Recognizing your child's or grandchild’s tie to Duke

We are pleased that your child or grandchild is considering applying to Duke. We’re here to help make that process as smooth as possible for your family.

Duke Alumni Association tracks all alumni family applicants

Duke Alumni Association advocates for all children, stepchildren, grandchildren and step-grandchildren of alumni and follows the progress of their applications. Be sure your child or grandchild accurately notes the alumnus’ name, degree, and year of graduation on his or her application.

Alumni family applicants receive additional consideration

The Admissions Office reads each student’s application twice. But for alumni-affiliated applications, the office provides an additional review to ensure no detail is missed. Being from an alumni family itself is a factor that admissions officers consider, knowing that such applicants would enter with a special understanding of Duke and its traditions. However, alumni affiliation is far from a guarantee of admission, since family applicants must compete among Duke’s highly competitive pool of applicants.

Additional Questions?

Alumni Scholarships

Duke Alumni Association has also established the four-year, full-tuition Alumni Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship program to enable alumni offspring with demonstrated financial need to attend Duke. The application process is the same as for other Duke merit scholarships.

For information about campus life and the application process, visit the Duke Undergraduate Admissions website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do alumni children get special consideration during the admissions process?
The admissions office carefully reviews each alum-affiliated application. Every application is read twice by two different readers in the admissions office. Children and grandchildren are granted a third read to make certain that nothing important was missed.

Is having the alum-affiliation enough to get my child admitted?
No. Your student must still compete with the overall applicant pool. The alum-affiliation is taken into consideration during the review process. Children and grandchildren often bring a familiarity with and continuity of Duke traditions to the class. However, the alum-affiliation is one of the many factors considered in trying to distinguish one applicant from the next.

Who do you track through your program?
We track all applicants who list an alum-affiliation on their application. For our purposes, "alum-affiliation" means "child, stepchild, grandchild, or step-grandchild." Siblings are noted through the Admissions Office.

It is important that students accurately report on their application the alum's name, degree, and year of graduation.

What other services does the Alumni Admissions Program offer alums?
In addition to serving as an advocate for your student, we host an annual Alumni Admissions Forum on campus for alumni and their students. This all-day conference is designed for rising 10th, 11th, and 12th-graders and their parents to provide information about the college process.

Carole Thompson LeVine '86, director of the Alumni Admissions Program, is available to answer questions about the admissions process. If you have questions or concerns, please contact her at carole.levine@daa.duke.edu or (919) 681-6219.

Are there any scholarships available for alum-affiliated applicants?
The Alumni Affairs Office also sponsors the Alumni Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship, which was established to recognize the academic and personal achievements of children of alumni who also demonstrate financial need. This is prestigious four-year, full-tuition scholarship with a summer-abroad component. It is very competitive and will be selected through the same process as all other Duke University merit scholarships. Your student does not need to submit an additional application for this scholarship. No more than two scholarships will be awarded each year.

Other scholarship information is available at http://www.aas.duke.edu/ousf.

What additional information should I know about the admissions process?
Please visit the Duke Undergraduate Admissions website for information about sessions, tours, or Duke events in your area.

What if I have questions about residential life?
All first-year students live on East Campus. For more information about residential life, please visit the following sites:

Residential Life | Focus Program

What if my child is interested in a sport?
There are NCAA rules that govern the communication between students and coaches. The Athletic Department can detail those communication guidelines.