Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina. They are probably most famous for their research opportunities, work-hard/play-hard attitude, and of course, basketball. Duke is popular amongst students who are looking for an academically challenging school that still comes with a fun social experience. We have written about Duke’s supplement before, but we wanted to revisit it as Duke has become even harder to get into. Last year their acceptance rate fell to just .

The Duke supplement has one trick to it. There are 2 optional essays. These aren’t really optional. Duke is hard to get into, and you need to use the opportunities they give you to put your best foot forward. This means writing the optional essays and writing them well. More on that later. For this supplement, everyone has to answer the first question.

What is your sense of Duke as a university and a community, and why do you consider it a good match for you?  If there's something in particular about our offerings that attracts you, feel free to share that as well. (250 word limit)* 

This essay is a little tricky. Essentially it’s asking, “Why do you want to go to Duke?” but with an added layer of why the community is a good match for you. Remember when we said Duke is a work-hard/play-hard school with a ton of school spirit? They need to see that you are the kind of student who can thrive in that environment.

At the same time, the first part of work-hard/play-hard is “work.” You need to start by talking about academics before showing off how you would be a perfect Duke student outside the classroom. The real issue here is doing it all of that in 250 words. You are going to have to make your points clear and fast.

Like most “Why” essays, you should start with a personal story about falling in love with an academic subject and connecting that love to a major at Duke. You must also use some “particulars about their offerings” to explain why you want to study that major specifically at Duke. We recommend 2 upper-level classes and a professor you want to work with. You can also add any cool opportunities you find while researching the major or department. Skip any intro classes or opportunities that don’t feel specific to Duke.

Once you have established your love for academics at Duke, you can tackle opportunities elsewhere on campus. Think of clubs, traditions, on-campus activities, etc. You should show how you will be active in the community and what you will bring to campus.  

This essay is short, so you will have to use your words well and pack it in. Start with research and end with good editing.

The following questions are technically optional… again, we don’t really consider them optional. They are opportunities that you should take full advantage of. They allow students to select 2 of 4 prompts. Not all of these prompts are for everyone, so let’s break these choices down.

Perspective response

We believe a wide range of personal perspectives, beliefs, and lived experiences are essential to making Duke a vibrant and meaningful living and learning community. Feel free to share with us anything in this context that might help us better understand you and what you might bring to our community. (250 word limit)

This question is really broad, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good because anyone can write this, but it’s not great because your answer risks feeling unfocused. To answer this question well, you need to tell a good story about something you learned from a community you are a part of. Sometimes the word “community” can trip up our students. They assume “community” has to refer to a religious, ethnic, or societal grouping. These groups are all communities, but so is any group unified by a common interest or goal. This means your debate team, family, online American Girl Doll appreciation group, basketball team, etc., are all communities. Choose a community you feel connected to and write a story about a time they taught you a lesson or skill.

Intellectual experience

Tell us about an intellectual experience in the past two years that you found absolutely fascinating. (250 word limit)

We love this question. You can write about something that connects to your intended major. However, we love when students use this question to talk about an academic/intellectual passion that they may not have been able to add elsewhere. For example, if you are usually all about STEM, talking about the Spanish Literature lecture series you attended and loved shows a new side of you. Start by thinking of intellectual experiences you have had. Double points if these experiences happened outside of school. You may have taken a class at a local community college, did a research project, became obsessed with a book, or taught something yourself. Many things constitute an intellectual experience, don’t be afraid to get creative with the story you tell. This answer should also feel like a story. Tell us why you started, what happened, and why you fell in love with the experience.

Beliefs & values

We believe there is benefit in sharing and sometimes questioning our beliefs or values; who do you agree with on the big important things, or who do you have your most interesting disagreements with? What are you agreeing or disagreeing about? (250 word limit)

This is a similar question to ones that a lot of colleges are asking this year. You may even already have an essay from another supplement that works well here with some tweaking. We don’t love how they have asked this question because it's a little confusing. You need to choose one of the two questions they ask: Who do you agree with? OR who do you disagree with?

Whether you write about who you agree with or disagree with, you should approach this essay as a dialogue. Show us the type of conversation you have with this person. Disagreements are the more dynamic choice here. Choose a disagreement with some nuance and show us what you learned from that conversation.

4. Being different

We recognize that “fitting in” in all the contexts we live in can sometimes be difficult. Duke values all kinds of differences and believes they make our community better. Feel free to tell us any ways in which you’re different, and how that has affected you or what it means to you. (250 word limit)

This is another question that we love. It's the perfect time to show off a quirk that you haven’t shown elsewhere. The difference you choose to discuss here doesn’t need to be huge. Maybe you bike to school while all your friends drive, you still use a flip phone, or you are a morning person, and the rest of your family sleeps in. These may not feel huge, but you can use them to differentiate yourself from those around you. Tell a story about this difference, and make sure to answer the second half of this prompt. How has it affected you, or what does it mean to you? Make sure you leave yourself time to explore that.

Orientation, identity, expression

Duke’s commitment to inclusion and belonging includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Feel free to share with us more about how your identity in this context has meaning for you as an individual or as a member of a community. (250 word limit)

Unlike the first 4 prompts, this question isn’t for everyone. Do not write it if you are not queer in some way. This is not a “talk Valentina” moment… aka do not write this if all you say is that you are an “ally.”

If you are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, feel free to answer this question with a story about your identity and the community around you. However, even if you are part of the community, you don’t need to write this question. We have worked with queer students in the past that feel like they “need” to write this essay even if they aren’t actually ready to. If you aren’t out to everyone or don’t feel prepared to write about this for any reason, you do not have to. We promise answering this question is not worth it if you aren’t ready.

No matter what prompts you decide to take on, please write all 3 possible essays. This does make the Duke supplement longer. Make sure you give yourself enough time to finish it.

Need help with the Duke supplement? Other supplements? It’s what we do! Reach out here.