<p>Some high schools are “feeding schools” to private universities. Some high schools have not had a student accepted to HPY in 20 years. There is a symbiotic relationship between certain private high school and private colleges. The HS sends well funded students to the college, in return the college accepts students every year from their high school, then the HS can market their school to parents of freshman. The HS gets more well funded smart kids to go to their private high school because they get kids accepted to top private universities every year. It’s also true other high schools do not have much luck getting it’s students into certain schools. Counselors know which schools tend to accepted students from your school and which ones don’t.<br>
However you sound like an excellent student and should have a very good chance of acceptance into Duke. Someone has to break the mold, why not you. You can use the fact that no one from your school has gone to Duke as an advantage, a hook. Let them know that in your interview. Go for it, you have a great chance.</p>