This was not the plan. You were going to get into Duke Early Decision, and that would be it. But that isn’t how it worked out. You’ve been deferred, and now you’re in a really awkward spot. You’re not rejected, which is awesome. But you’re also not in, which is awkward. What you do next will chart the course for your future in college, so let’s move carefully, but with confidence.
There was an advantage to applying to Duke Early Decision. The Duke Regular Decision acceptance rate in the most recent application cycle was 4.1%. The Early Decision acceptance rate was much higher. Duke experienced a 28% jump in early applicants in 2023, and 12.9% were admitted. This was actually a decrease in the Early Decision acceptance rate compared to previous years. For the Class of 2027, the Early Decision acceptance rate was 16.5%.
This doesn’t really apply to you, because you weren’t accepted, but it does inform your college application experience so far and what comes next as a deferred applicant. We don’t know exactly how many students Duke defers, as they don’t release that data. Because of this, we can’t make broad sweeping assumptions about the strength of your application based on the deferral decision. You could be part of the small pool of deferred applicants who are likely to get in regular decision, or become one in a massive pile of applications pushed into the regular decision cycle despite little likelihood of acceptance. We advise acting as if the former is true — because it may well be — and plan as if you truly do have a chance of getting into Duke. This is because you do, genuinely, have a chance, if you act strategically.
In this post, we’ll break down what you need to do next to reinforce your chances of getting into Duke and ace all the rest of your college applications.
Deferral decisions are deeply frustrating. We help strong students pivot after disappointing deferrals. Contact us to learn more.
Before you strengthen your application to Duke, you need to assess the big picture of your college admission process. Once upon a time, Duke may have been the only university in the running. Now, though, you need to move forward with a comprehensive college application strategy that keeps the door to Duke open while broadening your options and remaining open to new opportunities.
There are three key steps you need to take to accomplish this:
Review Your College List
First, you need to reassess your college list. Even if you put a ton of thought into a college list before applying to Duke, it’s worth going back with fresh eyes and a new (and deferred) perspective.
A strong college list must have foundations and targets that undergird a small number of reaches. Remember that your goal is to go to the best college for you. Sometimes it can feel like there is only one school that fits the bill, but we know from experience that there is no single perfect school for you. Your college list should reflect this, including only schools that you’re excited about — but at a range of acceptance rates. Remember, no school with an acceptance rate under 10% is a foundation school (aka a safety). None.
If you’re struggling to balance out your college list, we can help.
Reassess Your Common App Essay
You wrote a common app essay, and we get wanting it to be totally done. You’ve already submitted it to Duke, after all. But we’ve yet to meet a college essay that can’t be improved. So, let’s get into yours. First, read our guide to the 2024-2025 common app essay. Yes, you’ve written one already, but chances are you haven’t written a common app essay like how we write common app essays, so bear with us.
Next, you need to review some example essays that led to impressive admissions results, including this essay that helped one of our students get into Duke. The essay focuses on a young student finding agency and strength through a difficult work situation (and surfing). It includes many things we adore in a college essay: enthusiasm, dialog, a workplace situation, and some playfulness. The essay is narrow in focus, too, which gives room for developing images, building back and forth dialog, allowing for growth, and celebrating discovery.
If your essay doesn’t meet this bar, especially if it is a “more is more” essay with loads of examples, prepare yourself for a rewrite. Trying to pack everything about you into 650 words is a losing proposition. Instead, we advocate for students to highlight one or two aspects of who they are.
The idea of a rewrite can be very overwhelming, but we like to see it as an opportunity.
Press Submit
Once your essays are finalized and your new college list is set, you need to submit. Yes, this sounds obvious, but we don’t mean waiting until the deadline. We encourage students to submit applications when they are ready. Doing this won’t increase your chances of getting in, but it will improve your college application experience.
Now, let’s turn our attention back to Duke.
WHAT DUKE WANTS
You lost an advantage statistically in being pushed to the regular decision cycle, but you do have an advantage in that they know your application, and they liked it enough to defer you (as opposed to a rejection). Now, you need to make sure that they like your application even more on the next read.
Beyond scores and grades, Duke looks for creativity, leadership, and community-mindedness — so, how can you emphasize these things even more strongly?
You may be asking, but where do I emphasize this? Fair question. It’s the Letter of Continued Interest.
Letter of Continued Interest
The Letter of Continued Interest reaffirms that Duke is your first choice and updates them on changes to your application since you initially submitted. This is short, it’s sweet, and it should be submitted through the applicant portal or via email to the admissions official assigned to your region. But what goes in it?
First, you need to confirm, again, that Duke remains your top choice of school. This is mandatory whether or not you actually feel this way. Duke will not let you in if they are not certain you will attend, so this letter needs to start with 2-3 sentences underlining that, yes, you want Duke.
Next, you have the opportunity to provide a short and focused update. We advise that the Letter of Continued Interest be no more than 350 words total, so the update really does need to be concise. Include 1-3 things that you would have included in your initial application. This could be a new leadership position, a research role, an award, or an academic success. We suggest that students stay focused on the academic sphere for this letter, and, again, keep it short.
Write, edit, and submit. Edit carefully, but don’t agonize over it. The most important thing is to be clear and direct that Duke is still your first choice.
Ask for an Advocacy Call, in Addition to Sending your Mid-Year Grades
Something else that you can do is to ask your school counselor to call on your behalf, in addition to sending your Mid-Year Grades. They don’t have to do this at all, and they may not want to for a variety of reasons we can’t assume, but it isn’t rare that school counselors advocate for top students to dream schools. This must be your school counselor, and don’t push for it. Ask respectfully, and then keep on being the awesome top-scoring hard-working student you are.
Leave them Alone
Finally, you need to leave the Duke admissions team alone. Do not email them, or call them yourself. Do not beg them in your Letter of Continued Interest, and definitely don’t ‘creatively show your passion’ through something wild like setting up a camping tent out in front of the admissions office.
But don’t do nothing, either. Write your Letter of Continued Interest, speak with your school counselor, and move forward applying to the other awesome schools on your list.
Getting into Duke after a deferral isn’t easy, but it is possible. If it feels daunting, we can help.
Dealing with a deferral isn’t rocket science, but it does benefit from expertise. Luckily, we have it. Email us to learn more.