There are a lot of great things about Duke. The so-called “Southern Ivy” is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Duke is part of the North Carolina Research Triangle along with North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Plus, have you seen their basketball team? However, one way that Duke is not super awesome is how secretive they are around their waitlist. They have basically no resources online about their waitlist and publish almost nothing about the waitlisting process.
So, if Duke has waitlisted you, you might feel like you have no idea where to start. We want to demystify the waitlisting process at Duke and let you know what steps to take if you are waitlisted.
Step One: Get On the List
Accept your place on the waitlist. You can do this through Duke’s admitted student portal. They will not add you automatically. You need to opt into the waitlist. If you are unsure if you want to be on the waitlist, accepting the space is still not a bad idea. You will have till mid-May, most likely, to make a choice and a plan.
Step Two: Get a Back-Up
Since you won’t hear back about the waitlist until after the deposit deadline for most schools, you should put a deposit down at a backup school. There is no guarantee that you will get off the waitlist. This makes a good backup essential. You want your plan B to be a viable option that you would be happy with (‘worst case’ scenario, you can always transfer… it's not even really a bad scenario. We love helping with transfer apps!)
While we always recommend setting up a good backup, it's doubly important at Duke as they aren’t upfront with how many people they take off the waitlist. This year, they simply didn’t report how many people they accepted off the waitlist. While in previous years, they have reported the number of spots filled from the list, they haven’t published how many students they have placed on the waitlist. (If you are wondering, in 2021-2022, they offered 88 students spots and for 2020-2021 they had 381.) This isn’t really enough data to know your chances, making it even more important to secure a great backup.
Step 3: Send a LOCI
Ok, so what is a LOCI? It stands for a letter of continued interest. It is an email restating why you want to go to Duke and giving them updates about what you have been up to. It breaks down to just a few paragraphs. We have a longer blog on this, but if you need a crash course. Ideally, it should look like:
Paragraph 1: Make a professional introduction
Introduce yourself quickly, and greet the reader formally. Thank the admissions team and restate that Duke is your top choice. You should keep this section very brief. You want to get into the meat of this email sooner rather than later.
Paragraph 2: Talk about why you want to go to Duke
You need to start with academics. You want to discuss the opportunities in your intended major and how these opportunities align with your interests. Think about specific classes, professors, research opportunities, etc. Look over what you have already sent them and make sure what you write here is different from what you wrote in any of their supplemental essays, etc. You want to give them new information. Once you have talked about academics, you can also talk about campus life and other opportunities.
Paragraph 3: Update them!
It has been at least a month or two since you have applied. More if you applied ED or EA. You may have updates that you would like to share. Great updates to share include:
A new job, internship, or position that you have taken on
An award that you have been given
New test scores
A significant change to an activity you care about (For example, you launched the app you had been working on with your Hackathon team, and it has gotten a great response… try to make this type of update a weighty one.)
If you are unsure of what type of updates you should send them, we would love to help.
Paragraph 4: Wrap it up!
If you are sending them any additional materials (like test scores or an updated resume), let them know and offer to send them anything else they may need. At some point, you will need to send them your mid-year report as well. You want to be courteous and brief here.
This whole letter should be around 400 words max. Keep it professional, and don’t write a manifesto.
Step 5: Wait
This isn’t what you want to hear, but a lot of being on the waitlist is well…. Waiting. Make sure to check your accounts for updates, especially after May 1st.
Being waitlisted isn’t ideal, but we congratulate you for making it on. While there is no guarantee that you will be given a place, follow these steps, and you will set yourself up for your best chance at success. And if you need help, we are here for you.
Need help on any stage of applications? It's what we do. Reach out here.