2009-2010 Duke Application Thread

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hitsugaaya said:
do you think they sent ALL the WL and rejections today tho? I d like to hope to be accepted...so far no email, no mail and I live in PA...someone has already been accepted in PA...keeping faith and trying not to give up hope...
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i, too, havent heard a word. when did you interview? i had mine on 2/15 on campus.
 
Does anyone know what the numbers are? As in how many applicants were given acceptances and how many were waitlisted?
 
DrKMD said:
Does anyone know what the numbers are? As in how many applicants were given acceptances and how many were waitlisted?
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This is a little...crazy...but I've been counting since Saturday's first acceptance.

Just from the SDN posts so far, there have been 18 acceptances, 16 wait lists, and 15 rejections. Not guaranteeing that this is exact, but it's pretty close.
 
Rejected. Did anyone read that article on how the process works that was posted a few pages back. 750 ppl interview, and 450 are sent to committee, and the be one of the 450both interviewers rate you 1-5. Your average score has to be above a 4 to get in. I wonder if rejected people are among the 300 that fail this test and waitlist is anyone that goes on to the final stage.
Ill find the article in a sec
 
I beat all of you suckas on the waiting lol....I interviewed on campus on 9/23...and still waiting and waiting.
 
robocop1998 said:
i'm in Baltimore, MD. Someone in DC, which is < 1 hr away, posted yesterday he/she got the letter.
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Im in PA, someone there also said they got accepted...i dunno...man...i think im staying off my computer for he rest of the day
 
UNCHopeful said:
Rejected. Did anyone read that article on how the process works that was posted a few pages back. 750 ppl interview, and 450 are sent to committee, and the be one of the 450both interviewers rate you 1-5. Your average score has to be above a 4 to get in. I wonder if rejected people are among the 300 that fail this test and waitlist is anyone that goes on to the final stage.
Ill find the article in a sec
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Then 270 people are wait listed? That seems like a huge wait list but definitely possible
 
Wait-listed here too -- so what does this mean?

I heard last year only a handful of people actually got off of it.
 
pomegarnets said:
Agh, I interviewed the 12th. My apologies.
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thats cool man. seems like there are a few of us who haven't heard a thing yet. i wonder if the emails are sent out according to the first initial of your last name in alphabetical order...
 
rejected =( i guess i was kidding myself in thinking i ever had a chance. this sucksss.
 
robocop1998 said:
thats cool man. seems like there are a few of us who haven't heard a thing yet. i wonder if the emails are sent out according to the first initial of your last name in alphabetical order...
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haha my last name starts w a T, urs?
 
Mine last name starts with a letter early in the alphabet...your theory is flawed my friend!
 
UNCHopeful said:
Rejected. Did anyone read that article on how the process works that was posted a few pages back. 750 ppl interview, and 450 are sent to committee, and the be one of the 450both interviewers rate you 1-5. Your average score has to be above a 4 to get in. I wonder if rejected people are among the 300 that fail this test and waitlist is anyone that goes on to the final stage.
Ill find the article in a sec
Click to expand...

I got rejected and I know that I got a 5 on one of my interviews, because the interviewer told me. I also thought I did really well on the other one too. Would be hard to imagine I got less than a 3. But yeah, who knows.

Sometimes what makes this process even sadder is that I feel like even if I do brilliantly on the interview, it still isn't going to make me "good enough." I just want to know why, if that's the case, they even bother inviting me.
 
dukejen04 said:
I got rejected and I know that I got a 5 on one of my interviews, because the interviewer told me. I also thought I did really well on the other one too. Would be hard to imagine I got less than a 3. But yeah, who knows.

Sometimes what makes this process even sadder is that I feel like even if I do brilliantly on the interview, it still isn't going to make me "good enough." I just want to know why, if that's the case, they even bother inviting me.
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i feel ya. especially since you knew you did well on the interview, it didnt seem to matter. this is why i think they should just interview less students and save our money. costs me like $500+ for each one.
 
prospective applicants


if you are looking at this thread to gauge your interview experience next year, please do not choose Virtual Interview. imo.
 
Waitlisted today as of 9:23 am; Canadian applicant

Have to say I love this school and don't mind the wait. An acceptance would have been nice but I will keep my hopes up for what will be a grueling couple of months (or more?).

Does anyone know how long the waitlist is? Are letters of intent encouraged? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
 
KAULmeMD said:
prospective applicants


if you are looking at this thread to gauge your interview experience next year, please do not choose Virtual Interview. imo.
Click to expand...


i would have to completely disagree with you... with everyones chances being so low in the duke crapshoot, i would say save your money and do the virtual interview.

apparently interviews dont matter all that much because lots of people who thought they had good interviews have been rejected, and while many who thought they did poorly got accepted (admittedly, they probably had stelllllar apps)... therefore, if youre a solid applicant your chances wouldnt be effected by the type of interview you choose.
 
eey0re said:
i would have to completely disagree with you... with everyones chances being so low in the duke crapshoot, i would say save your money and do the virtual interview.

apparently interviews dont matter all that much because lots of people who thought they had good interviews have been rejected, and while many who thought they did poorly got accepted (admittedly, they probably had stelllllar apps)... therefore, if youre a solid applicant your chances wouldnt be effected by the type of interview you choose.
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yeah, i probably should have saved myself the hundreds and done a virtual interview.

also, i am severely depressed about this. this was the last school i was waiting to hear from, and i shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, but i did. this whole process makes me feel useless and horrible. when i do the math of how many schools rejected me, times 5-10 people on each committee. that's like, several hundred people telling me i'm not good enough to be a doctor. maybe i should take a hint.
 
dukejen04 said:
yeah, i probably should have saved myself the hundreds and done a virtual interview.

also, i am severely depressed about this. this was the last school i was waiting to hear from, and i shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, but i did. this whole process makes me feel useless and horrible. when i do the math of how many schools rejected me, times 5-10 people on each committee. that's like, several hundred people telling me i'm not good enough to be a doctor. maybe i should take a hint.
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just let me know when ur back in LA and i'll buy us some drinks, and we can vent about how belittling and full of **** this process really is.
 
dukejen04 said:
yeah, i probably should have saved myself the hundreds and done a virtual interview.

also, i am severely depressed about this. this was the last school i was waiting to hear from, and i shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, but i did. this whole process makes me feel useless and horrible. when i do the math of how many schools rejected me, times 5-10 people on each committee. that's like, several hundred people telling me i'm not good enough to be a doctor. maybe i should take a hint.
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Dukejen,

Don't be discouraged, and definitely not depressed. If you are admitted at any medical schools you have a great deal to be happy and excited about and very proud of yourself. No one is admitted without years of hard work and dedication, meticulous attention to impressive and thoughtful essays, and a track record of other activities.

There are a ton of routes to a meaningful, even notable medical career. Just go onto the website of your dream residency/hospital. You will find faculty from every school in the US and several outside.

Yes, some people gained admission at schools you wished to attend but lives and careers are long. Who knows where they will take those opportunities. Just be sure you take your opportunities seriously and build towards your own goals.

If you haven't been admitted this year, don't let it daunt you. If you love medicine, you will find a path to work in it. Get a little feedback on what would improve your application and be grateful to have 2 instead of 1 summer to get ready for this next big adventure.

I am guessing that this is one of the toughest application cycles ever. Sutdents who might have waited a year and done something fun are probably afraid they will have trouble finding work and applied right away. You're generation is incredibly hard working and serious and very driven. But so are you. If you got interviews, you are really impressive. There are a million and one things that go into the admission committee decisions. Don't put too much stake in it.
 
dukejen04 said:
yeah, i probably should have saved myself the hundreds and done a virtual interview.

also, i am severely depressed about this. this was the last school i was waiting to hear from, and i shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, but i did. this whole process makes me feel useless and horrible. when i do the math of how many schools rejected me, times 5-10 people on each committee. that's like, several hundred people telling me i'm not good enough to be a doctor. maybe i should take a hint.
Click to expand...
I didn't apply to Duke (I lurk on this thread for the drama, lol), but I felt obligated to tell you that this is a pretty miserable way to think of the admissions process.

I mean, the entire process is insanely competitive and schools could legitimately fill entire class sizes worth of people who were rejected or waitlisted and see no appreciable drop in the quality of their class. The way one admissions member described it to me was, "Imagine I gave you 24 almost identical oranges and asked you to pick the best two. You might develop some standards for picking the two that you think are the best, but honestly, your standards are going to be pretty arbitrary"

Anyway, I'm sorry about your rejection but just remember that while rejections sting, it is pretty much up to you how good of a doctor you become, not some random group of admissions people who have an impossible task and are forced to rely on arbitrary standards.
 
so anyone have any ideas when the next set of emails are going out. I also have yet to receive a decision, and I doubt that everyone who has yet to hear has been accepted. Anyone call up Duke to ask why not everyone received an email?
 
First of all, unlike many of you tend to believe, duke does not interview 750 applicants. The number is well over 1200 ( Jeanie confirmed this a few days a go).

Duke Interviews so many students and is willing to accept interviews virtually and regionally because they absolutely do not care about interviews. They just need to say they interviewed you. If you are slightly more than a competent public speaker, you pass the interview test. (A duke med student during my interview told me that he actually fell asleep during the faculty interview and still got in)

This is far and away, THE most stat ***** school in the country. They try to mislead you by interviewing the 3.7/33 candidates but rest assured, those students don't have a snowball's chance in h*** of getting in. Those students are interviewed only so that on the rare occasion that they had crazy extenuating circumstances, they are given a chance.

This school is trying to get the students with the best stats in the nation and they figure by "interviewing" 1200 students and wait listing 350 or so...they can eventually pick and choose their 3.8-4.0s with the 37+.

To those who got accepted, congrats, because you definitely earned it. To those who got waitlisted, realize if you have the stats, you could/will get in. To those rejected, only be mad at yourself if you felt like you actually had a chance.

Please feel free to refute my theory.
 
premed1836 said:
so anyone have any ideas when the next set of emails are going out. I also have yet to receive a decision, and I doubt that everyone who has yet to hear has been accepted. Anyone call up Duke to ask why not everyone received an email?
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i concur.
 
Bruinsfinalfour said:
First of all, unlike many of you tend to believe, duke does not interview 750 applicants. The number is well over 1200 ( Jeanie confirmed this a few days a go).

Duke Interviews so many students and is willing to accept interviews virtually and regionally because they absolutely do not care about interviews. They just need to say they interviewed you. If you are slightly more than a competent public speaker, you pass the interview test. (A duke med student during my interview told me that he actually fell asleep during the faculty interview and still got in)

This is far and away, THE most stat ***** school in the country. They try to mislead you by interviewing the 3.7/33 candidates but rest assured, those students don't have a snowball's chance in h*** of getting in. Those students are interviewed only so that on the rare occasion that they had crazy extenuating circumstances, they are given a chance.

This school is trying to get the students with the best stats in the nation and they figure by "interviewing" 1200 students and wait listing 350 or so...they can eventually pick and choose their 3.8-4.0s with the 37+.

To those who got accepted, congrats, because you definitely earned it. To those who got waitlisted, realize if you have the stats, you could/will get in. To those rejected, only be mad at yourself if you felt like you actually had a chance.

Please feel free to refute my theory.
Click to expand...

not sure about the state ***** part. 40 + mcat, 4.0 (far more A+'s than A's) and still rejected. and that gpa comes from a school that does not inflate grades (most classes give <10% A's ). i've even been told my some of my interviewers that i had the best grades they have ever seen.

but i do think they are too liberal with the # of interviews.
 
Last edited:
so did anyone get accepted today at all???? If not, I am pretty sure my rejection email is being delivered to me.
 
Bruinsfinalfour said:
First of all, unlike many of you tend to believe, duke does not interview 750 applicants. The number is well over 1200 ( Jeanie confirmed this a few days a go).

Duke Interviews so many students and is willing to accept interviews virtually and regionally because they absolutely do not care about interviews. They just need to say they interviewed you. If you are slightly more than a competent public speaker, you pass the interview test. (A duke med student during my interview told me that he actually fell asleep during the faculty interview and still got in)

This is far and away, THE most stat ***** school in the country. They try to mislead you by interviewing the 3.7/33 candidates but rest assured, those students don't have a snowball's chance in h*** of getting in. Those students are interviewed only so that on the rare occasion that they had crazy extenuating circumstances, they are given a chance.

This school is trying to get the students with the best stats in the nation and they figure by "interviewing" 1200 students and wait listing 350 or so...they can eventually pick and choose their 3.8-4.0s with the 37+.

To those who got accepted, congrats, because you definitely earned it. To those who got waitlisted, realize if you have the stats, you could/will get in. To those rejected, only be mad at yourself if you felt like you actually had a chance.

Please feel free to refute my theory.
Click to expand...

Accepted with 33 and miserable GPA. Maybe I had a compelling story to tell, I don't know. In any case, I didn't help their "stats" much.
 
rlndl310 said:
Accepted with 33 and miserable GPA. Maybe I had a compelling story to tell, I don't know. In any case, I didn't help their "stats" much.
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below a 3.5?
 
Bruinsfinalfour said:
First of all, unlike many of you tend to believe, duke does not interview 750 applicants. The number is well over 1200 ( Jeanie confirmed this a few days a go).

Duke Interviews so many students and is willing to accept interviews virtually and regionally because they absolutely do not care about interviews. They just need to say they interviewed you. If you are slightly more than a competent public speaker, you pass the interview test. (A duke med student during my interview told me that he actually fell asleep during the faculty interview and still got in)

This is far and away, THE most stat ***** school in the country. They try to mislead you by interviewing the 3.7/33 candidates but rest assured, those students don't have a snowball's chance in h*** of getting in. Those students are interviewed only so that on the rare occasion that they had crazy extenuating circumstances, they are given a chance.

This school is trying to get the students with the best stats in the nation and they figure by "interviewing" 1200 students and wait listing 350 or so...they can eventually pick and choose their 3.8-4.0s with the 37+.

To those who got accepted, congrats, because you definitely earned it. To those who got waitlisted, realize if you have the stats, you could/will get in. To those rejected, only be mad at yourself if you felt like you actually had a chance.

Please feel free to refute my theory.
Click to expand...

I also didn't have the greatest GPA or MCAT score... or story. Had a 3.5 GPA and a 34 MCAT.

Was accepted as well.
 
jump123 said:
I also didn't have the greatest GPA or MCAT score... or story. Had a 3.5 GPA and a 34 MCAT.

Was accepted as well.
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yea thats what totally confuses me. yea i have awesome stats but i also have a pretty good story, at least good enough that mayo wanted to hear it. not to take anything away from you. im sure you're qualified.

its just so confusing to try and reason this selection. not even that i think i deserve an acceptance. thats insane. but to not get waitlisted.
 
so what's up with us who haven't received mail nor emails?

are we just in an eternal stage of limbo?

let's just get this over with!!:boom:
 
JasonE said:
below a 3.5?
Click to expand...

It was miserable, but that's not the point. I think the poster I quoted was giving short shrift to Duke's admissions process. Sure they are going to attract people with good numbers. One of the liveliest discussions on this site is "Duke vs. Harvard vs. Stanford," they have great numbers because people with great numbers apply to schools like these. I think their average is 35, so how many sub-35 (or sub 30) MCATs did they admit that brought down the average from the handful of 45's they accepted?

I almost didn't waste the time/effort/money to apply there, but I was impressed by the school and decided to give it a shot. I hated filling out that miserable secondary, but I was impressed by the lengths they went to find out if I had a human side, and could bring more than my "stats" to the table.

For those of you with rejection emails, remember that Duke, like every other medical school in the country, turns down scores of great applicants. One of the best doctors I know had to apply for four cycles before he got into med school. If you want to be a doctor, you will find a way to do it. And I wish you the best of luck!
 
rlndl310 said:
It was miserable, but that's not the point. I think the poster I quoted was giving short shrift to Duke's admissions process. Sure they are going to attract people with good numbers. One of the liveliest discussions on this site is "Duke vs. Harvard vs. Stanford," they have great numbers because people with great numbers apply to schools like these. I think their average is 35, so how many sub-35 (or sub 30) MCATs did they admit that brought down the average from the handful of 45's they accepted?

I almost didn't waste the time/effort/money to apply there, but I was impressed by the school and decided to give it a shot. I hated filling out that miserable secondary, but I was impressed by the lengths they went to find out if I had a human side, and could bring more than my "stats" to the table.

For those of you with rejection emails, remember that Duke, like every other medical school in the country, turns down scores of great applicants. One of the best doctors I know had to apply for four cycles before he got into med school. If you want to be a doctor, you will find a way to do it. And I wish you the best of luck!
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i see what you're saying. but one thing that often is mistaken is that people with good stats can have a human side and bring more than stats to the table as well. it seems like, at least on sdn, this isnt assumed to be true
 
It is clear that I have been refuted, and glad to hear stories of the students with lower than stellar stats getting in. It has improved my opinion of duke.
 
JasonE said:
i see what you're saying. but one thing that often is mistaken is that people with good stats can have a human side and bring more than stats to the table as well. it seems like, at least on sdn, this isnt assumed to be true
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Yup. And just because we *thought* we did poorly in the beta interview doesn't mean we necessarily did. It is intended to be challenging and the essays gave them tons of ammunition to ask tough questions. It was a shock to my system because I was used to much easier interview styles (Tell me about yourself? Why medicine? Why school x? What do you do for fun? Explain activity x?)

I understand you guys are disappointed. I don't know why I got into Duke and Columbia but didn't receive even an interview at UChicago and Michigan. The simple fact is there are probably 5 overqualified applicants for every spot in a top school. An above poster stated that the adcom determined she was unfit to be a doctor--I strongly doubt it. It is more likely that they don't have enough space to take every outstanding applicant...
 
JasonE said:
i see what you're saying. but one thing that often is mistaken is that people with good stats can have a human side and bring more than stats to the table as well. it seems like, at least on sdn, this isnt assumed to be true
Click to expand...

I don't think they discriminate against folks with good numbers 🙂 But I don't think that the stats are as important as the earlier poster said. My point was that they just attract a lot of people with really impressive applications, hence the high averages.

There really is a crapshoot component to all of this. I know a guy that applied to 12 schools, only got one interview, and ended up going to one of the best schools in the country. What did they see in him that the dozen or so other schools didn't? Who knows?
 
So are there multiple rounds of emails or have all of the waitlisted and rejected people been notified? Also, does Duke give students two weeks to respond to their offers of acceptance?
 
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