2011-2012 Duke Application Thread

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Hello. I just wanted to say....rest assured that Duke is not stuck-up, as some of the earlier posts I have read alluded to. These essays about which many of you complain - keep in mind the Adcom takes the time to read them and form an opinion about your character and the type of applicant you are holistically. Many other Adcoms choose instead to filter you based on numbers and statistics, and we all know these things do not define a person. I would like to spin this positively and encourage you to instead be grateful for the people who sit on this committee, the people who WANT to take the extra time to get to know you. Even if writing isn't your forte, be thankful you get the chance to express your unique candidacy. With that said, good luck to all! Rest assured these secondaries matter so write your hearts out! 😍
 
I appreciated how the essays really allow the reader to get to know you on a deeper level; I just really hate writing. lol I love Duke though, and I hope I get a chance to tell them in person. 🙂
 
Interview invite!!! Submitted 7/14. Excited for MMI!
 
Interview invite here as well - same day that I attended the Duke-NUS interview back home in Singapore...
 
I like how they even let you choose your lunch! Curious about this MMI thing too.
 
I'm going to be in NC interviewing at another school at the end of October, and I wanted to send Duke an "in the area" email. My other interview is on 10/24, a Monday, and, since Duke only interviews on Mondays and Fridays, the only possibility that makes this "convenient" would be 10/21.

So, I have two questions:
For those that have scheduled recently, were spaces still available around then? And, since there's only one possible day, is it even worth emailing?

If they gave me an interview 🙂xf🙂 later in the cycle, I'd definitely fly back across the country for them, but it would just be so much easier...
 
Yeah, I remember a lot of the Oct dates were still available. But I'm not sure about the exact dates you mention, Aviatrix. But send the in the area e-mail anyway and cross fingers? Good luck!
 
For those who received interviews, did anyone NOT write the optional essay?
 
Yraqi said:
For those who received interviews, did anyone NOT write the optional essay?
Click to expand...

I did not write anything under "additional considerations."
I wrote the optional fourth essay, where I chose the "most compelling" question.
 
am i right in assuming that everyone so far that has gotten an interview invite turned in their secondary in july? i turned mine in aug, no II yet, but if my theory was correct then we get an idea of how long and in depth they are reading our essays.
 
edge of desire said:
am i right in assuming that everyone so far that has gotten an interview invite turned in their secondary in july? i turned mine in aug, no II yet, but if my theory was correct then we get an idea of how long and in depth they are reading our essays.
Click to expand...

nope. I turned in my secondary on aug 11.
 
I turned mine in on Jul 16th, and wrote the optional essay (physician's role in the community) and additional considerations too (about growing up in another country, immigration...stuff that I didn't cover elsewhere).
 
best of luck everyone :luck:

also, i encourage all applicants to stay with a student host - my classmates and i are all really excited to meet you!
 
Is it just me, or did anyone else not see exactly how much the secondary fee was before or after hitting submit? Not that it really matters at this point of course, and I'll see it on my statement...but who doesn't put that down?
 
idf27 said:
Is it just me, or did anyone else not see exactly how much the secondary fee was before or after hitting submit? Not that it really matters at this point of course, and I'll see it on my statement...but who doesn't put that down?
Click to expand...

I also noticed that. I think it's $85.
 
Cinclus said:
I also noticed that. I think it's $85.
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Yeah, I spoke too soon, I got the confirmation e-mail right after posting that. Thanks though, I was on a poor internet connection so I was a little worried the browser just didn't load that part or something. As if I should really have a chance submitting at this point. Ah well, better late than never right? :xf:
 
idf27 said:
Yeah, I spoke too soon, I got the confirmation e-mail right after posting that. Thanks though, I was on a poor internet connection so I was a little worried the browser just didn't load that part or something. As if I should really have a chance submitting at this point. Ah well, better late than never right? :xf:
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I hope we have a chance. I submitted my Duke secondary earlier this month after spending two months trying to come up with answers to their questions. I think it came out kind of weird, but we'll see what happens. 🙂
 
sharkbait9789 said:
I got invited to interview 1 week ago on 9/20, but am still debating whether I should go. Their interviewed/accepted ratio is quite low. I do love the program, but interviewing would basically mean charging plane tickets and dropping my credit score lower.

I already have 3 other top-10 interview invites, still debating.
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I already interviewed and they made it clear that because they have a new MMI interview format, they have fewer interview spots and are being much more selective about who they interview. Ultimately, this means that the interview:acceptance ratios from previous years don't apply this year.
 
interviewed here recently. They said they'd only be interviewing around 700 this year.
 
I just received an interview invite! I was complete in early July for anyone interested.

Good luck, everyone!
 
to anyone interviewing on fri oct 21, stay with a student host!! it could be me 😀
 
SEE13 said:
I already interviewed and they made it clear that because they have a new MMI interview format, they have fewer interview spots and are being much more selective about who they interview. Ultimately, this means that the interview:acceptance ratios from previous years don't apply this year.
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What's the logic behind this? Isn't MMI a way to cycle through a greater number of interviewees? I feel like the more I read up on MMI, the more skeptical I become.
 
percy said:
What's the logic behind this? Isn't MMI a way to cycle through a greater number of interviewees? I feel like the more I read up on MMI, the more skeptical I become.
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The logic behind the numbers is that they can only do 50 students a week. That has more to do with the logistics of the MMI than anything else. 50 students a week, for roughly 12 interview weeks= 600 interviews.

I'm kind of skeptical of it myself, but the studies out there indicate that it takes a lot of the variance out of interviews, which seems to be something adcoms are interested in. I've done one MMI, and I didn't think it was hard, or that it really allowed me to differentiate myself from other applicants, but we will see what happens.
 
Shakespeare37 said:
The logic behind the numbers is that they can only do 50 students a week. That has more to do with the logistics of the MMI than anything else. 50 students a week, for roughly 12 interview weeks= 600 interviews.

I'm kind of skeptical of it myself, but the studies out there indicate that it takes a lot of the variance out of interviews, which seems to be something adcoms are interested in. I've done one MMI, and I didn't think it was hard, or that it really allowed me to differentiate myself from other applicants, but we will see what happens.
Click to expand...

This is all true. Duke is definitely interviewing fewer this year. Also, you have to remember that they are only interviewing on Mondays and Fridays...as opposed to every day of the week, which was the case during my cycle (last year).

MMI definitely does take a lot of variance out, which can be good, but can also be bad. You will all likely have one standard interview elsewhere where you do not "click" with the interviewer, and then that sucks because they're supposed to be your advocate on the adcom. With MMI, you know that every other applicant is getting the same questions/prompts...so it does level the playing field. If you don't happen to get along with one of the interviewers just based on personality or whatever, it's not the end of your chances.

Then again, you could have a fabulous interview with one interviewer at another school that you wouldn't normally be able to do with the MMI format. But even with MMI, there's opportunities to make your personality shine 🙂 Hope that makes sense!

If you get to interview at Duke, I would highly recommend that you take the opportunity. Even if you have lots of other interviews (and you most likely will, since Duke wants to interview you!), the entire med school admissions process really is a crapshoot, imho (especially with the top 10/25/whatever you want to make your cutoff). If you're interviewing, it means the med school already pretty much considers you as someone who could easily be in the first year class, and it seems a shame to rob yourself of the opportunity to have more options come May 15. And I think the money you spend now (probably not over a few thousand) for traveling/incidentals during interviews...in the long haul, probably isn't going to add up to much when you consider opportunity cost.

Good luck! Message me with any specific questions if you have them 🙂
 
bookfreak89 said:
Yeah, that was my concern, but the benefits seem to good to pass up: Dedicated research time/time to acquire a second degree, more time to study for Step I if you need it, more time to figure out what specialty you want to do and plan the appropriate electives/away rotations, etc. From what I have been reading, it seems that those schools that have a reduced pre-clinical curriculum have a slight edge in terms of having time to do electives needed for their specialty before submitting the ERAS. That's just my opinion, though. A current Duke Med student will probably shed some light on this issue. My only other issue with Duke is um..Durham. Maybe you can shed some light on that YNK? :laugh:
Click to expand...

I've lived here for a little over seven years now, and all I can say to this post is that Durham today is FAR better than it was when I moved here. Here are a few recent articles that may shed some light:
http://goo.gl/BXrY4
http://goo.gl/XSM78
http://goo.gl/dDF5u
http://goo.gl/A3aco

In another recent article, the following statement shows a favorable swing in the impression. "Eighteen years ago, when we would go out and survey residents of Wake County, for every one person that was positive [about Durham], there were four negative. Now, for every one negative, there are six positive," Green explained. "It took 18 years. Eventually you can get them to be positive." - http://goo.gl/JEhHR

In short, Durham has seen vast improvements since I moved here... and I only think it will get better.
 
sharkbait9789 said:
I got invited to interview 1 week ago on 9/20, but am still debating whether I should go. Their interviewed/accepted ratio is quite low. I do love the program, but interviewing would basically mean charging plane tickets and dropping my credit score lower.

I already have 3 other top-10 interview invites, still debating.
Click to expand...

All of the "top 10" programs have pros and cons and unique flavors. One thing we don't want at Duke is arrogance and entitlement. If you're looking for a school that is going to cater to your whims and desires rather than provide you with a structured learning environment, maybe you should consider one of the "3 other top-10 interview invites."
 
Nomdeplume said:
Yeah, I would say it's pretty natural to feel at least a "bit queasy" after seeing that, especially if you're not conditioned to that type of stuff. Don't worry. lol
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Not everyone's meant to do surgery... Don't worry if this bothered you. There are plenty of niches within medicine where you may never have to see blood or gore again. That's what we call radiology. 🙂
 
Howdy! I just received an interview invite as well and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on traveling arrangements from the airport/to the university? I will be traveling from out of the country as well... Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks and congrats to everyone else!
 
Invite this morning. Special thanks to unepoire for convincing me to fill that sucker out. 🙂
 
I never got around to emailing them that I would be in the area later this month, but, this morning, interview invite!
 
II! Submitted my app early Sept.

So glad that I went through with this now. The introspection involved was actually... helpful.
 
invite! oos 35R,cGPA 3.5, sGPA 3.35 (yea i was amazed i got invited with it too 🙂 ) complete 7-25
 
One conclusion paragraph of one secondary essay to go. Does Duke actually read these?
 
Still waiting for word. Secondary complete towards the end of Sept.

I'd love to get an interview here - Duke is amazing.
 
Interview invite email at 5:32 AM! And I was just in Durham last week!!! But I can't really be upset about something like this. 🙂
 
First interview invite!!!!!! soooo excited. finished the secondary in mid-september.

I have not picked the date yet. For those who know, how do we arrange staying with a host student? Do they send the info after we select the date?!? sooooooooooo excited!! 😀 😀
 
InterStudent said:
First interview invite!!!!!! soooo excited. finished the secondary in mid-september.

I have not picked the date yet. For those who know, how do we arrange staying with a host student? Do they send the info after we select the date?!? sooooooooooo excited!! 😀 😀
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You'll get information about staying with a host after you pick your date. The hosting committee matches you to someone who is available, and you figure out the details directly with them, not through the school 🙂
 
unepoire said:
You'll get information about staying with a host after you pick your date. The hosting committee matches you to someone who is available, and you figure out the details directly with them, not through the school 🙂
Click to expand...

Do you know when we can expect to hear back about hosting? Just wondering because I submitted my hosting form a few weeks ago and haven't heard back. Then again, my interview is in November, so it isn't urgent.
 
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