Are my stats and EC good enough for a prestigious college?
I’m a junior in high school right now and I want to go to Duke, or a school to that level. Duke is very very competitive so if anyone can give me advice or info based on my stats that would be much appreciated! It’s causing me a lot of stress feeling that I haven’t done enough. I am a legacy of Duke bc my mom went there.
My academics are basic. I have a 4.16 gpa right now, but my overall as of now (end of first semester of junior year) is a 4.00 because of the one B I received in chemistry last year. For APs, by the end of senior year, I would have taken all except for 1/2 of a year possible for my school, which is around 4.5/12 ish total offered at my school. (I switched into an AP this year, so it’s .5) my school only has 5 academic periods and APs aren’t available until junior year, and most are extracurriculars and not standard English and History, so a majority is only available as a senior.
My school doesn’t have any class rankings
I didn’t have access to the PSAT because of my school district, but am planning on taking the SAT.
I have been dancing since 3rd grade, and now do about 25 hours a week, and have been doing 25 hours per week since freshman year. (Before was less just because I was in a lower level).
My school is a public arts high school, which I attended for dance. 10/25 hrs a week comes for, the 2 hours of “art block” I do at school every day. Every summer since 2018 I have attended a dance summer intensive for 3+ weeks
I am a part of environmental club, and have been since freshman year (and middle school), and was a core member last year. (I can’t anymore bc of my dance schedule)
I have been part of an all girls charity and leadership organization since 6th grade, where every year, 15 hours of philanthropy, 10 hours of meetings, and 15 hours of league are required.
At the end of last year, I took over my sisters “project”, donating period products to homeless shelters, where I fundraise or ask for donations of products, and put together kits to give away.
I feel that I am doing so much everyday, as I am doing how, at school, or dancing from 8am to 9pm everyday, but I still feel like I don’t have even a chance at prestigious schools.
Thank you so much any feedback and guidance on what to do or how I look to prestigious colleges is very much appreciated!
Ps. I also go to therapy weekly haha
Hi @Sloth! Your academic stats and extracurriculars sound great! In order to be competitive for prestigious schools, you have to think about how you can differentiate yourself from other high-achieving students. Your commitment to dance and the community service work that you do will be the highlights of your application, so how you describe those in your application will be really important. My biggest piece of advice is to start drafting your essays and activity descriptions this summer and make sure those are really polished before you submit. Overall, I think you are on the right track. If you want some more personalized advice, I'll be doing a live profile review on Tuesday, and you can submit your profile for review here: https://www.collegevine.com/livestreams/4315/live-profile-review-with-shravya
Best of luck!
Ok, wow. Your stats are pretty incredible. You have a good chance of getting into Duke.
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