Duke

[lindsey10]

Hey all,

I'm trying to gauge my chances at Duke. I was wait-listed after all the fanfare, which I'm quite bummed about of course. Today I received an offer from another university which includes tuition, stipend, and a relocation grant, but I need to reply within 4 weeks, which is sooner than I assume all Duke admits will have made a decision. So are there any Duke admits that are already fairly decided one way or another? Just wondering what kind of chance I have to get off the list.

Thanks!

[oh_la_la]

I would email the grad director in the department at Duke and let them know about the offer: say that you received a fully-funded offer, but that Duke remains your top choice. I've seen this tactic pay off for getting people bumped off the wait list in my former department.  

[Herbie]

The limit for accepting your offer sounds really off. Was this in an official offer letter? Wow.

[lindsey10]

Good idea, oh_la_la! Thanks!

Herbie, the offer is from the University of Melbourne in Australia, hence the dates being off by our standards. ;-)

[lindsey10]

Contacted the DGS and got the expected "admits have until April 15th..." so just in case you are a Duke admit and you know for sure you will go elsewhere, please decline when possible. I wouldn't normally be so bossy-sounding, but I'm on Duke's wait-list and my 2nd-choice school wants an answer in 3 weeks. Many, many thanks! I'll also post this on the results board for those who don't read the forums. Thanks again and best wishes! :-)

[rkg2012]

Contacted the DGS and got the expected "admits have until April 15th..." so just in case you are a Duke admit and you know for sure you will go elsewhere, please decline when possible. I wouldn't normally be so bossy-sounding, but I'm on Duke's wait-list and my 2nd-choice school wants an answer in 3 weeks. Many, many thanks! I'll also post this on the results board for those who don't read the forums. Thanks again and best wishes! :-)

I would suggest emailing the department at Melbourne and explaining that you are waiting to hear back from another school here. I had to get extensions on my UK decisions a couple years ago while waiting to hear back from US programs. They were all flexible. Good luck.