Duke Part II

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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Good morning. Another day of fantasizing about Duke awaits us :)
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FemalesCANTDriv said:
Hey, ryan! I was starting to wonder where you were.
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I've got a grandfather in Oregon with 3rd stage Alzheimers. My wife is currently paying the rent, so I went out there for a week to hang out.

On another note, I just watched the two recent SouthPark episodes about Richard Dawkins. Your signature reminded me of how hilarious they are, Females.
 
Has anyone else noticed the explosion of Harvard vs. Everything Else threads?? I hope every person that was accepted to harvard was also accepted to duke that they choose harvard over duke...is that wrong of me? :)
 
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ryandote said:
I've got a grandfather in Oregon with 3rd stage Alzheimers. My wife is currently paying the rent, so I went out there for a week to hang out.

On another note, I just watched the two recent SouthPark episodes about Richard Dawkins. Your signature reminded me of how hilarious they are, Females.
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Sorry to hear about your grandfather, ryan. I hope you had a good time in Oregon.

husky0684 said:
Has anyone else noticed the explosion of Harvard vs. Everything Else threads?? I hope every person that was accepted to harvard was also accepted to duke that they choose harvard over duke...is that wrong of me? :)
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Ya, I hope they all go to Harvard/Yale/Stanford/WashU/Baylor/whatever other school they so idiotically think is better than Duke so that we can all go to Duke :smuggrin:
 
aghhh I opened up my email box and see an email from Duke, frantically open it, and it just a boring message about FinAid...oh well, on another note, current duke students, do you think it matters when/how many update/letters of intent we send? I only ask because I would like to hold off on sending one until like later april when more has developed but I don't want them to think I am not that interested so should I send one now and one later? :scared: haha I know this is COMPLETELY neurotic but any input is super appreciated as always from you wise sages. :)

p.s. i am addicted to these smileys..it is a habit I am trying to kick :p
 
husky0684 said:
aghhh I opened up my email box and see an email from Duke, frantically open it, and it just a boring message about FinAid...oh well, on another note, current duke students, do you think it matters when/how many update/letters of intent we send? I only ask because I would like to hold off on sending one until like later april when more has developed but I don't want them to think I am not that interested so should I send one now and one later? :scared: haha I know this is COMPLETELY neurotic but any input is super appreciated as always from you wise sages. :)

p.s. i am addicted to these smileys..it is a habit I am trying to kick :p
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I only sent one letter of intent (which I did around May 9th or 10th because I knew the adcom was meeting on May 16th), but I had also sent an email with a question to Dr. Armstrong that indicated to her Duke was my top choice, as well as indicating on the waitlist card they sent last year that I would definitely go if accepted. My PI also sent Dr. Armstrong an e-mail advocating for me and saying the same thing.

However, Duke loves students who love Duke, so don't worry about being OVERLY enthusiastic...it's simply not possible here. Unless of course, you camp outside the admissions office. That might be taking it a little far. So, in answer to your question, no I don't think sending a LOI then is too late at all, but don't hesitate to send more if you think it might help your case.
 
MrBurns10 said:
I only sent one letter of intent (which I did around May 9th or 10th because I knew the adcom was meeting on May 16th), but I had also sent an email with a question to Dr. Armstrong that indicated to her Duke was my top choice, as well as indicating on the waitlist card they sent last year that I would definitely go if accepted. My PI also sent Dr. Armstrong an e-mail advocating for me and saying the same thing.

However, Duke loves students who love Duke, so don't worry about being OVERLY enthusiastic...it's simply not possible here. Unless of course, you camp outside the admissions office. That might be taking it a little far. So, in answer to your question, no I don't think sending a LOI then is too late at all, but don't hesitate to send more if you think it might help your case.
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Hehehe so I wouldn't go as far as to camp out, but what about just stopping by Dr. Armstrong's/Admissions office? I am over in that area about at least once a week, it is such a tease! right there but I have yet to go in..
 
husky0684 said:
aghhh I opened up my email box and see an email from Duke, frantically open it, and it just a boring message about FinAid...oh well, on another note, current duke students, do you think it matters when/how many update/letters of intent we send? I only ask because I would like to hold off on sending one until like later april when more has developed but I don't want them to think I am not that interested so should I send one now and one later? :scared: haha I know this is COMPLETELY neurotic but any input is super appreciated as always from you wise sages. :)

p.s. i am addicted to these smileys..it is a habit I am trying to kick :p
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Haha... ya that email was such a tease. OK so on a totally unrelated topic, I thought yall would appreciate this, I have been sick for like almost 3 wks now. It started off as what seemed like some sort of sinus infection, no biggie, I was just gonna let it go away on its own. Then I went on Spring Break and to DC and I was feeling tired the whole time. My sinus headaches went away and my lymph nodes got ginormous. My sister who is an MSIII at Baylor was all about the sinus infection too and then on the morning we were leaving DC she was like... I think you have mono. I was like really cuz I was thinking the same thing. I went to the doctor when I got home and sure enough I found out today that I have mono. It sucks cuz IM Indoor Soccer is coming up and I love m some indoor, but it was kinda cool that me and my sis hit the nail right on the head :laugh: Ya, but it mostly sucks having to sit out for IM.

So back to Duke... that is a good idea that I never thought of with emailing updates from profs to Dr. Armstrong. Not bad, not bad at all.
 
financial aid email arrived before my decision packet.... "If you still want to be on the waitlist, you can do financial aid" so i guess I'm waitlisted &*#^%*^%#!.
 
FemalesCANTDriv said:
So back to Duke... that is a good idea that I never thought of with emailing updates from profs to Dr. Armstrong. Not bad, not bad at all.
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I'm not so sure I would include her in one or two e-mails...she's a very busy woman. Not to mention "the ****." :) Oh, and feel better!

husky, I pmed you.
 
husky0684 said:
aghhh I opened up my email box and see an email from Duke, frantically open it, and it just a boring message about FinAid...oh well, on another note, current duke students, do you think it matters when/how many update/letters of intent we send? I only ask because I would like to hold off on sending one until like later april when more has developed but I don't want them to think I am not that interested so should I send one now and one later? :scared: haha I know this is COMPLETELY neurotic but any input is super appreciated as always from you wise sages. :)

p.s. i am addicted to these smileys..it is a habit I am trying to kick :p
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I'm disappointed that no one has attempted to read into the email from financial aid! One could easily determine that they are so sure that the will not have to pull from the wait list that they don't want to put together all of the extra financial aid packages. It's highly unlikely that they made a mistake in the letter...

Anyone know any hacker tricks to find out how many people that email was really sent to? I was hoping they would have done the same thing that showed the 176 acceptances.

Waiting impatiently for May 16...
 
MrBurns10 said:
I'm not so sure I would include her in one or two e-mails...she's a very busy woman. Not to mention "the ****." :) Oh, and feel better!
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Ya wrd... I was thinking of just having my mentor maybe send her an email on my behalf and that's it. Thanks. NCAA bball tonight has been making me feel better. :D
 
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Happy Friday morning!

Also, hope for the waitlisters? Over on the Vandy c/o 2011 thread, there are a number of people who seem to prefer Vanderbilt over Duke. I think that the Durham location keeps away a lot of people who might otherwise attend. From various sources (previous years' SDN threads, interview, students, etc.), I think the waitlist is around 100, with about 40 being pulled off the waitlist. There were about 180 acceptances a couple weeks ago, but the MSAR and US News list somewhere around 220 acceptances for the past few years.
 
See, people get caught up in the idea of "Durham" when a) everyone has to have a car and b) you have mountains, beaches, Chapel Hill and Raleigh within driving distance. And did I mention that in 2005 Raleigh-Durham was voted Forbes 4th top city for singles?

http://www.forbes.com/2005/07/25/singles-best-cities_cx_05sing_0725land.html

and 5th in 2006?

http://www.zillowblog.com/zillow_blog/2006/08/forbes_lists_th.html

That's better than Seattle, Miami, San Diego, LA, Vegas, Chicago, Nashville, Houston . . .

Of course, the curriculum may or may not preclude you from taking advantages of the latter, but at least it's nice to know.
 
EmbellisMaVie said:
Happy Friday morning!

Also, hope for the waitlisters? Over on the Vandy c/o 2011 thread, there are a number of people who seem to prefer Vanderbilt over Duke. I think that the Durham location keeps away a lot of people who might otherwise attend. From various sources (previous years' SDN threads, interview, students, etc.), I think the waitlist is around 100, with about 40 being pulled off the waitlist. There were about 180 acceptances a couple weeks ago, but the MSAR and US News list somewhere around 220 acceptances for the past few years.
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Yeah, someone with the ADCOM here told me that they accepted about 20-25 less students this year than usual. Which is a double-edged sword for us waitlisters: it is good in one way because less people accepted leads to an easier time getting around to the waitlist people for acceptees after those acceptees that decide duke is not for them in may, BUT in another way, what if you were one of those 20 people who maybe would have been outright accepted last year but this year have been put on waitlist :( ...But enough conjecturing, and gooooooood morning!!
 
Good morning to everyone from TX! :D Wow, Embellis, you have certainly "brightened up my life" with those statistics :laugh: That gives us waitlisters a good deal of hope. That means almost one out of every 2 people gets off of the waitlist. I really hope that people love every other school way more than Duke and the price tag runs them away also. You know, I was thinking about it the other day and something dawned on me. I was thinking "Why does everyone care about financial aid and scholarships and all that stuff for med school? I mean I know it is expensive and all, but we are all pretty much gonna go into debt." Then, I had :idea: ..... I realized that all of those ppl who got into Duke and similar schools are from Ivies and Stanford and the like and have like tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt coming out of undergrad compared to my $0 cuz I went to Tier 3 University with the hook-up for scholarships. So, I really don't care how much debt I get going into med school cuz I'm starting with none. Husky, are you in a similar situation since you went to ure state school?
 
FemalesCANTDriv said:
Then, I had :idea: ..... I realized that all of those ppl who got into Duke and similar schools are from Ivies and Stanford and the like and have like tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt coming out of undergrad compared to my $0 cuz I went to Tier 3 University with the hook-up for scholarships. So, I really don't care how much debt I get going into med school cuz I'm starting with none. Husky, are you in a similar situation since you went to ure state school?
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Yep same here, $0 in loans for undergrad so I have a clean slate for med school but I do sometimes get a slight heart palpitation when I realize I will be 100,000+ dollars in debt :eek: ..I have family members that are in banking/accounting that like to remind of this fact on a regular basis :rolleyes: .... but what can you do, and plus the interest on med loans are relatively very low so even though it may take 30 years to pay them all off, they are dirt cheap monthly payments compared to other non-student loans...maybe Econ should be added as a pre-req for premeds in addition to all those science courses...
 
Hi Pagemmapants, I PM'd you a question regarding Durham. Thanks.
 
EmbellisMaVie said:
Happy Friday morning!

Also, hope for the waitlisters? Over on the Vandy c/o 2011 thread, there are a number of people who seem to prefer Vanderbilt over Duke. I think that the Durham location keeps away a lot of people who might otherwise attend. From various sources (previous years' SDN threads, interview, students, etc.), I think the waitlist is around 100, with about 40 being pulled off the waitlist. There were about 180 acceptances a couple weeks ago, but the MSAR and US News list somewhere around 220 acceptances for the past few years.
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Im one of the ones on the Vandy thread thinking of possibly going to Vandy over Duke. I know many of you think thats crazy ( slash really want me to do it and will tell me anything to open up another waitlist spot :D ) but seriously, no matter what anyone says, durham sucks balls. it is near chapel hill, which has a sweet-to-decent nightlife.. .but thats a pain in the butt to go over there and always need a designated driver to come back instead of being able to just crash nearby, its just inconvenient and sucky to do weekend in- weekend out. the nightlife in durham sucks. most people go down main-street to a group of 4-5 bars that frankly suck (if you've partied in Miami or any other big city you'll know what im talking about). granted, we'll be in medschool and have less time to screw around anyway, but still, it sucks. i cant say that durham doesnt have any pluses --- parks, open air and decent weather, golfing, little traffic, bike-able weather year-round, cosmic cantina, UNC ugrad chicks nearby, I cant think of anything else. it also lacks the big city attractions -- museums, awesome food, etc.

This is what I tell my parents: I would be insanely excited to go to Duke if I didn't go here for Ugrad. They don't get it, but I feel like a change in location is very important to me right now. Suprisngly, I've heard similar things with people getting into Hopkins from Hopkins Ugrad. For me, it would be absurd to turn that down... but, I havent lived in Baltimore for 4 years so I dont know what thats like. (surprsingly on my Penn interview day I heard Penn ugrads applying to Penn Med saying similar things about Philly... just wanting a new beginning somewhere else...)...

If you are in love with what Duke has to offer (and it offers a LOT) and are kind of an outdoorsy sort of person that likes a smaller town feel, you've found your school.
 
husky0684 said:
Yep same here, $0 in loans for undergrad so I have a clean slate for med school but I do sometimes get a slight heart palpitation when I realize I will be 100,000+ dollars in debt :eek: ..I have family members that are in banking/accounting that like to remind of this fact on a regular basis :rolleyes: .... but what can you do, and plus the interest on med loans are relatively very low so even though it may take 30 years to pay them all off, they are dirt cheap monthly payments compared to other non-student loans...maybe Econ should be added as a pre-req for premeds in addition to all those science courses...
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Two things: First, many students who do research in their 3rd year get full or partial grants for that year, so you can make some of your tuition back. Also, the Duke grant is pretty nice to some people. If I remember correctly, the avg indebtedness of Duke students is like $65,000. That's pretty damn good.
 
MrBurns10 said:
Two things: First, many students who do research in their 3rd year get full or partial grants for that year, so you can make some of your tuition back. Also, the Duke grant is pretty nice to some people. If I remember correctly, the avg indebtedness of Duke students is like $65,000. That's pretty damn good.
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The fin aid person on interview day said the average is around 125K or so (if you factor out the people with scholarships). ive heard duke gives excellent need-based aid, though.
 
Stolenspatulas said:
but seriously, no matter what anyone says, durham sucks balls.
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Did you come straight from undergrad? Because I'll be honest, I felt the exact same way about Durham until I took a year off and worked (still at Duke). Living away from campus and being able to go out to other places and do more gave me a much greater appreciation for the area. My freshman year here I remember thinking two things "why would I ever leave Duke's campus" and "I can't wait to move back to a bigger city." But things changed in my year off. Durham has gotten better, and though it still needs a lot of work (especially downtown...geesh), I really do like living here...especially going to CH and Raleigh occasionally. And eventually it got to the point where I didn't actually want to leave.

Obviously everyone is different and I can understand where you're coming from, but if all you've experienced of Durham is from undergrad you may be missing out on what a cool place it can be.
 
Stolenspatulas said:
Im one of the ones on the Vandy thread thinking of possibly going to Vandy over Duke. I know many of you think thats crazy ( slash really want me to do it and will tell me anything to open up another waitlist spot :D ) but seriously, no matter what anyone says, durham sucks balls. it is near chapel hill, which has a sweet-to-decent nightlife.. .but thats a pain in the butt to go over there and always need a designated driver to come back instead of being able to just crash nearby, its just inconvenient and sucky to do weekend in- weekend out. the nightlife in durham sucks. most people go down main-street to a group of 4-5 bars that frankly suck (if you've partied in Miami or any other big city you'll know what im talking about). granted, we'll be in medschool and have less time to screw around anyway, but still, it sucks. i cant say that durham doesnt have any pluses --- parks, open air and decent weather, golfing, little traffic, bike-able weather year-round, cosmic cantina, UNC ugrad chicks nearby, I cant think of anything else. it also lacks the big city attractions -- museums, awesome food, etc.

This is what I tell my parents: I would be insanely excited to go to Duke if I didn't go here for Ugrad. They don't get it, but I feel like a change in location is very important to me right now. Suprisngly, I've heard similar things with people getting into Hopkins from Hopkins Ugrad. For me, it would be absurd to turn that down... but, I havent lived in Baltimore for 4 years so I dont know what thats like. (surprsingly on my Penn interview day I heard Penn ugrads applying to Penn Med saying similar things about Philly... just wanting a new beginning somewhere else...)...

If you are in love with what Duke has to offer (and it offers a LOT) and are kind of an outdoorsy sort of person that likes a smaller town feel, you've found your school.
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The only point I would debate is the food one. I was actually surprised at how many good places there are to eat here. I definitely expected less.

And I'd like to note that I personally like Durham. I think Stolen pointed out something important, though. I am from a suburb in Tennessee that feels sort of like Durham. I went to school in Knoxville, TN, which feels sort of like Durham. This place just fits my life experiences and I feel comfortable here. If you're from Boston or NYC and absolutely love the city life, Durham might not have everything you want. But if you're a laid back, outdoors, ride-your-bike, go running through Duke gardens type of person, you'll absolutely love it here. Also, beach and mountains...!
 
MrBurns10 said:
Did you come straight from undergrad? Because I'll be honest, I felt the exact same way about Durham until I took a year off and worked (still at Duke). Living away from campus and being able to go out to other places and do more gave me a much greater appreciation for the area. My freshman year here I remember thinking two things "why would I ever leave Duke's campus" and "I can't wait to move back to a bigger city." But things changed in my year off. Durham has gotten better, and though it still needs a lot of work (especially downtown...geesh), I really do like living here...especially going to CH and Raleigh occasionally. And eventually it got to the point where I didn't actually want to leave.

Obviously everyone is different and I can understand where you're coming from, but if all you've experienced of Durham is from undergrad you may be missing out on what a cool place it can be.
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I've actually taken a year-off. I'm working in the hospital, and have had, I guess, much more time to explore... though I felt in ugrad that I did get out a decent amount.

I hate to trash the city b/c its all based on preferences (so I take back my comment in saying durham sucks balls). It all depends on what you look for in a location, and how much that matters to you. :cool:
 
I have to say I was umm well underwhelmed when I first came to durham after having lived in bigger/more vibrant areas like new orleans, new york, and sydney, but it is the type of place where you have to search out fun things to do, they aren't all over the place like other bigger cities. But if you are willing to put in a little effort, durham can be pretty cool, small yes, but still has its own appeal. On a duke ugrad note, I did not go here for duke ugrad but I get the sense from the ugrads that I have met that they really have not explored durham or even chapel hill much at all. The ugrad seems to have somewhat of a duke bubble complex...just my experiences though, I could be way off on this....but what a nice bubble to be in, the campus is really nice...
 
husky0684 said:
Yep same here, $0 in loans for undergrad so I have a clean slate for med school but I do sometimes get a slight heart palpitation when I realize I will be 100,000+ dollars in debt :eek: ..I have family members that are in banking/accounting that like to remind of this fact on a regular basis :rolleyes: .... but what can you do, and plus the interest on med loans are relatively very low so even though it may take 30 years to pay them all off, they are dirt cheap monthly payments compared to other non-student loans...maybe Econ should be added as a pre-req for premeds in addition to all those science courses...
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Ya I mean I figure you can pay the loans off in your first couple of years out of residency. I mean, if I am already used to living on 30K a year, I can just do it for one or two more years and not worry about loans anymore.

Stolenspatulas said:
Im one of the ones on the Vandy thread thinking of possibly going to Vandy over Duke.

I feel like a change in location is very important to me right now. Suprisngly, I've heard similar things with people getting into Hopkins from Hopkins Ugrad.
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I can see what you are saying. I know everyone has their own reasons for choosing a med school. For me, I would never go to the same med school as undergrad (but then again I didn't go to such a hot undergrad to begin with). I can definitely see what you are saying though. I, like you, just want to go somewhere new for a new adventure for the next four years. Stolen, follow your heart/brain.
 
today is the perfect day for some LOCOPOPS!! sooooo goood ...ok sorry, it is so nice outside and I am sequestered inside babysitting some cells...:sleep:
 
Stolenspatulas said:
The fin aid person on interview day said the average is around 125K or so (if you factor out the people with scholarships). ive heard duke gives excellent need-based aid, though.
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I remember hearing that it's somewhere around 70k, I believe. However, that doesn't include people who's Daddies pay cash. I've always heard talk of 3rd year research fellowships really cutting into that debt. Comments? One of the staff bragged that Duke has the lowest or second-lowest average indebtedness of any private school.


Spatulas - Just know that if you go to Vandy instead, your Duke spot will hopefully go to something that you know will appreciate it! Can you be sure that the converse is true? (Hint, Hint : I don't see a Vandy waitlist thread!!!)


Ah! Here's the link to US News figures on indebtedbess...looks pretty good!
 
husky0684 said:
today is the perfect day for some LOCOPOPS!! sooooo goood ...ok sorry, it is so nice outside and I am sequestered inside babysitting some cells...:sleep:
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Husky, I'm lost as to what LOCOPOPS is...

ryandote said:
I remember hearing that it's somewhere around 70k, I believe. However, that doesn't include people who's Daddies pay cash. I've always heard talk of 3rd year research fellowships really cutting into that debt. Comments? One of the staff bragged that Duke has the lowest or second-lowest average indebtedness of any private school.


Spatulas - Just know that if you go to Vandy instead, your Duke spot will hopefully go to something that you know will appreciate it! Can you be sure that the converse is true? (Hint, Hint : I don't see a Vandy waitlist thread!!!)
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I remember something similar about average indebtedness (I think it was mostly due to that third year). Stolen, I must say I agree with ryan. I see no Vandy waitlist threads. I see people that are like waitlisted at Vandy... oh well whatever, Nashville licks anyway... ok no I'm kidding but I seriously don't see a Vandy WL thread. :D
 
ryandote said:
(Hint, Hint : I don't see a Vandy waitlist thread!!!)
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I think we might be the only running waitlist thread...our commitment is strong like that..or we frequent this thread too often and just refuse to give up hope..either way I foresee Duke Part II ( aka duke waitlist thread) pushing over 1000 as well..
 
husky0684 said:
I think we might be the only running waitlist thread...
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Not true... my friend blackrsx got inspired and started the same thing on the Cornell thread. Oh well... we are still the original... which means the best. ;)
 
ryandote said:
I remember hearing that it's somewhere around 70k, I believe. However, that doesn't include people who's Daddies pay cash. I've always heard talk of 3rd year research fellowships really cutting into that debt. Comments? One of the staff bragged that Duke has the lowest or second-lowest average indebtedness of any private school.


Spatulas - Just know that if you go to Vandy instead, your Duke spot will hopefully go to something that you know will appreciate it! Can you be sure that the converse is true? (Hint, Hint : I don't see a Vandy waitlist thread!!!)


Ah! Here's the link to US News figures on indebtedbess...looks pretty good!
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Do you know what that includes? Is it all students? Does it include full merit scholarship students? Or is it everyone who leaves with any amount of debt (but even this would include people who only needed $10000 in loans because their family was wealthy)? An average might not help anyway, I guess it just depends on the individual's situation. Duke financial aid is still awesome (assuming they make fair calculations of Estimated Family Contribution).
 
AnEyeLikeMars said:
Do you know what that includes? Is it all students? Does it include full merit scholarship students? Or is it everyone who leaves with any amount of debt (but even this would include people who only needed $10000 in loans because their family was wealthy)? An average might not help anyway, I guess it just depends on the individual's situation. Duke financial aid is still awesome (assuming they make fair calculations of Estimated Family Contribution).
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Sorry, looking back, I typed that wrong. I think that it DOES include people who's Daddies pay cash. Does that make since? So, since some people don't have to take out loans and some people get huge 3rd year fellowships, the "average indebtedness of 2005 graduates" might be less at Duke than at other places. The 3rd year fellowship makes sense, but the rich-daddy theory only makes sense if rich people are more likely to go to Duke.

In summary, I think that US News figure (which I think was the the one quoted to us on interview day) is something like (total $ amount of debt)/(total number of graduating students) - make sense?
 
husky0684 said:
I think we might be the only running waitlist thread...our commitment is strong like that..or we frequent this thread too often and just refuse to give up hope..either way I foresee Duke Part II ( aka duke waitlist thread) pushing over 1000 as well..
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I guess another possibility is that we are the only losers with enough time on our hands to keep a thread like this alive! That's hard to admit, but I've already admitted my wife is currently paying the rent.

Also, do you ever wonder if our current schools see us posting on this thread and regret admitting us? I'm not positive, but I may be indentifiable on this forum!
 
ryandote said:
Sorry, looking back, I typed that wrong. I think that it DOES include people who's Daddies pay cash. Does that make since? So, since some people don't have to take out loans and some people get huge 3rd year fellowships, the "average indebtedness of 2005 graduates" might be less at Duke than at other places. The 3rd year fellowship makes sense, but the rich-daddy theory only makes sense if rich people are more likely to go to Duke.

In summary, I think that US News figure (which I think was the the one quoted to us on interview day) is something like (total $ amount of debt)/(total number of graduating students) - make sense?
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The MSAR says 69% "receive some type of scholarship, grant, or loan." So 31% can pay out of pocket...yikes...maybe the rich daddy theory is correct.

Yeah, that makes sense, and I see what you're saying. I guess the average debt statistics really don't provide any helpful information.
 
AnEyeLikeMars said:
The MSAR says 69% "receive some type of scholarship, grant, or loan." So 31% can pay out of pocket...yikes...maybe the rich daddy theory is correct.

Yeah, that makes sense, and I see what you're saying. I guess the average debt statistics really don't provide any helpful information.
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Yeah, I agree. Some data is better than none, but it's all useless unless you know the context.

I was recently at my grandparents in Oregon, and spent some time with a few uncles out there. I'm the 11th oldest grandchild in my extended family, but my sister and I are the only ones who have attended college. Obviously, nobody in the family is in medicine, and it makes it a little hard to communicate the...."joys".... of applying.

I quoted them that same 31% figure you mentioned, and they were pretty impressed that almost 1/3 of medical school students paid their own tuition. Then one of them asked me how much tuition was, explaining that the local community college had "pretty expensive" tuition at about $2,000 dollars per semester. That 31% figure got impressive in a hurry!
 
Yeah, my guess is that that 31% figure is about right. Duke gave me more "scholarship" money than any other school, but it also costs more, so it ended up being the same as another private school that I was accepted at and about $10k/year more than my state school. My EFC from Duke was significantly higher than any other school as well. So, honestly, unless your parents are really, REALLY poor, I wouldn't count on Duke being cheaper than your state school. The third year grant thing is great, if you can get one, but you also have to pay Duke tuition - so with an average expected expense of $60k+ per year, a $30k grant cuts down a lot, but third year is still by no means free.
 
Man... yall are dissecting the hell out of financial aid. The way I see it, please give me some debt... as long as you just let me in to DUKE!!! But ya... yall can keep discussing. Wanted to add in my two cents as long as I was checking out the ole thrizead.
 
Duke has an average indebtedness that is lower than UNC's (even for in-state UNC)... check the MSAR.

When I found this out (about a year ago when I was researching medical schools), I decided to call the number in the MSAR and they told me specifically that the number is very misleading.

Its Average indebtedness so... for someone whose parents are paying for medical school... their indebtedness would be ZERO. Thus, one can say, on average, Duke has wealthier students than UNC... and probably therefore has an ''average'' lower indebtedness.

I remember specifically that the fin aid lady at Duke said the average indebtedness was around 125K. I even asked her about it (since Duke has the 80K or so as stated in the MSAR) and she said that she didnt want to mislead applicants since that number definitely doesnt represent the majority of students having to take out loans and such.
 
Stolenspatulas said:
I remember specifically that the fin aid lady at Duke said the average indebtedness was around 125K. I even asked her about it (since Duke has the 80K or so as stated in the MSAR) and she said that she didnt want to mislead applicants since that number definitely doesnt represent the majority of students having to take out loans and such.
Click to expand...

Yeah... I feel in situations like these, a value for median indebtedness might be more helpful. Or, ideally, just a complete list of all 100 values for each class. :)
 
EmbellisMaVie said:
Yeah... I feel in situations like these, a value for median indebtedness might be more helpful. Or, ideally, just a complete list of all 100 values for each class. :)
Click to expand...

Ya... I would agree here. How about just give us say the range, average, median, and mode. That would work. Not that I care... I just mean for Embellis and Stolen. Let me in and I'll pay whatever you want :smuggrin: Dude... there was just a crazy lightening strike outside my window... awkward... I'm going to bed. Night all. See you tomorrow :love:
 
blackrsx said:
keep hope alive!

hey husky, you're thinking about NYU too?
Click to expand...

Yep, as of right now, it looks like I will accept with NYU and then wait and see how the Duke waitlist shakes down after may 15th. Not to detract from my love of duke, but actually I will be really happy with NYU too. i worked there for a summer in their SURP program and all the people( faculty and students) are really really cool there and Tisch/Bellevue are really incredible. Tisch is like a four seasons hospital whereas bellevue is the oldest public hospital in the nation and it is CRAZY 24/7 so you would get best of both worlds and then skirball is really nice for research. My main detractor for NYU: the living situation, I am really not excited about the prospect of going back to living in dorms and not having greenery anywhere for miles. I also am head-over-heels for duke's curriculum and the many many reasons I have said before, but I will be happy at either place. :D .....but I want that place to be duke ;) ....but those who end up at NYU will be very very happy with it I think..ok I am gonna stop now..
 
FemalesCANTDriv said:
Husky, I'm lost as to what LOCOPOPS is...
Click to expand...


Ohhh man, locopops are these delectable inventions only found in durham, north carolina. It is a homemade popsicle shop that changes flavors about once a week and always has crazy good combinations...The lure behind locopops is that the owner was a columbia business school graduate, worked in the business world and made lots of money, but ended up hating the lifestyle so she went down to mexico and apprenticed under a master popsicle maker, came back to durham, and set up shop..the rest is history..
 
husky0684 said:
Ohhh man, locopops are these delectable inventions only found in durham, north carolina. It is a homemade popsicle shop that changes flavors about once a week and always has crazy good combinations...The lure behind locopops is that the owner was a columbia business school graduate, worked in the business world and made lots of money, but ended up hating the lifestyle so she went down to mexico and apprenticed under a master popsicle maker, came back to durham, and set up shop..the rest is history..
Click to expand...

Whoa... that sounds freakin sweet. Maybe in my next update to Duke I should be like, "All else aside, I really want to come to Durham to try some Locopops. I've heard good things about them" :laugh:
 
SPRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING BREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!1!!!!!!!!!!one!1!one!111eleven!!

In less than 24 hours I will be toasting myself lightly on a beach in the Domincan Republic.

WAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
 
pagemmapants said:
SPRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING BREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!1!!!!!!!!!!one!1!one!111eleven!!

In less than 24 hours I will be toasting myself lightly on a beach in the Domincan Republic.

WAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Click to expand...

In less than one week, I'll be in Durham for Second Look!!!

Okay, so it's a distant second. Doesn't mean I'm not excited.
 
To those of you sending in an extra letter: are you addressing it to the admissions committee in general? I interviewed with Dr. Armstrong and had been planning to write to her directly until I received that email last week directing all letters to Richard Wallace.
 
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