More Than 31,750 High School Seniors Apply to Duke
This marks the sixth year in a row in which the number of applications has set a record.
More than 31,750 high school seniors have submitted applications for admission to Duke University this year, a slight increase over last year's record total of 31,619.
This marks the sixth year in a row in which the number of applications has set a record. The number of applicants to Duke has increased by 56 percent -- more than 11,000 applications -- in the last five years alone.
"It's always gratifying to see the number of students who are interested in becoming part of the Duke community," Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag said. "And reading applications never becomes old. Every applicant is unique, and virtually everyone has accomplishments that reflect deep commitment, honest enthusiasm and a true love of learning."
The current number of high school seniors applying to be part of Duke's Class of 2017 is 31,752. Of that number, 25,616 have applied to the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences (a 1 percent decrease over last year), while 5,949 have applied to the Pratt School of Engineering (a 7.8 percent increase). The final number of applicants is expected to increase slightly as applications submitted by mail are received.
California again provided the largest number of applicants, with nearly 4,000, with North Carolina second and Florida third, followed by New York and Texas. The greatest growth among applicants in recent years has been among students from the West Coast and from overseas, with China again first among foreign countries in the number of applicants, followed by Korea, India and Canada.
The applicant pool is almost evenly split among women (51 percent) and men (49 percent). Among students of color, the greatest increases were among African-American and Native American students. Admissions decisions will be made available to applicants online in early April.
In November, more than 2,500 students applied to Duke through the Early Decision process and 753 students were admitted. The students applying through Regular Decision will be vying for about 950 spaces in the Class of 2017.
Guttentag expects the incoming class to have slightly more than 1,700 students.