Duke – The Short List

Phoebe

England

The Lacrosse Player

Duke

Phoebe attended one of our fall UK presentations at her boarding school in England. We outlined the opportunities of US education, but Phoebe mostly heard that she could be a scholar- athlete and continue playing lacrosse at the college level. Phoebe is an outstanding student and a gifted athlete. In addition to playing lacrosse for her school, Phoebe also plays for her county team, a UK regional team, and, most impressively, England’s U19 National Team.
Phoebe was well known in England but not in the United States. Whenever her national team competed in international tournaments, she saw that all the great players attended or graduated from US colleges. Phoebe became determined to do the same.

Our first effort was to help Phoebe raise her visibility with US coaches. The Short List showed her how to begin building relationships. We suggested putting together a recruiting video for her top schools. We also stressed the importance of campus visits and meeting one-on-one with coaches. We then helped her put together a weeklong college tour.

The Short List showed her how to begin building relationships.

On her first day, she visited the Duke campus. The coach and players were away at a tournament, but Phoebe was able to evaluate Duke’s academics. She went on to visit several other schools and meet with their coaches but kept returning to Duke academics as the standard against which she measured all the other schools. Phoebe wanted to return to Duke for another visit to meet the coach. We looked at the various summer recruiting camps and, as luck would have it, her national team was scheduled to compete in the US at the same time Duke was scheduled to hold their summer camp. She ended up spending two days at Duke, meeting with the coaches and players. The head coach pulled Phoebe aside at the end of the camp and told her how impressed the staff was with her. Phoebe was thrilled to receive these words of encouragement from a coach whose team is ranked among the best in the country.

Phoebe spent the fall semester considering her options. The Duke coach did not make it easy. She told Phoebe she would have to get into Duke on her own merit but, if accepted, she would have a place on the team. Duke had a binding Early Decision program, which meant that Phoebe would have to commit without having something in writing from the coach. Phoebe and her parents decided it was worth the gamble because of Duke’s strong academic programs. She was clearly excited six weeks later when she emailed The Short List: “The dream has come true! Thank you for all your help; I couldn’t have gotten this without you! (A rather excited and over- the-moon) Phoebe.” A day later, the coach sent Phoebe a note welcoming her to Duke’s nationally ranked team.

Alex

Florida

The Best Buddy

Duke

Client: Alex

When Alex first came to The Short List in his junior year, we knew that he was an exceptional student. He was second in his class, had already taken seven AP courses, and was a member of three honor societies. We were amazed to learn how many activities Alex was also involved with: varsity and club soccer, student government, community service, and a few clubs at school. It quickly became clear Alex’s challenge was going to be time management.

Additionally, we knew that Alex had ambition but had yet to discover his true passion. As we got to know Alex, we learned he had a growing enthusiasm for his work with the Best Buddies Club at his school. Alex had developed a close relationship with his “buddy.” As we worked with Alex, he began to recognize he had a strong passion for working with students with intellectual disabilities and was determined to help other students experience a friendship similar to the one he and his buddy shared. He became president of the club in his senior year and grew the membership from five students to 150 active members. Ultimately, Alex’s work with Best Buddies gave him a strong curiosity about brain development, and he became interested in pursuing neuroscience.

Alex decided to apply Early Decision to Duke University, and The Short List worked with him to prepare his application.

Attending a public school in the Tampa area, Alex did not have many opportunities to attend college information sessions and had not yet visited any campuses. The Short List helped Alex begin to develop a college list and identify college presentations in his area that he could attend. We also knew it was important for Alex to visit some college campuses. Given the demands of his schoolwork, many activities, and two summer jobs, this was not an easy task.

Alex visited several schools in North Carolina at the start of his senior year and immediately fell in love with Duke. When stepping on campus, he felt he had “found his people.” More than that, Alex was taken with the strong science offerings at Duke and the opportunities to do research. Alex decided to apply Early Decision to Duke University, and The Short List worked with him to prepare his application. We realized that while he had great breadth of experience, it was important that he demonstrate the depth of his commitment to his activities as well. We worked with him to develop strong essays that conveyed his passion and involvement, and we went through extensive interview preparation.

Alex was accepted Early Decision to Duke University and will be matriculating this fall.