<p>I have no first hand knowledge about Duke, but a friend whose kid was just accepted to Duke sent these. Probably an exaggeration, but definitely not Chicago like.</p>
<p>Two recent articles about Duke:</p>
<p>But see:</p>
<p>Wow. Crazy stuff happens in Duke.</p>
<p>idad, that Rolling Stones article is outdated and extremely exaggerated. Sexual power play, gender stereotypes, drinking culture, etc. are issues at nearly all colleges in the country, not just at Duke.</p>
<p>The fact that UChicago doesn't have a segment of the student population that doesn't participate in that sort of culture speaks more towards the school's isolation from reality and lack of a traditional social life than anything else. I have so much respect for UChi but it's definitely a "nerd's paradise". Once students graduate from Chicago, they will realize that the real world is a lot more judgmental and materialistic than the intellectual paradise where they spent their last 4 years.</p>
<p>The transition will most likely be a difficult one.</p>
<p>bacardi: It's OK if you like Duke. Lots of people, I included, like Duke. And Duke's party reputation relative to Chicago isn't exactly a turn-off to most students, obviously including you.</p>
<p>The Rolling Stone story is, what?, two years old? When it came out, I talked about it with my daughter, then a college first-year. She thought it was distorted and sensationalistic, of course, but said there was a fair amount in it that rang true to the experience of lots of her friends. All of them are still in college now, so it can't be THAT outdated.</p>
<p>Chicago does, of course, have a segment of students who participate in "traditional social life". (I think, parsing through your double negatives, that I'm disagreeing with you.) It's just not as dominant as it is elsewhere, and that tends to be fine with them and fine with everyone else. When my son decided to go to Chicago, one of the things he said was that he wanted to party, but appreciated that the party scene at Chicago didn't eat up anyone's life, which wasn't true of some other places. </p>
<p>He's right to be concerned. I saw some lives eaten up in my day. It's tough to recognize when you're 18, not tough at all when you're 25 or 30 and looking back. Some people come out of it just fine, others . . . don't. Or don't for a long time. (By the way, it's not even true that it doesn't happen at Chicago. My older child has seen some tragic stuff there on the edges of her social circle.)</p>
<p>You may want to consider for a moment who is more isolated from the "real world" -- the kids at Duke, or those at Chicago? The kinds of behavior the article describes do not constitute a sustainable life style. The real world (or at least the professional, high-end, well-paid and responsible part of the real world -- i.e., not "The Real World") is actually pretty intolerant of sexual power plays, gender stereotyping, and drinking culture. Even the frat boys at Duke -- and, yes, I know all Duke students aren't like that, but I personally know some who are -- don't think they can continue to behave that way forever. They know perfectly well they are in a kind of privileged bubble that insulates them from most of the adverse consequences of their actions, unless they get hit by a perfect storm of bad luck, and that eventually a change is gonna come. By the time they graduate, or shortly afterward, most of them are ready for that change anyway. No one said they were dumb.</p>
<p>I think college in general isolates you from the "real world".</p>
<p>Bacardi, I have to tell you that the image I got from reading your post was of Andy from The Office. "Sexual power play, gender stereotypes, drinking culture",hasn't been reality in grown up world for a very, very long time.</p>
<p>Andy: Yeah, I went to Cornell. Ever heard of it?</p>
<p>The Cornellian blood in me loves Andy, as do my Cornell relatives, as it's (according to some of them) a reflection of the Harvard/Cornell hockey rivalry.</p>
<p>I agree with JHS's D in the way that I thought the Rolling Stone article was sensational for the sake of being sensational. What else could the article say? That Duke students are excellent, well-rounded, smart human beings? That's what I'm pretty sure is the case, but reporting that would be, well, boring.</p>
<p>My impression is that Duke has a "culture." It's not reflective of every student who attends (dear goodness no, as I know Duke students and alumni who refute every Duke stereotype), but it's still there. Honestly, in my case? Not for me. Completely and utterly and violently not for me. Some, of course, would disagree. That's fine.</p>
<p>The Chicago equivalent of that Duke article was published in the New York Times maganize last summer. Probably like the Duke article's reception among Duke students, I find this article unnecessarily picky and critical. But because I feel bad about one-way mudslinging, I'll provide a link to it:</p>
<p>The</a> New York Times Magazine College Essay Contest</p>
<p>As I said in my original post, I have no knowledge of Duke and felt the RS article was largely an exaggeration. I found the second article in my post, however, more interesting since it was from Duke University itself and described student efforts to combat some of the issues raised in the first article.</p>
<p>And, to go along with unalove's post, a little dated, but still humerous: Think</a> we've got it bad? U. Chicago has it worse - The Daily Princetonian</p>