2010-2011 Duke Application Thread

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I just read it further, and apparently that's 180 people accepted right away, not including waitlists. That means the acceptance + waitlist chance of us getting in is higher than 25%?!

No this isn't true.. The stats from that magazine are for two cycles ago. Last year they interviewed 1000 people and, when I interviewed back in September, the lady who was working at the desk said that they were on pace for even more this year (much to the chagrin of the Dean of Admissions). They interview more than any other school I've interviewed at so the chances aren't great, but hopefully we will get some good news.
 
praying for a miracle on this one... :luck:

(is anyone else's PAS not working?)
 
its just your dashboard thats broken right? admissions office said not to worry about it, they are overwhelmed with stuff so they probably wont look into it but it just happens relatively often.
 
its just your dashboard thats broken right? admissions office said not to worry about it, they are overwhelmed with stuff so they probably wont look into it but it just happens relatively often.


ahah. yes. thanks!
 
I don't think I got this email either? I interviewed in mid-December on-campus. There are similar messages posted to the PAS...but I don't think with exactly the same wording...

Here is the whole thing copy/pasted from my inbox. I interviewed way late (February) so maybe it is a recent addition to the process? I received this email the day after I interviewed. Here it is:

"John Smith,

Greetings from the Office of Admissions:

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for interviewing at the Duke University School of Medicine. Please consider completing our 60 second survey by clicking on following link according on your interview type. This feedback will be enormously helpful to us as we plan subsequent seasons. The links below will take you to one of three surveys (if you have any problems opening the links, place your cursor over the link, right click your mouse, and either open the link in a new tab or a new window).

If you interviewed on campus, click this link and complete this survey:

On Campus Interview Survey

If you interviewed with an Duke alum off campus, click this link and complete this survey:

Virtual Interview Survey

We sincerely hope that your visit to DukeMed provided you with an opportunity to witness first-hand the extraordinary community of scholars and clinicians that we call our "Duke Family."

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 2010. Duke does not roll.

Always feel free to write or call the Office of Admissions if you have questions.

Once again, on behalf of our entire community, we thank you for your interest in the Duke University School of Medicine and wish you luck!


Sincerely,

THE OFFICE OF ADMISSIO! NS"

That is the whole thing, front to back. Ringing a bell now for you guys? Weird if it isn't a standardized e-mail.
 
I was going to post any say I didn't remember such an email either, but then I looked through my old emails from Duke and noticed that I had indeed received such a letter . . . I interviewed Sep. 30th, so I guess it is understandable that I would have forgotten 🙂
Everybody ready for March??
 
So i just went through last year's thread (obviously I dont have enough to do) and it appears as if everyone who got in received the package on the same day, regardless of where they lived. So it seems like a March 7th date might be good to hold on to, and then those of us who do not get in (rejection/waitlist) may have an extra day or 2 before we find out.

QUESTION: How will you celebrate/sulk when you receive your decisions?

Either way for me, its a bottle of Jack....
 
so I'm just curious...people who also applied to the PCLT program and received an interview, did you get your interview for PCLT AFTER you had ALREADY interviewed for Duke?
 
I interviewed in Oct. at Duke, and I had my PCLT inteview in January...but according to the website they stopped interviewing at the end of Jan/very beginning of Feb...
 
Any idea how many people interviewed for PCLT?
 
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so I'm just curious...people who also applied to the PCLT program and received an interview, did you get your interview for PCLT AFTER you had ALREADY interviewed for Duke?

I interviewed at Duke in late January and I had my PCLT interview on the same day as my regular MD interviews. I was notified a week after receiving the Duke interview invite that they also wanted to interview me for the PCLT program, and they worked with me to schedule the PCLT interview on the same day as the other interviews.
 
Excited but not optimistic...
 
A victim of the Columbia/Harvard bloodbath from this week. Hoping for better news from Duke next week.
 
Duke is my dream school, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Luckily I've got Mardi Gras to keep me distracted for the next few days 😀
 
A victim of the Columbia/Harvard bloodbath from this week. Hoping for better news from Duke next week.

Probably a victim of the Harvard bloodbath (nice term btw...haha) as well. Hope Duke is nicer to me! :xf:
 
On my interview day, a lot of students stopped by the admissions office....

So i'm wondering for any current students reading this....do you know when they were/are stuffing envelopes and mailing them out? Though I'm not expecting an envelope, the wait is killlllllling me!!!
 
As a reapplicant who got waitlisted last year, I'm certainly not expecting any good news... but it would be a wonderful surprise.
 
Same. Silence is ruining me. Snail mail from duke, right?

Yup. It's funny.. everyone is so jaded by this interview season that everyone is bracing themselves for bad news... Where is all the optimism? Its definitely not here.. I'm not even particularly excited yet cause im expecting bad news ..
 
Statistically, the chances of getting an acceptance at Duke post-interview are the smallest of any school I know. So if ever there was a school to not get your hopes up for, its this one.
 
As a reapplicant, why do you feel so much pessimism about hearing a decision? I'm genuinely just curious...!
 
As a reapplicant who got waitlisted last year, I'm certainly not expecting any good news... but it would be a wonderful surprise.

I met a first year on my interview day at Duke who was also a reapplicant. He didnt get into Duke the first time he applied, but got in the second time. There is hope! Goooood luck
 
Well my application hasn't changed drastically since last year. I'm still in the same research position and doing the same volunteer work, just longer time-frame. If I was waitlist-worthy last year, I'm guessing I'm waitlist-worthy again this year.

I'm not really hopeful or pessimistic about Duke. I just know that getting an interview doesn't mean as much as it does at other schools. So I'm just waiting to see what happens 🙂
 
I met a first year on my interview day at Duke who was also a reapplicant. He didnt get into Duke the first time he applied, but got in the second time. There is hope! Goooood luck

Ha. Let's hope this is my story to tell. I am also a reapplicant and hoping for good news next week.
This shall be a weekend of prayer, but unlike last year, I have two other acceptances to fall back on. That being said Duke is def my top choice and I really hope to do the acceptance dance next week :xf:
 
Best wishes to everyone as the weekend rolls around 🙂
 
I am also a reapplicant hoping for better news this time around..WL last year

I'm playing it cautiously optimistic!
 
It seems based on last years thread that people in NC started receiving acceptances around this time. I was hoping it would be the same this year. Anyone heard anything? I'm sure they would have posted, but I'm just anxious to know when my likely WL/rejection email will arrive.

March is creeping by so slow, it's killing me.
 
RE: "It seems based on last years thread that people in NC started receiving acceptances around this time. I was hoping it would be the same this year. Anyone heard anything? I'm sure they would have posted, but I'm just anxious to know when my likely WL/rejection email will arrive.

March is creeping by so slow, it's killing me."



'all quiet on the western front' would pretty much describe it...
 
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Of course it's pretty late to be wondering this... but here's my question.

How are skype interviewees ranked in interview performance if there's no Beta interview... just alpha... (Or vice versa if you want to be picky. 😛)???
just 2x alpha score, I suppose.

I don't have a monster MCAT score like most of you, so my interview, i'm sure, carried some serious weight in the AdCom's decision.
 
Of course it's pretty late to be wondering this... but here's my question.

How are skype interviewees ranked in interview performance if there's no Beta interview... just alpha... (Or vice versa if you want to be picky. 😛)???
just 2x alpha score, I suppose.

I don't have a monster MCAT score like most of you, so my interview, i'm sure, carried some serious weight in the AdCom's decision.

it would have been funny if, for the skype sessions, the interviewer played the roles of both alpha and beta (and randomly alternated between the two).... : )
 
it would have been funny if, for the skype sessions, the interviewer played the roles of both alpha and beta (and randomly alternated between the two).... : )

Hahahaha. Let's come back to that while we're all wating frantically for mail on Monday. We'll role-play. I bet I could be a GREAT multi-personality interviewer...
 
Nah. I got into the mstp an have not seen the big envelope yet. I live fairly close too.

Congrats man!

Of course it's pretty late to be wondering this... but here's my question.

How are skype interviewees ranked in interview performance if there's no Beta interview... just alpha... (Or vice versa if you want to be picky. 😛)???
just 2x alpha score, I suppose.

I don't have a monster MCAT score like most of you, so my interview, i'm sure, carried some serious weight in the AdCom's decision.

That's a good question. I interviewed at the campus and while I could tell which one was alpha and which one was beta based on who was interviewing me, I didn't really notice a difference in the actual interviews (except for the fact that my beta was only 10 minutes long 😉 (4th year neurosurg resident)) so I'm not sure how much difference it makes. I have no idea how heavily Duke weighs the interviews though. Hopefully I shimmered brightly in that 10 minutes 😀
 
That's a good question. I interviewed at the campus and while I could tell which one was alpha and which one was beta based on who was interviewing me, I didn't really notice a difference in the actual interviews (except for the fact that my beta was only 10 minutes long 😉 (4th year neurosurg resident)) so I'm not sure how much difference it makes. I have no idea how heavily Duke weighs the interviews though. Hopefully I shimmered brightly in that 10 minutes 😀

Pulling for you! The good news about your 10 minute interview is, the length was FAR more likely due to his status as a 4th year neurosurg res, than anything you might have potentially done wrong. I'll bet you did shimmer. 😀

How long was your alpha interview?
 
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Congrats man!



That's a good question. I interviewed at the campus and while I could tell which one was alpha and which one was beta based on who was interviewing me, I didn't really notice a difference in the actual interviews (except for the fact that my beta was only 10 minutes long 😉 (4th year neurosurg resident)) so I'm not sure how much difference it makes. I have no idea how heavily Duke weighs the interviews though. Hopefully I shimmered brightly in that 10 minutes 😀

Best of luck! I'm sure you did great 🙂

---
www.supexenterprises.com
 
Pulling for you!

Best of luck! I'm sure you did great 🙂

Thanks guys! Best of luck to the both of you as well! Given the odds I don't have my hopes up too high, but a boy can dream can't he? haha 🙂

How long was your alpha interview?

My alpha was in the ballpark of 45 minutes, I think. I'm not sure too sure anymore given that the day was a blur. I was ridiculously jet-lagged given that I had landed at 3 in the morning the night before coming from Cali and was there, shined and polished in my suit, at 7:30. That, combined with the shininess and magic that was Duke, had me spinning. It was a whirlwind 17 hour trip to NC to say the least 🙂 You're right about the resident though- He interviewed 2-3 others and the longest was about 15 minutes. He got a page in the middle of my interview and I was hoping I'd get to go with him.

I have to admit, I think your idea of a split-personality interviewer sounds like a fun way to keep us sane. Based on the huge number of Charlie Sheen interviews I've watched in recent days I would venture to guess someone on par with that kind of crazy.
 
I have to admit, I think your idea of a split-personality interviewer sounds like a fun way to keep us sane. Based on the huge number of Charlie Sheen interviews I've watched in recent days I would venture to guess someone on par with that kind of crazy.

well now that Charlie Sheen lost his job with 'Two and A Half Men', I'm sure Duke could hire him to do the Skype interview : )

---
www.supexenterprises.com
 
So, both my interviews were pretty close to 30 mins in length. What's all this about there being two types of interviews??

My first interviewer was a medical student--third year I believe--and my second interviewer was a doctor/professor at Duke. Is it more likely that the doctor was the more important interviewer?

Does the alpha interview carry more weight?
 
Thanks guys! Best of luck to the both of you as well! Given the odds I don't have my hopes up too high, but a boy can dream can't he? haha 🙂

My alpha was in the ballpark of 45 minutes, I think. I'm not sure too sure anymore given that the day was a blur. I was ridiculously jet-lagged given that I had landed at 3 in the morning the night before coming from Cali and was there, shined and polished in my suit, at 7:30. That, combined with the shininess and magic that was Duke, had me spinning. It was a whirlwind 17 hour trip to NC to say the least 🙂 You're right about the resident though- He interviewed 2-3 others and the longest was about 15 minutes. He got a page in the middle of my interview and I was hoping I'd get to go with him.

I have to admit, I think your idea of a split-personality interviewer sounds like a fun way to keep us sane. Based on the huge number of Charlie Sheen interviews I've watched in recent days I would venture to guess someone on par with that kind of crazy.

[read quickly]
Sure you can dream! Dream's are, after all, what we're made of! No they aren't, tiger blood is what we're made of. Well, what I'm made of.. I'm impervious. Unable to fail. I don't need dreams. Want some of my tiger blood? Wait, I'll get you a car seat. Closer to the stars in that seat, my boy, shoot for the stars... oh, hm, maybe dreams are what we're made of... What do you think Mr. Med School applicant? no answer then? ok next question.

just a preview. Alpha-half: Walt Disney, Beta-half: Charlie Sheen.


My skype interview was 70 minutes. Seems about right, considering. What I would've given to get pulled into a dukemed surg case on interview day... AH!
 
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well now that Charlie Sheen lost his job with 'Two and A Half Men', I'm sure Duke could hire him to do the Skype interview : )

[read quickly]just a preview. Alpha-half: Walt Disney, Beta-half: Charlie Sheen.

Charlie's response to both of these posts:

[YOUTUBE]EsIKexb5DM8[/YOUTUBE]


Walt and Charlie would be pretty epic WINNING, Duh. So would a combo of say Jon Stewart and Glen Beck or Bill O'Reily.

So, both my interviews were pretty close to 30 mins in length. What's all this about there being two types of interviews??

My first interviewer was a medical student--third year I believe--and my second interviewer was a doctor/professor at Duke. Is it more likely that the doctor was the more important interviewer?

Does the alpha interview carry more weight?

Umm, I forget where (it's either on the website or in the alumni magazine article) but Duke mentions that it gives an Alpha and Beta interview. In your case the Alpha was the MD and the Beta was the MSIII. They are meant to assess different parts of your personality. I'm hazy on the particulars though, sorry (too much "Charlie Sheen")
 
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