<p>Please, do not encourage any more Waitn discussions on this thread. Already a good amount of posts have been wasted on cheering him up and making him understand. No more, please! Let's do some fruitful work.</p>
<p>I thought this thread was for people who were accepted and are seriously considering matriculating...</p>
<p>It is, isn't it?</p>
<p>Ok, so how good is the study abroad program for engineering students? I know it's good for Trinity students, same for Pratt too? I am really looking forward to a semester of good study abroad, so I hope it exists for engineering students!</p>
<p>@ ardrivit, I replied to Helicio's comment via PM message in order to keep the conversation away from this thread. And as you can see from my previous posts, I have been diverting discussion about my situation away from this thread, so I do not appreciate the disrespect. </p>
<p>"posts have been wasted on cheering him up"
Actually, no posts are cheering me; they are mostly geared toward bashing my appeal idea. Nor did I come hear to be cheered on, I just wanted some advice assuming I go about starting this useless appeal. </p>
<p>"and making him understand." </p>
<p>Understand what? That my appeal is ridiculous? I already knew that from the start.</p>
<p>Sorry if I interrupted your fruitful discussion about Duke's music scene. Now, continue discussing Duke, just don't mention me.</p>
<p>Well, I'm not going to lie and say the possibilities are limitless. Engineers have a much more structured curriculum and Pratt is very particular about the quality of instruction that its students receive. Therefore, there are basically two choices for engineers. Either go abroad to wherever you like (that Duke students have the opportunity to go to) but not really doing much engineering coursework (thus doing cultural courses mostly), or do a program that Pratt recommends and is targeted toward engineers. </p>
<p>If you do the former, you must have a very organized schedule from the get go and usually need either a ton of AP credits or a lot of overload semesters/summer semesters. Alternatively, if you are a premed, you are schedule premed courses like orgo, biology, physics, etc that are generally available everywhere for your semester abroad (if you want to spend your time doing orgo in a foreign country that is...)</p>
<p>If you choose the latter, your choices are necessarily limited by english-speaking countries like the UK, Australia, etc or other approved programs (sometimes taught in english) whose standards Duke deems high enough. I think the most popular ones are the ones in Australia, Queen Mary in London, and the engineering program in Berlin. </p>
<p>In the end though, study-abroad is very possible for engineers and plenty do it. You might need to be a lot more clear with your goals when you schedule your courses and talk to your advisors but if you plan accordingly you'll be able to do it.</p>
<p>Hi, I'm an applicant from Singapore who will be at Duke this fall. Just a couple of questions for now:</p>
<p>I know Duke has a party and drinking scene, a strong jock culture and so on, but I always read in college guides and brochures that students who aren't drinkers or jocks don't have to be stuck in their dorms on Friday nights either. In other words, there's supposed to be something for everyone, and you're not going to be "marginalised" (okay, strong word) or bored stiff just because you don't drink. My question is: are they just saying this to look good? To what extent is it true?</p>
<p>My other question is pretty standard: What would you change about Duke?</p>
<p>^good questions :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply earlier about the Greek scene. I'm also interested in the question above since my D isn't into sports much. She is more interested in concerts and artsy events. </p>
<p>Another engineering question for you. My D was very interested in engineering at the beginning of the school year but her interest has since shifted more to economics after she took several economics classes this year. Math is her favorite academic class but she has changed her mind a few times about what to combine with that. </p>
<p>On the Duke website there is a sample EE with Economics dual major degree plan. My understanding is that my D needs to stay in engineering for at least one year since that is the school she applied to at Duke. If she does the EE/Econ plan she would take Econ 51D, Chem 211, Math 103 (she got a 4 on AP Calc BC test jr year), and Engr 531 Fall semester and Writing 20, Physics 611, Econ 55D and Math 107 Spring Semester. Does that sound like a reasonable plan? She probably won't try to test out of the Econ class since she hasn't had a Micro class. </p>
<p>Thanks for all your help. (I'm the mom posting but my D is reading the responses)</p>
<p>Question asbout Focus: Are these courses "better" in some way than the regular courses? Are they smaller? Do you get to interact with the professors more? Or is this a program mostly for students who don't know what they want to major in?</p>
<p>I guess I am really trying to figure out what the advantage of doing "focus" would be.
Thanks.</p>
<p>My parents are suggesting that I join one of the programs in the summer, such as the "beach" or "camping" program Duke offers new students. My parents think this will help me in that I will know people when I get to Duke.</p>
<p>I generally meet people easily and am pretty sociable. Is it easy to meet people when you first come as a freshman, or are the programs like the "beach" one really an advantage?</p>
<p>@ constantly: singapore? hehe, that's where i am from originally:) now to your questions, yes, the drinking scene is pretty rampant at Duke, but there are still a lot of freshmen who choose not to drink. In fact, East Campus is completely dry, so if any freshmen would like to drink, they would either have to go to West, Central or off-campus (the penalty for being caught drinking on East is pretty serious). So for the nondrinkers, there are definitely lots of things that you can do on a Friday night, like borrowing a movie from the library to watch with friends, or just going off campus to Main or ninth street for a nice dinner. Some of the times, there will be different performances or events hosted by the different groups in Duke that you might be interested in going to. Don't worry, you will definitely not be "marginalized" if you don't drink:) What I would change about Duke is perhaps the living condition of the students here. Because of the fact that freshmen live on East and eat at the Marketplace all the time, I feel that we are a little secluded from the rest of the Duke population. I believe that Duke does have good intentions having us live together so that we can bond easier, but i don't really like it this way. Aside from that, i wouldn't change a thing about Duke:) </p>
<p>@dsultemeier, your breakdown of your schedule sounds like a great plan. let me tell you a little more about the classes that your daughter plan to take. Econ51 is by far the most moaned about class at Duke. This class will take up a lot of her time, the tests are hard, the material is confusing, and I have not seen anyone who is fond of this class. The same goes for Math 103, the material starts out alright, but gets immensely harder in the end. But for 103, the class is heavily curved, so don't get too worried if she doesn't go well in one test, because her score will be compared to how well the rest of the class does. egr 53 and chem 21, i would say, are the easier classes out of the 4 that she will be taking in spring. I love the egr53 professors and TAs, I am sure that she will have a great time too. chem 21 is a very basic class, as long as you do you homework and labs well, the tests and exams should be a breeze. For her spring semester, i would say that her classes are a little easier than her fall semester. econ 55 and math 107 are relatively easier when compared to econ 51 and 103 respectively. Physics 61, for some ppl, is easy while for others are not, depending on how good they are with mechanics. Hope that helps:)</p>
<p>@catherine: The focus courses are not "better" than the other courses, it is just that the classes are smaller and you get to interact more with the other ppl in your class since you live in the same dorm and attend the same class. You do get to interact with your professors more, since the class is smaller. I would say that the main purpose of having focus classes is to better integrate students into a higher order of thinking. Focus programs teaches you things that you might not learn in the normal technical classes that you will be taking. For the social problem, don't worry too much about it. Most of the freshmen who come into Duke do not know anyone around them. There will be lots of ice breakers during orientation week that you can take part in to meet new people and you will probably be best friends with all the people down your hall. However, if you want to get a head start on meeting new people, then go ahead for those summer programs. Hope that helps:)</p>
<p>This probably sounds stupid...but is rape a big problem at Duke? (In light of the Lacrosse case last year)</p>
<p>Duke offered me work study. Has anyone did this? How much time does it take away from your studies? I'm pre-med so I need to keep my grades up.</p>
<p>Mrs. Bennett: If you want crime statistics, check out Duke Police's annual report. The statistics are on page 16</p>
<p>Collegebound_91: I'm doing work-study right now. You are under no obligation to do work-study at all. It's on your financial aid package in order to give you some spending money for stuff like books and supplies. If you don't want to work, then you don't have to. Even if you do work, you don't have to earn the maximum allowable. You can work as little as you want or as much as you want up to 19.9 hours a week.</p>
<p>Here's a question for just about anyone who goes to Duke. I applied there mainly because my dad loves the school, but I figure now that I got in (somehow :p...) that I might check it out, since obviously its a great school. What makes Duke stand out from other colleges, and what might make it stand out to someone who doesn't know too much about it?</p>
<p>Here is a recent one day crime log from the Duke Police (DUPD):</p>
<p>March 30, 2009 </p>
<p>9:50 a.m. CARL Bldg Loading Dock. Motor Vehicle Accident (Hit and Run). An employee discovered damage to a departmental vehicle. The employee believes another vehicle struck the vehicle and left the area. The suspect vehicle was not found. </p>
<p>1:07 p.m. North Pavilion. Suspicious Activity/ Damage to Property/ Assist Outside Agency. An employee heard sounds of gunshots and a loud knock against an office window. DUPD discovered a bullet fragment lodged inside the window. Durham PD responded and recovered the fragment. </p>
<p>6:23 p.m. Alumni Affairs lot @ Anderson St. B&E to Auto. A visitor returned to her vehicle and found the passenger window shattered. Nothing was taken from the car. </p>
<p>6:38 p.m. 501 Douglas Street. B&E to Auto. An employee's vehicle window was broken out and a handbag taken.</p>
<p>Here is a one day crime log from Duke Police (DUPD). You can subscribe to the daily crime log here - look at the right hand side 2nd bullet under Police News:</p>
<p>Police</a> News</p>
<p>March 30, 2009 </p>
<p>9:50 a.m. CARL Bldg Loading Dock. Motor Vehicle Accident (Hit and Run). An employee discovered damage to a departmental vehicle. The employee believes another vehicle struck the vehicle and left the area. The suspect vehicle was not found. </p>
<p>1:07 p.m. North Pavilion. Suspicious Activity/ Damage to Property/ Assist Outside Agency. An employee heard sounds of gunshots and a loud knock against an office window. DUPD discovered a bullet fragment lodged inside the window. Durham PD responded and recovered the fragment. </p>
<p>6:23 p.m. Alumni Affairs lot @ Anderson St. B&E to Auto. A visitor returned to her vehicle and found the passenger window shattered. Nothing was taken from the car. </p>
<p>6:38 p.m. 501 Douglas Street. B&E to Auto. An employee's vehicle window was broken out and a handbag taken.</p>
<p>@ johnfn-: Duke is definitely the school that you would want to go to. And here's the reason: Duke has it all. It has a balance of everything, from academics, to sports, to social life, to prestige, to reputation. Basically, it is a well-balanced school where students here study when they have to and play when they can. I think that you will have a much better time here than in some other institutions where they only focus on academics or on social life. Also, Duke being a prestigious private school, you get to meet lots of people from all over the world. It will indeed give you a very good experience in college. When I was choosing colleges, my choice was betwwen JHU, Duke, and Uva. I am a BME major by the way and by right, I should have gone to JHU since they have the nation's #1 BME program, however, I do not quite like the extreme competitiveness of JHU. Not to say that Duke is not competitive, but JHU students are under much greater stress than Duke students and they do not have much of a life. I really hope that you do come to Duke, I am sure that you will have a great time here. Besides, Duke campus is beautiful:)</p>
<p>Duke campus is pretty safe. I haven't heard of any life-threatening things happening on campus before. There are some cases of trespassing on campus though, which are not that serious, if you ask me. As long as you stay on campus or go out of campus in groups, i think it will be pretty ok. I mean i don't think any of the students here at Duke would say that they feel especially unsafe on campus.</p>
<p>This is a bit of a random question, but if I have a family member or friend visiting me in Duke, are they allowed to stay on campus in my dorm? Or do they have to find alternate accommodation somewhere else in Durham? I know some friends have visited other schools and stayed in their friends' dorms, but I don't know if this is allowed at Duke.</p>