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I was looking through ( and filling out) the application for duke and i didnt see any essays, only a statement about extracurricular activities. Is there an essay and I'm just missing it?

Thanx

By Ay_Caramba (Ay_Caramba) on Saturday, September 04, 2004 - 10:00 pm: Edit

No you need two essays.

From the Duke Admissions website:

"If you are interested in reading our essay questions for this year, we have provided them here for you. Students who used the Common Application were asked to answer Question 1 (a) and have the option to answer Questions 1 (b) or 1 (c) in addition to the Common Application Essay.


These short answer and essay questions provide an opportunity for you to present your ideas to the Admissions Committee and help us understand you as an individual. How you think and express yourself helps us learn more about your intellectual and personal interests.

1. Please answer the following questions. Please limit your answers to no more than one or two paragraphs.


a.(Required) If you are applying to Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, please discuss why you consider Duke a good match for you. Is there something in particular at Duke that attracts you? If you are applying to the Pratt School of Engineering, please discuss why you want to study engineering and why you would like to study at Duke.


b.(Optional) If you have participated in any significant research activity outside of school, please provide a brief description. Please limit this response to one or two paragraphs and attach a separate sheet. If you choose not to submit the information, your chance of admission will not be affected.


c. (Optional) We seek to understand and appreciate you as an individual. If there is a parent, sibling, other relative, or friend of yours who you think could help us do that, we would be happy to receive a one-page letter from one of them. This optional information will be considered in our understanding of you as a person, but will not be formally evaluated as part of your application. If you choose not to submit the information, your chance of admission will not be affected.


2. Please answer one of the following questions. We ask that you limit your essay to no more than 2-3 pages and use double spacing if the essay is typed or computer printed. Remember, this is your opportunity to speak to us in your own voice, so be yourself.


a. Have you witnessed a person who is close to you doing something that you considered seriously wrong? Describe the circumstances, your thoughts, and how you chose to respond. If you discussed it with the person, was his/her justification valid? In retrospect, what, if anything, would you have done differently and why?

b.What has been your most profound or surprising intellectual experience?

c. Write on any topic of importance to you. If you have written a personal essay for another purpose - even an essay for another college - that you believe represents you, your writing, and your thinking particularly well, feel free to submit it."