Duke University
Durham, North Carolina
- Private nonprofit
- City
- 6,442 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 6%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $23,706per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 96%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $113,93710 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Admitted students from North and South Carolina whose families earn $150,000 or less get full tuition grants. At $65,000 or less, Duke adds help with housing, meals and course materials, without loans.
Source: Duke Karsh Office of Undergraduate Financial Support
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 6%About 1 in 18 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1500–1570Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 34–35Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Duke University's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
- Admit rate in this report
- 5%2,910 admitted of 55,541 first-year applicants
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1510–157048% of first-years sent SAT scores
- ACT, middle 50%
- 34–3527% of first-years sent ACT scores
What the admissions office says it weighs
Very important
- How challenging your classes were
- GPA
- Recommendations
- Activities
- A talent or ability
- Character and personal qualities
Important
- Class rank
- Essay
Considered
- Test scores
- Interview
- Being first in your family to go to college
- Family who went there (legacy)
- Where you live
- Living in the state
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
- Showing interest in the school
Not considered
- Religious affiliation
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Duke University's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Duke University Common Data Set 2025–26. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $23,706full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $90,696sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $72,795Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 96%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 98%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $113,93710 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $13,000federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 6,442Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 19%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 13%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC — admits 22%
- Elon University Elon, NC — admits 66%
- High Point University High Point, NC — admits 75%
- Villanova University Villanova, PA — admits 27%
Also worth a look
- Brown University Providence, RI — admits 5%
- Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC — admits 22%
- University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN — admits 11%
- Dartmouth College Hanover, NH — admits 5%
- Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD — admits 6%
- Harvard University Cambridge, MA — admits 4%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Duke University, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.