2013-2014 Duke University Application Thread

[JJMrK]

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Reserved for the essay question. PM me when it is available and I will update. GL all.

 

[GemelloMD]

Does anyone know if research experience is necessary for application? I have a small research project for two semesters in undergrad but that's it. However, I have over 5000hrs of clinical experience. (CNA). The rest of my app is competetive.

 

[GrabSlamBoot]

Does anyone know if research experience is necessary for application? I have a small research project for two semesters in undergrad but that's it. However, I have over 5000hrs of clinical experience. (CNA). The rest of my app is competetive.

A two semester research project is enough to show that you have gotten your feet wet in research.

 

[Amba]

So it seems as if Duke is using AMCAS's letter service this year? That makes things somewhat easier. Now they just need to cut 3/4 of their secondary essays and everything will then be perfect 😀

For real, though, Duke seems amazing and the curriculum would fit me well. Would love to end up here.

 

[Narmerguy]

Does anyone know if research experience is necessary for application? I have a small research project for two semesters in undergrad but that's it. However, I have over 5000hrs of clinical experience. (CNA). The rest of my app is competetive.

Obviously your research won't work as a strong forte on your application, but I would think that's enough research for it not to be a major sticking point either. It's great that you have so many other things to offer!

So it seems as if Duke is using AMCAS's letter service this year? That makes things somewhat easier. Now they just need to cut 3/4 of their secondary essays and everything will then be perfect 😀

For real, though, Duke seems amazing and the curriculum would fit me well. Would love to end up here.

A great way to ween out people not serious about attending 😛 I think it likely works in the favor of those who make it through.

 

[TotalDomination]

Obviously your research won't work as a strong forte on your application, but I would think that's enough research for it not to be a major sticking point either. It's great that you have so many other things to offer!



A great way to ween out people not serious about attending 😛 I think it likely works in the favor of those who make it through.

Would love love love love to end up here. Duke is one of my dream schools! I do wonder though, I have approximately a little over 4 years worth of research experience...is this going to work to my disadvantage at all if I apply MD and not to MD/PhD?

 

[hippocratic57]

Hey guys, I am an incoming MS1, and while I am on sdn infrequently, I will try to pop in to check this thread to see if you guys have any questions I might be able to answer! A few notes: 1. Duke is even more awesome than I could have imagined applying (curriculum, staff, students, facilities, research!), remember that it is totally worth it when you write out those long essays for the secondary! 2. Regarding those essays- really take the time to put your heart into it, more than any other school I applied to, Duke puts an enormous amount of effort into the reading and analysis of these essays, with many groups (including professional writers/editors!) giving them a look. Best of luck!!!

 

[Dbate]

Hey guys, I am an incoming MS1, and while I am on sdn infrequently, I will try to pop in to check this thread to see if you guys have any questions I might be able to answer! A few notes: 1. Duke is even more awesome than I could have imagined applying (curriculum, staff, students, facilities, research!), remember that it is totally worth it when you write out those long essays for the secondary! 2. Regarding those essays- really take the time to put your heart into it, more than any other school I applied to, Duke puts an enormous amount of effort into the reading and analysis of these essays, with many groups (including professional writers/editors!) giving them a look. Best of luck!!!

What is Durham like? My undergrad was in a terrible city, so location is a pretty big consideration for me.

 

[ewelling]

Hey guys, I am an incoming MS1, and while I am on sdn infrequently, I will try to pop in to check this thread to see if you guys have any questions I might be able to answer! A few notes: 1. Duke is even more awesome than I could have imagined applying (curriculum, staff, students, facilities, research!), remember that it is totally worth it when you write out those long essays for the secondary! 2. Regarding those essays- really take the time to put your heart into it, more than any other school I applied to, Duke puts an enormous amount of effort into the reading and analysis of these essays, with many groups (including professional writers/editors!) giving them a look. Best of luck!!!

That's really encouraging! I'm trying to put a lot of thought into these essays so I'm glad they really do read them! Thanks for the insight!

 

[hippocratic57]

What is Durham like? My undergrad was in a terrible city, so location is a pretty big consideration for me.

I really like Durham! It is a fairly small city, but also a young, fun city with a pretty vibrant social/arts scene for its size. Being in the research triangle, there are tons of college/graduate students (chapel hill is 10 minutes away) and it has a rapidly growing local fare restaurant scene downtown. One of the most beautiful parts of durham that I saw was the arts/retail downtown. Right next to the Durham Performing arts center, this area has the Durham Bulls stadium, the locally loved triple-A MLB feeder team for the Tampa Bay Rays and a ton of retail shops in what used to be the old Lucky Strike Tobbaco Factory complex. This industrial complex has been transformed into a breathtaking arts and cultural hotspot and really captures a fusion of antique industrial and modern chic. But I digress: cool young crowd, decent nightlife, good art/culture, and amazing food. Also it is only a couple hours away from both the mountains and the beaches, so some students will take weekend road trips in either direction!

Also, coming from a cold, cold undergrad (maybe the same one as you), I can say the weather is as good as it gets (Air conditioner weather much of the year!)

 

[Narmerguy]

Would love love love love to end up here. Duke is one of my dream schools! I do wonder though, I have approximately a little over 4 years worth of research experience...is this going to work to my disadvantage at all if I apply MD and not to MD/PhD?

I doubt it. I'm in a similar boat and I think the goal is to be able to demonstrate/articulate why medicine is a better fit for your interests than a strictly research career. It's worth keeping in mind that plenty of very successful physician researchers have only an MD, so there's no requirement to do the MD/PhD even if you do have a genuine interest in continuing research as a physician.

 

[GoPelicans]

more than any other school I applied to, Duke puts an enormous amount of effort into the reading and analysis of these essays, with many groups (including professional writers/editors!) giving them a look. Best of luck!!!

Everybody says this about every school ever.

 

[Dbate]

I really like Durham! It is a fairly small city, but also a young, fun city with a pretty vibrant social/arts scene for its size. Being in the research triangle, there are tons of college/graduate students (chapel hill is 10 minutes away) and it has a rapidly growing local fare restaurant scene downtown. One of the most beautiful parts of durham that I saw was the arts/retail downtown. Right next to the Durham Performing arts center, this area has the Durham Bulls stadium, the locally loved triple-A MLB feeder team for the Tampa Bay Rays and a ton of retail shops in what used to be the old Lucky Strike Tobbaco Factory complex. This industrial complex has been transformed into a breathtaking arts and cultural hotspot and really captures a fusion of antique industrial and modern chic. But I digress: cool young crowd, decent nightlife, good art/culture, and amazing food. Also it is only a couple hours away from both the mountains and the beaches, so some students will take weekend road trips in either direction!

Also, coming from a cold, cold undergrad (maybe the same one as you), I can say the weather is as good as it gets (Air conditioner weather much of the year!)

I'm from Texas, so its nice to hear the weather is better!

I will admit that I am hesitant to apply because I am afraid of the size of the city. After spending four years in a city with literally nothing to do, I am looking for a large, vibrant city. So I will have to think about this.

And thanks ALOT for taking the time out to respond!

 

[Soulstice]

I interviewed at 20 schools, and I heard the same fluff you are referring to about schools all claiming to give essays careful consideration. I wrote that section because despite being exposed to that constantly, the Duke admissions office, students, and staff all spoke about the essential importance (far more than standard) of these essays in identifying the type of student they wanted and it was clearly true. You will note that not all schools place importance on, or in some cases even require secondary essays. Duke requires six long secondary essays for a reason, and if you end up at the Duke interview, you will understand how key a role those essays play in the process.

Having experienced that, are there any key messages or underlying themes that they really like to see in their students (that would be wise to articulate in the essay)?

 

[hippocratic57]

See below.

 

[GrabSlamBoot]

Having experienced that, are there any key messages or underlying themes that they really like to see in their students (that would be wise to articulate in the essay)?

Duke isn't looking for anything special or extraordinary in these essays. Be honest and speak from the heart. They are trying to get a glimpse into who you are as a person that's why they have such grueling secondaries. Be honest and be yourself and try to show them that you possess those traits(such as empathy compassion, humility) that will help you become a great physician

 

[yellowfish]

What is Durham like? My undergrad was in a terrible city, so location is a pretty big consideration for me.

Durham is OK. Don't get your hopes up in thinking that Durham is a world class city, because it definitely isn't. I lived there for two years and I enjoyed it, but there isn't that much stuff to do. There are a couple main college streets that have restaurants and shops, as well as a few centers throughout the city. There are very few bars and not a whole lot of night life, so most people travel to nearby Chapel Hill for those sorts of things. The weather is pretty nice though and it's conveniently located within a few hours driving distance of both the mountains and the beach. At the end of the day, it's your friends and classmates that will make your medical school experience what it is. Durham definitely isn't ever a "plus" in my books, but it could be worse.

Everybody says this about every school ever.

I can say that in my experience Duke certainly placed more emphasis on this than any other school I had interactions with.

 

[Codynna]

I'll be applying here. am rooting for all of us 🙂

 

[blc]

Question about letters:

If Duke is using the AMCAS Letter Service this year, but they also request that we don't send letters unless we've received an interview: should we assign our letters to Duke now, or should we wait until then to do anything? My understanding was that assigning them only made them available for download (so it would be ok to do so now) but I'm unsure.

 

[ohshihtzu]

Question about letters:

If Duke is using the AMCAS Letter Service this year, but they also request that we don't send letters unless we've received an interview: should we assign our letters to Duke now, or should we wait until then to do anything? My understanding was that assigning them only made them available for download (so it would be ok to do so now) but I'm unsure.

Feel free to assign them now. They haven't updated the admissions website yet for this cycle.

 

[McRunner]

God this is my absolute dream school. I'm so torn about not going MD/PhD but a strong research requirement makes it such a match! Hopefully they put some emphasis on upward trends and essays and letters though :/ anyone know their past emphasis lately, besides the standard?

 

[piggle]

This is my UG school and I absolutely love it. The physicians and med students here are super friendly and really excited about being a part of the Duke family. I would love to end up here. Here's hoping!

Also, the previous posters are right, Durham isn't always that exciting (actually it's rarely exciting) but it is pretty cozy and is quite a foodie city. Also, there are a bunch of outdoorsy things to do (like go swimming in the quarry, hiking at Eno, etc). Finally, chapel hill is close enough by that you can always go over there for entertainment (even if it is the home of the enemy 😛)

 

[yoyohomieg5432]

I was looking at the duke pre requisites and it says 1 semester of biochem is required. I did a year of organic chem. Does anyone know if orgo II can substitute for biochem?

Or can I still apply without having biochem and take biochem if I were to be conditionally accepted or something?

 

[GrabSlamBoot]

I was looking at the duke pre requisites and it says 1 semester of biochem is required. I did a year of organic chem. Does anyone know if orgo II can substitute for biochem?

Or can I still apply without having biochem and take biochem if I were to be conditionally accepted or something?

For most schools, courses like biochem that are listed as required are expected to be completed prior to matriculation. So if you are accepted then you should take biochem in the fall or spring. I'm not sure if orgo could substitute. I wouldn't think so since orgo2 is required anyways as a separate Pre-req. I'd give the admissions office a call though and see what they say.

 

[blc]

Did anyone else receive this e-mail from Duke?

"Thank you for your interest in the Duke University School of Medicine.

The AMCAS Application Deadline for DukeMed was October 15th, 2012.

You have received this email because you submitted a request for AMCAS to process/verify your application after this posted deadline. Records are processed by AMCAS in the order they are received, which may take from anywhere from 4-6 weeks to verify your application. Even though we have your application, our Admissions Committee has instructed this office to discontinue distribution of the secondary application to all applicants who missed the deadline at this time.

Regards,

THE OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS"

It seems that the system assumed that the application was for the previous cycle.

 

[Amba]

Did anyone else receive this e-mail from Duke?

"Thank you for your interest in the Duke University School of Medicine.

The AMCAS Application Deadline for DukeMed was October 15th, 2012.

You have received this email because you submitted a request for AMCAS to process/verify your application after this posted deadline. Records are processed by AMCAS in the order they are received, which may take from anywhere from 4-6 weeks to verify your application. Even though we have your application, our Admissions Committee has instructed this office to discontinue distribution of the secondary application to all applicants who missed the deadline at this time.

Regards,

THE OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS"

It seems that the system assumed that the application was for the previous cycle.

Just got this as well. Hmm.

 

[pommery]

Yup, I got it too. I'm not sure if I should call them myself or just wait for them to figure out and fix the glitch.

 

[ewelling]

Did anyone else receive this e-mail from Duke?

"Thank you for your interest in the Duke University School of Medicine.

The AMCAS Application Deadline for DukeMed was October 15th, 2012.

You have received this email because you submitted a request for AMCAS to process/verify your application after this posted deadline. Records are processed by AMCAS in the order they are received, which may take from anywhere from 4-6 weeks to verify your application. Even though we have your application, our Admissions Committee has instructed this office to discontinue distribution of the secondary application to all applicants who missed the deadline at this time.

Regards,

THE OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS"

It seems that the system assumed that the application was for the previous cycle.

+1....I was hoping it was a secondary email 🙁

 

[Agnieszka020]

I got it too.. I called admissions office but no one picked up

 

[pommery]

Never mind, I did call and they said they're aware of the mistake and will fix it by Monday.

 

[piggle]

well, I'm glad to know that I wasn't the only one who received that email. For a sec, I misread it and thought they were saying that they weren't going to send me a secondary for THIS cycle >.<

 

[yoyohomieg5432]

if i didn't receive that email is it an indication of anything?

my apps went out today. i got one email confirming they received my application but i dont know if every school does that and the average time it takes for a response email

 

[GrabSlamBoot]

if i didn't receive that email is it an indication of anything?

my apps went out today. i got one email confirming they received my application but i dont know if every school does that and the average time it takes for a response email

No, be patient if you submitted your app to AMCAS duke will receive it 🙂 enjoy the holiday weekend you guys should hear something soon.

 

[jeghaber]

Not having a smart phone is going to either be a blessing or curse during this cycle, hahah. I just saw the email from Duke and was able to immediately check SDN to confirm that I didn't do something horribly wrong. This is why SDN is so helpful! 😍

 

[yoyohomieg5432]

No, be patient if you submitted your app to AMCAS duke will receive it 🙂 enjoy the holiday weekend you guys should hear something soon.

i should rephrase my previous post.

i received a message from one school (not duke) that they received my app. but haven't at any other yet.

 

[DR MOM]

Looks like we got our first rejection out of the way. 😉

I feel bad for the person getting all of the complaints about the mix up.

 

[jaybird117]

Yeah, I got that weird email too, replied asking them to double-check, though I'm sure they're already aware of the problem 😀

 

[blc]

Question about the secondary:

I just got an e-mail asking me to activate my application, but there's no place to input the activation code when I try to access the website. I also saw this message on the website:

"Due to an AMCAS delay, the 2014 DukeMed Supplemental Application is now scheduled to open on July 8th, 2013."

Does that mean that even if we were e-mailed, we cannot activate our applications until July 8th?

 

[ewelling]

Question about the secondary:

I just got an e-mail asking me to activate my application, but there's no place to input the activation code when I try to access the website. I also saw this message on the website:

"Due to an AMCAS delay, the 2014 DukeMed Supplemental Application is now scheduled to open on July 8th, 2013."

Does that mean that even if we were e-mailed, we cannot activate our applications until July 8th?

I can't get in either 🙁

 

[jeghaber]

I can't get in either 🙁

Yup, I just get the "The application information you submitted does not match any of our records." message when I put in my information to activate 🙄

 

[Amba]

Question about the secondary:

I just got an e-mail asking me to activate my application, but there's no place to input the activation code when I try to access the website. I also saw this message on the website:

"Due to an AMCAS delay, the 2014 DukeMed Supplemental Application is now scheduled to open on July 8th, 2013."

Does that mean that even if we were e-mailed, we cannot activate our applications until July 8th?

Most likely, but possibly sooner. To be honest, I'm not too upset by this delay - between Columbia, JHU, and Case/CCLCM, I have enough difficult and long secondaries to work on 😛

 

[plumazul]

Most likely, but possibly sooner. To be honest, I'm not too upset by this delay - between Columbia, JHU, and Case/CCLCM, I have enough difficult and long secondaries to work on 😛

I could not agree more. 😀

 

[yoyohomieg5432]

I heard duke doesn't use amcas letters? can anyone fill me in on how we submit letters?I have a letter packet in amcas now

 

[jeghaber]

I heard duke doesn't use amcas letters? can anyone fill me in on how we submit letters?I have a letter packet in amcas now

Duke has switched over to using AMCAS for their letters, so no need to do anything -- you're set! 🙂

 

[dkpremed]

On MSAR their 10th percentile for verbal is a 10, do you still think it is worth me applying if I have a 9? It would already be one of my reach schools regardless because of a 32 MCAT but I have a 3.9 GPA.

Thanks guys!

 

[Amba]

On MSAR their 10th percentile for verbal is a 10, do you still think it is worth me applying if I have a 9? It would already be one of my reach schools regardless because of a 32 MCAT but I have a 3.9 GPA.

Thanks guys!

I think it's worth shot if you have a decent research background.

I really hope Duke doesn't change any of their secondary essays. 3 of 5 done today!

 

[Soulstice]

I mean, I'm applying with a 3.7 and 34, both of which are low for Duke .. I figure someone has to be in that 10th percentile. Plus, if I recall, I believe MSAR provides stats for accepted students, and not matriculated students. The matriculant data is almost always slightly lower, since usually most people go to one of the best schools they get into.

 

[McRunner]

I'm still waiting for my MCAT, but this is definitely a huge reach for me, but my dream school. I just wish I could erase my freshman year GPA :'(

 

[rudziutki]

I think it's worth shot if you have a decent research background.

I really hope Duke doesn't change any of their secondary essays. 3 of 5 done today!

Have you done the humbling experience one? Just looking at a blank screen for the past two hours here 😛:

 

[Amba]

Have you done the humbling experience one? Just looking at a blank screen for the past two hours here 😛:

Yep, just did. I had a really bad marathon back in January so I used that haha. I'm stuck on the moral dilemma. I also have Why Duke left, but that'll be easy (because Duke is awesome 😛)