Profile of those accepted into Duke

[Pupilindenial]

Hi,
I was wondering if some of those who were accepted into Duke in the last 2-3 cycles could share a little bit about what type of applicant they were. Any information will be appreciated, but I'm particularly interested in knowing what you think helped you get in and whether you think research experience was part of it.
Thanks

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[freedoctor17]

Have you checked out the MDapplicants site? You can straight up search people who got accepted to Duke and see what they wrote about what they did.

 

[LnSin]

You can check out the Duke specific threads on this forum in the "school specific threads" that date back from a while ago. Also--and this is certainly not to hinder you in any way--individual school acceptance rates are generally really low across the board. While you might actually be a wonderful candidate for Duke, you may not necessarily get in (but you may get II's and acceptances to schools of similar quality). And again, I don't mean that in a negative way--I just wanted to present another perspective.

 

[Spectar]

I saw that Duke secondary and

 

[Microbug]

I saw that Duke secondary and

I actually loved the Duke secondary. It’s much more creative and fun than the other schools who just ask you to repeat your primary. They also said, they look at the secondaries very seriously and there’s a reason why it’s the way it is.

 

[bae2017]

I saw that Duke secondary and

Hahahah I tried so hard to get that one done, I really did... Then I saw the interview was MMI and there was a low post-interview acceptance rate and I was like NOPE not worth

 

[cassyfrog]

I was accepted this cycle and think my secondaries had a large part to do with it.

 

[sunshine859]

They said at our interview day that they like to see applicants who have a lot of "heart," i.e. just as willing to respect the janitor as they are the attending physician. They seem to assess this through your secondaries, so pour your heart into them--even if it means bringing up vulnerable topics. I think secondaries are key.

 

[Dove G^2]

I was accepted this cycle and think my secondaries had a large part to do with it.

Hi, I have a question. I am applying now. I want to see Duke is for me. As for the gpa and mcat i meet the criteria. I am out of state. My research experience in undergrad was mediocre, and so considering Duke is big on research should I apply?

 

[sunshine859]

Hi, I have a question. I am applying now. I want to see Duke is for me. As for the gpa and mcat i meet the criteria. I am out of state. My research experience in undergrad was mediocre, and so considering Duke is big on research should I apply?

Can you give a sense of how much research you did in undergrad?

 

[snorkel21]

I'm not a Duke med student so this is purely anecdotal, but I have several friends/acquaintances who are students right now. I also know a few others who were accepted, but are attending other schools. My impression is that Duke does an incredible job of picking good people. Everyone I know who was accepted is kind and decent. I can't say that about any other school. They came from different backgrounds, but all of them would have dropped whatever they were doing to help me with my chem homework. They also have a genuine intellectual curiosity, and weren't doing research or volunteer work to look impressive. To be honest, their secondary terrifies me so I'm not sure I'll apply, but I think it does help the admissions committee weed out entitlement, self-importance, etc.

 

[Robin-jay]

They said at our interview day that they like to see applicants who have a lot of "heart," i.e. just as willing to respect the janitor as they are the attending physician. They seem to assess this through your secondaries, so pour your heart into them--even if it means bringing up vulnerable topics. I think secondaries are key.

lol thats hilarious, many of them have trouble respecting anyone other than another MD. They should set a more realistic goal.

 

[mwsapphire]

lol thats hilarious, many of them have trouble respecting anyone other than another MD. They should set a more realistic goal.

God I hope not....

 

[Robin-jay]

God I hope not....

Medical school students in general come from higher middle class on average. However, at least most of them (now that a gap year is more the norm), have had some employment or at the very least humble experiences in regular public schools.

Many people in the top 20 schools are upper class students that had the luxury of parents paying for their private undergrad. institutions, the best MCAT tutors one could want, never worked a "real" job a day in their life. Many times they feel as though "their hard work to get into medical school authorizes them to act like jerks because they worked so hard to get into top tier MD schools". They even have contacts high up in medicine.

Again, I have a hard time believing many of them treat other high tier physician positions (DOs or DPMs) with the same respect, let alone someone who works on the janitorial staff.