<p>On Saturday I toured Duke for the first time and was blown away. I would love to go to Duke so I want to make every part of the application as good as possible. I have two advice questions about the recommendations.</p>
<p>The first question is whether to submit two applications from teachers of the same subject. I know that I want to ask my AP Calc (last year)/AP Physics (current year) teacher for a recommendation because he loves me and I can safely say I received the best grade last year in his Calc class. Also, he happens to be the head of the math department. The second teacher that also loves me is my Algebra 2 (9th grade)/Physics (last year)/home room teacher (this year). She gave me the award for excellence in physics and again, I can safely say that I am one of her favorite students. So my question is, is it better to submit 1 recommendation from a science/math teacher and 1 from a humanities teacher? Or is it safe to submit both of the above teachers? Also, I am applying as a math major.</p>
<p>My second question is about the optional letter that you can send in. I was first going to have my good friend write the letter because I know that she is a good writer who knows me very well and would use examples. But then I remembered that the principal of my school is an alumnus of Duke. The principal doesn’t know me as well and I never took a class from him, but he does know my name and we are friendly in the hallways. Would it be more beneficial to have him write me a letter as he is both the principal of our school and a Duke alumnus? Or should I not even consider it since he doesn’t know me that well personally?</p>
<p>Oh, and chances are appreciated if you want to give them, though I’m more interested in the above two questions.
4.0 UW GPA; 99.7 on a 100 scale
Superscored SAT (taken twice) 1490/2270 690 CR / 800 Math / 780 Writing
ACT: 35 C 36 R 35 E 36 M 32 S 8 E (31 English/Writing)
APs taken: Calc AB 5, Euro 5, USH 5, Env Science 4, German 4
Schedule this year: AP Language, AP Gov, AP Stats, AP Bio, AP Physics C Mechanics
ECs: Varsity Volleyball, Varsity Basketball, Varsity Lacrosse - all sports are for 4 years, though I played JV Volleyball for the first 2 years of high school
German Club (3 years, treasurer), BBYO (4 years, Jewish youth group, treasurer), Hospital Volunteer (>100 hours), miscellaneous work, nothing major
Awards: UVA Book Award, 2 gold medals on state German exams, Magna, Maxima, and Summa Cum Laudes on 3 Latin exams, some other awards from my school that I’m not sure I’m going to submit</p>
<p>I would NOT have a good friend submit a letter for you. I actually wouldn’t even worry about the principal you don’t know very well either. Your credentials should speak for themselves. Extra letters of recommendation should only be used in extraordinary circumstances and are most effective when coming from someone with a professional relationship to you. The friend letters are just too fishy, how is a Duke adcom supposed to know you didn’t write it yourself? It’s not against the rules to do it, but I can guarantee you it will be taken with a grain of salt compared with all of the other measures of qualification. Good luck.</p>
<p>I’m not talking about a letter of recommendation, I’m talking about this:</p>
<p>“We seek to understand and appreciate you as an individual. If there is a parent, sibling, other relative, or friend of yours who you think could help us do that, we would be happy to receive a one-page letter from one of them. This optional information will be considered in our understanding of you as a person, but will not be formally evaluated as part of your application.”</p>
<p>It’s one of the 3 questions that are totally optional and do not affect the admissions decision. But it couldn’t really hurt to have one sent either.</p>
<p>I’d definitely have the 2 science/math teachers write your recommendations that know you much better and can write something substantial and noteworthy about your personality, work ethic, and drive. I wouldn’t choose a humanities teacher just because it’s a different subject if the recommendation isn’t going to be as strong. By the way, I had a math and science teacher write my recommendations, although I applied to Pratt.</p>
<p>And while biomed6 says having a friend write an additional rec is a bad idea/fishy, Duke itself has this as standard practice (as you have quoted) and I’ve known people get in with recs from siblings and/or parents as well. Certain schools (Cornell perhaps?) used to/currently still require having a friend write a recommendation as it provided a different perspective on the applicant. If it’s written well and gives the ad coms another piece to get the full picture of who you are, then it should be helpful. If you think the principal can write you a solid letter, you can do that too, but I don’t think the fact that he/she is a Duke alumnus will really help you at all, so I wouldn’t choose that path based on that fact.</p>
<p>In regards to your chances, I’d say you stand a good chance and are a competitive applicant. That’s all I can really say as sometimes seemingly perfect students get rejected while those with scores a bit lower get in based on some other part of the application. If you apply ED, your chances are definitely improved. If UVa is your first choice as your screenname implies and since you’re in-state, I’d say you are definitely in at UVa. Unless there’s something glaringly bad on your application that you’re leaving out. UVa is a great school too, so can’t go wrong there, especially paying in-state tuition, although Duke’s financial aid is quite good for many people. And UVa was a bit too southern for my tastes even though I have lived in Virginia…Arlington specifically. But obviously everybody has their own opinion. Good luck!</p>
<p>Just list one of them as your math teacher and the other as your science teacher. You’re only disadvantaged, I believe, if you get two recs from the EXACT same subject. I had a Math rec and a Science rec as well, and I applied to Trinity.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. I made my username 3 years ago when I was convinced the UVA was the only school for me. I keep saying that I’ll most likely end up there because you’re exactly right, it’s the best school financially for me. My dad is an alumnus at UVA so I’m not too worried there. My only problem with UVA is that it doesn’t offer that close-knit relationship that Duke has to offer between professors and students. I’ve never heard of going to dinner with a professor and having the school pay for it, as Duke does. My tour guide said the largest class he had was OrgChem and that was only 50 students. I just love Duke’s size and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t completely impressed by its facilities. Even the dorms were huge. And school spirit doesn’t get much better, something that’s really important to me. I left the campus thinking that Duke was just so cool. I would apply ED if I was assured of enough financial aid, which obviously can’t happen. I also want to test my chances at some Ivy League schools even though I have yet to visit any.</p>
<p>And the other thing that scares me about UVA is the people. I feel like it is so preppy. I’m not the kind of girl who wears sundresses to football games. I’m the kind of girl who actually knows what’s going on at football games and will cheer with the boys. I felt like Duke’s student population was so diverse and laid back, just how I want it.</p>
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<p>Duke is considered by many preppy as well, but I’d agree that UVa is even MORE preppy/southern than Duke. Nobody will be wearing sundresses/tie to football games at Duke…except for perhaps a couple guys in KA and their gfs. Although you’ll see pastel colors around campus a bunch. But the numbers at Duke pale in comparison to those at UVa. I think you’d still be able to fit in at UVa, though; I wouldn’t be that worried. </p>
<p>And your Duke tour guide must have been a bit lucky - I’ve had many courses with >50 students. Physics, Chem, Bio, psych, many engineering courses. Although they’re usually broken up into smaller recitation/labs that are taught by TAs; just the lectures are large. Honestly, having a lecture class with 40 students isn’t any different than having it with 200. My Chem prof actually had signup sheets to go out to lunch with him everyday for his lecture of 300 students. I think enough space for like 6 students a day. And, again, it was broken up in recitations of about 18 students, I believe. If you’re in Trinity, though, and in a major without that many requirements, you can strategically choose to make all your courses small/discussion oriented. In regards to the math department, I feel like the entry level courses are fairly small at about 30 students and then upper-level is even smaller.</p>
<p>I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a couple questions. What year are you and what major are you in? What other colleges were you considering besides Duke and why did you pick Duke over them?</p>
<p>Sending you a PM. Check your inbox.</p>