2008-2009 Duke Secondary Application Thread

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for what its worth, I emailed them about sending an update letter a few weeks ago and they told me that this would not be necessary bc my file had already been reviewed. I suppose an LOI couldnt hurt, but I was specifically told it wasnt helping, and decided to hold out on begging until I write a letter if I get waitlisted.
 
BrainBuff said:
There is nothing to do in Durham. If you don't want to be disappointed, just stay inside Duke University. The town is pitiful and borderline unsafe in many areas.

Rent a car and go to Charlotte.
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I always find it remarkable that someone could have such a negative opinion of something I think of quite positively. Is it a difference in deep seated personal taste and wants? Or is it a difference in knowledge and awareness of the thing?

For those of you lucky enough to get accepted to Duke, take the time to really get to see and know the community and the old exterior will become more venerable than depressing and the diversity will become more enriching than frightening.
 
nevercold said:
I always find it remarkable that someone could have such a negative opinion of something I think of quite positively. Is it a difference in deep seated personal taste and wants? Or is it a difference in knowledge and awareness of the thing?

For those of you lucky enough to get accepted to Duke, take the time to really get to see and know the community and the old exterior will become more venerable than depressing and the diversity will become more enriching than frightening.
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ya, much better than Baltimore or New Haven, at the very least
 
Hey so this is entirely last minute, but we wanna check into the "duke clinics" in the morning, right?
 
luckyducky87 said:
Hey so this is entirely last minute, but we wanna check into the "duke clinics" in the morning, right?
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Enter at the Duke Clinic entrance (at Duke Clinic Circle off of Trent Dr.), then go down to the Lower Level, and there's a map by the elevator that shows you where the admissions office is on that floor. That's what I did at least...
 
i truthfully agree with everyone now. i would really do anything to get into this incredibly wonderful school 😍

:luck:
 
I think they secretly sprinkle us with happy pixie dust:nod:
 
luckyducky87 said:
i truthfully agree with everyone now. i would really do anything to get into this incredibly wonderful school 😍

:luck:
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Agreed! Duke was awesome! I loved how the students took the time to drop by the admissions office and show an interest in the interviewees and offer words of encouragement. The one disappointment for me was not getting to meet 'the' RW.
 
haha yeah the legendary RW... but Dr. Armstrong was pretty awesome. and yes, the students were really awesome... sigh 🙂
 
This has probably been covered already but I was wondering if anyone knew if we would find out March 1 about admissions decisions (via status page) or if we have to wait for the big/small envelope in the middle of March? Also, can someone comment how much impact Letters of Intent have on admissions?
 
misohornay said:
This has probably been covered already but I was wondering if anyone knew if we would find out March 1 about admissions decisions (via status page) or if we have to wait for the big/small envelope in the middle of March? Also, can someone comment how much impact Letters of Intent have on admissions?
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I think that admissions decisions will be coming out later in March this year, not on the first. In the past, decisions have come by letter. Some years they do phone calls, but not usually until a couple of days after the letters have been sent. The status page has never indicated a decision.

LOIs are more likely to have an effect if you are waitlisted.
 
misohornay said:
This has probably been covered already but I was wondering if anyone knew if we would find out March 1 about admissions decisions (via status page) or if we have to wait for the big/small envelope in the middle of March? Also, can someone comment how much impact Letters of Intent have on admissions?
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Both of these topics actually came up at the recent interview day. I believe Dr. Armstrong said we should expect to receive snail-mail with a decision around the end of the first week of March. And as for the LOIs, Jeanine said that the admissions office is backed up with letters of recommendation and late regional and virtual interviews, and that LOIs were unlikely to be read before initial decisions are sent out. However, diosa is probably right in saying that their submission could benefit someone who is waitlisted.
 
Whoa did you guys read what it says on the status page thingy?

Waitlists and rejections get an email, acceptances get snail mail. And they're starting to send out stuff next friday (the 6th). Wild! I wonder if this means that wlists and rejections will all be sent in that friday along with the snail mail, so if you don't get anything on that day it means you're getting good news...it'd be pretty mean for them to spread things out so you don't get the email until monday when you're expecting the happy news.

Anyways, I'm suddenly nervous.
 
Can someone please confirm this with the admissions office???? Especially about all the emails going out on Friday for waitlist and rejection. It seems like in previous years people were notified via snail mail for any decision and were not emailed...
 
Please disregard the part of the previous post regarding the way things were done in the past as I have just read the status page. Can someone still please confirm with the admissions office about all the emails going out on Friday March 6?
 
Ooh, I don't like that. That means I have to live in fear of an email - any email - from Duke. Boo.
 
Bearferret said:
Ooh, I don't like that. That means I have to live in fear of an email - any email - from Duke. Boo.
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Yeah. Mainly I'm afraid about them spreading those out. I can just picture feeling really cool after 5 pm friday afternoon, being like "zomgigotintoduukkkeeeeee" and practically skipping to my mailbox day after day, just to receive a rejection/waitlist email on monday afternoon. Sigh.
 
My advice to you guys is to expect the worst until you get a letter saying you're in. Hopefully, the new process will go smoothly and that won't be an issue, but since this is the first year I guess they're doing it like that it may not go perfectly.
 
ButImLETired said:
Whoa did you guys read what it says on the status page thingy?

Waitlists and rejections get an email, acceptances get snail mail. And they're starting to send out stuff next friday (the 6th). Wild! I wonder if this means that wlists and rejections will all be sent in that friday along with the snail mail, so if you don't get anything on that day it means you're getting good news...it'd be pretty mean for them to spread things out so you don't get the email until monday when you're expecting the happy news.

Anyways, I'm suddenly nervous.
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im confused. my status page thingy says "All decisions for applicants who have interviewed for admission to the 2009 entering class are sent via the U.S. Postal Service and will be mailed from the Office of Admissions during the month of March 2009." Am I missing something?
 
drmcsteamy2008 said:
im confused. my status page thingy says "All decisions for applicants who have interviewed for admission to the 2009 entering class are sent via the U.S. Postal Service and will be mailed from the Office of Admissions during the month of March 2009." Am I missing something?
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Go back to the homepage of the PAS system and you'll see the message we're referring to. It's not on the dashboard. It's pre-login.
 
ButImLETired said:
Go back to the homepage of the PAS system and you'll see the message we're referring to. It's not on the dashboard. It's pre-login.
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Gotcha, thanks. My heart started beating faster just reading it officially.
 
Oh man...I hope I don't get a birthday gift from Duke...until later at least...I think
 
When I interviewed yesterday (I know, right? Late!), Dr. Armstrong said we would hear BY the end of the first week in March. As everyone has said, there's definitely some room for error or oversight with that (especially if a candidate is borderline and the decision comes out late, I'd guess), but their INTENTION is pretty clearly to get them all out on Friday. Or before, I guess...
 
gridiron227 said:
When I interviewed yesterday (I know, right? Late!), Dr. Armstrong said we would hear BY the end of the first week in March. As everyone has said, there's definitely some room for error or oversight with that (especially if a candidate is borderline and the decision comes out late, I'd guess), but their INTENTION is pretty clearly to get them all out on Friday. Or before, I guess...
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According to their most updated notification on the login page though (this morning like 2 hours ago), it sounds more like they'll *start* sending it out on March 6th (end of first week in March):

Friday, February 27, 2009 is the final day for ALL interviews
(on-campus, virtual/video, and regional).

We have revised the policy for notifying applicants of our decision.

The Office of Admissions will begin sending out
admission decisionson Friday, March 6, 2009.
As has been our practice during previous admission cycles,
acceptance letters will be sent in
paper format and will be sent to the U.S. Postal address
in your DukeMed Personal Account.

The change in policy reflects applicants placed on our wait list AND applicants
who are not offered admissions.

Applicants waitlisted or not offered admission
will be notified by email. The email for wait listed and rejected
applicants will be sent to the email account housed in your
DukeMed Personal Account.​
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Does anyone know what is the best way to send in an update to Duke? Mail/email or does Duke not take updates? I'm interviewing on the second last day and I want to send in an update on my research.
 
luckyducky87 said:
According to their most updated notification on the login page though (this morning like 2 hours ago), it sounds more like they'll *start* sending it out on March 6th (end of first week in March):
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Add to the mix the email that I got this morning about filling out the survey (btw, after reading the forum last night, I was petrified when I saw an email from them), which states:

"Our timetable for the remainder of our admission season is as follows: interviews will conclude in late February with a target date for mailing decision letters at the end of February through the first week of March 2009."

Edit: On second thought, the email is probably old wording, and the PAS message sounds most recent/accurate.
 
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mongol1985 said:
Does anyone know what is the best way to send in an update to Duke? Mail/email or does Duke not take updates? I'm interviewing on the second last day and I want to send in an update on my research.
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They prefer not to take updates but since you are going to be there, you could verbally update the interviewers during your interview. I did that when I interviewed a while back and they appreciated the new information. If it's something that requires you to submit some document, you could probably drop it off when you check in or leave. But again, after talking on the phone with the office multiple times, I can assure you that they strongly prefer that you not send updates or LOIs (they assume that if you have not withdrawn that you really want to attend and they don't want the extra paperwork).

Also, on an unrelated topic, I saw that my Letters of Recommendation tab on my status page indicated that none of my letters was received. I called about this, and so long as your main status says that you are complete and awaiting a decision, you are fine. The office notifies interviewed applicants if their letters of recommendation are missing. So don't lose any sleep over this if you notice this too!
 
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omg...my blood pressure just went through the roof
if i get an email from duke i may just crap myself:scared:
 
cuppy said:
omg...my blood pressure just went through the roof
if i get an email from duke i may just crap myself:scared:
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If we all set our e-mail servers to block e-mails from Duke, does that mean we're all accepted? 😛
 
frostedflakes said:
If we all set our e-mail servers to block e-mails from Duke, does that mean we're all accepted? 😛
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Haha only if Duke would see it that way :-D I am seriously going to lose my mind if I get an email from Duke...

thedudette said:
Edit: On second thought, the email is probably old wording, and the PAS message sounds most recent/accurate.
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Yeah - I was guessing that those automated survey emails and the automated Dashboard status updates that generically go out to groups of applicants are old stuff that they haven't changed yet... but the update on the login page is something that they did come up with this morning, so I'd go with that.

neuropeptidey said:
Also, on an unrelated topic, I saw that my Letters of Recommendation tab on my status page indicated that none of my letters was received. I called about this, and so long as your main status says that you are complete and awaiting a decision, you are fine. The office notifies interviewed applicants if their letters of recommendation are missing. So don't lose any sleep over this if you notice this too!
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Haha, when I interviewed last week, they actually checked all of our letter statuses in person and let us know right then if they didn't have it already.


DUKE! 😍
 
aquamarine said:
After the slew of rejection letters I got in January, my relationship with my mailbox has become strained, so I asked my boyfriend if I could update my address with the med schools remaining to his address. He laughed at me thinking my mailbox was cursed.

But seriously, I changed the Duke address to his.
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oh you've got me freaked out now. maybe my mailbox is cursed as well... because all ive gotten are rejection letters so far.

but well, no, my apt-mate (sharing the same mailbox) got a couple of acceptances and interview invites through the same mailbox so that can't be it 🙁
 
Atleast March 6th is THE day.. and we don't have to wait
 
misohornay said:
Can someone please confirm this with the admissions office???? Especially about all the emails going out on Friday for waitlist and rejection. It seems like in previous years people were notified via snail mail for any decision and were not emailed...
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I just called the admissions office and asked if all waitlist/rejection emails will be sent out on march 6th and I was told "they will be sent out around that time. There are around 600 [waitlisted/rejected], so you just have to be patient."
She also said that I shouldn't call her freaking out at noon on the 7th if I have not received an email.
My assumption is that the emails, like the letters, will be coming in over the course of a few days. So, the absence of an email on the 6th (or over the next few days for that matter) doesn't really mean anything.
Let the worrying begin....:scared:
 
aquamarine said:
Actually, this is the worst part about having an iPhone, because your email goes with you constantly.
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I'm switching back to my regular crappy "just-a-phone" cell phone until at least the 10th.
 
Hey all,

Just finishing up some thank you notes, and I thought I'd include one for the woman at the front desk... only problem is I was a little out of it early in the morning and missed her name. There's a Ruth Clark listed as administrative assistant and interview scheduler - can anyone confirm that's her? Thanks a lot.
 
gridiron227 said:
Hey all,

Just finishing up some thank you notes, and I thought I'd include one for the woman at the front desk... only problem is I was a little out of it early in the morning and missed her name. There's a Ruth Clark listed as administrative assistant and interview scheduler - can anyone confirm that's her? Thanks a lot.
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I think her name was Jeanine...but on her name card it was spelt Jeanne. I remember cause I was wondering how to pronouce her name.

Anyways...it's definately not Ruth
 
Haha, thanks for saving me a gaffe there! Yeah, that sounds much more familiar... but considering I spoke to her maybe once I'd rather know her last name. Any help out there?
 
An e-mail from Duke isn't necessarily bad news!

If you're accepted, you may receive an e-mail inviting you to "Second Look" before getting your decision via snail-mail.
 
RedTurpentine said:
An e-mail from Duke isn't necessarily bad news!

If you're accepted, you may receive an e-mail inviting you to "Second Look" before getting your decision via snail-mail.
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How did you get this info, just curious? Do you think this email is sent the same day? March 6?
 
How did you get this info, just curious? Do you think this email is sent the same day? March 6?
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A few different students mentioned it in passing on my interview day; they even seemed to suggest that receiving this second-look e-mail prior to acceptance is typical (I can't be sure of that, though).

They didn't say exactly when these e-mails are sent-out, but if we assume that acceptance letters are sent-out on the 6th, and that they usually take a few days arrive, then it seems these early second-look e-mails are sent around the same time as the rejection and wait-list e-mails.
 
Hey! Just wondering, to those who know a bit more about Duke admissions - are your interviewers selected randomly or are they in any way also associated with the screening/rating and reviewing of your application?

It seems my interviewer has read my application so thoroughly that I was wondering if he/she might also rate me on other aspects of my application, other than the interview.
 
mongol1985 said:
Hey! Just wondering, to those who know a bit more about Duke admissions - are your interviewers selected randomly or are they in any way also associated with the screening/rating and reviewing of your application?

It seems my interviewer has read my application so thoroughly that I was wondering if he/she might also rate me on other aspects of my application, other than the interview.
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I know I interviewed with a pain management specialist and guess what my graduate thesis topic was on... I wonder if it was random or if there was something more to it - regardless, it made for a cool conversation!
 
T-minus five days and counting until decisions start to go out. Gasp. 😱

Anyone care to share where they might be going if they -- god forbid -- don't get into Duke? I've decided on UT-Southwestern as a second choice.
 
Hey! Just wondering, to those who know a bit more about Duke admissions - are your interviewers selected randomly or are they in any way also associated with the screening/rating and reviewing of your application?

It seems my interviewer has read my application so thoroughly that I was wondering if he/she might also rate me on other aspects of my application, other than the interview.
Click to expand...
One of my interviewers mentioned that each applicant has five different people handling his or her application: two screeners, two interviewers, and one committee representative. So, I don't think that your interviewers were also responsible for screening your application, if that's what you were asking.

As to whether the interviewers are random or not, I have no clue..

Anyone care to share where they might be going if they -- god forbid -- don't get into Duke? I've decided on UT-Southwestern as a second choice.
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I can't say, because I'd be naming a school (Columbia) that I might be rejected from just as well in the next week or two!
 
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