you can find me at www.top-law-schools.com! Forum

[nickhalden]

Lions, do you have a source for that? They seem really random to me. I entered the cycle with an LSAT at their 25th and GPA above their 75th - no PT, which is understandable. Got well above Duke's 75th from the September test. Never received a PT.

Never received or never requested? I had to solicit my PT and fee waiver

Both. Solicited several weeks after the Sept scores were released and was denied.

[secadc11]

Maybe they are worried about YP in your case.

[foles]

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[nickhalden]

Maybe they are worried about YP in your case.

Maybe. But giving me PT has no effect on their ability to YP me through priority reserve if my application didn't show genuine Duke interest.

[secadc11]

Maybe they are worried about YP in your case.

Maybe. But giving me PT has no effect on their ability to YP me through priority reserve if my application didn't show genuine Duke interest.

I see your point. However, maybe they are waiting to see that you want Duke enough to go through the non-PT process with your great stats. It's probably a bit of a stretch, but just a thought.

[lawschool1741]

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[leslieknope]

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[Lions1913]

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[secadc11]

I got a PT invite with a 168 before I retook to a highe score.

Yeah, I got PT with a 168 too but with a >75th GPA. I think GPA plays into too. Fee waivers can be really random, though- there have been people with my exact numbers who got fee waivers to a school I didn't. I suspect it kind of depends on when in the cycle you apply and what their medians are looking like.

In other news, the one thing PT is really great for to is getting me to check my status checker 10 times a day. That will make it go even faster, right?

I suspect the same.

[nickhalden]

The PT is what it is, but it's frustrating in part because it looks like Duke is so overwhelmed with PT apps that the regular decisions are getting into a worse and worse backlog. Ironically, their anticipation of this is likely why we didn't get PT invites. But it puts us at a real disadvantage for Duke. Conversely, perhaps it places Duke at a disadvantage in our decisions.

[KissMyAxe]

Post Deleted

[PN-G bamakid]

My 168 was in the 96th percentile for the September, 2014, LSAT. I did not receive a PT invite, and applied RD.

[Hikikomorist]

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[nickhalden]

The PT is what it is, but it's frustrating in part because it looks like Duke is so overwhelmed with PT apps that the regular decisions are getting into a worse and worse backlog. Ironically, their anticipation of this is likely why we didn't get PT invites. But it puts us at a real disadvantage for Duke. Conversely, perhaps it places Duke at a disadvantage in our decisions.

Haha, I'm sure they're going to lose a lot of sleep over that.

I'm not stating it negatively (I'm very interested in Duke), but it is an interesting flipside to the PT program. The PT program is designed to incentivize strong/ideal candidates to apply, remain interested in Duke, and eventually matriculate. They are, as we can see, a burden in processing, so Duke must have data that shows they are effective. Being backlogged with PT applicants, Duke is unable to make timely decisions on other applications. If quick admissions decisions increase the likelihood of matriculation, wouldn't delayed admissions decisions be (to at least some degree) detrimental?

[RedColossus]

I didn't get an invitation for the Mordecai interview, just a generic scholarship interview which I completed a few days ago. I have a 174 and a 3.98 from a small liberal arts school with good work experience, and it's really been bugging me. Did I not make the cut, or does Duke think I'm not all that interested in them and didn't want to bother because they think I'll go somewhere higher rated? (Which is not the case and I would be upset). Anyways, just wanted to see if I'm on to something or just conceited and in denial haha. Thanks!

[Life2good893]

The PT is what it is, but it's frustrating in part because it looks like Duke is so overwhelmed with PT apps that the regular decisions are getting into a worse and worse backlog. Ironically, their anticipation of this is likely why we didn't get PT invites. But it puts us at a real disadvantage for Duke. Conversely, perhaps it places Duke at a disadvantage in our decisions.

Haha, I'm sure they're going to lose a lot of sleep over that.

I'm not stating it negatively (I'm very interested in Duke), but it is an interesting flipside to the PT program. The PT program is designed to incentivize strong/ideal candidates to apply, remain interested in Duke, and eventually matriculate. They are, as we can see, a burden in processing, so Duke must have data that shows they are effective. Being backlogged with PT applicants, Duke is unable to make timely decisions on other applications. If quick admissions decisions increase the likelihood of matriculation, wouldn't delayed admissions decisions be (to at least some degree) detrimental?

I wonder if regular decision applicants are at a disadvantage due to rolling admissions though. It seems a bit unfair. For example let's say I applied mid- December and a PT applicant applied in early January. The PT applicant is reviewed almost immediately while my app sits in a pile somewhere. So if there are only a few spaces left and the two candidates are both strong, the seat will got to the PT applicant and I would get WL, even though I applied first. See what I mean?

[nickhalden]

I wonder if regular decision applicants are at a disadvantage due to rolling admissions though. It seems a bit unfair. For example let's say I applied mid- December and a PT applicant applied in early January. The PT applicant is reviewed almost immediately while my app sits in a pile somewhere. So if there are only a few spaces left and the two candidates are both strong, the seat will got to the PT applicant and I would get WL, even though I applied first. See what I mean?

I agree that regular applicants are at a disadvantage, particularly if the WL'd PT applicants are on a different WL than regular applicants. I wouldn't say "unfair" - it's a business decision for Duke that obviously pays off since TLS was posting about PT in 2009. I presume that PT applicants matriculate at a higher percentage than regular applicants, although Duke certainly loses some strong candidates through the process. I would be interested in learning how they decide PT invites. It appears that having a good February/June LSAT is a key factor.

[pylon]

If quick admissions decisions increase the likelihood of matriculation, wouldn't delayed admissions decisions be (to at least some degree) detrimental?

I like this question. I don't think delayed admissions would be detrimental to the same degree that quick decisions are beneficial, however quantifying that difference is something I would imagine Duke would have done and it's quite thought provoking.

[foles]

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[nickhalden]

If quick admissions decisions increase the likelihood of matriculation, wouldn't delayed admissions decisions be (to at least some degree) detrimental?

I like this question. I don't think delayed admissions would be detrimental to the same degree that quick decisions are beneficial, however quantifying that difference is something I would imagine Duke would have done and it's quite thought provoking.

My question was largely rhetorical, but I completely agree: Duke has run the PT program long enough that they have the data and the data supports its continued operation. Whatever applicants they lose are outweighed by the applicants they gain through the PT program. Regardless, in this cycle particularly things will probably equalize by March. Being a Duke RD sucks in January, but as Spivey says - we're in a buyer's maker.

[Eladriel]

Got my Duke swag in the mail--seems to take about a week to arrive.

[GreenTee]

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[sheishkabob]

Just to add a data point to the previous discussion, I got a PT invite in October with a 166 and >75th GPA. Non URM

+2

[giantswan]

I have a 3.2 GPA and 173 LSAT, but I couldn't even solicit a fee waiver. Duke was my top choice, but I'm not sure if I should bother applying now.

I applied in September with similar stats and have had radio silence since UR 11/13. Maybe they're just not very splitter friendly...

[fireflies]

I have a 3.2 GPA and 173 LSAT, but I couldn't even solicit a fee waiver. Duke was my top choice, but I'm not sure if I should bother applying now.

I applied in September with similar stats and have had radio silence since UR 11/13. Maybe they're just not very splitter friendly...

Could be a specific threshold for splitters
3.5-172 and got waived + PT + admit

In the grand scheme of things, the application fee will represent a small fraction of law school-related payments, and if you would go to Duke if admitted (and I believe those numbers stand a solid chance of admission), it would be a shame to let a lack of waiver stand in your way