<p>It’s pretty easy from what I’ve read.</p>
<p>It’s really easy but I believe you have to technically wait a semester until you switch but you can take all Trinity classes so it doesn’t really matter I believe. But it’s really easy, just tell your advisor that you want to switch. Duke in NY and other study abroads are rather easy to get. Some of the popular ones full up, especially Duke Engages, but if you apply and have a strong reason you’ll have a good shot of being accepted from what I know from my friends. </p>
<p>I know Duke has an incredible computer science department, but so does Princeton. Same with your other possible majors. I’d really go by feel, both schools will give you an incredible education, but which one do you feel for the most.</p>
<p>Thank you, patriotsfan1, for taking the time to help us out.</p>
<p>I just came back home to California after doing a series of college tours on the East Coast over spring break. I visited UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Boston College, and Columbia.</p>
<p>Duke and Princeton were my favorites out of those visits. Duke seemed to be THE perfect fit for me and I loved the atmosphere as well as the campus. And the people were so nice! However, the one qualm I have about it is its lack of proximity to large cities. I’m a large-city kind of guy, and after visiting Boston and New York on the trip I would like to be able to spend lots of time there. Princeton, while more suburban/rural, is only about an hour away from New York and Harvard is right in Boston. </p>
<p>How common is it for Duke students to do like a weekend trip to a big city and would it be too difficult a feat to attempt this?</p>
<p>I also have close family in Briarcliff Manor and Greenwich, so it would be nice to be close to them. The only family I have even mildly close to Durham is in Atlanta.</p>
<p>How are the Focus programs? Do lots of people do them?</p>
<p>If you are pre-med and need to get to someplace that you can do shawdowing/volenteering how far would you need to go for those opportunities? Would you need a car?</p>
<p>Is there a way to search for all the courses under the category of ALP in Areas of Knowledge?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Echoing the question about Focus programs. Also, do many students get around on bikes? Is the area safe?</p>
<p>not patriotsfan, but I can answer some questions as well (2014 here).</p>
<p>Focus - I didn’t do it but know some people who did. the pros are obviously the in-depth, intimate academic experience, but the cons are being behind on your general requirements because focus took up a lot of your first semester. Then again, most people I know were in the genome focus group and were premed, so their requirements were a bit more demanding. I would say do it if one of them really genuinely interests you, not just if you think it would look good on a resume or whatever.</p>
<p>There is an advanced search option on ACES (the course registration platform) where you can search for classes by which area of knowledge they fulfill, which mode(s) of inquiry they fulfull, as well as things like meeting date and time. I assume you’re asking as a prospective freshman and not somebody actually trying to register so I won’t go into too much detail, but yes it is simple.
If you’re worried about filling your ALP requirement, there are over 200 classes offered next semester for this requirement, including those in departments like neuroscience, public policy, and evolutionary anthropology.</p>
<p>Biking on campus is very common, there are bike lanes on most of the streets in and around campus and bike racks everywhere. Traffic is very slow on campus because of stop signs, crosswalks, and students walking around, so the area is perfectly safe for bikers. In fact I knew a girl who biked to all her classes on west campus her freshman year, and that was her exercise for the week.</p>
<p>flamants - thanks so much for taking time out to answer our questions. What about safety/crime in general? There’s a lot of chatter about the safety of Durham.</p>
<p>My D has got admitted to Duke. Now as a parent i am quite anxious about the campus. How are the dorms for the girls? What dorm has she have to select?is there only girls floor or is it co-ed , 2 separate wings? I have heard there are substance free dorms. What do you mean by substance free? Is car a must during freshman year? Will bike rides be long to go from girls dorms to tronity college classes?</p>
<p>My D has got admitted to Duke. Now as a parent i am quite anxious about the campus. How are the dorms for the girls? What dorm has she have to select?is there only girls floor or is it co-ed , 2 separate wings? I have heard there are substance free dorms. What do you mean by substance free? Is car a must during freshman year? Will bike rides be long to go from girls dorms to trinity college classes?</p>
<p>I have been admitted into Duke.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Is it difficult to get into classes because they fill up fast?</p></li>
<li><p>Are undergrads allowed to take grad. level courses?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks for addressing our questions. Appreciate this very much.</p>
<p>mom22girls - Durham does have crime, just like any other city. We are well-notified of any events on campus and/or involving students through a text message and email alert system, and while there were a couple instances this past week, I’d say we usually get 3-4 a semester (some not even actual crimes - just “suspicious activity”). On the actual campus, which is fairly well separated from the city, I feel incredibly safe - there are police officers in the library and on the main quad late at night, and everything is well lighted with students milling around up until 4 AM at least - I’ve never been out later than that. The takeaway is just to be aware, locking your doors and taking care not to be alone off-campus at night, which I think is good advice anywhere.</p>
<p>Family3 - the setup varies from dorm-to-dorm - for instance, I lived on a girls-only floor my freshman year, a girls wing my sophomore year, and this year a mixed wing, with girls’ dorms and a boys’ suite at the end of the hall. bathrooms are separated, obviously. Freshman don’t have a choice about what dorm they are placed in, unless they choose to live in the substance-free dorm. This generally means that the students don’t smoke, drink, or do drugs, or at least don’t bring those things to the dorm. It’s generally quiet with a focus on “healthy living” in general. A car is definitely not a must freshman year, as you’ll find nearly all available resources on campus, there is ample public transit to get around, and it’s easy enough to get a ride with a friend or catch a cab for any time you absolutely have to do something off-campus. I’d say the bike ride from east to west campus is about 10-15 minutes, but there is a bus system that’s equally easy, so not even a bike is absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>bluewave17 - this heavily depends on the classes you’re taking and your registration window. freshman (and sophomores and juniors) register over the course of 3 days, and if you’re the third group to register, your course options will obviously be more limited. this is especially true if you’re looking to take some popular freshman introductory classes, such as chemistry or econ. A lot of times these courses will expand to meet demand, but you may be stuck with a lecture or recitation period that isn’t ideal. If you’re the first group to register, lucky you, this problem probably won’t be nearly as bad. Just be sure to have several options to choose from in case something fills up - [Schedulator</a> | Home](<a href=“http://www.dukeschedulator.com%5DSchedulator”>http://www.dukeschedulator.com) is a GREAT tool for this, developed by duke students specifically for duke classes.
Yes, upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) are allowed to take lower-level graduate courses with the permission of their dean, usually based on prior classes taken and class standing.</p>
<p>As you can probably tell by my name, I live in a house that’s very biased to UNC which I don’t mind but I do wonder about duke. My biggest question is are the stereotypes true-- are duke students mostly spoiled rich kids that are stuck up? I’ve always heard that and was curious</p>
<p>^ yeah I’m wondering the same thing…I hear a lot of stories about how Duke kids are “snobby elitist white rich kids” and was wondering if that vibe is true? Are there really a lot of frat boys/jock boys? I know every private school has a small segment of students who are indeed rich and perhaps snobby, but I was wondering if it’s prevalent at Duke.</p>
<p>Hey! Thanks for taking the time to do this. </p>
<p>How easy/hard is it play a sport recreationally? I know Duke is all intense on competitive sports, but how about recreational soccer? </p>
<p>Basically, how’s the intramural sport activity at Duke?</p>
<p>Yes, over 50% of the Duke student body relies on financial aid and 40% of the class is composed of students of color, so clearly Duke is predominantly “snobby elitist white rich kids,” right? 
Obviously, it’s not true. The Duke student body is incredibly diverse and vibrant - the class composition is really not any different than Harvard, Stanford, Penn, etc. There are some wealthy people to be sure just like at any elite school, but it is by no means the majority at all.</p>
<p>As far as sports go, there’s intramurals and then there’s club sports. Intramurals is open to anybody and not competitive, but are a bit more unorganized. Club sports can vary in intensity and competitiveness depending on the sport. Club hockey and men’s crew, for example, are seriously competitive. I played club tennis, which was great - we played against other schools in matches several times a semester and practiced a couple times a week, but everything was completely optional. So, you could make it as time intensive (or not) as you wanted. Club tennis also won the national championship a few years ago (as basically the only small private school near the end, competing against the likes of UCLA, Texas, Michigan, etc.), so, yes, there are some very good players. There are tryouts and not everybody makes the team, but there’s always intramurals as a fallback.</p>
<p>Would you say there’s always something to do on campus? One of my major concerns is that with Durham being more like a suburb than a major city, I will be bored or feel as though my options are repetitive at Duke.</p>
<p>From my weekend there, it’s pretty clear that Duke is an amazingly active campus thanks to its sheer size as well as the resources of the town surrounding it (which, in reality, is larger than the biggest city of my home state).</p>
<p>Patriotsfan, I saw you mentioned going to practice. What team are you on?</p>