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Duke Admits 2,123 Regular Decision Applicants for Class of 2022

Duke received more than 37,000 applications for its incoming first-year class

The Class of 2021 gathered for their class photo this past August. Who will be part of the Class of 2022? Photo by Duke Photography
The Class of 2021 gathered for their class photo this past August. Who will be part of the Class of 2022? Photo by Duke Photography

DURHAM, N.C. -- More than 2,120 high school seniors from across the country and around the world who go online at 7 p.m. ET March 29 will learn they have been accepted to Duke University.

More than 37,300 students applied for admission this year -- the highest number ever received -- with almost 33,300 applying under Duke’s Regular Decision program. Among the Regular Decision applicant pool, 2,123 students – 6.4 percent -- will receive a notice of acceptance inviting them to become members of the Class of 2022. Another 99 students who applied Early Decision and whose decisions were deferred to March will also learn they have been admitted.

These students have until May 1 to make their final decisions.

In December, 875 students were admitted under the university's binding Early Decision program.

“My staff and I have been so impressed by the students who applied to Duke this year,” said Christoph Guttentag, dean of undergraduate admissions. “We expected that they would be academically talented and accomplished in their activities; what struck us most was how engaged they are in the process of learning and how committed they are to their communities. They often identified programs like Focus, Bass Connections and Duke Engage as ones they look forward to participating in once they come to Duke.”

This was the second year that Duke participated in the QuestBridge Scholars program, the sixth year of Duke’s partnership with the KIPP program, and the second year of the Rubenstein Scholars program. Together these programs identify and support between 75 and 100 first-year students a year, with an emphasis on low-income and first-generation students.

“While there’s always more work to be done, we’re pleased with the university’s commitment to finding students who might not have considered Duke in the past, and actively supporting them during their time here.”
- Christoph Guttentag
 

"We’re pleased that all of these programs have made it possible for us to attract and enroll some wonderfully talented Duke students,” Guttentag said. “While there’s always more work to be done, we’re pleased with the university’s commitment to finding students who might not have considered Duke in the past, and actively supporting them during their time here.”

In the current academic year, Duke expects to invest more than $161 million in university funds to support undergraduate financial aid, a 25.5 percent increase over the past five years. About half of all Duke students from a wide range of family incomes receive some form of financial assistance from the university this year, making the average net cost of attendance for those students receiving need-based aid approximately $19,000.

Duke is among the few institutions nationally committed to a need-blind admissions policy, under which the university accepts U.S. students without regard to their ability to pay for college and then fully meets their demonstrated financial need. That aid includes support for study abroad, summer programs and other components of the undergraduate experience.

All applicants can receive their decisions online, but only admitted students will receive mailed letters. As in previous recent years, students can reply online to offers of admission or to be placed on the waiting list.

All students admitted regular decision are invited to attend Blue Devil Days which will be held later this April.

For the first time this year, students admitted during the Early Decision process had the opportunity to visit campus for a special one-day Blue Devil Days program in mid-February.