My top priority as director of the Benjamin N. Duke scholarship program is to make sure that the best students from North and South Carolina apply to Duke. That is the only way we can consider them for a scholarship. Better publicizing the scholarship can also help Duke as a whole. I understand scholarships and financial aid to go hand in hand in making the answer to the question "Can I afford Duke?" be yes.
If scholarships help encourage students to apply who are then surprised by the generosity of the financial aid package they receive, this is good for everyone. When talking with prospective students and parents, I go out of my way to make clear that many more students will be helped by financial aid than will win a merit scholarship.
One thing that has not been emphasized in recent media discussions of the B.N. Duke Scholarship (in The Chronicle and elsewhere) is the fact that Duke admissions does more to recruit in North Carolina than in any other state: more college fairs, more high school visits, more communication with guidance counselors and an on-campus open house in the Fall specifically for students from the Carolinas. The Duke Carolinas admissions team is composed of passionate, dedicated professionals who represent all of us at Duke so well. I would like to publicly thank them for all they do to help the B.N. Duke Scholarship.
Don Taylor
Director, Benjamin N. Duke Scholarship
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