A Couple Questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>I visited Duke and I loved it. I have a couple questions though, and it would be great if I could get some responses...thanks!</p>

<p>1) I don't want too big of a school, and Duke is definitely at the top end of what I would possibly want. Does it feel big? How much contact is there with graduate students? How much is the focus on undergrad or graduate education?</p>

<p>2) Is there an Amtrak station or anything like that next to it? Or is flying in easiest? (I live in New York).</p>

<p>3) What are good alternatives to a business major, if I am planning on business school or a similar path?</p>

<p>4) What is East Campus like as a freshman? Is it isolated and annoying to get to classes on West Campus? Or is it fun and does it build a great sense of community?</p>

<p>5) What influence does UNC have on the school? Are there a lot of parties, etc. with both? Do people often go to Chapel Hill for lunch or shopping or things like that?</p>

<p>6) Following, what is Durham like? Is there anything to do there?</p>

2

<p>I’ll try to help out and I’m sure others will chime in.</p>

<p>1) I did not think that Duke felt like a big school at all. There are just over 6000 undergrads and about the same number of grad students. Although the graduate programs are all housed on the main campus (Business School, Law School, and School of Public Policy are literally 20 yards from each other on West Campus), the graduate students tend to spend a lot of time at their individual school. That isn’t to say that they are not accessible if you want to chat with someone about potential research, bschool, etc.</p>

<p>2) There is an amtrak station walking distance from East Campus. It is about 3/4 of a mile from the campus towards downtown, but I still believe that flying is the quickest and easiest way to get around.</p>

<p>3) You can major in basically anything if you want to go to business school in the future. Talk to anyone at Fuqua and they will tell you that business schools value what you do with your degree a lot more than what your degree is in. At business school I have met people with english, math, physics, engineering, history majors etc. One popular route is to major in Economics and take some of the finance classes that Duke offers. I would say anything quantitative would probably be very helpful (“harder” majors are looked upon favorably by employers as well as business schools)</p>

<p>4) East campus is great. You have a great opportunity to meet people who are just as lost and confused as you are. Getting to west campus is easy, 5-10 minutes on a bus, you can also bike or walk, safe area and easy to get around. I liked getting to meet freshman and feel like I had my own community, but most of the social life happens on west (which can also be nice because you’ll have a quiet sanctuary on East after a night out.</p>

<p>5) I used to spend a fair amount of time in chapel hill because it is a great place. After a while Durham can get a little boring. Chapel hill has more shops and local eateries and although there aren’t tons of advertised events with UNC you can head over to the bars or restaurants and hang out with UNC students whenever you want. There really isn’t bad blood between the two schools (unless it is right before or after a Duke-UNC basketball game). </p>

<p>6) I was actually surprised by Durham. It is not a huge town and it doesn’t have TONS to do. But you’ll actually find a lot of international eateries and local shops. I actually think you can find great food in Durham. As for things to do, there is a small mall, there is downtown that has a farmers market on Saturday, we have the Durham Bulls (minor league baseball), there are a few good golf courses, there are good bars and places to go out at night (but usually only 1 to 2 places are “happening” at night because Duke doesn’t have enough students to fill up every bar in the area. Duke also does a good job of putting on several events for students.</p>

<p>Hope this was helpful, let me know if you have any follow up questions.</p>

3

<p>1) Duke definitely doesn’t feel big at all. It’s a very nice-sized student body. Not too awkward, but not too big so that you get lost in a sea of students. Duke is a very, very undergraduate focused institution. When you’re on campus, you can forget that the graduate students are even there. The great thing though, is that if you want access to the graduate/professional schools, they’re right in your backyard. </p>

<p>2) There’s an AMTRACK, but flying is easiest. It takes 2 dollars to get the airport by bus, so it’s convenient. :)</p>

<p>3-5) atl_living got these.</p>

<p>6) I actually really like Durham. It has an incredible restaurants scene. Like. Really good food haha. There’s also a really nice arts/music scene, and it gives Durham a nice vibrant soul to it. It’s a very intelligent city (highest concentration of Ph.Ds in the country), very dance-y city (lots of great clubs), and nice mix of northern and southern influences alike.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the responses. I remembered another:</p>

<p>People keep asking me if I would be ok with the “Southernness” of Duke. It was definitely not a feeling I picked up on my visit. Does Duke really feel Southern, and if so, in what ways?</p>

5

<p>As far as the “southerness” goes I think it really depends with who you hang out with.</p>

<p>There are definitely southern events, southern frats and sororities, etc. But overall I never felt out of place at Duke (and I am not from the south). Groups of students will do certain southern events (like carolina cup…the horse races), but overall like I said before it depends with who you hang out with.</p>

6

<p>Duke is a very global school - there is definitely a northern/western feel to it though. Not so much southern (think: UNC).</p>

7

<p>eatsalot: </p>

<p>WHAT?? We can get to the airport by bus?? How??</p>

<p><em>the mind, it is blown</em></p>

<p>Which route do you take?? And how long does it usually take?</p>

<hr>

<p>To contribute something useful:
Regarding Question 6 about Durham: It’s actually a pretty amazing city with lots of character (this coming from someone who’s lived in Chicago all their lives). I do a fair amount of volunteering work in the community and have gotten to develop relationships with community organizations and kids that I work with. It really is what you put into it. Freshman year, I never ventured into Durham, and thought that it was a dreadful place. But this year, I’ve really gotten to appreciate everything it offers.</p>

8

<p>Ahahh Ketty, you take the TTA 403 and transfer at Regional Transit station to TTA 747. It’s actually $4 (my bad - $2 is one route), so it’s pretty worth it :)</p>

<p>[RedefineTravel.org</a> —> Duke](<a href=“http://www.redefinetravel.org/duke/]RedefineTravel.org”>http://www.redefinetravel.org/duke/)</p>

<p>very nice and useful site. :)</p>

9

<p>NYT on the Durham food scene:
[Durham</a>, a Tobacco Town, Turns to Local Food - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/dining/21carolina.html]Durham”>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/dining/21carolina.html)</p>

<p>and Bon Apetit
<a href=“http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2008/10/americas_foodiest_small_town[/url]”>http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2008/10/americas_foodiest_small_town&lt;/a&gt;

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