2016-2017 Duke University Application Thread

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Skittsie13 said:
No, I think it's real. I think they made a big mistake last year in interpreting the new MCAT. I'm just wondering how it bodes for this year's applicants/those with old MCAT scores.
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LOL well I hope it happens again ...
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Skittsie13 said:
No, I think it's real. I think they made a big mistake last year in interpreting the new MCAT. I'm just wondering how it bodes for this year's applicants/those with old MCAT scores.
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lol, no, I don't think it's accurate. Last year's scores were the most competitive yet.
 
Australopithekus said:
lol, no, I don't think it's accurate. Last year's scores were the most competitive yet.
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They stated it themselves in their secondary email...

"While applicants are not screened entirely based on their Medical College Admission Test ("MCAT") score or undergraduate grade point average ("GPA"), the mean MCAT score and GPA of successful applicants has historically been 36, 513 and 3.80, respectively."

It may not have been a mistake -- they may have just focused on other components of the applications due to the uncertainty of the new MCAT. But they've very clearly stated their MCAT2015 average. 513 is 90th percentile which is roughly a 33 on the old scale -- a massive drop.
 
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Skittsie13 said:
They stated it themselves in their secondary email...

"While applicants are not screened entirely based on their Medical College Admission Test ("MCAT") score or undergraduate grade point average ("GPA"), the mean MCAT score and GPA of successful applicants has historically been 36, 513 and 3.80, respectively."

It may not have been a mistake -- they may have just focused on other components of the applications due to the uncertainty of the new MCAT. But they've very clearly stated their MCAT2015 average. 513 is 90th percentile which is roughly a 33 on the old scale -- a massive drop.
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My interpretation of this note from Duke was that very few of their successful applicants submitted MCAT 2015 scores and most were still the old MCAT and they relayed the accepted students scores separately by MCAT type. Those that were accepted with the old MCAT scores averaged 36 and those that were accepted with the new MCAT (much smaller group) averaged 513. This will almost certainly rise as more applicants apply with MCAT 2015 scores. So Duke's overall accepted MCAT average did not significantly change. Remember that the MCAT 2015 was only a couple of months old when the first applicants applied last year. Personally, I believe Duke is treating the MCAT in the way intended as a new assessment and not something just to be compared on overall percentiles.
 
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Does anyone who has interviewed already know if the interviewers will have access to our files/ask us questions about our application? I know that it's MMI, but I understand that some MMIs will have traditional questions thrown in there!
 
gunsandroes said:
Does anyone who has interviewed already know if the interviewers will have access to our files/ask us questions about our application? I know that it's MMI, but I understand that some MMIs will have traditional questions thrown in there!
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There will be one station where you will be asked the classic "why do you want to be a doctor?" question.

I can't remember specifically if they have access to our file ahead of time. I'd reckon that if they are going to ask you anything related to your file that is in addition to the prompt it'll very much be in a conversational manner. Honestly though, you have very limited time in each station (8 minutes once you enter) that the focus should, and will be on the prompt. Any extra time will largely be used to ask follow up questions about your answer, or they may just ask about you because they are curious and want to know more. On some stations I even put them in the hot seat and asked them about what they do at duke and their affiliations.
 
BigSkyBeta said:
There will be one station where you will be asked the classic "why do you want to be a doctor?" question.

I can't remember specifically if they have access to our file ahead of time. I'd reckon that if they are going to ask you anything related to your file that is in addition to the prompt it'll very much be in a conversational manner. Honestly though, you have very limited time in each station (8 minutes once you enter) that the focus should, and will be on the prompt. Any extra time will largely be used to ask follow up questions about your answer, or they may just ask about you because they are curious and want to know more. On some stations I even put them in the hot seat and asked them about what they do at duke and their affiliations.
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That's incredibly helpful to know - thanks so much!! :) really helps ease the pre-interview anxiety. If you have any other tips for preparing for the MMI, I'd love to know; if not, thanks so much!
 
gunsandroes said:
That's incredibly helpful to know - thanks so much!! :) really helps ease the pre-interview anxiety. If you have any other tips for preparing for the MMI, I'd love to know; if not, thanks so much!
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The only thing you can really prep is a quick elevator pitch about yourself should there be extra time and you get thrown the classic; so why medicine?
The MMI is all about being able to think dynamically and being able to respond to prompts with little or no prep. It's important when you are answering the questions to consider the other side of the equation and be ready to speak to that. It's not always about answering the prompt "correctly", often they want to see what your thought process is so don't be afraid to think out loud and explain your reasoning.

And most importantly, should you fell like you underperformed on a station...FORGET ABOUT IT. Immediately. There are multiple stations for a reason. If you do poorly on one, you'll have 7,8, or 9 more to shine. Worrying about the one station that threw you for a loop will get you nowhere, forget about it and prepare to show your next rater your best self.
 
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So I'm a reapplicant (had an interview last year) and decided to reapply and retake the MCAT because my last one was expired. The score was released last week so I emailed them since they hadn't sent a secondary yet... anyone think there's still a chance to hear back or am I too late?
 
Those who have IIs here, did you guys answer the optional "Tell us who you are" prompt? Do you think it was important to do that and what kind of stuff did you guys address if you don't mind . Thanks !
 
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ishiningstar said:
Those who have IIs here, did you guys answer the optional "Tell me about yourself" prompt? Do you think it was important to do that and what kind of stuff did you guys address if you don't mind . Thanks !
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I skipped it. I felt that I addressed some of those things in the other essays (e.g. the community I grew up in), and didn't feel the need to elaborate further.

I'd imagine they are looking for qualities and experiences that make you unique, such as those related to sexual orientation or race.
 
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I left it blank as well.
 
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ishiningstar said:
Those who have IIs here, did you guys answer the optional "Tell us who you are" prompt? Do you think it was important to do that and what kind of stuff did you guys address if you don't mind . Thanks !
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I answered it. Apparently it doesn't matter too much whether you do or not, based on the responses
 
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Hey guys! Is anyone interviewing on the 10th concerned about hurricane Matthew affecting their travel plans? I was going to call admissions and talk to them about it today and I was just wondering if anybody else was worried about this.
 
Does Duke favor Duke grads or IS people?
 
Doggo said:
Does Duke favor Duke grads or IS people?
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Anecdotally, I've been told that Duke does favor Duke grads.

Knowing people that went there for undergrad, I know that the college favors NC residents, despite being private. Not sure about the med school.
 
Last year: post interview acceptance: IS 6.1%; OOS 53%
 
No.
IS : interviewed 309; accepted: 19
OOS: interviewed 441: accepted: 234
 
premedicalstudent said:
I can't believe duke would do NC residents like that. -.-
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The missing piece of this data is that apparently Duke interviews 309 out of 439 in-state applicants. So if we trust the data, it seems as if they give most of their in-staters a shot to make a good impression in person, but in the end they still accept roughly the same percentage of in-state applicants as OOS applicants.
 
coffeeandcodeine said:
The missing piece of this data is that apparently Duke interviews 309 out of 439 in-state applicants. So if we trust the data, it seems as if they give most of their in-staters a shot to make a good impression in person, but in the end they still accept roughly the same percentage of in-state applicants as OOS applicants.
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6.1
coffeeandcodeine said:
The missing piece of this data is that apparently Duke interviews 309 out of 439 in-state applicants. So if we trust the data, it seems as if they give most of their in-staters a shot to make a good impression in person, but in the end they still accept roughly the same percentage of in-state applicants as OOS applicants.
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hmm ok you make a good point
 
sxullf said:
No.
IS : interviewed 309; accepted: 19
OOS: interviewed 441: accepted: 234
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Wow those are some good odds for OOS. Makes me feel better about my terrible MMI performance.
 
sxullf said:
No.
IS : interviewed 309; accepted: 19
OOS: interviewed 441: accepted: 234
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Those are decent odds for OOS, but I am questioning the validity of USNWR info more as time goes by. When looking at MSAR, IS interview is 71 for 12 matriculated and OOS is 641 for 100 matriculated.

At least one of those two sources is misinformed, but I'd be more quick to believe MSAR. I don't know if they are using different criteria for IS/OOS. Maybe someone who is a student can clarify.
 
alpha-GTP said:
Those are decent odds for OOS, but I am questioning the validity of USNWR info more as time goes by. When looking at MSAR, IS interview is 71 for 12 matriculated and OOS is 641 for 100 matriculated.

At least one of those two sources is misinformed, but I'd be more quick to believe MSAR. I don't know if they are using different criteria for IS/OOS. Maybe someone who is a student can clarify.
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Maybe US news is using older numbers?
 
Duke loves Duke grads. There are 28 Duke grads in this years MS1 class.
 
Advice anyone? My Duke interview is on Monday and hurricane Matthew is on the way to North Carolina. They already declared a state of emergency. Its looking like I can't fly there anymore as planned this Sunday. But the admissions office is already closed for the weekend (I left a message) and I just don't want to not show up on interview day. Is anyone else in this situation too?
 
medbom said:
Advice anyone? My Duke interview is on Monday and hurricane Matthew is on the way to North Carolina. They already declared a state of emergency. Its looking like I can't fly there anymore as planned this Sunday. But the admissions office is already closed for the weekend (I left a message) and I just don't want to not show up on interview day. Is anyone else in this situation too?
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It looks like it's only going to rain on Saturday and will be clear on Sunday
 
Historically, it seems that approximately 1/4 of the matriculating class are Duke graduates, and I knew many more kids from my class who were accepted but ended up going elsewhere
 
MS3 checking in. I don't know a ton about interview numbers vs accepted numbers and so forth, but I'm happy to answer any questions about curriculum, Durham, whatever. Thanks!
 
2018Duke said:
MS3 checking in. I don't know a ton about interview numbers vs accepted numbers and so forth, but I'm happy to answer any questions about curriculum, Durham, whatever. Thanks!
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Why is coach k such a crybaby?
 
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Hello!

I signed up for an interview on the 11/10 but I have to reschedule. Does anyone know what dates are still available so that I can make sure my schedule is open? I've tried calling the office multiple times but no answer.... :c I'll try again tho'.

Thanks,
 
II last week, complete early/mid September.


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