How to Write the Duke University Admissions Essay

 By Sarah O’Neill Coatesville Supreme Editing

Duke Excerpt

According to Duke admissions (via their website):

A collaborative community of intellectual explorers. Our institutional culture is built upon our history and values.  Our shared values — respect, trust, inclusion, discovery, and excellence — are more than aspirations.  They are the beliefs and behaviors that we expect of ourselves and our colleagues.  These are the ideals that we must uphold in order to earn and maintain our reputation for quality and integrity and to inspire confidence in each other and the world that we both serve and rely on for our future viability.  Our values dictate our conduct and drive our culture. 

Click here to find out more about Duke’s values.  

In history: The writers identify Duke University highlights and specifics.  They illustrated their passions and recognition of novel approaches to learning.  Most importantly, the writers identified WHY Duke is the best place for them and what programs would be beneficial for their growth.  Essays had a reflective tone about oneself and the world. Your passion must shine through in this essay, and in order to do that, students use fresh language and specific details.  

Supplemental Essay Example: 

Prompt: 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)

Duke matches my spirit, personality, and communal instincts.

I see myself at Duke, on the East Campus Quad on a breezy Monday, waiting for friends to grab breakfast. I watch as freshmen in blue crewnecks leave the Marketplace, celebrating a win against Chapel Hill. From one classroom to another, I indulge in biology and applied mathematics; then reflect on my summer undergraduate research at a biostatistics lab provided by the URS Office. In conjunction with social policy, I will apply biomedical sciences, maybe by finding new inter-disciplines to create like pharmaceuticals. Here at Duke, I am reinvigorating the passion I had researching breast cancer unique to Hispanic peoples at Yale two summers ago. 

I then hurry to a Duke University Union meeting, attend a Jazz ensemble practice (we’re performing this weekend), and plan another Asian Student Alliance event with co-leads. Today I will apply to DukeEngage. Out of breath, I head to Lake Michie – I can’t miss rowing practice with my favorite people. Stepping back into Wilson, music and laughter arise – an infectious reflection of a vital dorm life. Maybe I’ll play a song from the Duke guitar ensemble I started in the commons. My roommate asks me to go to West Union to grab a snack. 

Having finished my work in Perkins Library, we walk back into the warm, vibrant center campus. At night, with friends at the quad after a game of spikeball, I realize: I love being a Blue Devil. 

Sarah ONeill Supreme Editing



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