Duke is a highly respected research university in Durham, North Carolina. The majors at Duke are Computer Science, Economics, Biology, Public Policy, and Psychology, and students are drawn to the university by the strong community culture paired with exceptional research opportunities. The experience is in high demand. They receive over 50,000 first-year applications annually, and the acceptance rate for the Class of 2028 was only As a prospective legacy applicant, it’s possible that you already have a favorite spot on campus. Now, though, you need to get in.
Legacy, or being the child or close relative of a graduate, can give applicants to Duke a major boost if they play it right. But legacy has also been changing in recent years, and there’s a lot of talk out there that can muddy the strategy even for confident students. In this post, we’ll break down what families with legacy need to be doing to increase the chance of admission — because it isn’t a given that legacy applicants will get in.
Applying to college is stressful. .
First, let’s start by digging deeper into the world of legacy admissions and what it means for applicants and their families.
What’s going on with Legacy Admissions?
Legacy is contentious. Legacy admissions those with privilege. Applicants who are legacies are more likely to come from wealth and, at Duke, to be white. Critics of legacy admissions at Duke that prioritizing these applicants may work against Duke’s goal of diversifying the student body and prioritizing fairness. Duke sociologists have even that legacy students at Duke lower SAT scores when applying and lower freshman year grades once they get to campus. However, as of this moment Duke continues to prioritize legacy applicants. It’s that legacy applicants to Duke have a significant advantage in first-year admissions over applicants who don’t have a familial connection to the university.
We are passionate about helping students access their dream schools using every advantage they can get — including legacy. Below we’ll break down exactly what applicants that have a legacy connection must do to make the most of it when applying to Duke.
What Should You Do?
The idea of legacy comes with a lot of assumptions. Many students, and even parents, believe that being a legacy is close to an automatic ‘in’. Or they feel the opposite, that any benefit it might provide won’t apply to them for some reason. Neither is correct. Legacy can most certainly make a difference, but it should never be assumed.
To make legacy work for you at Duke, applicants and their families need to take clear and concerted action to strengthen the application and prepare the applicant. This is your brief:
For the Family Member: The student needs to get the grades and scores, and build the profile to maintain Duke’s interest, but parents have an important role to play when legacy applies. Most importantly, the adult who is the reason for the legacy connection needs to be involved with Duke. If they haven’t stayed in the Duke community since graduation, today is the day — literally, today — that they need to reengage. Join the alumni network groups online, start attending Duke events in your area, and, if possible, donate. You don’t need to donate a lot unless you can, but you should give something such that your name gets back on their radar.
Next, support your student in being their most amazing self.
For the Applicant: The lion’s share of the work that needs to be done in advance of applying to Duke is for the student. This shouldn’t be a surprise — it’s their application after all! There are three big ‘buckets’ that the student needs to focus on immediately, and one strategic move that comes into play the year you’ll be applying. Below, we go into each action item.
Grades
If you are applying to Duke, they expect to see very strong grades. Being a legacy doesn’t mean that you can have a transcript full of B’s — especially in junior year. They expect to see transcripts that are extremely strong, and so that’s what legacy students need to focus on most in the months, or ideally years, before applying to Duke.
Scores
Students who want to get into Duke should also have very strong test scores. This can require long-term planning to accommodate for test preparation and multiple attempts. A SAT score for Duke is over 1550, and a strong ACT score is at or above a 34. Legacy students have been shown to gain access to Duke despite having lower scores than what Duke prefers, but this is absolutely not something that legacy applicants should be betting on. Applicants should never assume that something ‘won’t matter.’ Instead, treat everything as important and work hard to get those scores as high as you can.
Extracurriculars
When preparing for the college application process, there’s a lot of conversation about ‘activities.’ Students are often given conflicting advice. Some say to do a bit of everything, others emphasize doing less but doing it well. Some panic over filling all ten spots in the Common App activities section (you should, but don’t panic), while many colleges say using every slot doesn’t matter. In the end, whatever approach someone takes is either seemingly proven or disproven based on their admissions results. That’s a terrible N value for a study of the importance of activities. So, let’s take a more zoomed out and strategic look.
Basically, volume should never be prioritized over value and impressive doesn’t matter if you don’t truly care.
Duke wants to see legacy applicants who have deep interests and a clear sense of direction as shown through their activities. So, follow passion passionately. If you love something, learn as much about it as you can. Engage in it through additional coursework, clubs and student groups, volunteering, and even employment. When possible, pursue leadership positions that develop your abilities as a team member and mentor.
Apply Early
Finally, you need to plan to apply early. The overall acceptance rate for the Class of 2028 was 5.4%, but the Early Decision acceptance rate that same year was . Applying early offers a real advantage, but the elevated acceptance rate is also because of who applies early. The Early Decision applicant pool is full of athletes, students with particular skills or attributes that are particularly attractive to Duke, and, yes, legacies. If a legacy student chooses not to apply Early Decision, it is much more difficult for them to get in compared to if they’d simply submitted their application a few weeks early as an ED applicant.
If a legacy student does not apply early, they give away any advantage they may have had.
Class of 2028 Acceptance Rates
Legacy applicants to Duke start with a real advantage, but making that advantage work for you is entirely in your control. The key is to start now.
Getting into a dream school like Duke takes work, even if you are a legacy. for your ideal strategy.