2011-2012 Duke Application Thread

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Matteo said:
Me either....that's why I refuse to do it.
The real screen at Duke: who can actually complete the secondary.


Best of Luck to All :luck:
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ugh I know, this one's just been sitting in my inbox for almost 3 weeks and I haven't even tried to start it. I feel bad because my parents would love for me to go here, since I live 10min away from Duke. Maybe I'll get some more motivation soon, but by then it could be too late.
 
underdog427 said:
if we are submitting a composite letter in terms of LOR, do we have to also list every professor that is part of the composite letter because my app says I'm at 91% completion, and I can't see why I am not at 100% if I have done all the essays and demographics stuff.
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Yes, there have to be at least 4 LORs listed, with at least 2 being science recs. There is a check box under each entry for "this is part of a composite letter".
 
I am so profoundly uncomfortable about these prompts. Either you risk seeming less complex and uninteresting if you play it down, or you divulge your most difficult moments to someone you've never met (and who's judging you for it). Or you really haven't had all that hard of a life, in which case great for you.

I feel like I have meaningful answers to these questions, but I can't bring myself to fill out this secondary.
 
when i realized i had a real answer for one of these i felt the same way... i kinda thought hmm, i was going to not really get into that whole mess. but once i realized that situation fit, nothing else really seemed right. so enjoy my personal life, stranger. *shrug*
 
percy said:
I am so profoundly uncomfortable about these prompts. Either you risk seeming less complex and uninteresting if you play it down, or you divulge your most difficult moments to someone you've never met (and who's judging you for it). Or you really haven't had all that hard of a life, in which case great for you.

I feel like I have meaningful answers to these questions, but I can't bring myself to fill out this secondary.
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When I first read Duke's secondary prompts, this is pretty much how I felt as well. But, I honestly felt that these questions forced me the most to articulate my strengths and weaknesses, and my motivations for going into medicine...even more so than my personal statement in some cases. Even though the secondary was tough to write, it was the most enjoyable because of this.

And, as I mentioned before, at the interview, my interviewer said specifically that he was looking forward to meeting me because of my answers. I felt that the admissions committee at Duke "knew" me more thoroughly than many other schools'...and as a result, I felt much more like an actual individual during the admissions process instead of just my AMCAS number or something.

I feel like you use the term "judging" negatively, but I don't think it's like this at all. I mean, I wrote about situations that I definitely wouldn't talk about to a random person on the street, but if you think about, it's often those situations that really shape you as a person, or your perceptions, etc. From the perspective of an adcom, I think that's what they're trying to get at.

Secondaries are meant to augment your application to paint a more well-rounded picture of yourself. I personally hated the ones where it was like "Why do you want to go to this school?" because it was like they cared less about me specifically and more about seeing how well I could BS about why I loved XYZ without having ever been there. It was more difficult to write Duke's and UCLA's (another deeply personal secondary), but I ultimately felt that it was more valuable.

Not that this actually helps you write your essays, but it's something to think about, I guess 🙂 Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions or want my $0.02.
 
unepoire said:
When I first read Duke's secondary prompts, this is pretty much how I felt as well. But, I honestly felt that these questions forced me the most to articulate my strengths and weaknesses, and my motivations for going into medicine...even more so than my personal statement in some cases. Even though the secondary was tough to write, it was the most enjoyable because of this.

And, as I mentioned before, at the interview, my interviewer said specifically that he was looking forward to meeting me because of my answers. I felt that the admissions committee at Duke "knew" me more thoroughly than many other schools'...and as a result, I felt much more like an actual individual during the admissions process instead of just my AMCAS number or something.

I feel like you use the term "judging" negatively, but I don't think it's like this at all. I mean, I wrote about situations that I definitely wouldn't talk about to a random person on the street, but if you think about, it's often those situations that really shape you as a person, or your perceptions, etc. From the perspective of an adcom, I think that's what they're trying to get at.

Secondaries are meant to augment your application to paint a more well-rounded picture of yourself. I personally hated the ones where it was like "Why do you want to go to this school?" because it was like they cared less about me specifically and more about seeing how well I could BS about why I loved XYZ without having ever been there. It was more difficult to write Duke's and UCLA's (another deeply personal secondary), but I ultimately felt that it was more valuable.

Not that this actually helps you write your essays, but it's something to think about, I guess 🙂 Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions or want my $0.02.
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I agree with all of this.
The questions get to know the man/woman.
Now, if only we get to contemplate philosophy at the interview! 🙂 If I'm lucky enough to be awarded an interview that is. :xf:
 
unepoire said:
When I first read Duke's secondary prompts, this is pretty much how I felt as well. But, I honestly felt that these questions forced me the most to articulate my strengths and weaknesses, and my motivations for going into medicine...even more so than my personal statement in some cases. Even though the secondary was tough to write, it was the most enjoyable because of this.

And, as I mentioned before, at the interview, my interviewer said specifically that he was looking forward to meeting me because of my answers. I felt that the admissions committee at Duke "knew" me more thoroughly than many other schools'...and as a result, I felt much more like an actual individual during the admissions process instead of just my AMCAS number or something.

I feel like you use the term "judging" negatively, but I don't think it's like this at all. I mean, I wrote about situations that I definitely wouldn't talk about to a random person on the street, but if you think about, it's often those situations that really shape you as a person, or your perceptions, etc. From the perspective of an adcom, I think that's what they're trying to get at.

Secondaries are meant to augment your application to paint a more well-rounded picture of yourself. I personally hated the ones where it was like "Why do you want to go to this school?" because it was like they cared less about me specifically and more about seeing how well I could BS about why I loved XYZ without having ever been there. It was more difficult to write Duke's and UCLA's (another deeply personal secondary), but I ultimately felt that it was more valuable.

Not that this actually helps you write your essays, but it's something to think about, I guess 🙂 Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions or want my $0.02.
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Great response, and thanks.

Do you think you'd feel the same had you not been accepted?

You're right, I used "judging" negatively, but also conditionally. We're all being judged throughout this whole process, but to me this is a very invasive set of criteria that kinda creep me out. And people just have various comfort levels when it comes to divulging their "most significant moral dilemma" or "most humbling experience."

Maybe this is colored by my friends' negative experiences interviewing at Duke, whether by chance or by design. I think I'd feel pretty cruddy if I were to divulge such heavy personal info and then have a negative interview experience and/or get rejected--both of which are more probable than not in the first place.

Ultimately, I really like Duke, and I'm gonna have to bang something out, but I figured it was, y'know, worth complaining in the meantime.
 
percy said:
Great response, and thanks.

Do you think you'd feel the same had you not been accepted?

You're right, I used "judging" negatively, but also conditionally. We're all being judged throughout this whole process, but to me this is a very invasive set of criteria that kinda creep me out. And people just have various comfort levels when it comes to divulging their "most significant moral dilemma" or "most humbling experience."

Maybe this is colored by my friends' negative experiences interviewing at Duke, whether by chance or by design. I think I'd feel pretty cruddy if I were to divulge such heavy personal info and then have a negative interview experience and/or get rejected--both of which are more probable than not in the first place.

Ultimately, I really like Duke, and I'm gonna have to bang something out, but I figured it was, y'know, worth complaining in the meantime.
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I personally think there's a balance. You don't want to play it too safe and say something that makes you look like a poor, shallow, boring, w/e applicant. At the same time you don't want to divulge too many of your weaknesses/secrets/super personal info so that you again look like a bad candidate. These essays take a while. I wrote one, took some time off from it, and kept coming back after a couple days to hammer out the rest. Once you know what you want to write about its easy, but thinking of what you want to write about is the hard part.
 
On the Duke application, it says to indicate whether a LOR writer was part of a "composite recommendation". Does this only apply to premed committees and things of that sort? I have multiple separate letters that I have at my school's LOR service that will be sent out in a packet. Would this be a composite recommendation?
 
percy said:
Great response, and thanks.

Do you think you'd feel the same had you not been accepted?

You're right, I used "judging" negatively, but also conditionally. We're all being judged throughout this whole process, but to me this is a very invasive set of criteria that kinda creep me out. And people just have various comfort levels when it comes to divulging their "most significant moral dilemma" or "most humbling experience."

Maybe this is colored by my friends' negative experiences interviewing at Duke, whether by chance or by design. I think I'd feel pretty cruddy if I were to divulge such heavy personal info and then have a negative interview experience and/or get rejected--both of which are more probable than not in the first place.

Ultimately, I really like Duke, and I'm gonna have to bang something out, but I figured it was, y'know, worth complaining in the meantime.
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I have no idea whether or not I would feel differently if I hadn't been accepted, but I can tell you that I was SURE that I would be rejected at the end of my interview. It was one of my earlier interviews, and one interviewer asked me some pretty tough questions (because of what I had written about). I did make it through with relative composure (I thought), but it was less stellar than some others. Maybe that's what they liked? I have no idea what goes on in the minds of adcoms haha 🙂
 
DunKno said:
On the Duke application, it says to indicate whether a LOR writer was part of a "composite recommendation". Does this only apply to premed committees and things of that sort? I have multiple separate letters that I have at my school's LOR service that will be sent out in a packet. Would this be a composite recommendation?
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I would say 99% no. Sorry I can't be absolutely certain, but for example, my school had a pre-med committee. We had all of our recommendation letters sent to the committee, and THEY wrote another "composite" recommendation with a ranking (Outstanding, Excellent, Average, etc) included. So I think THAT is what they mean when they are talking about "part of a composite recommendation"
 
some Duke students have mentioned to me first year is awful and very stressful--but say 3rd year is "relaxed" with the research year involved

I guess we have to pick our poison
 
For the additional info, would an essay i wrote regarding growing up playing basketball and how it made me a better doctor be appropriate?
 
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Hey, fellow Duke applicants. I've been mulling over this secondary for about a month at this point. I have what I feel is a significant ethical dilemma that I have faced, but it involves a romantic relationship. Is this a subject I should totally avoid? I feel I could answer the question very well with it, but I don't want to touch the subject if its taboo for apps.
 
Cinclus said:
Hey, fellow Duke applicants. I've been mulling over this secondary for about a month at this point. I have what I feel is a significant ethical dilemma that I have faced, but it involves a romantic relationship. Is this a subject I should totally avoid? I feel I could answer the question very well with it, but I don't want to touch the subject if its taboo for apps.
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I personally would go for it - we need experiences that set us apart. Unless you were doing something crazy unethical or something that would piss a lot of people off, I would go for it.
 
For the "optional" prompts, does that just mean that it's "optional" for you to answer, or it's "optional" for you to pick which one you want to answer?
 
luckyducky87 said:
For the "optional" prompts, does that just mean that it's "optional" for you to answer, or it's "optional" for you to pick which one you want to answer?
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I think its optional as in if you want to do it or not - i did it just in case
 
Does anyone know how long it takes to receive interview/rejection? I have been under review for over a week now. Thanks
 
According to the website, interview invites will only be given from Aug 15th onwards.
 
Thank, I guess I somehow missed that info 😳
 
For those of you who have received secondaries, about how long after AMCAS verification did you receive a secondary invite? My AMCAS was verified on July 21, and I haven't received a Duke secondary email, but I've received secondaries from every other school. I just want to be sure I haven't accidentally deleted it or something. Thanks!
 
For me, it was:
AMCAS verified on 6/29
Duke secondary on 7/2
 
Does anyone have stats on how Duke undergrads fare on getting into DukeMed?

I've heard anywhere between 8-15 for a given year (out of 100).

Also, does DukeMed look favorably upon BME at Duke? The difficult curriculum means you aren't as competitive (at least GPA-wise) as other pre-meds who have 3.95 and 4.0 GPAs.
 
Cinclus said:
Me too. That's what happens when a school is non-rolling and has a hugely painful secondary. I have come up with subjects to answer the questions, but the rolling schools get priority with me.
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Wait? Duke is non-rolling?! :whoa:
 
LittleMonster said:
Verified 6/15
Duke secondary 7/2

Submitted....not yet :/
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I was in a similar position. After much procrastination, I finally submitted it yesterday. I feel like I need a vacation after that thing.
 
252e77 said:
I was in a similar position. After much procrastination, I finally submitted it yesterday. I feel like I need a vacation after that thing.
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About how many words did you write for each?
 
LittleMonster said:
About how many words did you write for each?
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Varied a little from essay to essay to essay, right around 400 words per though. The one thing I do have to say is their essay topics are really interesting. In some ways, I wish I had written this one earlier because it gave me a lot of good ideas to work with - kinda like a free-writing exercise.

On the app, make sure if you paste into the boxes from a word processor that you click "remove formatting" and "clean up messy code" to get rid of some random font/spacing issues. I give them major props for including those little things...
 
Wow I just submitted. I'd been sitting on this secondary, thinking about it for over a month. So glad to be done!
 
Anyone else having difficulties with the essays when you copy paste them in? I even tried word->notepad->duke and it gets weird HTML in it when I close and reopen. can't seem to find the HTML toggle... any ideas?
 
beckerism said:
Anyone else having difficulties with the essays when you copy paste them in? I even tried word->notepad->duke and it gets weird HTML in it when I close and reopen. can't seem to find the HTML toggle... any ideas?
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When you input your essays, there are two icons among the editing tools they provide (one looks like a white eraser, I forget what the other one looks like). One resolves formatting issues, and the other removes messy formatting code.
 
is it just me or are all of these essays HIGH RISK? like.. i run the risk of looking like i'm emotionally unstable or that i have a lot of "drama" in my life.
 
edge of desire said:
is it just me or are all of these essays HIGH RISK? like.. i run the risk of looking like i'm emotionally unstable or that i have a lot of "drama" in my life.
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I think it depends on the perspective you present while writing them. Remember: ultimately, as the author, you have the power to shape the message and impression you want your reader to get from whatever it is you are writing. The essays are definitely designed to highlight some pretty "interesting" moments in our lives, but if you write about them honestly, explain why they were significant, and illustrate what you've learned from them, I think it'll come across sounding more genuine than "crazy".
 
edge of desire said:
is it just me or are all of these essays HIGH RISK? like.. i run the risk of looking like i'm emotionally unstable or that i have a lot of "drama" in my life.
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Are you/do you? 😛

I'm banking on the chance that my reader also happens to have a lot of drama in his life...
 
For the essay on the most compelling aspect of your application, is it legitimate to say something like the breadth or diversity or interdisciplinary nature of one's exploration / study of medicine and medicine-related fields?

For the essay on giving back to the community, are they looking for a really personal essay or one that's more analytical?
 
chronicidal said:
For the essay on the most compelling aspect of your application, is it legitimate to say something like the breadth or diversity or interdisciplinary nature of one's exploration / study of medicine and medicine-related fields?

For the essay on giving back to the community, are they looking for a really personal essay or one that's more analytical?
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Again, I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here. It's whatever you feel to be the most compelling aspect of your application and the thing that makes you stand out. If you feel you are a very diverse candidate, either through life experiences or for some other reason, then so be it.
 
On the Duke secondary, it wont let me enter between paragraphs or make any sort of paragraph indentation? Is this the same case for everyone? Thanks!
 
so..is it just me again or is the "humbling experience" and "toughest feedback" essay basically the same?!

also...for some reason my ethical dilemma one is 1100 WORDS, how do i pare it down? i've already gone over it and deleted some. what is the most words you personally wouldn't go over?
 
edge of desire said:
so..is it just me again or is the "humbling experience" and "toughest feedback" essay basically the same?!

also...for some reason my ethical dilemma one is 1100 WORDS, how do i pare it down? i've already gone over it and deleted some. what is the most words you personally wouldn't go over?
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Not necessarily. Though I can see how they could be, an experience can be humbling for other reasons.
 
mcarrick said:
Does anyone have stats on how Duke undergrads fare on getting into DukeMed?

I've heard anywhere between 8-15 for a given year (out of 100).

Also, does DukeMed look favorably upon BME at Duke? The difficult curriculum means you aren't as competitive (at least GPA-wise) as other pre-meds who have 3.95 and 4.0 GPAs.
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So, Duke undergrads tend to do well in terms of acceptances, but you also have to remember that more of them will apply, too. In the current first year class, we have around 20 Dukies (22 maybe?). It's around the same in the second year class from what I've heard. So the 8-15 stat that you've heard is somewhat low. No idea about BME disadvantage/advantage though. Many of my classmates from Duke were Bio or Chem majors, though I know of at least one who was BME. Every medical school tends to have a fairly decent representation from their undergrad....which makes sense. They're getting recommendation letters from faculty that adcom members actually know, and plus you also need to factor in things like selection bias in that Duke undergrads may like to stick around the area for med school even when they are accepted elsewhere. 🙂
 
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