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Duke to Offer Regular Admission to 2,170 Students

One of the images admitted students will be downloading tonight.
Admitted students will be able to download a variety of campus images tagged with their class.
Geoffrey Mock

2,170 high school seniors from around the country and around the world will receive an invitation to join Duke’s class of 2024 Thursday night. The admitted students from 47 states and 67 countries were selected from 35,483 Regular Decision applicants plus 766 Early Decision applicants whose decisions were deferred to March.

“Every year, when we have the opportunity to sit down and read the applications of the students who are considering Duke, we’re consistently impressed and amazed by all that they accomplish even while they’re fulfilling all of their academic requirements,” said Christoph Guttentag, dean of undergraduate admissions. “We’re fortunate to be able to choose from among such accomplished young women and men, and we wish we were able to admit more of them.”

They join 887 early admission students who were announced in December 2019.  The overall admission rate, including Early Decision, was 7.7 percent, the same as last year, Guttentag said.

The students being admitted Thursday have until May 1 to accept their enrollment at Duke. Guttentag said he expects more than 1,700 students to enroll in the class this coming August.

Of students accepted in Regular Decision, 64 percent indicated that they would apply for financial aid. The program includes a number of low-income and first-generation students, who together already constitute about one-fifth of the student body.

Duke is among the small number of 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.

This was the fourth year that Duke participated in the QuestBridge Scholars program, the eighth year of Duke’s partnership with the KIPP program and the fourth year of the Rubenstein Scholars program, all of which have an emphasis on low-income and first-generation students.

As in past years, North Carolina led the country in most students admitted to the class. It was followed by California, Florida, Texas, New York and Virginia.

With the campus closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no Blue Devil Day Weekends this year where the admitted students visit the campus.  However, engagement with the admitted students will began immediately at the announcement of acceptances at 7 p.m.

On social media the students can connect with each other and share their stories and grab digital swag to showcase the class. Others will connect withcurrent students to ask questions about the university.

Over the next five weeks, admitted students will be paired with current students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents of current students who will serve as “mentors.” It’ll be one step of a process of helping the students understand the Duke educational experience and encourage them to select Duke as their home for the next four years.

In addition, students will participate in Zoom video webinars that will cover much of the information usually presented in Blue Devil Days. And smaller Zoom meetings will allow students with special interests in disciplines or activities in the arts or athletics to come together.

“We’re very aware that students will be receiving our decisions at one of the most challenging times in many years,” Guttentag said. “Even though we won’t be able to welcome them to campus, there will be many ways in which we will be showing them just how special a place Duke is. We’re glad that there are so many current students, faculty, staff, and alumni who are ready to share their enthusiasm for Duke.”