My name is Adam Tomasiello and I am Duke Universitys regional admissions officer for the state of South

Carolina. It is my pleasure to introduce myself to those of you I have not yet had the privilege to meet.
This coming September, Duke is offering a number of events for your prospective students and families, as well
as a few free professional development events for counselorsthroughout the state of South Carolina. I am
reaching out today to invite you all to attend these upcoming programs (detailed below) and to promote our
new events within your school communities.
Duke University, a medium-sized school with about 1,700 students in each class, is located in one of the top
five fastest growing area of the country the Research Triangle of North Carolina. Our undergraduates have
the benefits of large school, including the fifth largest research endowment U.S. university and Division 1
sports, while also having the intimacy of a small liberal arts college. With our 8:1 student to faculty ratio, the
majority of classes being taught under 20 students and research opportunities available from students first day
on campus our community is collaborative and interconnected.
Admission to Duke is selective but also holistic. Students applications are evaluated on 6 criteria no one of
those is enough for a student to be admitted, nor is any one enough for a student to be denied. Perhaps the
largest misconception about Duke is that it is too expensive. While the cost of Duke is competitive with other
private universities, we differ in that weguarantee to meet 100% of a familys demonstrated need, all four
years they are at Duke. We are need-blind in our admissions process, and over half of our students receive
need-based financial aid. Last year, the average Grant Aid for undergraduates on financial aid was $41,000
that is money students do not pay back. Student loans are capped at $5,000 per year. Families whose income
falls below $60,000 typically have no expected family contribution. Although we do not offer many merit-based
scholarships, many of those available are just for students from North and South Carolina. A specific profile for
North and South Carolina applicants is attached.
This fall we have two categories of large events in South Carolina: Discover Duke Programs and Exploring
College Options.
Discover Duke
For the first time, we are hosting Discover Duke programs in the Upstate region of South Carolina, Charleston
and Savannah, GA. These 1-1.5 hour long information sessions feature and overview of Duke, admissions,
financial aid and also feature a panel of local alumni. They are free to attend and open to any student, family
member, guest or counselor in the area. Registration is required ahead of time at the following link.
Exploring College Options
Each fall Duke visits South Carolina with four of our peer institutions (Georgetown, Harvard, the University of
Pennsylvania and Stanford). These events are twofold. During the evening we hold information sessions for
students, families and guests to learn about our institutions and our highly selective admissions processes.
The following morning we hold the same event, but only open to area high school counselors. The program
usually runs from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM and includes a free breakfast for all attendees. It is our goal to answer
your specific questions, understand concerns from your side of the desk and allow you to collaborate with other
colleagues. If you cannot attend this program you are absolutely welcome to join the students the night before.
This fall we will be visiting both Upstate South Carolina and Columbia with our Exploring College Options
events. Registration is required for both students (www.exploringcollegeoptions.org) and counselors
(www.exploringcollegeoptions.org/counselors).