How Charlotte Used Cold Emails and Humor to get into Duke

Charlotte Wang’s path to Duke shows how curiosity can snowball into opportunity, even when the destination isn’t clear at first. She didn’t start with a dream school or a fixed major. Instead, she cast a wide net, followed her interests, and let real experiences shape the story she told on her applications. From cold-emailing researchers to cracking jokes in supplemental essays, her journey reveals how risk, initiative, and authenticity can turn uncertainty into strength — and how those choices matter just as much as perfect stats.