Duke University School of Law C/O 2019 Applicants Forum

Widdle_Dumpling · Post by **Widdle_Dumpling** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:00 am

benwyatt wrote:
Widdle_Dumpling wrote:I don't know if this has already been asked but I'm...hesitant to go back through all 44 pages of discussion. Did everyone just use the personal statement they sent in to other schools?
Yes.

Why would you use a different one?

Because it 1) has no page limit (though I'm sure they don't want to be sifting through your 10 page personal statements)
and 2) wants you to talk about two somewhat specific/more specific than most subjects. It's still pretty darn open-ended, but less so than, say, Stanford's.

basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:06 am

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benwyatt · Post by **benwyatt** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:13 am

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benwyatt · Post by **benwyatt** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:13 am

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Widdle_Dumpling · Post by **Widdle_Dumpling** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:19 am

benwyatt wrote: Full disclosure: I don't really remember the specifics of their prompt regarding your second point. Feel free to share here for clarification.

That said, you'll find that many schools don't explicitly limit you to a certain number of pages, but 2 pages seems to be the nearly universally agreed upon sweet spot for most schools. It's long enough to allow you to be thorough while short enough that you still have to be concise and, perhaps, creative. Remember, always, that limitations like that will force you to create a better final product because you don't have the luxury of unlimited space to accomplish your goal.

"Include (1) what you think have been your significant personal experiences beyond what may be reflected in your academic transcripts and on your résumé, and (2) your personal and career ambitions. There is no required length or page limit."

I'm sure a lot of PS's are fine for this, and mine's probably all right for it, but I've read really good PS's that didn't touch on both of these.

lymenheimer · Post by **lymenheimer** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 6:26 am

Widdle_Dumpling wrote:I don't know if this has already been asked but I'm...hesitant to go back through all 44 pages of discussion. Did everyone just use the personal statement they sent in to other schools?

I wrote mine for Duke's prompt and made use of their optional statement prompt. I am condensing them together for my other applications. I think sticking to the prompt is a good idea, though likely unnecessary.

WordPass · Post by **WordPass** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 5:00 pm

Anyone have any insight on Duke's Priority Reserve list?

Generally · Post by **Generally** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 9:32 pm

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zty · Post by **zty** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 10:02 pm

A question confused me long: is "ready for review" the equivalent of "under review"?

benwyatt · Post by **benwyatt** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 10:10 pm

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zty · Post by **zty** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 1:26 am

benwyatt wrote:
zty wrote:A question confused me long: is "ready for review" the equivalent of "under review"?
Nope

Thanks! Mine has been "ready for review" since 9/8. So it has not been reviewed yet even after so many completed after mine have been accepted...?

benwyatt · Post by **benwyatt** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 1:47 am

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zty · Post by **zty** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 2:00 am

benwyatt wrote:
zty wrote:
benwyatt wrote:
zty wrote:A question confused me long: is "ready for review" the equivalent of "under review"?
Nope
Thanks! Mine has been "ready for review" since 9/8. So it has not been reviewed yet even after so many completed after mine have been accepted...?
You must be be a PT applicant.
But yeah, that's what that means

No I'm not. If I were, shouldn't I have received the decision by 9/18? But I am an international applicant, maybe this explains everything...

benwyatt · Post by **benwyatt** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 2:04 am

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zty · Post by **zty** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 2:11 am

benwyatt wrote:
zty wrote:
benwyatt wrote: You must be be a PT applicant.
But yeah, that's what that means
No I'm not. If I were, shouldn't I have received the decision by 9/18? But I am an international applicant, maybe this explains everything...
Whoops, there was supposed to be a "not" in there. Mobile fail.
You may not go UR for a while since you're not PT. They're probably receiving a good number of PT applications right now and are dedicating their bandwidth to those.
The international thing may explain it as well, but I have no expertise there so I can't say.

Thank you for answering, I'm grateful. I should be happy, anyway being not UR is much better than my UVA situation Lol

scone · Post by **scone** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 4:12 am

zty wrote:
benwyatt wrote:
zty wrote:No I'm not. If I were, shouldn't I have received the decision by 9/18? But I am an international applicant, maybe this explains everything...
Whoops, there was supposed to be a "not" in there. Mobile fail.
You may not go UR for a while since you're not PT. They're probably receiving a good number of PT applications right now and are dedicating their bandwidth to those.
The international thing may explain it as well, but I have no expertise there so I can't say.
Thank you for answering, I'm grateful. I should be happy, anyway being not UR is much better than my UVA situation Lol

Hey fellow international! We don't show up in the CRS searches that Duke makes to find PT applicants - I was successful in soliciting a PT invite because of this, and Mark Hill - the director of admissions - was very helpful about it all.

zty · Post by **zty** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 5:03 am

scone wrote:
zty wrote:
benwyatt wrote:
zty wrote:No I'm not. If I were, shouldn't I have received the decision by 9/18? But I am an international applicant, maybe this explains everything...
Whoops, there was supposed to be a "not" in there. Mobile fail.
You may not go UR for a while since you're not PT. They're probably receiving a good number of PT applications right now and are dedicating their bandwidth to those.
The international thing may explain it as well, but I have no expertise there so I can't say.
Thank you for answering, I'm grateful. I should be happy, anyway being not UR is much better than my UVA situation Lol
Hey fellow international! We don't show up in the CRS searches that Duke makes to find PT applicants - I was successful in soliciting a PT invite because of this, and Mark Hill - the director of admissions - was very helpful about it all.

Oh, thanks for informing me that! I never knew it before. Do you think I could solicit a PT invitation after my file has been complete? Also, good luck on all your applications!

scone · Post by **scone** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 6:08 am

zty wrote:
scone wrote: Hey fellow international! We don't show up in the CRS searches that Duke makes to find PT applicants - I was successful in soliciting a PT invite because of this, and Mark Hill - the director of admissions - was very helpful about it all.
Oh, thanks for informing me that! I never knew it before. Do you think I could solicit a PT invitation after my file has been complete? Also, good luck on all your applications!

Thanks! You could always give it a go, especially if you have a decent LSAT. (I'm assuming you don't have a US GPA?) Be prepared to give them a 'why Duke'! (I was asked to give more details about myself and explain why I wanted to apply to Duke in particular.) The worst they can do is say no, but even the fact that you've got in contact and shown interest should count in your favour.

By the way, there's a (rather dormant) international applicants thread here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=249086

zty · Post by **zty** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 6:28 am

scone wrote:
zty wrote:
scone wrote: Hey fellow international! We don't show up in the CRS searches that Duke makes to find PT applicants - I was successful in soliciting a PT invite because of this, and Mark Hill - the director of admissions - was very helpful about it all.
Oh, thanks for informing me that! I never knew it before. Do you think I could solicit a PT invitation after my file has been complete? Also, good luck on all your applications!
Thanks! You could always give it a go, especially if you have a decent LSAT. (I'm assuming you don't have a US GPA?) Be prepared to give them a 'why Duke'! (I was asked to give more details about myself and explain why I wanted to apply to Duke in particular.) The worst they can do is say no, but even the fact that you've got in contact and shown interest should count in your favour.

By the way, there's a (rather dormant) international applicants thread here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=249086

Thank you soooo much! I just emailed Duke! But I'm also anxious, what if I am granted the PT but rejected in just 10 days, that will definitely ruin my confidence Lol I will check in the international applicants thread!

basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 4:46 pm

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barley · Post by **barley** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 4:55 pm

basedvulpes wrote:I'm in!!!

Congrats!!!!!!!!

Knew you would!

benwyatt · Post by **benwyatt** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 5:00 pm

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urbanist11 · Post by **urbanist11** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 5:11 pm

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basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 5:26 pm

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Hildegard15 · Post by **Hildegard15** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 5:26 pm

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