Duke Status-Centric Culture

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
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<p>To you pre-frosh - an online discussion forum is NOT the best place to get an idea of how rude or not rude an entire student body is...You're going to have to visit Duke and meet many current students for that. =)</p>

<p>In fact, I knew NOTHING about Duke when I first visited (this was after getting in). I stayed with a then-freshman, talked to a bunch of other people who were then freshmen plus a bunch of pre-frosh like me who were visiting, went to several info sessions, and by the end of it was in love with Duke. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming that I was amazed. During orientation and the first several weeks of classes last year, I was still in awe of how much nicer everyone at Duke seemed to be than at home (and I'm from the Midwest, an area that's supposed to have a lot of friendly people). </p>

<p>Even now, after realizing the superficiality of many people at Duke, I would still say the same thing - that the majority of the student body is quite nice. Yeah, I've run into plenty of people who are arrogant and rude and I wouldn't want to be friends with them. But you're going to get those people anywhere, especially at any top-10 college.</p>

<p>I'm not entirely sure where Duke's reputation for arrogance comes from - I think it might be that if you do try and join the social-climbing culture you were talking about, you're going to run into a lot of nastiness. I know of some events that if you're invited to them, it's supposed to say a lot about your standing socially. As someone who really doesn't really want to immerse herself in that, I don't run into it (you have to try to be invited to those events). Maybe it's because I don't interact with that part of Duke, but the Duke I know consists of a bunch of smart, fun, basketball-obsessed =), and very nice people. </p>

<p>I can definitely understand your worries though - I spent a good part of the summer before freshman year wondering if I'd made the right choice, that maybe the people I saw during admit weekend were only a select group and the rest of the school was extremely social-status-obsessed and not at all like me. For me, that did not turn out to be true (thankfully). For you guys - why don't you apply? If you get in and think you <em>might</em> be interested in attending, go stay with some freshmen during Blue Devil Days (Duke admit weekend) and see how it goes. You really shouldn't just take my, or any other person's, word for it. Instead, go see for yourself. Talk to many more people than you have. Maybe go to a few parties. See what YOU think. It's good to ask for opinions, like you're doing now, but ultimately you need to go see for yourself if it's really a big worry.</p>

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<p>Senator Noodles knows what she's talking about!! :)
Most people at Duke are very nice and friendly.</p>

<p>Rolling Stone helped fuel its reputation a little bit, at least for me when I was looking at colleges.
Sex</a> & Scandal at Duke : Rolling Stone </p>

<p>My main piece of advice is that if once you arrive at Duke that you are dissatisfied with your experience- you must be proactive and work on changing it. Figure out what's wrong and take the necessary steps. If I didn't do that myself, I may have been completely absorbed in the 'social-status seeking culture' which bothered me so much or, at the very least, not have the awesome friends I have now.</p>

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<p>^ wooow, after reading that RS article, i'm not surprised college guides say what they do about duke life. i mean, i knew this kind of thing was happening, of course, but had no idea just how insane it could get. i have many friends in frats and sororities (a few in the "core 4" they talk about) and none of them are like the people described in the article. i guess it's just a select group of people giving all of duke a bad rap?</p>

<p>btw, where the heck is Eta Prime's section? is it one of the frats that lost on-campus housing?</p>

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<p>Eta Prime doesn't have a section. It lost on-campus housing and you won't find it in IFC's booklet.</p>

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<p>People on here are too quick to jump to conclusions. I'm in a so-called "top" frat and I'm not really a pretentious social climber. People just judge me unfairly because I go out a lot to socialize, am in a certain fraternity and get with some marginally attractive girls(it is Duke after all).</p>

<p>I'm a senior now and I could care less about the college social scene. All the chill people in the school just kind of hang out together and affiliations don't really matter. It's only freshman and sophomores that really care about "social climbing" or whatever.</p>

<p>To the OP, Duke won't fundamentally change who you are. If you were an alpha male in high school, then you will be a popular kid here and hang out with others like you. If you were a nerd in HS, you will find a plethora of other nerds to associate with. If you were somewhere in between, then you will basically fit in with nearly the entire school.</p>

<p>Lucky for you, this isn't high school so there isn't a social hierarchy. A good amount of Duke kids have no desire to even go out and party. So, it would be stupid to compare someone who cares about partying a lot with someone who doesn't. The "cool" kids don't even care about the more studious anti-social kids, so it's not like anybody is getting made fun of or mocked or anything. Yeah, if you're not active in the "scene, then you won't get an invitation to the good fraternity parties. However, chances are that you're not the type of person that would enjoy those sort of events anyway.</p>

<p>Duke is a wonderful school. I got a great education, had a great social life, had access to incredible resources and now have a terrific job lined up. Most people here are very, very happy.</p>

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<p>I personally think the Duke culture can be superficial and elitist. It's definitely a party school also. The unappealing location doesn't help with quality of life for those who aren't interested in the Greek-dominated campus scene. I didn't realize any of this when I was applying and visiting. </p>

<p>I have been happy with the professors and academic experience at Duke, and I was able to get into a top choice law school. Other than that, I am ready to move on from Duke and I did not love it (like others do).</p>

<p>A warning to those who were accepted: When you visit, try to get a better understanding of Duke than just what admissions will show you. Duke can be portrayed in many ways, and your impression will just depend on what you have the opportunity to see.</p>

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<p>Cool! That Rolling Stone article makes me want to go to Duke!
My good friend, who is at Duke now, definitely parties it up.
I could see how people get wrapped up in the whole social status thing.
For guys, it is based on the ability to attract women and vice versa for girls.
Like most things in life, it's all about sex!</p>

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<p>Warning: parental comment.</p>

<p>You can find snobs and jerks just about everywhere. They were at the Big Ten school I attended so long ago. They are at Duke, too. I will let other people's posts speak to the dominance or lack thereof of that group at Duke.</p>

<p>You choose your social group. You don't need to hang with people you do not respect or enjoy.</p>