Should I use different application strategies for Duke and Tulane?

Use the same core story, but tailor the emphasis substantially: Duke should see academic depth and intellectual purpose, while Tulane should see how you would engage with its collaborative, community-connected campus and New Orleans setting. Do not invent different interests for each school; instead, select the parts of your record that best answer each institution’s priorities. Your activities, intended field, and values should remain consistent across both applications.

For Duke, make the academic case especially precise. Connect your strongest classes, independent learning, research, publications, competitions, or sustained questions to opportunities you would genuinely pursue there, such as interdisciplinary study, undergraduate research, or particular academic departments. A prospective public-policy student, for example, could foreground a long-term interest in housing policy and show how coursework, local advocacy, and data analysis have shaped that interest. Duke’s essays should reveal how you think, not just what you have done.

For Tulane, retain that academic interest but give more space to your contribution beyond the classroom. Tulane’s culture places unusual value on civic engagement and learning in New Orleans, so discuss concrete ways your past service, leadership, cultural interests, or professional goals connect to reciprocal community involvement. Avoid treating New Orleans as scenery or describing service as charity; focus on what you would learn from local communities and how you would participate responsibly.