Duke University
Essay Requirements
Essay Requirements
Both the Common Application and the Coalition Application for Duke University include a one-page personal essay, along with short essay questions specific to Duke. These supplemental essays can be submitted either along with or after completing the other sections of the application, as long as they are submitted by the application deadline.
Long-essay prompts (through Common Application)
All applicants who complete the Common Application will respond to one of seven essay prompts for the 2022-23 admissions cycle.
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
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.
Long-essay prompts (through Coalition Application)
All applicants who complete the Coalition Application will respond to one of six essay prompts for the 2022-23 admissions cycle.
For transfer students, we would like to understand more about you and your academic path. Why and how did you choose your current or most recent college or university? What has changed since then, and what has led you to consider transferring? Please respond with an essay of between 250 and 600 words.
Short-essay prompts
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 word limit)
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.
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?
What has been your best academic experience in the last two years, and what made it so good?
Duke’s commitment to diversity and inclusion includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. If you’d like to share with us more about your identity in this context, feel free to do so here.
The Common and Coalition Applications will also include a section for students to disclose if they were impacted by community disruptions such as natural disasters and COVID-19
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