r/duke • u/Mumbleton Trinity 2006 • Sep 02 '26

Prospective 2026-2027 Duke Admissions/Prospective Students Mega-Thread

Please use this thread to ask all your admissions questions. This can be general questions about certain majors, admissions advice, questions about Durham and the campus, etc.

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u/Individual-Tour2746 10d ago

I was thinking of submitting a cinematic arts portfolio to Duke but I was confused on what this part of the portfolio submission meant.

"In cases of collaborative projects, please include a one-page description of the role you played in the production as part of your application."

My works are collaborative, as I typically co-write them, but I am the one directing, filming, and editing the final project. What would a one-page description look like? Is there any examples online I can at for a cinematic art portfolio submission?

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u/sampleabcd18 22d ago

Hey folks,

I’m planning on applying to Duke’s AIPI program and wanted to hear feedback’s and reviews from people.

Thanks in advance!!

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u/BrianHeidik_GOAT 23d ago

Where do you draw the line when it comes to submitting an SAT score?

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u/Zealousideal_Cat_608 22d ago

this is like super irrelevant. but the middle 50% at duke is 1520-1570, and some people say not to submit if you’re below q1 (1520). id say if you have at least a 1500. i got in with a 1510 last year (800m 710 rw)

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u/Right-Zucchini3360 28d ago

for all those who are on financial aid and ran the net price calcultor before applying, was it similar, lower or higher than your actual cost of attendance when you enrolled?

thanks!

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u/Zealousideal_Cat_608 22d ago

the price i pay is lower than the net price calculator simply bc we aren’t billed for some things and i opted out of other things (e.g. student insurance). however, mine was only low because i have siblings in college, and i know the NPC is sometimes inaccurate for people, especially if you don’t have typical assets

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u/Fluid_Willow_1527 29d ago

Hi! I'm planning to ED to Duke this application cycle. I've been set on majoring BME at Pratt. However, I'm wondering whether not having any practical engineering ECs will hurt my chances. My main ECs are all more computational biology and data science+health focused rather than traditional engineering (like hardware or robotics). I am really interested in BME as a field and Duke's program, but would it benefit me to apply to Trinity instead under statistical science or another major?

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u/alwaysSleepy150 24d ago

Definitely apply as Pratt!! I was BME and had applied with proportionally more (like massively 😆) non-traditional engineering ECs.

An on top of that, even if you do end up wanting to switch later on, it's easier to switch to Trinity from Pratt than from Trinity to Pratt.

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u/ItzOnlyOblivion 26d ago

No i recomend just applying as pratt. The experiences you have show you are passionate. You dont need engineering skills or ECs coming in.

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u/Dry_Bet_5805 Sep 15 '26

Hi! I plan to ed to duke, and would be a freshman next year. What is the social scene like when you are not in Greek life? I know that duke isn’t associated with the since 2021, but how large of an impact is there socially? I myself am pretty social and extroverted but is Greek life smothering? Let me know!

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u/alwaysSleepy150 24d ago

greek life is definitely a fair part of duke's social culture but it by no means overshadows anything. I was never really interested in—nor did I partake in—greek life and am definitely introverted + spent a LOT of time doing research / ECs / studying. Still had a great social life!

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u/Zealousideal_Cat_608 28d ago

greek life does exist. i’m very introverted and never really had a good social life, but (current freshman) have a way better social life already while still being super introverted. i imagine as an extrovert you will not have any problems! greek life is not that big of a deal if you aren’t involved with it. doesn’t rly affect much

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u/AsleepDebt Sep 09 '26

Hello! I’m a senior who is very interested in Duke! I just have a quick question about my Letter of Recommendation.

Is it okay to use a 10th teacher for my letter of recommendation, specifically for Duke? They say they prefer a 11th grade teacher but this teacher knows me quite well and has written several other recommendations for me throughout high school.

This teacher taught me in AP Biology, which is what I want to major in. But, I didn’t do any other things with her (like clubs) except be in her.

Would I really be hurting my chances if I use this teacher as my recommendation?

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u/alwaysSleepy150 24d ago

If they can speak well about you, not at all! I just graduated recently but had one rec from a 10th grade teacher as well!

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u/real_pseudo Sep 09 '26

Hi there! I'm a current freshman at Duke, and when I applied, one of my recommenders had only taught me in 10th grade (AP Chem). However, I also had a teacher who taught me all 4 years and 2 junior year teachers write letters.

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u/AsleepDebt Sep 09 '26

Thank you! My other recs are from an AP teacher from 11th grade and my optional is from professor who I worked with during summer before 11th grade. Do you think that would be okay?

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u/real_pseudo Sep 10 '26

As with everything else, it depends on the context of your application, but if your relationships are good with those people, and they can say great, specific things about you, the letters should be great!

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u/AsleepDebt Sep 10 '26

Thank you so much!!

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u/Fit_Shelter8595 Sep 07 '26

Hello!

I’m international student from Dominican Republic applying ED to trinity college, my main doubt about everything is; what percent of internationals get into in ed and applying ed and how competitive is?

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u/Purple-Try2797 Sep 05 '26

Hello!

I’m an international prospective student from the Philippines looking to apply to Trinity for Neuroscience for Fall 2027. I’m a very average student in terms of extracurriculars since I come from a rural area for most of junior high school and only transferred to an urban senior high school for 11th and 12th grade (my school is University of Santo Tomas SHS). I think the strongest part of my application is my stats, I’m confident I’m gonna get a high SAT score (1st and only try this September) and I’m also Valedictorian in my Junior High, and top 1% of my current Senior High. I have a lot of leadership and volunteer experience, but I don’t necessarily have a so called ‘spike.’ I’m worried that if I apply ED to Duke, they’d flat out reject me since I’m also going to apply for financial aid :((.. I know it’s gonna be need-aware for internationals so I alr know my odds are slim. But I still want to ED to Duke because it’s my first choice school. I wanted to ask, how hard it is to switch majors at Duke, and if it is recommended to declare an ‘easier’ major in my common app then switch later on?

Please give me blue devil dust 🥹🥹🥹

4

u/Zealousideal_Cat_608 Sep 05 '26

you don’t get accepted to a major, you’re accepted to a school. everyone who gets admitted to duke is undeclared, so trying to apply to a specific major and then “switching” is useless. you cannot declare until your sophomore year. the majors you list that you have interest in are practically useless.

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u/Many-Ideal-7753 5d ago

Is it best if I mention my academic interest or majors in my why duke supp

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u/Zealousideal_Cat_608 4d ago

you should frame your Why Duke supplemental as why you want to go to school. honestly, in my opinion, if you have to talk about your major or academic interest in your Why Duke essay, you haven’t done enough research to write a good Why Duke essay.

that being said, you can connect your academic interest to specific programs at Duke, but I wouldn’t frame it as just like “I want to go to Duke because it’s good for X major”

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u/[deleted] Sep 05 '26

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u/Zealousideal_Cat_608 Sep 05 '26

if a $75 fee waiver presents a financial hardship to you as an international student you should probably not consider duke