Pros, cons, social life, campus, food, housing… I’ll do my best to answer any of your questions.
Hey! I was accepted ED. How big is greek life? Is it possible to have a fulfilling social life without it?
Big but negligible. Yes.
do you know anything about the English department?
do most people actually seem to want to better the world or did people just kinda lie on their apps?
how are the people-- competitive, collaborative, or neither?
is it possible to avoid a huge party scene?
@loease , the English department is top notch. I haven’t had experience with it, but I know a couple of English majors and they absolutely love their classes as they’re challenging, interesting and the professor actually cares about you.
- I think there are two types of Duke students.. 80% really wants to change the world, to create a better future, and they really really work to make that possible. People who live in your hall have international non profits that feed kids in 30+ countries, that guy who sits next to you in Econ 101 is building cheap LED systems for a more sustainable world... It goes on. Of course, there are some students (20% ish) who just want to make a ton of money working at Wall Street, but that's not the rule
- People are extremely collaborative! You can get help from anyone in literally anything. Ofc, people strive to be the best they can be, so everyone is competing against everyone, although we always help each other out.
- Yup. I did that for the first semester, and I decided to give it a shot my second semester and loved it. The social life here really is what you want it to be...
i.e. if you want to stay in and watch a movie in the common room, go for it, there will be a ton of people who will be there with you!
Are a lot of kids at Duke former CC users? I only ask because my roommate has a profile on here as well, and I was wondering if a large proportion of Duke students follow that trend
Also, do you know of any students that have completely cracked under pressure?
do you know some really easy courses to take freshman year. Also, any really easy freshman seminars. @skywalker11
^ If you are asking these types of questions, maybe you are not Duke material?
What is your least favorite thing about the school? My issue is that my best shot is applying ED (i’m not so sure i’d get in regular) and i went to Duke to visit and loved it. I’m just feeling nervous that I’d regret it or have doubts if I were to somehow get in and be contractually obligated to go. I want a school that has a great reputation, has great spirit, has great things to do, and is fun. Duke seems to fit the bill. But for some reason I have doubts?
@londondad I’m not convinced that seeking easy courses your freshman year means you’re not “Duke material.” As a current prefrosh, I’m really worried that the stress of being away from home for the first time + the academic rigor of Duke could possibly break me
^The only people who I’ve personally witnessed breaking down at Duke are the ones who become way too preoccupied with their social lives (constantly partying on weeknights, being too hungover to show up to morning lectures, and having the gall to complain about how difficult Duke is when the end up failing their Orgo exam). TLDR: You have been handed the privilege to attend Duke; don’t waste it just to show off how “wild” you are by binge drinking on a weeknight. So literally don’t worry; your professors, deans, advisors, FACs, RAs, the Wellness Center, Counseling & Psychological Services, and peers are all there for you.
“the academic rigor of Duke could possibly break me”
I think you should be more confident in yourself and give Duke some credit. They know what they are doing in admissions. If they didn’t think that you could do the work they would not have accepted you.
As a college parent this is what I advise my kids. 1) Take classes in subjects that interest you (even in the Core requirements) and 2) Check the reviews of professors and avoid the lowest rated ones. There is nothing worse than a freshman class with a subpar professor.
Lastly, looking for “easy” classes is a recipe for disaster and at a $70k+ school like Duke is a waste of your parents money.
I’m sorry but I do not agree with @londondad 's advice on “Take classes in subjects that interest you”. Very poor advice as this line of thinking is exactly what destroys students academically. I’ve tried this, and I ended up with very difficult courses. The pressure to get good grades superseded the interesting subject matters. It was too late for me to drop, and I ended up with a D my Freshman and first semester Sophomore year.
@lhw1998 : Here’s the formula that I personally followed at Duke after I learned my lesson the hard way.
- Stick to 4 courses
- Take two mandatory core classes that you have to take according to your major.
- The next two classes are going to be easy classes usually in History/Writing/Art/Intro classes or a combo. Personally, I feel Duke’s history classes are very exciting and can grow you intellectually with the added bonus of the classes being easy if you just do the work and not miss class. But the point in these 2 easy classes is to ace them regardless of whether they are interesting subjects or not. In the real world, you may not get to work on interesting things all the time. Cultivating interest in a boring subject is a skill that you can learn in college.
Following this plan got me all As and Bs.
You’ll know which classes are easy based on grapevine or professor ratings on websites. Societies like fraternities/sororities will help out in these cases.
In reality, you need to carve out time for other activities like going to the gym (a big thing at Duke) and setting time for social activities in the evening times. It gets more tricky if you’re juggling a relationship. Taking two core + two easy classes (during senior year, I’d argue 1 core class and 3 easy classes if you can) is best for balance.
^ I think this is a really bad idea. If you are getting D’s at Duke, maybe you should have transferred to an easier school?
I have found with my own experience back in the day (and to some extent my kids) that many easy classes are boring and I had a hard time keeping up my interest in the class and just scraped a B. I then decided for other core classes such as English Lit and History to take 300 (Junior year) level classes in a subtopic that I found interesting, such as Fantasy Literature which I enjoyed immensely. Being surrounded by a strong professor and other kids who also have an interest in the subject (many of whom are majoring in that subject) usually makes for an interesting class discussion and a better educational experience than taking easy classes where everybody is there for the same reason.
I do however, agree with your point if just taking 12 credits when the other 4 classes are difficult. Most kids have IB, AP or A Level credits that they can do to ease the course load on a couple of semesters. This is a better strategy than wasting your parents’ money on easy classes.
"In reality, you need to carve out time for other activities like going to the gym (a big thing at Duke) "
I’m sorry, but this is just idiotic. Taking easy courses so you can spend more time at the gym? No wonder Duke has a reputation as being snooty and academically overrated. I’m now glad that my kids did not like the school enough to apply.
what are your opinions, recommendations, pros/cons, and personal experiences regarding west campus housing?