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How to Write the Duke University Essays 2024-2025

Duke is consistently ranked within the top 10 colleges in the country, making it an incredibly selective school. With tens of thousands of applicants vying for a spot to be a Blue Devil, each and every aspect of your application will have to be unique and impressive—especially your essays.

For this application cycle, Duke is requiring all prospective students to answer one standard prompt and offering up to two additional submissions from a choice of five prompts for a possible total of three essays. Each of the options for the second prompt names a specific theme it is targeting, making it easier to select between them if you choose to. In this post, we will go over all of Duke’s prompts and break down how to write the essays so that you can maximize your chances of admission.

Read these Duke essay examples to inspire your writing.

Duke University Supplemental Essay Prompts

All applicants.

Prompt 1 (required): What is your sense of Duke as a university and a community, and why do you consider it a good match for you? If there’s something in particular about our offerings that attracts you, feel free to share that as well. (250 words)

Prompt 2 (optional): We want to emphasize that the following questions are optional. Feel free to answer one or two if you believe that doing so will add something meaningful that is not already shared elsewhere in your application. Five optional questions are available – a maximum of 2 can be selected . (250 words for all)

• Option 1: Perspective response: We believe a wide range of viewpoints, beliefs, and lived experiences are essential to making Duke a vibrant and meaningful living and learning community. Feel free to share with us anything in this context that might help us better understand you and what you might bring to our community.
• Option 2: Intellectual experience: Tell us about an experience in the past year or two that reflects your imagination, creativity, or intellect.
• Option 3: Beliefs & values: We believe there is benefit in sharing and sometimes questioning our beliefs or values; who do you agree with on the big important things, or who do you have your most interesting disagreements with? What are you agreeing or disagreeing about?
• Option 4: Orientation, identity, expression: Duke’s commitment to inclusion and belonging includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Feel free to share with us more about how your identity in this context has meaning for you as an individual or as a member of a community.
• Option 5: Being different: We recognize that not fully “fitting in” a community or place can sometimes be difficult. Duke values the effort, resilience, and independence that may require. Feel free to share with us circumstances where something about you is different and how that’s influenced your experiences or identity.

Duke Kunshan Applicants

Why do you think duke kunshan university is a good match for you and what special qualities do you feel you could bring to duke kunshan university (200 words), gap year prompt, please describe your gap year plans as you currently are considering them. you are not making a commitment to these plans. (250 words), all applicants—prompt 1, what is your sense of duke as a university and a community, and why do you consider it a good match for you if there’s something in particular about our offerings that attracts you, feel free to share that as well. (250 words)..

Every student applying to Duke will be submitting this “ Why This College? ” essay, so you really need to make yours stand out. Before we talk about what you should do, let’s cover common mistakes to avoid so your essay isn’t generic.

Don’t talk about factors outside of the school’s control like the location, weather, or surrounding city. You might be attracted to Duke because you want to go to a school in the South, but there are hundreds of other schools nearby. This doesn’t tell us anything about Duke in particular.

Don’t make emotional appeals like “ It feels like home ” or “ The campus is so beautiful ”. Contrary to popular belief, statements like these don’t flatter admissions officers because they read them so frequently. Saying something like this is too vague and your limited space would be better served describing resources that make you feel connected to the school.

Don’t regurgitate fun facts and statistics from a campus tour, brochure, or website. Duke doesn’t need to be told how many Nobel prize winners or cabinet secretaries attended, nor do they need to be told about the infamous Duke vs UNC game. Admissions officers especially don’t care about the student-to-faculty ratio or class sizes. Listing these as reasons for attending signals to the admissions committee you didn’t research specific offerings at the school and you might not be as dedicated.

Don’t talk badly about the school. This one should be pretty self-explanatory, but when they ask about your sense of Duke, don’t call it stuffy and pretentious! You are trying to prove your love and devotion to the school, so if you have a negative impression, maybe reconsider why you are applying.

Don’t list out a dozen reasons why you want to go to Duke. We recommend including specific offerings and resources at Duke that excite you, but it’s all about quality over quantity. Spend time explaining why each reason resonates with you or what you hope to get out of the resource or experience. If that means you only have space to include three or four, then that’s okay!

Now that you know what not to do, we’ll share some tips on what you should do in your essay to make it stand out.

Make it personal . Like any other college essay, you need to share information about yourself and your interests to demonstrate to the admissions committee why you belong at Duke. Include anecdotes or details about your experiences to highlight your personal connection to the offerings at Duke.

Include specific resources and opportunities you want to take advantage of. The prompt makes it seem like it is more optional to include offerings that speak to you, but we strongly urge you to include them! Not only does including specific offerings demonstrate the research you’ve done, it also allows you to talk more about your interests and goals through the resources you are attracted to.

Balance academic and extracurricular reasons for wanting to attend. In order to show the admissions committee you are well-rounded, you’ll need to discuss both academic and extracurricular offerings that excite you. Your extracurriculars could be related to the academic topic you’re studying, but make sure to include clubs or communities you want to join so Duke knows you will be active both in class and out.

Draw parallels between yourself and Duke to emphasize why it’s a good fit for you. This might be a little harder to conceptualize and implement in your essay, but you could go about this by finding a club on campus that aligns with one of your extracurriculars, a professor who conducts research on a topic you want to learn more about, or values the school exemplifies that you prioritize.

Have a strong narrative that still reads like a story. Just because this essay might not be as creative or story-based as other college essays doesn’t mean it can’t have a narrative style. Make sure you have an exciting hook at the beginning and a conclusion that ties everything together.

Have some fun! Your essay should still have a voice that is uniquely yours, so if that means you like to use humor, go for it. Also, you can mention fun aspects of the college experience at Duke—basketball is a huge part of the Duke experience. Just be sure that you frame it as an additional bonus of attending Duke and not the primary reason for choosing the school.

Putting all of that together, take a look at what a sample student might write:

“You’d be surprised by the power 1080px by 1920px can wield. Within those 3×6 inches, violence has been incited, hate crimes have been encouraged, and a democracy was nearly toppled. Behold, the 21st century’s mega-weapon: Instagram stories.

Media and politics are intrinsically linked, especially in the USA. My generation is faced with the burden of freeing democracy from the tight grip of the Instagram story, Twitter thread, and Facebook group. Luckily, with Duke’s commitment to forging positive change, I won’t have to go at it alone. At the Sanford School of Public Policy, I’ll join a community of people dedicated to saving our democracy. 

Through the Dewitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy, I’ll delve into the complicated relationship between media and politics to better equip myself to one day shape federal policy surrounding media practices. Courses like Can Journalism Save Democracy? and Intro to Digital Culture: Media Theory, Politics, and Aesthetics signal that I’ll find a community of students and faculty equally passionate about this field. By my junior year, I’ll take the knowledge I’ve gathered in class and apply it on the Hill with Duke in DC.

Duke is a place where I’ll learn how to fight most effectively for media that promotes healthy political discourse. In between my Instagram stories of the blue devils crushing UNC and the picturesque Chapel, expect many posts on the latest article from the Sanford Journal of Public Policy, announcements for upcoming guest speakers, and information on how to protect American democracy.”

All Applicants—Prompt 2 (Optional)

We want to emphasize that the following questions are optional. feel free to answer them if you believe that doing so will add something meaningful that is not already shared elsewhere in your application. five optional questions are available – a maximum of 2 can be selected..

Before getting started with the optional prompts, be sure to carefully read the instructions. You can respond to none of these, one prompt, or a maximum of two prompts.

While it may be tempting to only complete the one required essay, we always recommend completing all the prompts available to you, as it only gives you another chance to make a lasting impression on your application. It also shows admissions counselors that you are truly invested in Duke, and may even be the deciding factor of your application.

Since these prompts are optional though, you want to take special care to not repeat anything in your application, especially since Duke said so themselves. For example, if you already talked about Model UN in your Common App essay, there’s no need to write another essay about it. If only one of the optional prompts speaks to you, that’s fine as well. 

All Applicants—Prompt 2, Option 1

Perspective response: we believe a wide range of personal perspectives, beliefs, and lived experiences are essential to making duke a vibrant and meaningful living and learning community. feel free to share with us anything in this context that might help us better understand you and what you might bring to our community. (250 words).

This is one instance of the very common diversity prompt . When colleges have a diversity prompt, they want to know about your own personal background and how it has influenced your worldview and perspectives.

A quick note if you intend to write about your racial background: In June 2023, the United States Supreme Court  struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions. The ruling, however, still allows colleges to consider race on an individual basis, which is one reason many schools are now including diversity prompts as one of their supplemental essay prompts. If you feel that your racial background has impacted you significantly, this is the place to discuss that.

In general, such a common prompt can be approached with a traditional answer. You might consider answering this prompt with what you think is the most important part of your identity, then a small discussion about how that aspect of diversity is relevant to you and your general life experiences.

Such a response might be written about one of the following scenarios:

• Using your fluency in another language to help members of a specific community.
• Interpreting a text in class differently from your classmates because of your ethnic culture.
• Having a friend of a different background who has changed your perspective on something important.
• Having an illness or disability that helps you view accessibility through a different lens than your peers.
• Being part of a niche interest group/fandom and trying to represent the group faithfully when talking to people who aren’t members of it.

Simply listing things that generate diversity should be avoided. Sure, diversity includes different ethnicities/races, gender identities, sexual orientations, countries of origin, and languages, but writing that laundry list out doesn’t contribute much to your application.

Also, bear in mind that the traditional markers of diversity aren’t the only ones you can discuss. There are other aspects of identity that contribute to a diverse campus, including socioeconomic classes, hometowns, illnesses/disabilities, and even interests or hobbies.

This being said, let’s look at a potential example response:

“Growing up as the daughter of Mexican immigrants, I often found myself translating for my parents at parent-teacher conferences, doctor’s appointments, and even grocery stores. These early experiences made me acutely aware of the barriers faced by non-English speaking communities. This awareness fueled my passion for educational equity, leading me to start a tutoring program for ESL students at my high school. Every Saturday, I helped students navigate their schoolwork while also bridging cultural gaps through shared stories and experiences.

At Duke, I hope to continue advocating for underrepresented communities by joining the Center for Multicultural Affairs and collaborating with organizations like Duke LIFE (Low-Income, First-Generation Engagement). I am excited to contribute my unique perspective and learn from a community that values diverse experiences as much as I do. By sharing my background and listening to others, I aim to foster a more inclusive environment where everyone feels heard and valued.”

Diversity encompasses all the aforementioned attributes, but you should strive for individuality and specificity in your response. This prompt, like all the others, is an opportunity to showcase your unique life perspective. You don’t want to waste this opportunity by writing down some bland dictionary definitions. Think of what diversity means to you and what you consider to be a particularly significant aspect of diversity. From there, think of personal anecdotes or stories about how that aspect of diversity has contributed to your growth or development as a person.

All Applicants—Prompt 2, Option 2

Intellectual experience: tell us about an intellectual experience in the past two years that you found absolutely fascinating. (250 words).

For this prompt, Duke is looking to hear about your intellectual interests and your approach to learning. You could choose anything; for example, a particular class you took that sparked your interest in a topic, an individual research project you conducted, a book you read that made a strong impression, or an experiment you performed in a science class.

The key for this essay is to really highlight your passion for learning, and the way to accomplish that is to tell the reader everything about the experience so they feel like they are living it besides you. The phrase “ show, don’t tell ” is thrown around a lot when it comes to college essays—this essay will be no exception.

But what does it mean to successfully show your intellectual experience? Let’s dissect an example.

“Debates were my favorite part of my AP US History class. At the end of every unit, each person in the class would be assigned a historical figure and we would debate a prevalent issue for the period. The best one, hands down, was the debate about the ratification of the Constitution. Representing James Madison, I advocated for a separation of powers. I also pushed for the inclusion of unalienable rights. The fast-paced environment of kids in my class engaging in productive debate was so exciting to see.”

While the excerpt above does technically check the box of describing an intellectual experience this student enjoyed, this is far from what you should submit if you want to be a competitive applicant. How can we make this better? Starting with the hook, never restate the prompt. The first line of your essay shouldn’t be used to tell us what the experience was, rather it should set the scene so the reader is prepared to immerse themselves in the experience, for example:

“Accusations flew across the circle of desks haphazardly gathered in the center of the room; she was an elitist forgetting about the yeomen while he was as backwards as King George.”

This hook immediately brings action and excitement, causing the reader to ask questions which makes them more interested to keep reading. Not only that, by including details relevant to the academic topic (yeomen farmers and King George) it further demonstrates the student’s knowledge and interest of this subject. 

The next two sentences can be improved by making them more concise to cut down on the amount of background needed. You want to keep the essay focused in the moment as much as possible, so rather than zooming out to provide the reader with context, stay in the present:

“With the strike of my US History teacher’s gavel, our debate on the ratification of the Constitution had begun.”

The student then goes on to talk about their contribution to the debate, which is important to include, but we can make it stronger. Again, the key is to stay in the story and tell it in present tense with an active voice. Focus on how you viewed and approached the situation rather than what actions you took. Not only will this make the writing more engaging, it will also make it naturally easier to express your fascination with the experience—which is the whole purpose of this essay at the end of the day.

“Donning the tricorn hat of James Madison, I turned to Federalist friends on my right—including Hamilton and Adams—and sized up my foes: the Democratic-Republicans. Coming out of the gate strong, Jefferson insisted a document that enumerates rights, limits rights. How wrong he was! Before another member of my group could speak, I was on my feet conjuring a picture of the society we just escaped that lacked documentation of unalienable rights. Quoting Locke and Voltaire from memory, I watched as my opponents scrambled for a rebuttal.”

Notice the difference between the imagery and flow of these sentences compared to the original example? Each line moves the story along, while continuing to provide details for imagery and to highlight the student’s passion for the topic. There’s no need for them to tell the reader they found the experience enjoyable or exciting, because details like the student embodying the historical figure (ie “Federalist friends…and foes”), their inner monologue (“How wrong he was!”), their excitement (“I was on my feet”), and their dedication (“Quoting Locke and Voltaire from memory”) show the reader why they loved this intellectual experience.

As you go about writing, follow these tips to beef up your writing and take it from basic and boring to engaging and informative.

All Applicants—Prompt 2, Option 3

Beliefs & values: we believe there is benefit in sharing and sometimes questioning our beliefs or values; who do you agree with on the big important things, or who do you have your most interesting disagreements with what are you agreeing or disagreeing about (250 words).

This prompt is all about internal beliefs and values. Whether you choose to write about an agreement or disagreement, at the heart of your essay, you need to share one of your important values with the admissions committee. Naturally then, an integral piece in choosing this essay is having a core belief or value that is central to your personality. If nothing jumps out at you, then maybe this isn’t the prompt for you.

If religion is important to you, this prompt would be a good opportunity to delve into your religious beliefs. Similarly, you could choose to go into philosophical or ethical debates that you have with people. As you pick a belief or value, keep your audience in mind. You never know who will read your essay, and the last thing you want to do is offend them. It’s generally a good idea to stay away from any beliefs that might be highly controversial or politicized.

Not only do you need a belief or value, you also need to pick a discussion partner that either shares your ideals or challenges them. Luckily for you, because the prompt already asks for you to pick a person, it opens the door for the natural inclusion of dialogue—a great way to spice up your essay and show,  not tell !

This essay also provides you with a chance to delve deeper into your personality. You can demonstrate character traits you possess in the way you describe your conversation. If you are a detail-oriented person, include the statistics you use to convince someone of your belief. Perhaps you are extremely energetic—in that case, describe how you jump with excitement and your voice gets higher when you agree with someone on an obscure belief.

Maybe you and your best friend get into arguments about whether life exists on other planets when you are going on night-time drives around town. Take the reader into your car—what music is playing in the background, are you cruising down the highway or leisurely rolling through residential neighborhoods? Do you and your friend raise your voices as the argument goes on? Showing what it is like to be there with you during these conversations will make your essay infinitely more engaging to read. Take a look at the example below:

“ Every week, my high school art class transforms into a battleground of ideas between my teacher and me. Mrs. Thompson, a staunch advocate of classical art, believes in the timeless value of techniques perfected by the Renaissance masters. I, on the other hand, am captivated by the boldness and innovation of modern art. Our most heated debate was over the value of Jackson Pollock’s work. While Mrs. Thompson saw it as chaotic and lacking technique, I argued that Pollock’s method captured the raw energy and emotion of the human experience. These discussions have pushed me to explore a wide range of artistic styles and techniques, blending the structured precision of classical art with the free-spirited experimentation of modern art. This fusion has become a signature of my own artwork, challenging viewers to find harmony in apparent chaos. Engaging with Mrs. Thompson has not only expanded my artistic repertoire but also taught me the importance of balancing respect for tradition with a passion for innovation.”

A common misconception is that admissions officers want to see astute, academic conversations, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. You could write about how you and your sibling get into disagreements about the most powerful superhero or you and your grandma agree your uncle’s cooking is better than your dad’s. Don’t be scared by the prompt asking about the “big important things,” because as long as you provide reasoning as to why your discussion is important to you and your discussion partner, it can make for a good essay.

All Applicants—Prompt 2, Option 4

Orientation, identity, expression: duke’s commitment to inclusion and belonging includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. feel free to share with us more about how your identity in this context has meaning for you as an individual or as a member of a community. (250 words).

If you want to write about an aspect of your identity or a way you are different and it relates to your gender, sexuality, or sexual orientation, you should choose this option over Options 1 and 5.

In the same vein as the other two options dealing with an aspect of your personality that you want to share with the admissions committee, you want to make sure that you go deeper than simply explaining your gender or sexual identity. The essay needs to go into the personal significance and the way it has shaped you as a person who will join the Duke community.

A good story always needs some conflict, whether it be internal or external, so you might want to start brainstorming by thinking about a moment of conflict that arose related to your gender or sexual identity. Maybe you choose the moment you came out to your family, or you could write about the internal battle to try and fit into societal gender expectations, or possibly you experienced discrimination or harassment as a result of your sexual orientation which emotionally affected you. There are many different ways to approach this prompt, so pick whatever stands out to you as the most consequential for you personally.

For an essay like this, it’s important to share a lot of detail with the admissions committee to ensure your unique perspective and life experiences are fully communicated, but when discussing highly personal and possibly uncomfortable topics, this might be a little difficult. There’s a delicate balance between including enough information to write a strong essay and protecting personal details. To try and address this, focus on actions you took and the emotions that motivated them, without getting too deep into the intricacies of your thoughts.

However, at the end of the day, your college essay has to reveal to the admissions officers what makes you special. If you feel that this aspect of your identity is critical to understanding you, this is the prompt for you. But if you are hesitant to share information on a delicate subject, there is no problem in choosing a different prompt option that would allow you to write more freely.

All Applicants—Prompt 2, Option 5

Being different: we recognize that not fully “fitting in” a community or place can sometimes be difficult. duke values the effort, resilience, and independence that may require. feel free to share with us circumstances where something about you is different and how that’s influenced your experiences or identity. (250 words).

Similar to the first option for Prompt 2, this option is purposefully open-ended to give students the freedom to identify any difference and discuss it. Again, in light of the Supreme Court striking down the use of affirmative action in college admissions, students of color might want to use this prompt to discuss their racial background in their application.

However, since this prompt is very similar to the first, we’d recommend choosing one or the other. There’s no right one to pick—go with whichever you want—but don’t spend both essays (if you choose to submit the maximum of two optional essays for Prompt 2) discussing an aspect of your identity that makes you different or unique. We’d recommend pairing either Option 1 or 4 with either Option 2 or 3.

While this prompt provides students with the opportunity to discuss racial differences they aren’t able to disclose elsewhere, it isn’t limited to discussions of race. Differences can be measured in a variety of dimensions, including:

• Race or ethnicity
• Socioeconomic status
• Family structure
• Gender or sexuality (look at Option 4 if you want to write about this)
• Physical abilities

Regardless of what you choose, your essay must express how you are different, the emotional, mental, and physical effect that has had on you, and the way your difference will make you a valuable member of the Duke community.

An essay where a student describes her family’s low income and the lack of luxuries she’s able to afford as a result doesn’t tell us much about the student. The essay would have more depth if it discussed the embarrassment and isolation she felt when she couldn’t afford the latest trends and wasn’t welcomed by her peers. But the essay shouldn’t stop there. Now that we know about her mental response to her difference, we want to hear about how she views her difference as a source of strength and personal value. So, maybe her classmates’ focus on fashion inspired her to start a thrifting collective at her school where students can donate old clothes and find new ones without spending a lot of money. This experience taught her the value in creating community and compassion.

This prompt is required for students who are applying to Duke Kunshan University through the Duke University application. Duke Kunshan is a partnership between Duke and Wuhan University in China that allows students to receive an education that marries two exceptional universities.

You are asked to submit a pretty straightforward “ Why This College? ” essay for Duke Kunshan, and we would refer you to Prompt 1 in this post to learn more about the tips and common pitfalls to avoid when writing this type of essay.

A key factor to keep in mind when submitting this essay is although Duke will be reading it, it will also be sent to Duke Kunshan who will review it. For that reason, you want to make sure the college you are discussing is specifically Duke Kunshan and not regular Duke. Along those lines, you need to speak highly of Kunshan as its own entity—don’t say you want to attend because you think it will be an easier way to achieve a Duke degree.

While we normally advise against listing a school’s location as a reason for wanting to attend, in the case of an international university, it is okay to discuss your interest in Duke Kunshan because it’s in another country. However, frame it within the context of an interest in experiencing new cultures or an appreciation for Chinese history, culture, or society. Make sure your motivation for attending an international institution is clear in your essay.

The second part of the prompt asks you to consider what you can bring to the school. Just as you would for any other “Why This College?” essay, highlight ways your interests and experiences align with resources and offerings at the university. Your contribution to the campus community can also lie outside of academics. Perhaps you will bring your favorite comfort food recipe with you to support your fellow homesick American students or maybe you will share your adventurous spirit with your more reserved classmates to encourage them to explore a new environment with you.

If you indicate on the Common App that you are considering taking a gap year before enrolling at Duke, you will be required to answer this question. It’s important to note that this isn’t an official declaration of your plans; Duke is using this question to gauge what type of individual you are and how you will use your time productively.

But at the same time, don’t make up fanciful gap year plans like traveling to all seven continents if realistically you know you will spend the majority of your time working at home. You aren’t being judged on how exciting your gap year plans may sound, so be genuine about the plans you are considering.

There are many reasons you might be considering a gap year—from wanting to gain more real-world experience, to financial reasons, to unique opportunities you don’t want to miss, to family commitments—and there are an infinite number of ways to spend your year, whether it’s traveling, getting an internship, working on a campaign, supporting your family, etc.

When it comes to this essay though, there are two primary things you want to convey:

• What you consider to be valuable.
• How you will grow and be enriched from the gap year.

Starting with the first point, the way you choose to spend your gap year is a reflection of the values you find important. Students who want to travel value broadening their perspectives and embracing new experiences, while students who are staying home to help out their parents value family, loyalty, and devotion. Unless you are spending your time in the basement playing video games all day long, you will be doing something that, in your mind, is considered a productive use of time.

When you are discussing your plans, your values should come through. For example, if you are planning to spend the first semester backpacking South America, you wouldn’t just say, “ I will spend the first four months backpacking in China. ” You would instead show the admissions committee why you are driven to take that action: “ During my four months exploring the mountains, valleys, cities, and ancient civilizations of China, I will immerse myself in the culture I’ve felt so distant from as a Chinese adoptee. ”

The second thing your essay needs to discuss is how this experience will enrich you. Or, from Duke’s perspective, how will taking a gap year make you a more valuable member of the campus community? To answer this question, you’ll need to place yourself in a year-from-now you’s shoes and ask how you’ve changed and grown.

Are you more independent? Are you confident? Did you learn a new skill? Have you become a stronger leader? Do you have a new appreciation for learning? 

However you think you will grow from this experience, make sure to convey that in your essay. You might also want to explicitly mention what you will bring back to the Duke community, just to reiterate your commitment to attending Duke after your gap year.

Some Final Thoughts

If you choose to respond to the optional Duke supplements, you’ll need to keep a few key strategies in mind. As you draft and revise your responses, remember the following tips, which will help you to optimize your application efforts to Duke as well as any other schools to which you might apply. 

Give yourself time. Writing a short essay can often seem like a straightforward and deceptively quick process. Remember, however, that even though the Duke only wants 250 words, you’ll need to achieve the same level of impact in this response as you would with a 650 word essay. Clumsily jumbling together broad and lofty ideas won’t get you far with a 250 word prompt, so leave yourself enough time to plan, draft and redraft your response until it’s ready for submission.

Be specific. Specificity is the not-so-secret ingredient when it comes to writing a successful response. Include anecdotes and examples that tie directly to what you know and value about the Duke campus community. Don’t simply say that you love research or that you want to change the world. Think about the specific experiences you have which exemplify your interests and your academic and professional aspirations. 

Be true to yourself. It’s counterproductive to spend hours and hours writing about things that don’t truly matter to you. Be honest! Highlight the things that you care about most and reflect on why they matter to you. 

Ultimately, the purpose of any supplemental essay is to give you the opportunity to present yourself, your experiences and achievements from your own perspective using your own words. So have fun with this process. After all, no one could ever be better equipped to showcase you than you.

Where to Get Your Duke Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your Duke essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

Need feedback faster? Get a  free, nearly-instantaneous essay review  from Sage, our AI tutor and advisor. Sage will rate your essay, give you suggestions for improvement, and summarize what admissions officers would take away from your writing. Use these tools to improve your chances of acceptance to your dream school!

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6 Duke Supplemental Essays That Worked for 2024

Getting into Duke University is difficult in 2024. But you make sure you have your best chances by writing great supplemental essays.

In this article, I've gathered 6 essays from admitted Duke students so you can get inspired.

What is Duke University's Acceptance Rate?

Duke University has highly competitive admissions, and this past year over 45,000 students applied to Duke. Duke had an overall acceptance rate of 4.8%.

Duke University Acceptance Scattergram

If Duke is your top choice school, then consider applying Early Decision. For the Class of 2026, the acceptance rate for ED admissions was 21.3%!

Regardless of if you apply regular or early, admissions to Duke is competitive. But that only means writing stellar essays matters even more.

What are the Duke University Supplemental Prompts for 2022-23?

This year Duke asks applicants to write one required essay of 200 words and two optional essays of 250 words each.

Here are the 2022-23 Duke writing supplement prompts:

• Please share with us why you consider Duke a good match for you. Is there something in particular about Duke’s academic or other offerings that attracts you? (200 word limit)

We want to emphasize that the following questions are optional. Feel free to answer them if you feel that doing so will add something meaningful that is not already expressed elsewhere in your application. If you have already addressed either or both of these questions in your application, please don’t worry about leaving them blank. We appreciate how much time it takes to fill out this and your other college applications.

• Duke University seeks a talented, engaged student body that embodies the wide range of human experience; we believe that the diversity of our students makes our community stronger. If you'd like to share a perspective you bring or experiences you've had that would help us understand you better, perhaps a community you belong to or your family or cultural background, we encourage you to do so here. Real people are reading your application, and we want to do our best to understand and appreciate the real people applying to Duke. (250 word limit)

Duke University Nondiscrimination Statement

• Duke’s commitment to diversity and inclusion includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. If you would like to share with us more about your identity in these areas, you can do so here or, if you feel you have adequately represented your gender and sexual orientation in other parts of your application, feel free to not respond to this prompt. (250 words maximum)

If you're serious about getting into Duke, you should definitely answer the second optional prompt.

Because everybody has a unique background, and this prompt is another opportunity to show admissions officers why you deserve admission.

6 Duke University EssaysThatWorked

Here are 6 of the best Duke essays that worked that respond to the writing supplement.

I've also included an example of a Common App personal statement essay from an admitted Duke student.

Let's get started and inspired writing great admissions essays like these.

• Duke University Essay Example #1
• Duke University Essay Example #2
• Duke University Essay Example #3
• Duke University Essay Example #4
• Duke University Essay Example #5
• Duke University Essay Example #6

#1. Duke "Diversity" Essay Example

Prompt: Duke University seeks a talented, engaged student body that embodies the wide range of human experience; we believe that the diversity of our students makes our community stronger. If you'd like to share a perspective you bring or experiences you've had that would help us understand you better, perhaps a community you belong to or your family or cultural background, we encourage you to do so here. Real people are reading your application, and we want to do our best to understand and appreciate the real people applying to Duke. (250 words max)

The pitter patter of droplets, the sweet smell that permeates throughout the air, the dark grey clouds that fill the sky, shielding me from the otherwise intense gaze of the sun, create a landscape unparalleled by any natural beauty. I have gazed upon the towering cliffs of Yosemite, stood next to Niagara falls as the water roars, succumbing to the power of gravity, and seen the beaches of Mexico basked in moonlight, yet none of these wonders compares to the simple beauty of an Arizona rainstorm. To me, our rain represents more than humidity and darkness; its rarity gives it beauty. The uncertainty of when the next day of rain will come compels me to slow down, and enjoy the moment.

Out of the three realms of time; past, present, and future, the present is the only one we can experience, and I take advantage of every moment I have. When I pause my running to enjoy a sunset that dazzles the sky with brilliant colors of purple and orange, when I touch my brush to a canvas and focus on my movements in the present, when I drive home after a long day of improving our robot, and decide to drive around my neighborhood to finish “Garota de Ipanema”, which just popped up from my playlist of 700 songs, I am taking advantage of the moment.

So next time it rains, step outside. Close your eyes. Hear the symphony of millions of water droplets. And enjoy the moment.

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#2. Duke "Diversity" Essay Example

Prompt: We seek a diverse student body that embodies the wide range of human experience. In that context, we are interested in what you’d like to share about your lived experiences and how they’ve influenced how you think of yourself. (250 words max)

Ever since I can remember, the comforting lullabies my mother sang to me planted a deep seed in my mind. In my dreams, I began a journey for my identity to discover the hidden stories within those songs. Perhaps that's what led me to explore Hindustani music. "Sa-re-ga" encodes my ancestors' songs just like "do-re-mi." With this solfege, I began exploring a vocal part of my culture, collecting the keys to my identity.

Each song I learned further educated me about myths and legends that helped form who I am today.

When I face adversity in male-dominated activities, I remember Sita, who fought heroically in revolutionary conflicts hundreds of years ago. This has empowered me to believe in my talents and goals, whether I am doing research or organizing a STEM fair in my community. The character Arjuna, who became one of the best archers, taught me perseverance and a desire to learn from others. When chosen to fly to Denmark to play badminton with local clubs, I embraced this experience to play among outstanding competitors and to enhance my competitive abilities. As an Asian American, I am reminded by the Indian National Anthem that I am an American and an Indian.

I plan to bring my music and stories with me to college. The keyboard in my Duke dorm will ring with strong Hindustani notes. I hope to share with my dorm mates and friends the history of those heroes and the strength I gleam from them every day.

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#3. Duke "Why Engineering" Essay Example

Prompt: If you are applying to the Pratt School of Engineering as a first-year applicant, please discuss why you want to study engineering and why you would like to study at Duke. (150 words max)

At Duke I was equally entranced by the articulate movements of 3D printers in the Co-Lab and the stunning Gothic architecture. Instead of forming a dichotomy, these aspects of Duke blended to symbolize its emphasis on interdisciplinary education, which will offer me a nuanced perspective of the world integral to becoming a leader in engineering.

I will join the Academy for Model Aeronautics and share my passion for designing drones, while taking fascinating courses such as “Taboo Markets” and “Banality of Evil”, while simultaneously working on an engineering project that improves real people’s lives in “Engineering Design”. By joining the Duke Robotics Club, I can expand upon my love for robotics, and I hope to write for the Duke Engineering magazine, as well as join the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. By drawing from this diverse range of educational experiences, I can become a leader in creating a better future.

#4. Duke Personal Statement Example: "Forest of Lights"

Common App Prompt #7: Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. (250-650 words)

The diamond leaves of gnarled oak trees throw spectrums of color onto mounds of frosty snow that gleam melancholily under the moonlight. The leaves chime as wind violently rustles them in a haunting melody. I splinter a leaf off its branch and inspect the shard of my illusion, eyes dancing with amusement.

As I dwell in my worries, a cold hand reaches from behind me and taps my shoulder.

I jerk away, fear bubbling in my amygdala as I look into the nonexistent eyes of my intruding visitor.

The moon illuminates a blob of pink squish as it draws back slowly, points its spindly hands towards my drink and asks: “Could I have some of that?”

The blob wipes its invisible mouth with its nonexistent sleeve. I ask: “What are you?”

The blob tells me to stop looking at it so suspiciously. “I can prove it,” It says. I tell it, please, go ahead.

Suddenly we are back in the glowing forest. “Diamonds? Pah!” The blob dismisses them. Instantly, the leaves turn solid gold, the snow melts, and the wintry world is thrown into a blistering summer.

The blob laughs heartlessly. “Your cortex is under my control,” it says smugly.

“I heard you had a question for me?” It taps its invisible ears knowingly.

The blob wriggles its invisible brows as it waits.

It smiles that wicked smile. It laughs that sinful laugh. Then that insufferable blob wakes me up.

As I sit up in the dark and rub my bleary eyes, I am vaguely aware of the deep­set unfulfillment settling itself inside me. I yawn and plop back into bed, the soft red glow of my alarm clock indicating that it is still before midnight.

Why This Essay Works:

One thing is for sure about this essay: it has a unique idea that has surely not been written before. Regardless of your topic, you want your essay to be unique in some way, even if it isn't as fantastical as this essay. You can use a unique structure, such as having central symbolism, metaphor, or being structured as a recipe, for example. But this can easily become "gimmicky" if it doesn't have a clear purpose. In general, the most effective way to have a unique essay is to focus on having deep and unique ideas and reflections. By focusing on interesting takeaways and connections that are ultra-specific to you and your experiences, your essay will standout regardless of the structure.

What They Might Improve:

This essay uses a lot of fiction-like writing that is fantastical and "flowery." Although moments of this kind of writing can make your essay more vivid, it is quite easy to end up with dense storytelling and descriptions that ultimately don't share anything interesting about you. The purpose of your essay is ultimately to learn about you: your values, your ideas, your identity, etc. By using dense story-like writing, it can be easy to lose focus of what admissions officers are looking for. In general, avoid writing "fancy" stories like this essay, unless you have a clear and distinct purpose for doing so. Everything in your essay should have a purpose in "going somewhere" (i.e. reaching interesting ideas and takeaways).

This essay is definitely creative, but lacks meaningful takeaways and ideas. By the end of the essay, we don't know much about the author besides the fact that they have an affinity for creative writing and are "on a search." Although the content is unique, the end result comes off as quite generic and surface-level because no interesting thoughts are explored deeply. The most interesting part of this essay is "I open my mouth and ask it my most crucial question," but this is super unsatisfying because the question is never divulged. Instead, the reader is teased by this fantasy story and the essay goes nowhere meaningful, which comes off as gimmicky and "creative for creative's sake," rather than deeply personal and interesting.

This essay ends on the idea of "continuing my search," but for what exactly? It is never explained, elaborated, or even implied (besides one reference to painting earlier). That makes this conclusion comes off as somewhat surface-level and uninteresting. Admissions officers won't care about "your search" unless they have a reason to care. That is, unless it tells something specific about you. On it's own, this idea of "exploring" and "searching" is meaningless because it is too broad and unelaborated.

#5. Duke Personal Statement Example: "Shadow-Box Stick Art"

Common App Prompt #5: Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. (250-650 words)

This essay shows a strong thinking ability because the author shows how they view the world differently than others. Specifically, the author is able to see something as mundane as fallen branches as an opportunity to create artwork. Showing how you view things differently is a great way to demonstrate your unique perspective. Another strategy is to think deeply about things that are often easily overlooked or things that are mundane on the surface. Everything can be reflected upon deeply, and doing so shows a strong thinking ability and level of thoughtfulness. Ask yourself: what do you see differently than others around you? What do you find fun that others find "hard"? What do you find fascinating that others find "boring"? What is something mundane in your life that you do, and what's the greater meaning behind it?

This essay uses a lot of narrative writing—that is, recounting of a specific story and moment. While most essays use storytelling, what most applicants get wrong is they describe unimportant details to the story. Don't write like a fiction book and describe everything in the scene, like what others were wearing, what people looked like, what the environment was, each small action that took place. This is a common mistake that students make in trying to write compelling stories, but it ends up with a lot of unnecessary details. This author shows how a story can still take up a lot of the essay, while also including interesting reflections throughout the story and making it purposeful by only including details that move the story forward.

This essay has a somewhat unexpected conclusion where the author connects to their significant accomplishment of starting and running a charity. Even though this is such a large and meaningful activity, the author chose to only write about it when it came in naturally and not make it the whole focus of the essay. Counterintuitively, by de-emphasizing your biggest accomplishments, they will seem more impactful and you will seem more ambitious. This is because students often try to showcase their achievements and make them the focal point, but instead if you have the attitude of, "Yeah, this is what I did, but really it is nothing in comparison to what I'm going to do" it makes your accomplishments even more impactful. You don't want to be nonchalant, but you do want to make your accomplishments small in comparison to your future goals and achievements, which will show both humility and ambition.

This essay is almost 100 words less than what is given. In general, you should try and make your essays as close to the word limit as possible. Why? Because you should have a lot to say and it should be a challenge to fit it all into your essay, not the other way around. Especially for personal statement essays, its almost always better to use most of the words. Being within 10-20 words of the limit is usually the target. In this essay, they could include further meaningful details that make their essay more vivid. They could describe what their "stick art" actually looks like, because it is hard for the reader to imagine since it is an obscure type of artwork. They could reflect on the impact of their charity: how many people did it help so far? What are their goals for the future of it? What have been challenges with it? Don't add words just to add words, however. As with everything, each sentence should be meaningful and have a clear purpose, but this essay could definitely use more words.

#6. Duke Personal Statement Example: "Kiki's Delivery Service"

Common App Prompt #6: Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? (250-650 words)

I spent much of my childhood watching movies. I became absolutely engrossed in many different films, TV shows, and animations. From the movie theatres to the TV, I spent my hours enjoying the beauty of visual media. One place that was special to me was the car. My parents purchased a special screen that could be mounted on the back of the headrest, so that I could watch movies on trips. This benefited both parties, as I was occupied, and they had peace. Looking back, I realize this screen played a crucial role in my childhood. It was an integral part of many journeys. I remember taking a drive to Washington D.C, with my visiting relatives from Poland, and spending my time with my eyes on the screen. I remember packing up my possessions and moving to my current home from Queens, watching my cartoons the whole time. I can comfortably say that watching movies in the car has been an familiar anchor during times of change in my life.

I used to watch many different cartoons, nature documentaries, and other products in the car, yet there has been one movie that I have rewatched constantly. It is called “Kiki’s Delivery Service” by Hayao Miyazaki. My parents picked it up at a garage sale one day, and I fell in love. The style of the animations were beautiful, and the captivating story of a thirteen year old witch leaving home really appealed to me. To be honest, the initial times I watched it, I didn’t fully understand the story but the magic and beauty just made me happy. Then, the more I watched it, I began to see that it was more about independence, including the need to get away from home and establish yourself as your own person. This mirrors how I felt during that period of my life,with mehaving a little rebellious streak; I didn’t agree with my parents on certain topics. That is not the end of the story though. As the years passed, and I watched it a couple more times, although with less frequency than before, my view of this movie evolved yet again.

Instead of solely thinking about the need for independence, I began to think the movie was more about the balance of independence and reliance. In the movie, the girl finds herself struggling until she begins to accept help from others. Looking back, this also follows my own philosophy during this time. As I began to mature, I began to realize the value of family, and accept all the help I can get from them. I appreciate all the hard work they had done for me, and I recognize their experience in life and take advantage of it. I passed through my rebellious phase, and this reflected in my analysis of the movie. I believe that this is common, and if I look through the rest of my life I am sure I would find other similar examples of my thoughts evolving based on the stage in my life. This movie is one of the most important to me throughout my life.

What Can You Learn From These Duke Essays?

If you're trying to get into Duke, writing great essays is one of your best ways at standing out. These 6 Duke essays that worked are successful examples of essays admitted into Duke so that you can get inspired and improve your own essays.

What did you think of these Duke essays?

Meet the Author

Ryan Chiang

I'm Ryan Chiang and I created EssaysThatWorked.com - a website dedicated to helping students and their families apply to college with confidence & ease. We publish the best college admissions essays from successful applicants every year to inspire and teach future students.

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