For Current Dukies and Recent Grads - Duke's Pros and Cons?

[Turk]

A colleague at work has a high-schooler interested in Duke. I have told my stories and shared my own thoughts about the school, but my experiences are prehistoric. (I graduated in 1984).

I thought I'd ask a favor from the DBR folks for more current assessments of Duke's strengths and weaknesses at the undergrad level. If you had a high-school friend who asked you the question, "What is Duke REALLY like once you get inside?" what would you say?

[RainingThrees]

I'll go ahead and ask as someone starting to seriously look at colleges. What is Duke REALLY like once you get inside?

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

I graduated in '94. I am sure many aspects of the Duke experience have changed. But here's what I'll offer up... and this may sound cliched, but Duke is going to be exactly what you make of it. Everyone is going to see different opportunities, take different paths, have a different experience. Some will get more involved. Others less so. My one piece of advice... look around, explore, take advantage of the incredible opportunities available to you. That is probably one of the greatest advantages that a school like Duke has to offer. Case in point: I decided on public policy as my major. Ultimately I found that I enjoyed the coursework but didn't care much for public policy itself. But I did my internship in DC after my junior year as part of the program. And that one experience unlocked a whole new world of post-college opportunities. So much so that I picked my butt up after I graduated and planted myself in DC until I found a great, non-public policy job. If someone had asked me on the last day of my senior year what I was going to do with my life, I would have said I have no idea. (Oh wait, I did have that conversation with my father. :D) And yet everything's turned out great. I feel blessed and lucky that my particular Duke experience has led me to where I am today.

So, don't let competitiveness for grades or jobs get in the way of having the experience of a lifetime. The very best professor I ever had at Duke helped me see that there are a million different definitions of success and a million different paths that will take you there. Your four years at Duke will not define your life but you will remember them forever. So make 'em count b/c you only get to do it once! ;)

[Ben63]

Obviously, I would love to go to Duke but I have held off seriously looking and applying there because I don't think I have the grades to get in.

I have a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and have solid SAT scores (CR- 590, M- 650, W- 530) and ACT composite of 28. Now I know these are low for Duke standards but I am an Eagle Scout, played 4 years of varsity football, and have 200 hours of community service for which I won a servant leadership award for it.

Now please be honest, is this good enough because I don't think so. Would I be wasting my time applying, or is is worth the long shot?

btw, post #400:D:D

[RainingThrees]

Time to rant. I HATE NORTH CAROLINA GRADING!!!!!! In most states they use the 10 point system where an A is a 90. In North Carolina an A is a 93. I would have 3 more A's if we used the 10 point system. Instead of having a 3.9 I would be in the 4's. They are also starting this new thing of only puting letter grades on report cards and not letter grades. This is stupid because it makes people who got 92's look the same as people who got 85's. GGGRRRRRRRRRR!!! okay I'm done.

[DukePA]

Time to rant. I HATE NORTH CAROLINA GRADING!!!!!! In most states they use the 10 point system where an A is a 90. In North Carolina an A is a 93. I would have 3 more A's if we used the 10 point system. Instead of having a 3.9 I would be in the 4's. They are also starting this new thing of only puting letter grades on report cards and not letter grades. This is stupid because it makes people who got 92's look the same as people who got 85's. GGGRRRRRRRRRR!!! okay I'm done.

I hear you. It seems to me that the 4 point grading scale should go by the numerical value of the 100 point scale and not by the letter grade.

[hamster]

Obviously, I would love to go to Duke but I have held off seriously looking and applying there because I don't think I have the grades to get in.

I have a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and have solid SAT scores (CR- 590, M- 650, W- 530) and ACT composite of 28. Now I know these are low for Duke standards but I am an Eagle Scout, played 4 years of varsity football, and have 200 hours of community service for which I won a servant leadership award for it.

Now please be honest, is this good enough because I don't think so. Would I be wasting my time applying, or is is worth the long shot?

btw, post #400:D:D

Definitely apply! There is no fixed formula, no rhyme or reason for why a school takes some people and doesn't take others.
But if you don't apply, then you have 'rejected' yourself.
Besides, if you are doing a bunch of other apps, how much extra time is it really?

If I had played it strictly by the numbers, I wouldn't have gotten in to Duke, and I wouldn't have gotten in to my law school. On my own, I don't know if I would have had the courage to apply. Fortunately, I had great people who encouraged me both times. Good luck!

[RainingThrees]

Time to rant. I HATE NORTH CAROLINA GRADING!!!!!! In most states they use the 10 point system where an A is a 90. In North Carolina an A is a 93. I would have 3 more A's if we used the 10 point system. Instead of having a 3.9 I would be in the 4's. They are also starting this new thing of only puting letter grades on report cards and not letter grades. This is stupid because it makes people who got 92's look the same as people who got 85's. GGGRRRRRRRRRR!!! okay I'm done.

Sorry it should be "puting letter grades on report cards and not numerical grades."

[cspan37421]

It's true for Harvard, it's true for Duke. The hardest part is getting in.

After that, you have to really not do the work to fail out. Grade inflation has ravaged these schools, but they were very willing victims.

But the important things are what you learn, what you discover about yourself, how to think critically, and how to express yourself clearly and persuasively (written and orally).

If you focus just on your classwork you'll learn a lot - but there's so much more to the college experience than classwork.

To our football player - if you can play, I'd bet your scores are not too low. I think most schools understand that your scores don't fully reflect your intellect, as football takes away a lot of study time (and adds exhaustion). Perhaps you're not planning to play at the college level (you didn't mention being recruited) so I'm not sure how that would affect you. You could take the SAT again, you know, and see about an on-campus interview. I did both and it made a world of difference.

Pros and cons are in the eye of the beholder, though. What is important to the prospect?

[Ben63]

To our football player - if you can play, I'd bet your scores are not too low. I think most schools understand that your scores don't fully reflect your intellect, as football takes away a lot of study time (and adds exhaustion). Perhaps you're not planning to play at the college level (you didn't mention being recruited) so I'm not sure how that would affect you. You could take the SAT again, you know, and see about an on-campus interview. I did both and it made a world of difference.


I've being recruited by alot of DIII schools for football so I'm a good player but definitely not D1 quality. I may apply, with no expectations. If I don't make it, no big deal, but IF I do, I'll just have to figure out how to pay for it, but I'll worry about that later.

[DukePA]

I've being recruited by alot of DIII schools for football so I'm a good player but definitely not D1 quality. I may apply, with no expectations. If I don't make it, no big deal, but IF I do, I'll just have to figure out how to pay for it, but I'll worry about that later.

Please apply. I never thought I would get an interview to PA school at Duke, much less get in. I'm so, so glad I applied. You just never know. If you do get in and don't have a football scholarship, well heck, that's what student loans are for!

[devil84]

I, too, hate the 7 point NC grading scale. Both of my kids would have had nearly straight-A's had they been on a 10 point scale. Grrrr.

The other thing I hate is student teachers who are allowed to screw up AP and Honors classes. Each of my kids' grades below an A are due to some student teacher that gives a big project with one rubric, then grades it on another rubric, ruining a lot of students grades. ("But the ten page paper wasn't the point of the project -- it was the format of endnotes that were the point," says the student teacher. Then why did they bother with writing the paper? Why not just cite sources? GAH!) And sometimes it's even combined with my third pet peeve...group projects. And in some insane quest to be "fair" to all students, the groups must be made up of one high performing student, one or two mediocre students, and one or two students who have no desire to further their education, thus ensuring that nobody gets a decent grade. Aaarrrrgghh!!

At any rate, my son with a weighted 4.35 GPA, 4 AP classes (the usual number for top students at his high school), most of the rest are honors classes, 5 years marching band (marched as 8th grader) with lots of leadership and accolades, the greatest being selected to the US Army All-American Marching Band, 2 years on the lacrosse team, high SATs (don't remember total but math is 790), and is a legacy was deferred on Early Admissions to Duke. It's going to be a VERY long 4 months until we hear from Duke in April... I listed his credentials to make the point that I think there are many students that got in with far better credentials on paper, and some that got in the maybe don't appear to measure up in these areas, but surpass him in others. Duke (and other schools) don't necessarily select based strictly on numbers.

The advice here is good. Apply, or you automatically reject yourself. They reject a number of very qualified candidates, and you don't know what sets you apart from the others. You might be the one selected over the others!

Also, it doesn't matter what school you go to, whether it's Duke any other school -- you get out of it what you put into it. Take advantage of all opportunities wherever you are. You can really love (or hate) any school. You can get a terrific education (or not) at any school.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I've being recruited by alot of DIII schools for football so I'm a good player but definitely not D1 quality. I may apply, with no expectations. If I don't make it, no big deal, but IF I do, I'll just have to figure out how to pay for it, but I'll worry about that later.

Apply and think positively. Scholarships are available.

Dr. Rosenrosen gave some excellent advice in his post. College is what you make of it. Take advantage of the many opportunities and experiences which will help you develop as a person.

Having attended and participated in may career conferences at Duke, I learned that those who became highly specialized early in their college years, later in life after college realized they missed out by not taking more liberal arts courses. Sometimes it is those very courses which can give you the foundation to allow you to see possibilities throughout your life.

Regarding football, if you don't feel you're a Division I level player, consider becoming a manager. You can develop important relationships and networking and continue to be a part of a sport you enjoy.

[devildeac]

Old grad here but I'll share thoughts about my 2nd and 3rd kids. (my 1st went to unc and we still love her but when she showed up at Brunchgate, she was serenaded with a loud chorus of GTHC,GTH!).

son-2007 grad-HS valedictorian with about 1500 SAT and 11 AP courses and All-State soccer player with some community service (voluntary, not 'cuz he was arrested:p). Double major in bio and Russian and GPA of about 3.5 or 3.6. Musical director of Rhythm and Blue for 2 years and some service projects and work study. Working at NIH now. Med school applicant.

daughter-class of 2011. HS valedictorian, student body president, founder of a service project club, SAT slightly below son with 10-11 AP classes. Varsity cheerleader for 4 years , now cheering at Duke and LOVES it. Bio major-we think, with an Italian or religion or psych double. Good start with grades so far in Trinity.

Both kids are outgoing and involved and have great things to say about their experiences. Both had Duke as their top choices.

Those are obviously small sketches. Let me know if you need some more info.

[jma4life]

Anyone got any advice for what one could do to increase chances regular decision for a kid who was deferred after early decision with an SAT of 1500 (and a writing score in the low 700s), SAT IIs a little over 750 and a top 3% rank.

[RainingThrees]

Old grad here but I'll share thoughts about my 2nd and 3rd kids. (my 1st went to unc and we still love her but when she showed up at Brunchgate, she was serenaded with a loud chorus of GTHC,GTH!).

son-2007 grad-HS valedictorian with about 1500 SAT and 11 AP courses and All-State soccer player with some community service (voluntary, not 'cuz he was arrested:p). Double major in bio and Russian and GPA of about 3.5 or 3.6. Musical director of Rhythm and Blue for 2 years and some service projects and work study. Working at NIH now. Med school applicant.

daughter-class of 2011. HS valedictorian, student body president, founder of a service project club, SAT slightly below son with 10-11 AP classes. Varsity cheerleader for 4 years , now cheering at Duke and LOVES it. Bio major-we think, with an Italian or religion or psych double. Good start with grades so far in Trinity.

Both kids are outgoing and involved and have great things to say about their experiences. Both had Duke as their top choices.

Those are obviously small sketches. Let me know if you need some more info.


Your kids make me depressed. haha.

[devildeac]

Your kids make me depressed. haha.

I sincerely hope that my description did not come across as braggy. Just trying to help folks here with a couple thumbnails of pre/during/post-Duke children profiles. I'm amazed at what my children have told me about what some of their friends accomplish at Duke. That includes those kids who have great grades and are involved/connected on many levels to the ones who get double majors in bio and chem who never left their dorm room except to go to class and the library.

[Deslok]

Anyone got any advice for what one could do to increase chances regular decision for a kid who was deferred after early decision with an SAT of 1500 (and a writing score in the low 700s), SAT IIs a little over 750 and a top 3% rank.

Honestly, I don't think there's that much you can do at this point. However, I would take heart in 2 factors. #1 deferred is not rejected. I know that's obvious, but sometimes folks overlook that fact and think that they have to look elsewhere. #2 is, anecdotal evidence only at the moment, but there are concerns for many private schools that the number of parents who will be able/willing to pay high tuition bills in the current economic climate is down, so that more students will end up at public universities and fewer at private ones. If this bears out, schools that typically got say 25% of the kids they accept to attend the university may only end up with 22%, which basically will raise the odds of getting in for those students who are able/willing to pay. But we won't know if this will come into play or not(and it might not be known till its past time to make decisions).

[hamster]

I'll get in big trouble for this, but I'm going to throw it out there...
If you are from North Carolina or the east coast generally, and are worried about getting in to Duke, one of the things you might consider is looking at similarly ranked schools elsewhere in the country.
One of the things that I think helped me get in to Duke was my 'geographical diversity' - there were two kids other than me in my class at Duke that were from my state.
What about Stanford, CalTech, Univeristy of Michigan, Northwestern, University of Chicago, or University of California - Berkeley?
I know it is total sacrilege, but one of these schools might say, wow, we don't have many kids from state 'x', they will really add something to our class. Whereas, in applying to Duke, Duke might be saying, geez, we have so many students from state 'x' already. (And therefore the standards to get in to Duke from states they get a lot of applications from are somewhat higher.)

Then you could come back to Duke for graduate school, because then your 'geographical diversity' stems more from your undergrad institution than from your high school.

[hurleyfor3]

I'I know it is total sacrilege, but one of these schools might say, wow, we don't have many kids from state 'x', they will really add something to our class. Whereas, in applying to Duke, Duke might be saying, geez, we have so many students from state 'x' already.

I used to teach SAT prep in the northern Chicago suburbs (the ones John Hughes made movies about). The kids would often ask me what the best way to get into a top school (Harvard/Princeton/maybe Duke) was. Quite seriously, I told them to move to a Dakota. This was 1996-97, but it still applies.

In GA my freshman year, we had our class's Alaskan, our South Dakotan and one of the two (I think) Arkansans. No one was from North Dakota that year.

[Schwarz]

Anyone got any advice for what one could do to increase chances regular decision for a kid who was deferred after early decision with an SAT of 1500 (and a writing score in the low 700s), SAT IIs a little over 750 and a top 3% rank.

Schedule an on-campus interview with the admissions office, if you haven't already.

[bluebutton]

I could be wrong, but when I was at Duke (97-01) I spent some time with admissions folks doing recruiting and my impression was that part of their job was to know the nature of the grading systems at various schools and various regions. So they should know about the 7 pt cut offs vs the 10 pt cut offs. How they interpret that, I don't know, but my impression is that they did know the relative value of a 4.5 GPA from one school district vs a 5.0 in another since some school districts were more stingy about the extra points than others.

Generally, I think admissions is a crap shoot. I submitted the same applications from VA to Stanford and Duke. Stanford rejected me out right. Duke invited me to interview for a scholarship. Go figure. So to the football guy, if the application fee isn't a barrier, go ahead and apply.

Currently, I'm a grad student at UCLA and have had the opportunity to teach undergrads here on a number of occassions. I'm obviously way biased, but I would not want to have gone to UCLA for undergrad. The students have a hard time getting into classes they want. They often end up taking care of their requirement by taking courses they really have absolutely no interest in just because it will fulfill those requirements. Lots of giant lecture courses. TAs are unionized so they don't seem as abused as the ones I had at Duke (on the rare occasion I had TAs while at Duke.)

I appreciated Duke for offering many courses I was interested in, a really interesting basketball season, and some really interesting classmates that made for excellent friendships and conversation. (UCLA for all its sports prowess is a really lame sports school.) Duke is however a bit of a bubble. Durham is great and all and I would love to return. Obviously, LA is a totally different sort of scene and an undergrad in LA would have a vastly different extracurricular experience. Duke is also more idea minded than jobs minded. Undergrads here at UCLA think about what job they'll get afterwards a lot. Maybe it was just my friends and I, but at Duke, senior year just kind of came and all of a sudden we had to find something else to do. Again, there will be a self-selection bias, but a ridiculous number of my close friends from Duke went to grad school to do research or some sort of non-profit work. My UCLA students don't seem to be doing that unless they're getting 1 yr engineering master's degrees or some other professional degree.

All this to say, there's a lot to love about Duke and I'm super thankful for my years there. But there can be some really great fits elsewhere (academically speaking, can't speak for other bball programs.)

Also, if you're going to be in $100K of debt from Duke and want to do non-profit work, you might consider going somewhere cheaper and doing the same thing. Just a thought.

[Kimist]

Turk, my Duke experiences are even more prehistoric than your own, but I'll throw in my own 2¢ worth anyway:

A strong positive is the diversity of students you meet.

A negative is the ridiculously high cost of attending. Many folks at Duke receive financial assistance, have jobs, etc so the playing field is leveled a bit. I came from a very modest family background, and succeeded (survived?), but with current costs of attending Duke being very high an applicant should at least realize the long-term financial strain that could be established.

Personal experience: The child of a very close friend (also a Duke grad) applied and was rejected. This student had GPA, SAT, meaningful recommendations, essays, extracurriculars and other stuff in the upper atmosphere and should have been competitive at any major university. (My personal comment during the application process was along the line of "If he/she cannot get accepted at Duke, I cannot imagine what Duke is seeking in an applicant.") It turns out that another student from the same high school, with a record less stellar than this student, was accepted. (A parental unit of rejected applicant is a teacher at said high school.) Sadly the rejected applicant was Caucasian and the accepted applicant (no prior Duke connection in family) was not. To this day the parent would probably perform bodily harm upon any Duke admissions officer within arms length. Fortunately the student is now enrolled in another "big name" school in the midwest. It is a fair assumption that certain conclusions could easily be drawn from this example.

That having been said, the field at Duke is now very competitive, especially with foreign applicants and their overall high performance scores on the application tests. Many SUPERB students now receive rejection notices from Duke.

One other factor which I would toss out, since I live in the RDU area: Sadly, I would probably now have grave reservations about sending a child to Duke merely because the university is located in Durham. Outside "the walls" things can become hazardous from the local criminal element. As an example, there have been multiple murders at Northgate Mall, one occurring literally in the front door area of an anchor store. When I attend basketball and football games, especially at night, my "radar" is always on and I am extremely careful which routes I take on the way to/from campus.

Having said all of this, if you think you are of Duke caliber then give it your best shot!

k

[Turk]

Time to rant. I HATE NORTH CAROLINA GRADING!!!!!! In most states they use the 10 point system where an A is a 90. In North Carolina an A is a 93. I would have 3 more A's if we used the 10 point system. Instead of having a 3.9 I would be in the 4's. They are also starting this new thing of only puting letter grades on report cards and not letter grades. This is stupid because it makes people who got 92's look the same as people who got 85's. GGGRRRRRRRRRR!!! okay I'm done.

Sorry, Threes, I beg to differ. I was on the other side of that discussion. Back in the day, my high school used the 93 scale, and when I discovered some public school systems actually thought anything over 90 is worth an A, I was horribly offended. (Of course, I recovered quickly and used that fact to mock the inferior education of my friends, so you have that going for you). Be glad you're being held to a higher standard - like playing ball in the ACC as opposed to the Situational Ethics Conference... :D

[DukieInKansas]

Obviously, I would love to go to Duke but I have held off seriously looking and applying there because I don't think I have the grades to get in.

I have a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and have solid SAT scores (CR- 590, M- 650, W- 530) and ACT composite of 28. Now I know these are low for Duke standards but I am an Eagle Scout, played 4 years of varsity football, and have 200 hours of community service for which I won a servant leadership award for it.

Now please be honest, is this good enough because I don't think so. Would I be wasting my time applying, or is is worth the long shot?

btw, post #400:D:D

I haven't read the entire thread yet, but I will tell you what we have been stressing to my nephew, who is also thinking of applying to Duke, don't make the decision for Duke or any other school. Let Duke/other school decide if they do or don't want you. Back in ancient times when I applied, they looked at things in addition to your grades. Eagle Scout, community service, and extra-curricular activies are all pluses in my mind.

[unexpected]

I don't know, not to burst anyone's bubble, but I think it's incredibly hard to get in after being deferred. When I was at Duke (I graduated 2006), I only knew of one.

I think the key to getting into Duke is not being average. By average, I mean that every kid that goes to Duke does a million extra-curricular activities, but it's the special kids that do something really well.

There are a lot of kids that play hs sports. I don't think the hs sports angle matters too much unless he's being recruited for a sport at Duke. There are a lot of kids that do science club, but Duke wants the kids that made it to the Westinghouse and Intel Science competition. Your child is an Eagle Scout- Duke wants the Boy scout who started a movement and raised $100,000 for whatever cause.

Basically, I feel that Duke is looking for good stories. They want people they can put in their viewbooks and have little captions like, "Johnny is working on curing cancer in his free time" or "Beth is an internationally recognized violinist, in addition to walking onto the soccer team", etc.

There are too many kids applying- everyone needs a step up!

[Turk]

Oh that's a good point. How many apps are kids putting in these days? I think the number must be in the 5 to 10 range, based on local anecdotes. How can one seriously evaluate that many schools? Is it just to brag about how many choices one has?

[unexpected]

I applied to 13 schools, precisely b/c I knew it was going to be a total crapshoot. If you're a top student, but you don't have a definitive edge, why not have more darts to throw?

Also, with the common app these days, it's not that hard to apply to multiple schools

[Bluedog]

Schedule an on-campus interview with the admissions office, if you haven't already.

Admissions doesn't do on campus interviews anymore:

https://www.admissions.duke.edu/jump/applying/apply_interviews.html

However, I think they make exceptions for "development" admits and super legacies, but not just somebody who was deferred. My recommendation would be to send one additional letter of recommendation, call the admissions office to convey your interest or what additional information would help them to get to know you as a person better, and hope for the best!

[CathyCA]

Admissions doesn't do on campus interviews anymore:

https://www.admissions.duke.edu/jump/applying/apply_interviews.html

However, I think they make exceptions for "development" admits and super legacies, but not just somebody who was deferred. My recommendation would be to send one additional letter of recommendation, call the admissions office to convey your interest or what additional information would help them to get to know you as a person better, and hope for the best!

What is a super legacy? Would a fourth generation Dukie qualify as a super legacy?

[Lavabe]

What is a super legacy? Would a fourth generation Dukie qualify as a super legacy?

I was sort of hoping that Legacy Lady would rack up legacy points with her mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and two cousins. I guess this super legacy thing has her beat.:(

[devildeac]

Oh that's a good point. How many apps are kids putting in these days? I think the number must be in the 5 to 10 range, based on local anecdotes. How can one seriously evaluate that many schools? Is it just to brag about how many choices one has?

My oldest applied to 3, our middle child applied to 5 and my youngest submitted 4 applications. I have a O-C colleague whose children each applied to more than 20 schools:eek:.

[devildeac]

What is a super legacy? Would a fourth generation Dukie qualify as a super legacy?

IIRC, when our kids applied to Duke, the appy had 4 lines on which they could list their relatives who attended Duke. I think they expect one name per line and not cramming 2-3 names on to each line:eek:.

[godukerocks]

My turn for asking advice:

One of my good friend's dad is the local interviewer for Duke in our area, and I have a very good reputation with him. I also know a couple of people in the athletic deparment at Duke, and a few alumni. I don't know how big of a deal this is at all, seeing how people with relatives who went to Duke get rejected and such, but how much of an advantage can it be to have your interviewer or people who work for Duke put in a good word for you?

I am also in the Duke TIP program, if any of you know what that is. Would any of these things listed grant any advantage?

[CathyCA]

IIRC, when our kids applied to Duke, the appy had 4 lines on which they could list their relatives who attended Duke. I think they expect one name per line and not cramming 2-3 names on to each line:eek:.

Hmmm. . . we're going to need more than 4 lines.

[DukePA]

Hmmm. . . we're going to need more than 4 lines.

That is so cool. If any of the kids in my extended family apply, they'll only have 2 names to put down, me and my dad for PA school.

[unexpected]

My turn for asking advice:

One of my good friend's dad is the local interviewer for Duke in our area, and I have a very good reputation with him. I also know a couple of people in the athletic deparment at Duke, and a few alumni. I don't know how big of a deal this is at all, seeing how people with relatives who went to Duke get rejected and such, but how much of an advantage can it be to have your interviewer or people who work for Duke put in a good word for you?

I am also in the Duke TIP program, if any of you know what that is. Would any of these things listed grant any advantage?

A Duke Interviewer is not supposed to interview someone if they know him personally. I used to interview and basically, they just submit a summary about your personality and accomplishments- they're not even supposed to know about your SAT, class rank, etc. I don't think it'd be much of an advantage. It may even be a little bit in poor form.

[godukerocks]

A Duke Interviewer is not supposed to interview someone if they know him personally. I used to interview and basically, they just submit a summary about your personality and accomplishments- they're not even supposed to know about your SAT, class rank, etc. I don't think it'd be much of an advantage. It may even be a little bit in poor form.

That's interesting to know. Thanks.