Duke, or any school that offers such and essay opportunity. I believe it’s a golden opportunity squandered, and I can’t imagine that if the Admissions Office is deciding between two students with very similar qualifications, that they wouldn’t be swayed to the student with the passionate and well-written Why Duke essay.</p>
<p>While on the Duke Tour, I brought up the research question. The admissions officer told me that people were not describing their research, but instead submitting scientific abstracts. Few people in the admissions office could fully understand the complex scientific terms utilized within the abstract. It became too much of a hassle to find professors to explain the research.</p>
<p>Just thought you’d like to know.</p>
<p>Magentaturtle, </p>
<p>Did you also get admitted to Duke without writing a WHY DUKE essay. I’m surprised that Goldenboy did. It really challenges my idea of “optional” essays. I’d still advise anyone to write one. </p>
<p>Goldenboy, can I ask why you didn’t write a WHY DUKE essay? I wonder what percentage of kids don’t write it and still get in compared to the percentages of kids who do write it and get in. I would have sworn you had to write it.</p>
<p>Duke Dad, </p>
<p>Once again, you shed light into the darkness!</p>
<p>Honestly, I’m not surprised some people got in without writing the “why duke” essay. Duke is a very numbers driven school. I question whether they pay attention to the qualitative aspects of prospective students.</p>
<p>I also did not write the “why duke” essay and was admitted. To this day, I still do not know how I got in because as far as I’m concerned, I’m as boring and cookie-cutter as college applicants get.</p>
<p>My reasoning towards the “why duke” essay was very different, for lack of a better word. I knew I wanted to go to college, but it was really hard to find a good fit. I always kept in mind that things aren’t always what they appeared to be… so sometimes what appears to be a perfect fit might turn out to be the complete opposite. All in all, heading into the ENTIRE process of applying to different colleges, I regret to say that I didn’t really feel “strongly/passionately” about one over any others. Having made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t lie in any of my college essays, I really didn’t have a choice but to opt out of the “why duke” one. I could have written something and fluffed it up, sure, but why did I have to make up feelings that I clearly didn’t have? Honest writing is very apparent, and likewise, dishonest writing is apparent as well. </p>
<p>Though the feeling towards duke was actually very positive, it just wasn’t enough to push me to write about it. And in hindsight, I think it might actually hurt to write a poorly-written essay about why you are interested in a school. One can only get so much from reading webpages after webpages. And having finally visited duke really confirmed my thoughts that you can’t really know the college until having been there. </p>
<p>however, without the optional essays done, i would think admissions would give more weight to the commonapp essays. The numbers will always be numbers, and duke (or any other college for that matter) likes interesting people. If you think you can write an exceptional “why duke” essay, I say go for it. For some, it has been a dream since they were in middle school to attend duke. If you have to sit there with 30 rough drafts with 12 about duke tabs open, that’s when the essay becomes optional.</p>
<p>If what you say is true and Duke would give more weight to the common app essay, I think that could prove to be much more beneficial than detrimental…</p>