<p>I was wondering if you could give some insight about greek life on campus… is it inclusive? I am Asian, but I am not nerdy in any way and I wanted to join a sorority. I have read many articles about how there is some self-segregation at Duke, and I was wondering if strongly felt on campus… Thanks!</p>
<p>@patriotsfan1 </p>
<p>Well I’d agree with you except for one thing. I not sure having two Cs for your first quarter of your senior year leaves you still ‘competitive’- I say that of course with no knowledge of the OP. They could of course just reject you. </p>
<p>@dukebabe18</p>
<p>I think you can self-segregate yourself into a stereotype at Duke, but if you’re not interested in that, there is in my opinion no pressure to make you conform to it. Duke is much more inclusive and diverse than your typical state school. While I think there is the presence of the notion of the academic Asian, many of my friends are Asian and can down more beer than a bong can physical channel into their esophaguses. Your experience will be what you make of it- decided only by the people you associate with and the way in which you allot your time.</p>
<p>How much segregation is there between Us students and International students at Duke? How often do you see a circle with people from several nationality?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>@Huha</p>
<p>Well to answer that honestly, my experience has been that the majority of international students hail from China and tend to stick together because of the tremendous language and cultural barrier. That of course is a generalization that is not always true and that I can’t imagine being as rigid in later years. As far as other internationals, some of my best friends I’ve met are from Australia, Britain, Germany, Zimbabwe etc.</p>
<p>How much will my first quarter grades affect my overall application? I’m applying ED, but I just received two B+s my first quarter. I usually am able to bump those up to A’s by the end of the semester, but I’m also taking 6 AP classes so they’re not like extremely simple classes. My original GPA is a 3.82, which I know is ehh but it was all because of my freshman and sophomore year.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for doing this!</p>
<p>@candid</p>
<p>I don’t think it’ll have a big impact. The fact that you’re enrolled in 6 AP classes shows you haven’t given up on your senior year and assuming the rest of your grades are As, I think you’re fine. That was about my GPA when I applied though the school I went to was very competitive.</p>
<p>Do you mind posting what classes you are taking this year? What about the GPA break down at DUKE? I don’t like some schools have A, A-, B+, B, B- etc break downs. It’s very stressful. By the way, do you feel high school AP classes prepared you for Duke? Thanks!</p>
<p>@real</p>
<p>I am in Econ 201, Math 212, an Env/Pub Pol cross listing and a seminar, as well as weight lifting for a half credit. I took AP Econ with 5s on each to start with 201 and took dual enrollment calc 2/3, diffeq 1/2, and linear algebra in HS, but I have to take 212 (multi) again for credit’s sake. In some sense, I think AP prepared me so that I could test out of into level classes, but the AP program is incredibly inconsistent in quality and difficulty as far as class goes. That said, I went to a top 25 HS and did a heavy AP engineering focused program; I took 13 APs total and some I think were worth it and others a total joke. I can say 212 and 201 are much more difficult than anything I did in high school with maybe AP Physics C e/m being the exception. The GPA breakdown is a standard distribution with most classes being graded on a curve (upwards in my experience thus far). It’s competitive but if you’re capable of getting in, you’re capable of doing well.</p>
<p>What is your biggest challenge at Duke? Academics or adjusting to college life? I assume most of your classmates are all as smart as you. Do you feel like you have to work harder to get good grades? Thanks again for your help. Duke is on my son’s list, so it’s quite nice to get insider’s opinion :)</p>
<p>I think the hardest aspect for me has been balancing academics with having a social life and going out. As far as my peers go, most everyone at Duke is here for being exceptional in something they do, be it academics, athletics etc. I definitely have found classes at Duke harder than they were in high school, but I think it’s all very manageable because you only have to take four credits per semester. It’s certainly different though, no doubt.</p>
<p>^^ RT.</p>
<p>I’m in a FOCUS as a first-year, a seminar in the literature department, and a small, advanced math class-- and I love it. Duke is definitely challenging-- but I think college is challenging almost everywhere. But everybody is being challenged and pushed and it’s all just difficult and first year is a really huge adjustment process. But it gets done. And there are a TON of resources out there for the student who wants support. Duke does an A+/A-/A breakdown, but an A+ and A are both 4.0 for GPAs.</p>
<p>It is difficult balancing academics and other comittments-- there are times when my friends and I joke that all of this homework is getting in the way of our clubwork; what that belies is that there are so many opportunities at Duke. But the academic portion of Duke is just as engaging and fulfilling for a student who seriously immerses themselves in their work.</p>
<p>Bottom line: Duke is difficult. It’s challenging in all the best kinds of ways, ut it’s not going to be easy.</p>
<p>I’m a little confused about what sorority housing is like at Duke. Can you explain it?</p>
<p>Yup. Under the new 2012 house model, all sororities have sections of residence halls. So there isn’t ‘Greek row,’ and all nine PanHel houses are on Central Campus. I’m not sure if all members are able to live in section or not.</p>
<p>Links to houses:
<a href=“Duke Student Affairs”>Duke Student Affairs;
<p>Hey I hope I’m not too late to the party, but I was curious about the pros and cons of a Finance minor versus a Markets and Management certificate. I’m planning on pursuing Computer Science as my main major and was wondering which would hold more value in the long run</p>
<p>While I have not started working towards it yet, I do intend to earn the MMC but not minor in finance. As Im sure you know, finance is not a stand alone major at Duke, but because so many are interested in finance and want to attend top schools so that they may be placed well, Duke does much to accommodate. I have heard from many people that the certificate falls between a major and minor and is rather specific to Wall St-esque, IB and asset management areas of finance. It is for people who fully intend to work in the financial sector and want to devote a significant portion of their education to that goal. The minor is less intense and looked upon as such. Hoped that helped.</p>
<p>What do you (and other duke students) think about the finance concentration for economic majors? I noticed that was available.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the response, that was incredibly helpful! The website didn’t give me the impression that it catered to the finance demographics, but I’m glad that’s been cleared up. </p>
<p>On a similar note, how does the certificate compare to a double major in Economics? I’m leaning right now towards tech entrepreneurship, but finance has always held a certain allure for me so I might try IB and PE. Would a double major help more in terms of recruiting versus a certificate?</p>
<p>@Red</p>
<p>If you look at the reqs for the econ major, you’ll see that once you complete the general econ classes up to 300 level I believe, your options open up allowing you to choose many classes at your own discretion. The university does not explicitly distinguish between a finance ‘concentration’ and any other econ major. You will find however that many of these areas of concentration fulfill much of the MM certificate so if that is your interest, it will not be too hard to complete the MMC. </p>
<p>@Probe</p>
<p>Nothing will help more than doing very well in the classes that are applicable to the career or internship you’re aiming for. Realistically understanding the concepts of microeconomics is not too useful for an investor, but it will certainly help reshape the way think. Personally, I would just focus on the certificate and perhaps a minor. </p>
<p>Good luck with your decisions guys.</p>
<p>Maybe things have changed since I was at Duke, but the Markets and Management certificate was seen as fairly easy, with professors mostly from the sociology department. It was a popular choice among athletes who had large time commitments and didn’t want the intensity of an economics curriculum and wanted some practical business exposure. The finance major, however, falls within the economics department, but is simply more specific and doesn’t have as many requirements. </p>
<p>I personally would expect the finance minor to be more intense/numbers-focused/difficult whereas M&M giving a more qualitative exposure to business concepts more generally (although having a few more requirements, I would expect the coursework to be easier). I didn’t take courses in finance or M&M, though, so can’t speak from personal experience (and the finance minor didn’t exist…).</p>
<p>Catamount - just wondering if you would share which 212 prof you have and if you liked him/her and the teaching quality. My son was not thrilled at all with his prof and he ended up teaching himself multi, going from a D on the first exam to mid 90’s on the last two. Was multi actually boring after having had it in high school (at a college? you mentioned dual enrollment)?</p>