How To Get Into Duke
DenardHow To Get Into Duke
Duke's admit rate has dropped into the single digits, and the applicant pool is packed with students who look identical on paper. Denard, a former Elon admissions officer and Duke Summer Programs director, reveals what actually separates an admitted file from an equally qualified rejected one. Leave with a clear, honest sense of what it takes to make your student competitive for Duke.
Speaker Info
Denard
Denard is one of Empowlery’s lead counselors. He has worked as an admissions officer at Elon University and Saint Joseph's University for over a decade. He then transitioned to college counseling directing a Duke University summer program and two independent schools. Denard earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a minor in Computer Information Systems from Elon University.
About this Webinar
Duke's admit rate has dropped into the single digits, and the applicant pool is packed with students who look identical on paper—top grades, strong scores, long activity lists. Join us for an inside look at Duke's admissions process featuring Denard, a former admissions officer at Elon and former Director of Duke's Summer Programs, who will share exactly what separates an admitted file from an equally qualified rejected one. You'll learn what Duke readers are actually trained to look for beyond academics, how activities need to show real impact instead of just involvement, and what makes an essay sound like a specific person instead of a résumé. We'll walk through real examples of what works and what quietly falls flat in Duke's process specifically. Leave with a clear, honest sense of what it actually takes to make your student competitive for Duke and how Empowerly's counselors help build that case from the ground up.
In this webinar, you'll learn:
- Qualified Isn't Enough: Nearly every Duke applicant has the grades and scores. Learn what a reader is actually evaluating once that's no longer the question.
- Impact Over Involvement: Duke readers can spot the difference between a member and a leader instantly. Denard breaks down what real impact looks like on paper.
- A Person, Not a Résumé: See real examples of essays and activities that made a file memorable — and the well-intentioned ones that quietly blended in.