<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I am possible recruit for football at Duke. My main concern is balance between academics, sports, and college life. Main thing i am looking for is balance while in college. Can anyone thats a current athlete comment? or have any experience to comment. Many thanks.</p>
<p>I wasn’t an athlete so don’t have first-hand knowledge…but I know a bunch of athletes. Being a Division I athlete is obviously a huge time commitment, but Duke definitely allows athletes to have a great academic and social experience in addition to their athletic endeavors. Duke and Stanford are really two of a kind when it comes to having world class athletes in the major sports in world class academic settings. It certainly takes excellent time management skills that you will grow to have if you don’t already, but balancing academics and athletics while also having a social life is certainly doable. It will test you at times for sure based on what I’ve heard, but in the end, people love it and become successfull in whatever they choose to do.</p>
<p>Cutcliffe definitely has the program on the rise and the support the students are giving increased exponentially last year (to be honest, it used to be somewhat pathetic, but it was hard to support a team that went 0-12 or 1-11 nearly every year). Last year, for the first time in history, there were over 30,000 people for four home games. And that was a 4-8 (1-7 in ACC) season. Imagine what’s going to happen in the future! Cutcliffe seems like a great coach, and even more importantly, a great person (as cliche as that sounds). He definitely wants his athletes to adhere to a high standard in the class and Duke has a nearly 100% graduation for its football players (it has led the nation in its graduation rate the most of any school). And I expect 4-5 wins next season, while getting the necessary 6 to be bowl eligible in 2010. There is a lot of optimism surrounding the program these days and renovations to the facilities in the works.</p>
<p>As a biomedical engineering student, I can say that I had zero football players in my classes - and it would be VERY difficult to major in a time-consuming major, although there are a couple exceptions. Athletes get priority in registration to accommodate their schedules, so you can strategically choose your courses. I think there was one football last year on the roster majoring in engineering. Most athletes at Duke are very bright, though, and go on to great careers when they graduate. They still are in fraternities, other campus organizations, etc. and are definitely a part of the campus life. The skills involved in balancing athletics and academics will challenge you, but in the end should make you stronger and more successful. And I think the Duke community does a good job of seeing athletes as just other students - it’s not as if athletes only hang out with their team (although certainly you spend a lot of time with your teammates) as I hear happens at many schools.</p>
<p>Edit: Wow, your academic stats are really impressive for a football recruit! (no insult intended, its just that Duke football admits typically have about ~1100 SAT M+V). And you have certainly been successful on the football field as well. I also see that you want to major in math. Math at Duke is a strong, small and demanding department. It would be difficult to be sure, but as I said, players in the past have done it. My physics lab partner was a varsity wrestler (he was majoring in physics), Nick Horvath on the basketball team majored in physics, Matt Christensen (a b-ball player) majored in math I believe, and there are certainly a variety of track and field, field hockey, tennis, golf, etc. players participating in difficult majors. If you get an offer from Duke, it’d be hard for me to turn down a free Duke education. Cornell can’t offer a scholarship obviously, and Northeastern isn’t on the same level as Duke academically. Good luck with your choice!</p>
<p>Hey thanks for your reply it was really insightful. I have always had a passion for football but i don’t plan on becoming a professional. Sometimes I wonder if its really worth it because academics and a good balance between sports and social life is really important to me. College athletics are a huge demand and coupled with duke academics im not to sure if i would be able to handle the stress let a lone live a healthy four years mentally and physically. My other two options i have are Northeastern University and Cornell. Obviously Cornell and Duke will be in high demand in terms of academics and Northeasterns up there but not on the level of the aforementioned schools. I am a legacy for Northeastern and i really feel as though they would offer me a perfect balance between social life, sports, and academics. Also i plan on majoring in math. Duke is one of the elite schools in the country and i will be in a tough jam come decision time early next year. I wanted to get a head start and gather some opinions. Thanks again.</p>
<p>I have to put in a strong word for Cornell. Few places can balance academics and athletics like the Ivies. If I were in your shoes, looking for a top-shelf education while playing football at a decent level with no professional aspirations, I would go Ivy.</p>
<p>^ Emphasis on the word “few.” Duke is one of them. </p>
<p>1) Duke’s ranked higher academically than Cornell anyway (if we’re all so concerned with “top shelf” educations). </p>
<p>2) Duke’s football team is definitely on the rise. Most people expect a bowl game by 2010 with the new coach. Cornell? Football? Ha.</p>
<p>The “Ivy League” brand only applies to a dated football association, not necessarily to the 8 best academic institutions.</p>
<p>Go Blue Devils :p</p>
<p>Plus Duke offers scholarships and Cornell cannot</p>
<p>I’m not an athlete, but I am a math major. Honestly, while, it can be difficult, if you have the right approach (focus more on understanding than memorizing material), math isn’t a very time-intensive major. In fact, nearly every math major is a double major with economics, physics, computer science, or engineering. I suppose that you could count football as being as time consuming as a second major, so it’s very doable. There are some professors that are somewhat diabolical, though, and who force you to memorize obscure formulas. You’ll have first registration window every time, so you should be able to avoid that. In general, though, the number of math majors is small, which makes for pretty approachable professors and smaller classes, so the professors tend to be fairly flexible. In my experience, my premed classes require more studying, and there are a few football players that are premed. </p>
<p>To alleviate the stress, most football players will spend a summer or two taking classes. Unfortuantely for you, though, not many math classes are offered during the summer except for a few introduction ones, so you would only be able to take general education requirements.</p>
<p>I don’t think it would be too overwhelming if you can manage your time, which I’m sure you are already good at just from being a high school athlete.</p>
<p>Check out Duke’s underloading policy, too.
<a href=“http://trinity.duke.edu/academic-requirements?p=course-load-1[/url]”>http://trinity.duke.edu/academic-requirements?p=course-load-1</a>
It lets you take only 3 courses a semester instead of 4 for up to 2 semesters.
I would recommend planning out your schedule so that you can take only 3 courses while taking Advanced Calculus/Analysis I or Abstract Algebra. Those two courses are supposedly the hardest math classes at Duke; however, I have yet to take them myself.</p>
<p>The main thing about Duke is that it competes in the ACC which is top 5 conferences for football. It’s pretty demanding because the athletes here are much better than my other prospects. The competition will be a lot tougher as well for playing time. My advisor also said academics between cornell and duke are comparable…</p>
<p>definitely pursue cornell, they play for fun :P</p>
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<p>I agree with that. The difference academically between Cornell and Duke are negligible, and the football time commitment at Cornell would be considerably less so you’d have more time to dedicate to academics/social life. On top of that, I’m sure there are more football players at Cornell pursuing difficult majors, so it’s not like you’ll be one of the few. HOWEVER, if Duke offers you a scholarship, then it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. I have no idea if you have received a scholarship or not, or if you will or not, but Duke for free is a damn good deal as opposed to paying full cost at Cornell. But, based on what you said, it sounds like your gut is telling your Cornell. So, assuming they cost the same, I’d trust your gut. Neither choice is a bad one. My lab mentor (PhD candidate in biochemistry) played on Cornell’s “sprint” varsity football team, apparently one of the best in the country (although there aren’t many), and enjoyed it greatly.</p>