<p>Yes! Great job, “bud” ! 
I only joke because I eventually realized that Splashdown is a girl! She has been very, very helpful! Now if she could only tell me if/when my son will get in!!</p>
<p>Thanks so much, Splashdown! Your postings are very, very helpful. Thanks for your time!
I have a question and hope you can help me - about the core curriculum of Duke Trinity School. </p>
<p>When you look at the list of Areas of knowledges and Modes of Inquiry, they look so long. However, I read one of your earlier posts, you said “each course you take has both a mode of inquiry and an area of knowledge assigned to it”. So, if you take a course, say sociology, it has “ss” assigned to it for social science, then it also has “EI” assigned as it also fits for ethical inquiry, and it also has “CCI” assigned as it also fits for cross-cultural inquiry? So if you take this sociology course, it takes care of a “knowledge” core requirement, and two “inquiry” requirements simutaneously? Did I understand it right?</p>
<p>About how much time you spend at Duke is for the core courses? Would you say about half (two years, or about 17 out of 34 courses) or would you say about one third ( say,11 out of 34 courses) or, less? I hope to get an idea.</p>
<p>Thanks so much in advance!!!</p>
<p>splashdown would you look over my why duke essay? Also, how long was your why duke essay? mine might be a little long.</p>
<p>Sorry for the late responses, guys! School’s murder right now, and it doesn’t help that basketball season has started, haha.</p>
<p>@9jaborn - I believe the Common App has a general section for “additional info”? I would assume that you could post your creative writing there - the admissions officers would surely figure out what it was supposed to be. I’m not exactly sure if you can submit a portfolio or not, given your major, but I would assume that you can. I don’t see why you couldn’t. This is definitely a question that you should take to your admission officer, as they’ll be able to tell you the details.</p>
<p>@phoenix88 - Yes, you understood it correctly. Each course fulfills one “area of knowledge” and two “modes of inquiry” simultaneously, although sometimes a course will have only one “mode of inquiry” attached to it (it depends on the course). I would say that it would take at most two years (four semesters) to complete all of the t-reqs. I’m only in my first semester and I’ve already fulfilled a good chunk of my requirements. I’ll probably be finished with my t-reqs after my third semester, if that tells you anything. I think that would be 12 courses, so about 1/3 of my time here.</p>
<p>@hotpongtato - Yeah, of course I’ll look at it! You can PM it to me. I may not have time for it this week or next (finals are starting - gulp), but I should definitely be able to take a look at it after the 15th. And don’t worry, mine was very long. I don’t remember how long it was exactly, but it definitely exceeded the “suggested” word limit.</p>
<p>Do you know of any specific undergraduate programs besides FOCUS? I am planning on majoring in math/stats.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>@31415926535 - One that I can think of is Program II. It’s basically a “create your own” major, so that’s really neat if you’re thinking of doing something unique. There’s also the Thompson Writing Program - which all freshmen are required to participate in via Writing 101 - which offers a ton of super helpful tutors and workshops. Beyond that, there’s DukeEngage, which I’m sure you know about. A great way to check out all the opportunities available to Duke students is to go on dukelist.duke.edu. Professors and employers post there when they are looking for interns, research assistants, or just work study students. You could find anything on there, really. My roommate got a job through dukelist at the Sanford School of Public Policy where she’s doing research with a professor. Also, there’s like a bazillion clubs and groups on campus, like Circle K, for example. And since you’re a math person, you might be interested in the Duke DIVE, which isn’t really a program, but it’s still pretty neat. Those are just the things I’ve got off the top of my head; I’m sure I’m forgetting something, haha.</p>
<p>Thanks! Your insights have been enormously helpful! :)</p>
<p>31415926535 - You might want to look at the PRUV Fellowship. </p>
<p>[PRUV*</a> Fellowships](<a href=“http://www.math.duke.edu/vigre/pruv/index.html]PRUV*”>http://www.math.duke.edu/vigre/pruv/index.html)</p>
<p>Do you know any pre-med students? What are their classes like? Are the intro classes very competitive and difficult to get A’s in?</p>
<p>Hi. Thank you so much for your in depth answers. I have a few questions I don’t think yo have touched on yet. I will be attending Duke next Fall!</p>
<p>1) how does the school go about assigning roommates? Do these assignments generally work out? How much input do you have in the process?</p>
<p>2). Can you recommend anything in particular that I need to buy for my dorm room?</p>
<p>3). What do guys typically wear to parties and to classes?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Do people wear pajamas to class at Duke ever? Thanks. :)</p>
<p>How is the culture towards transfer students? Is it hard to “blend in” if you are a transfer or does the general student body just treat you the same?</p>
<p>I can answer these two questions</p>
<p>Pajamas- I had 8:30/8:45 classes all semester and I never saw anyone in pajamas. Granted, my biggest morning class was like 12 people so at large lectures there might be. People usually kinda roll out of bed and just go to them, so people won’t look great and put on makeup and stuff, but still look respectable. </p>
<p>Transfers- when you transfer you are obviously starting from scratch when a lot of people know each other already. Dukes freshman class is usually around 1700 so as sophomores you will still meet tons of people you’ve never met before. As a transfer, you can make friends with dorm and class people, but it would be hard because you don’t know anyone rather than because people look down at transfers. People really won’t care that youre a transfer.</p>
<p>What’s the classes like? Anybody studying engineering. Please explain the schedule for classes. And if you have a job, the schedule also and the time you usually have for fun.</p>
<p>What are the major activities engaged in by duke students?</p>
<p>Duke has a huge variety of extra-curricular activities/clubs/societies available to choose from. Therefore, there isn’t any one particular activity that most people are engaged in. That said, many students here hold some form of part-time job (work study or otherwise) and volunteering seems to be a popular choice seeing as there are countless opportunities to help out/give back not only on campus/hospital, but also in the surrounding communities.</p>
<p>Hi splashdown… your answers were incredibly helpful to me and so I am back asking… My son has been assigned to Giles. How is it?</p>
<p>I was looking for links to videos and floor plans for the same if you could help me.</p>
<p>Don’t think it’s air conditioned. Great location though.</p>
<p>amdmom - did you already see [Duke</a> East Campus - a set on Flickr](<a href=“http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/50800539@N06/sets/72157630202589210/]Duke”>http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/50800539@N06/sets/72157630202589210/) ?</p>
<p>Dukedoc yes I did. Thks.</p>