Duke University welcomes only about 70 transfer students each year, most of whom arrive as sophomores. To be eligible, students must have completed at least “one full year of transferable college work,” by August before arriving at Duke, and should not have been completed while still in high school.
With only enough space for less than 100 transfers, the application process is extremely competitive. Duke reports that in the 2023-2024 application cycle they received 2,620 applications. Of those, 77 were admitted — or an acceptance rate of only 3%. The middle 50% range GPA for admitted transfers was 3.85-4.0.
When you are ready to apply, there are two routes you can take: the SCOIR Coalition application, or the Duke Transfer Application. Either way, you’ll need to plan ahead. Transfer applications are surprisingly tricky for many students, as they require pulling together paperwork from both your current college and your high school. And, of course, there are the essays. In this post, we’ll break down the essays to help you write compelling responses.
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The Duke transfer application has two required questions that they ask of all applicants regardless of major. Let’s dig into them.
THE TRANSFER ESSAYS
We would like to understand more about you and your reason(s) for transferring. Why and how did you choose your current or most recent college or university and what do you hope to gain by transferring? (650 word limit)
This is Duke’s way of assessing a lot about you in a fairly tight package. What they ask isn’t what they really want to learn from the essay, though. Yes, they are asking for why you are transferring, and they do want to know those facts — but Duke is even more curious about how you have dealt with a situation that isn’t ideal and how Duke will launch you into a brighter world of possibilities.
What Duke doesn’t want to know, though, is dirt. The fastest way to get them to turn down your application, even if you have exceptional grades and scores, is to focus on drama in this supplement. They don’t want to hear about students you don’t think are all that smart, professors that don’t challenge you, or a social scene that in some way falls flat. What you say about others reflects most strongly on yourself, so if you talk poorly about your current school who it reflects most poorly on is actually you.
So, swipe the personal and petty off of your checklist of things to hit on. Instead, you need to focus in on the academic. If you don’t have a strong academic reason for transferring, find one. Seriously, before you start writing identify a specific way in which your current school cannot meet your academic needs — but Duke can. In the next supplement you’ll get into the specifics of the major at Duke, but here you should be speaking to ethos and approach. For example, perhaps you’ve always known that you wanted to major in biology, but now the specific niche of biology is something that Duke excels in, but your current school may not even offer.
Remember not to skip over how you picked your current school, either. Ideally, this would be something related to your initial academic interests (which have now shifted, of course) or family/personal responsibilities.
Before ending the supplement, project forward to what you hope Duke will unlock for you while on campus and beyond.
Duke University offers students the opportunity to choose up to three academic pathways through majors, minors, and certificates. Describe how you intend to explore your academic and intellectual interests at Duke University. (250 word limit)
This is the place where you get to bring your vision of an education at Duke to life. We like starting this prompt with a strong narrative opening that brings your passion for your prospective major to life. This should be a specific moment when you have engaged with the subject in a hands-on way.
Next, you need to bring this to Duke. Where and how at Duke would you dig deeper? This should be extremely specific, focusing on particular aspects of the major that you want to pursue at the university. Name professors (one or two), courses, and opportunities like research that make you particularly excited for Duke.
Finish your supplement at Duke, doing what you love, and contributing to the community. Name a student group or two that you would join that is related to your major, and imagine how you would contribute to the community. Duke wants to know more than what you will get from them, but also what you will give back.
TEST SCORES, INTERVIEWS, & MORE
You also have the option of whether to submit SAT or ACT scores. We highly recommend submitting strong scores, as strong scores underline and emphasize an impressive application. Remember, though, that the scores submitted must be from within the last five years.
Transfer applicants also have the option to submit an Art Supplement. If sent, this piece of your application would be reviewed by a Duke faculty member, so approach sending one with care. Unless you are pursuing art in college, it doesn’t make sense to send an Art Supplement, especially when it could detract from your application based on faculty response.
Alumni interviews are also available to a select number of applicants, based on availability. Duke emphasizes that not getting an interview “will not hurt your application in any way.”
And the last piece of your application is an optional 60-90 second GLIMPSE video. This is optional, but we’re of the opinion that optional isn’t really optional if you want to get in. GLIMPSE videos are only an option for students who are U.S. Citizens or permanent residents, and can be an impactful way of communicating your passion, character, and quirk to the Duke admissions office.
If you want to get into Duke as a transfer, Contact us.