Congrats to all of those who have finally received official notification of their acceptances to Duke. For those of you who got the "alternate" letter, I feel your pain. I was in your position last year, and I eventually got "the call" in June. Duke was my #1 choice, so I jumped at the chance. I think there are actually 6 people in our first year class that were pulled off the list last summer. They never told me my ranking, but they eventually told me that I was in the top half of the list (never found out how long that list was). As for things I did, I sent an updated transcript/activities list, and I let them know that if accepted, I would definitely attend. I don't know if it helped, but it didn't hurt. I know the waiting is horrible, but next year when you're knee-deep in Microbiology, it will seem like ancient history.