<p>What did you not like about the program Bluestar7?</p>
<p>Do you know which program clusters you're interested in? The FOCUS experience can vary tremendously from cluster to cluster (not to mention the preferences of the individual student). If this is something you're seriously considering, I would try to contact past students from any FOCUS you're interested in. I did, and that quickly pointed out one to avoid (Modern America).</p>
<p>Yeah- I'd also venture to say that it depends on the cluster. However, there are a bunch of new clusters (the Game one and the Engineering one) that an incoming freshman wouldn't inquire about. I absolutely loved my focus (power of ideas), but I'll try to generalize what you should expect/want/be looking for when you commit to focus:
-Small lecture settings where you need to be prepared for class discussion
-intellectual stimulation.
I'd also look up the professors or ask people about the professors of your cluster: because even if you have a great group of students, a poor group of Professors could harm your focus experience...however, at least in my case, the professor quality was pretty high.</p>
<p>hey im like a health freak..soo..howr the gyms at duke?? n the food...alll grease or r their options like good salads n stuff?? another question..i herd bout this duke outing club..u become a member n u get to do cool things..go on trips n do bungee jumping n the works...that true??</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The gyms are pretty great in my opinion. There's Brodie on East, and Wilson on West. They open early and close late (I think Wilson is nearly 24 hours). </p></li>
<li><p>There are healthy eating options at the Great Hall - salad, sushi bar, wraps, and some organic stuff there too. There's a subway on campus. The loop has some healthy stuff. The new Div. school eatery has some good healthy stuff, too. The Blue Express always has some really healthy food. At the Marketplace they have a salad bar but aside from that it can be hard to find healthy stuff to eat at that particular place. What's really awesome for all us healthy eaters is that Whole Foods is right across the street from East Campus. I loooooove Whole Foods - I think I go there almost every day for groceries or to eat at Wellspring, their Cafe. </p></li>
<li><p>I don't know how active the Duke Outing Club is. You could probably contact a member through Duke's student life website or something. I do know that it is much smaller and much less involved in planning trips and activities than, say, the Dartmouth Outing Club.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Ask the CC poster MadMaki about the Outing Club..</p>
<p>Anyone know anything about being involved in drama/theatre at Duke?</p>
<p>"I would try to contact past students from any FOCUS you're interested in. I did, and that quickly pointed out one to avoid (Modern America)."</p>
<p>...Just to get an idea what exactly did you hear from students that made Modern America seem like one to avoid... sounds interesting to me.</p>
<p>The writing class was said to be horrible, although my roommate apparently didn't have <em>that</em> bad of an experience with it. The political science grades at the end of the semester also appeared to be completely arbitrary.</p>
<p>hey, how's the arts scene at Duke? I'm really into photography and visual arts. Are there lots to do and like-minded people around?</p>
<p>hey, do you know anybody who takes amtrak from durham to wherever they live?</p>
<p>I do! On short breaks I generally take it from Charlotte to Durham slash Durham to Charlotte.</p>
<p>About a 3 hour trip...and it's pretty easy. The station is about a $5 cab ride from campus...5 minutes away. Any questions about it just ask..</p>
<p>My friend rode Amtrak back to DC for spring break. I don't think she had any problems. I usually fly or drive just because I don't think a nine hour trip back to Washington is worth the bit of money saved. :p</p>
<p>A friend of mine in orchestra has recently helped revive the Photo Group at Duke: <a href="http://www.duke.edu/photo/%5B/url%5D">http://www.duke.edu/photo/</a></p>
<p>They just had a contest, and a bunch of photos are outside of the Gothic Reading Room in the old Perk.</p>
<p>Also, those with good photoshop skills are in high demand for posters, flyers and such. </p>
<p>Additionally, there are multimedia centers on both east and west with lots of resources (hardware, software, digital cameras/camcorders to rent, etc...) -
<a href="http://www.oit.duke.edu/sts/mps/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.oit.duke.edu/sts/mps/index.html</a></p>
<p>thanks for the info... my parents don't fly, so train/drive are my options. i don't mind a long train ride, even if durham is 11 or 12 hrs from penn station.. lol</p>
<p>I take the train all the time. 'tis great, if you're someone who isn't bugged by having to sit next to strangers. <em>heart</em> That would be a really long ride, though. You'll prolly end up catching car rides with people driving up that way in the end. The trains are so late coming from the New York direction, also.</p>
<p>i'm a writer, and i'm looking for a creative writing program to attend for a few weeks this summer. i have information about quite a few in the midwest, but i was wondering if A) Duke had one, and B) if anyone had any suggestions about others anywhere in the US.</p>
<p>We offer creative writing classes which you would probably be allowed to participate in (i.e. take) if you were willing to take such a course over the summer.</p>
<p>They involve submission of a writing sample.</p>
<p>i would definitely be willing to do it over the summer and submit a sample - how do i go about applying?</p>