Last Updated on October 1, 2026
Quick answer: Duke essay and test ratings ended in February 2024, when Duke University stopped assigning numerical scores to applicants’ essays and standardized tests. Readers still consider both, but evaluate them holistically. Duke continues to rate other parts of the application, including academics, curriculum rigor, recommendations, and extracurriculars.
In February 2024, Duke University announced a notable change to how it reads applications. It came during a period when top U.S. schools were changing how they handle college decisions and process applications. From changes to federal student aid to updates and revisions in testing policies and even the abolition of affirmative action, many have deemed this one of the most chaotic times for college admissions, with a new change in the landscape seeming to occur every season.
The latest among these changes is an announcement made by Duke University detailed in the Chronicle, which announced that Duke University will no longer be assigning numerical ratings to the standardized tests and essays of their applicants. [1] This decision comes as many other universities have changed their application process, namely, the reversion of many test-optional policies that schools had adopted in the wake of the pandemic.
Now, Duke University will employ a more holistic approach to reviewing applicants’ essays.
Duke Essay and Test Ratings: The Updated Policy
In the Chronicle’s article, dean of undergraduate admissions Christoph Guttentag explained that Duke would no longer be scoring applicants’ college essays by numerical rating, mainly due to the rise of generative AI writing programs.
These programs can generate essays in seconds, and since ChatGPT’s public release, they have spread quickly among students. Admissions offices have had to rethink what an essay can reliably tell them about an applicant’s own writing.
“Essays are a very much part of our understanding of the applicant, we’re just no longer assuming that the essay is an accurate reflection of the student’s actual writing ability,” Guttentag wrote to the Chronicle.
Essays and test scores are still vital parts of Duke University’s application process, as they are with many top schools. However, with this change, Duke and its admissions officers will no longer use numerical ratings when evaluating applicants and will instead employ a more “holistic process” for students applying to college.
Under its updated admissions process, Duke admissions officers will be using essays to better understand an applicant’s character and personality rather than measure them by their list of accolades and accomplishments, Guttentag said.
What Duke Looks For Today
Duke’s admissions site describes a holistic review that considers “what you have accomplished within the context of your opportunities and challenges.” [4] The core application includes:
- Academic record: the rigor of your courses and your grades, which remain the foundation of the review.
- Standardized tests: optional, with Duke considering your highest scores if you submit them.
- Recommendations: one from your school counselor and two from teachers.
- Extracurricular activities: evidence of sustained, meaningful involvement.
- Essays: the Common App personal essay, two required Duke-specific short answers of up to 250 words each, and one optional short essay. [5]
Because essays and test scores no longer receive their own numerical ratings, the other parts of the file carry clear weight. Duke continues to rate academics, curriculum rigor, recommendations, and extracurriculars, so a challenging course load, recommenders who know you well, and activities that show real commitment matter more than ever. The optional essays are worth writing if they add something new about your background, identity, or interests.
The Changing College Admissions Landscape
Holistic review is the practice of considering every aspect of an application, from grades and test scores to extracurricular achievements, and interests, as well as character traits and general personality. Holistic review has been the trend among the top schools in the United States for years. As the top schools become more competitive, they broaden the scope of what they evaluate, A high GPA certainly helps a student’s chances, but it does not guarantee admission. Clubs, extracurricular activities, independent projects, research, and recommendations all shape how readers understand an applicant.
Students concerned about their grades can use holistic review to their advantage by excelling in other areas, such as outstanding extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, and a compelling personal statement and student profile in addition to their high school transcripts. Those looking to attend college, whether they be local or international students, must perfect every aspect of their application.
Duke’s shift to an even more holistic style of evaluating applicants’ essays and test scores may have broader implications for the future of higher education. However, this is only one small change in a season that has seen some of the largest and most critical shifts in the college admissions landscape.
In the years around Duke’s announcement, the college admissions process has undergone many changes. The Supreme Court’s decision ending affirmative action in college admissions changed the landscape, affecting how millions of students craft their college applications and submit their common application each year. [2] Application requirements have kept shifting as well. At the same time, several Ivy League schools and other top institutions began requiring standardized test scores again. The shift to test-optional for many of the top US and Ivy League schools first came about in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to keep college applications accessible for students who could no longer take standardized tests. Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, UT Austin, and other schools have since reinstated testing requirements. Duke is not among them: it remains test-optional, and its admissions site says applicants who apply without SAT or ACT scores “will not be at a disadvantage.” [3]
All these changes alone have caused great confusion among high school applicants and their families in recent cycles. With industry-changing technology such as Chat GPT and other generative AI tools shaping society, prospective students should expect more changes in higher education and the college admissions landscape in the coming years.
What Duke’s Change Means for Your Essays
Duke still reads every essay, including its required short response on why Duke is a good match. What changed is how readers use it. Without a numerical essay score, the essay works less as a writing sample and more as a window into who you are: your values, your curiosity, and the experiences that shaped you. That shifts the goal. A polished but generic essay earns little, while a specific, honest essay that sounds like a real teenager can still help readers understand and advocate for you.
This also means your writing ability shows up in other places. Teachers comment on your writing in recommendations, your transcript shows your performance in English and history, and graded work or AP scores can confirm your skills. Admissions officers are reading the whole file for consistency, so an essay that sounds nothing like the rest of your application can raise doubts.
Where Duke’s Short Answers Fit In
Duke’s two required short answers give you the clearest place to show readers who you are. The “Why Duke” response asks for your impression of Duke and why it matches your goals, values, and interests, so point to specific programs, people, or traditions and connect each one to something you have already done. The communities response asks about a group that has shaped you, whether it is defined by place, faith, family, culture, interests, or shared experience. Pick a community where you can describe your own role and what you took from it.
Because no numerical essay score is attached, readers are looking for insight and sincerity rather than polish. A short, specific answer often says more than an elaborate one.
How to Write Essays That Sound Like You
- Start from your own notes. Brainstorm by writing down specific memories, conversations, and details only you would know. These details are what generic or AI-written essays lack.
- Write in your natural voice. Read your draft aloud. If a sentence sounds like something you would never say, rewrite it.
- Choose one story and go deep. Readers remember a single, well-told moment far more than a list of accomplishments.
- Get feedback without handing over control. Teachers, counselors, and family can ask questions and point out unclear passages, but every sentence should be yours.
- Check each school’s policy on AI. Many colleges, including through the Common App’s own fraud policy, require that the writing you submit is your own work.
For more ideas, see our guide on using AI without losing your own voice in college essays.
How to Stay Ahead of the Trends in College Applications
At InGenius Prep, we coach our students to improve their academics, enhance their student profiles, and become the ideal applicants for their top-choice schools. Becoming the ideal applicant and getting noticed by college admissions officers starts with building one’s candidacy throughout high school, highlighting positive characteristics and personality traits, and having a solid extracurricular and academic foundation as the building blocks of a student’s college application.
To learn more, see InGenius Prep’s Candidacy Building program, which pairs students with Former Admissions Officers to build their candidacy over time.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Get a clear, honest read on which path actually fits your goals, and the specific next steps to build a competitive application. Click here to book your complimentary consultation.