<p>Since I've recently been getting tons and tons of PMs about Duke from admitted students/parents, I figured that I might as well open up for questions in the forum as well so other prospective admitted students (or even prospective applicants) can ask questions and benefit from others' questions. I had a thread like this before, but it's long gone so I figured I'd just start a new one...</p>
<p>Feel free about pretty much any facet of Duke life. I'll try my best to answer. If other Duke students could help answer questions too, that'd be great haha.</p>
<p>I’m curious about greek life at Duke. Feel free to throw out anything that relates to it.
But, how is greek life altered in any way since there are no houses per say…and since there are no houses, how do the brothers live in the same house? And if they dont, doesnt it effect the “brotherhood”?
Throw out any personal anecdotes as well, good and bad. I want to have an insiders look into Duke greek life that cannot be noticed online since I can’t visit there for a while.
Thanks.</p>
<p>I’ve heard a lot of good things about Duke. What are some of the things people (or you personally) didn’t know about the school before you came…things people tend to complain about or didn’t like so much.</p>
<p>I’ve been participating in our high school’s orchestra, and I’m hoping to continue this hobby at Duke. However, I only play for fun, and I’m honestly not very good. I was wondering if you know how competitive it is to get into the Duke Symphony Orchestra? Are there any requirements for joining (such as enrolling in a music class)?</p>
<p>I’m pretty clueless about the whole thing, so any insight would help a lot.</p>
<p>How is sports, specifically basketball, for folks who are not All-Americans in Duke? </p>
<p>My son will choose between Duke, WashU and Bowdoin. He is good enough to be recruited by the Division III schools, but does not stand a chance in Duke. Playing basketball is not the top priority, but almost there. Is there good club leagues for him to play semi-competitively?</p>
<p>vitamin, my son played for four years in the Duke Symphony and loved it! There are a couple of great videos on youtube about their annual fundraisers and trips together.
The Symphony is quite good! Yet the commitment is only two nights a week and the concert load is a time consumer but reasonable and rewarding.</p>
<p>I think you get .25 credit per semester? I think</p>
<p>My son was “good enough” to make it to Regional Symphonies in HS and no further and not good enough for conservatories…many Duke students have played all their lives and do not want to be music majors. They are pretty good players! There are always a score of super talents in the Symphony and there is an annual competition to name one student to be a featured soloist. There are fun collaborations with Opera annually and sometimes professionals are part of the program.</p>
<p>The conductor is beloved by the students. It is easy on East campus to partake since the centerpiece to that campus is where you rehearse. As an upperclassmen you get on the shuttle and return for all of that. </p>
<p>My son chose to take lessons more than half of his semesters and improved but mainly he just loves his teacher, a member of the fabulous Ciompi Quartet who was one of his greatest mentors and memories at Duke. My son was no super talent so my point is…you should be fine. Prepare for your audition. On Blue Devil Days…should you go…son went to Music Drop in figured things out on this score. They give you a safe place to lock up your instrument.<br>
My son practiced for his teacher but for the most part …the rehearsals are enough for the background non soloist players. </p>
<p>At Duke, it is important to find niches and various homes for yourself. I recommend the Symphony as a great place to make friends and memories.</p>
<p>PS… Duke needs to build a new hall for the Symphony with better acoustics.<br>
PSS if you like classical…Duke has a bang up budget for this and brings in amazing world class players for the whole Triad region to enjoy…performances were one of the best perks of Duke…besides basketball of course.</p>
<p>ibagoren…my son was also smitten with wonderful Bowdoin but chose Duke. Re your son’s talent as a player…that should not be a deal breaker…because he can play club sports or rec league sports in pretty much any college. Club sports actually plays other colleges and tours and drives other places…rec leagues remain on campus.
Duke has a lot of varsity athletes from high school who love to play competitive rec league sports…very fun! The fraternities also field teams and enjoy competing in this venue.<br>
If your son loves to play…he can play at the liberal arts college or at Duke easily…
he will be sought after frankly among the guys if he is good.</p>
<p>but only at Duke can you see this and experience this…</p>
<p>go to you tube and put in Cameron Crazies 2009 for a view of what you can experience re school spirit at Duke</p>
<p>good luck with his choice between three great institutions…all three are wonderful</p>
<p>Hi guys, i actually have a ton of ?s now that I’ve been accepted to the Pratt School, so any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to pm me or respond on this thread, whichever you prefer. Okay, my first problem is money. I’m looking at going into a lot of debt if i attend Duke. My junior year at Duke would be my sister’s freshman year of college. Does anyone have an experience to share where a sibling entered college while they were already at Duke? How much did your EFC drop? And most importantly - was the drop in EFC made up for in increased grants or increased loans? Also, is it really worth it to pay that much for a Pratt degree? I’m interested in biomedical at Duke and i know it’s top there, so my question is, how much more money can i make with a Pratt degree than, say, an Ohio State degree? Will i be recruited much more? ect… also, i want to ask about is the social scene at Duke. Although I am a smart student, I have largely coasted through high school on talent, and consequently am not “nerdish” at all. I like to party and have fun, in addition to learning. How good is the duke social scene? How many people party on the weekend vs sitting in their dorm studying. How generally “good looking” are people considered at Duke? I know these can be tough questions to answer, but any personal experience or knowledge would be greatly appreciated. I just don’t want to find myself surrounded by a lot of people who’s company i won’t enjoy. Last thing - how are dorms at Duke? Mainly, I’m wondering about size and space, but also generally cleanliness and things like TV services. Again, I know this is a long list of stuff, but it’s things that I need to find out to help me make my decision. Thank you in advance to anyone who was information they are willing to share with me.</p>
<p>Sorry, forgot. Anyone who has experience with Duke’s club ice hockey team please let me know anything you can, as I am extremely interested in playing if i do attend.</p>
<p>A couple of people already asked the questions I wanted to! I do have one though: How does early graduation work at Duke? I was looking at the AP Credit chart, and I’d have credits for about 16 classes. Would Duke actually give me credit for 16 classes if I had the AP scores, or would there be restrictions of some sort?</p>
<p>faline,
thank you so much for the detailed reply! i will be attending the blue devil days on 8th and 9th, so i’ll be sure to check that out. :)</p>
<p>just to clarify a few things i’m still somewhat confused about…
since your son got credits for being in the symphony, is it like a legit class? or more of a club sort of thing?</p>
<p>no he got actual credits for his transcript for his symphony work and also for his private lessons with his most excellent and cool teacher.
Mostly…Symphony was socially fun and good for his soul. Duke is a tough school academically…you have to take care of your emotional health!</p>
<p>As to Greek life. While Duke doesn’t have houses, they do have sections of dorms blocked off, creating basically the same feeling of everyone living together. It’s kinda cool because it’s part of a big dorm and girls and friends live by and can stop in easily. It doesn’t hurt brotherhood at all; everyone has to live on campus for 3 years, so you have sophomores and juniors living in the section, and then seniors off campus in a house that can serve as a base for pregames/parties off campus.
West is wet, and even though you’re in a dorm, your fun is rarely ruined by RA’s (except the beginning maybe or if you’re unlucky). </p>
<p>In my opinion, as a guy, if you’re into going out and having fun, joining a fraternity is pretty much essential. People will probably get on me for saying this, but being on the greek side of it, I couldn’t imagine life otherwise.</p>
<p>oh absolutely. I’m not saying people in SLGs have fun and independents have 0 fun. I’m just saying, if you’re the type of person that thinks you would rather be greek, you would probably have a better time in a fraternity than being indep.</p>
<p>Here’s something I PMed to someone about the Greek system and the social scene:</p>
<p>The social scene at Duke can be described in four words: diverse, balanced, eclectic, and most importantly, INCLUSIVE. </p>
<p>1) Diverse, eclectic</p>
<p>While the Greek system is existent, it is by no means dominating or self-segregating. Statistically speaking, only about 23% of students are associated with a Greek organization, so it is available to those who wish to participate. But while I am not Greek, I have friends who are both Greek and non-Greek, so by making one decision, you’re not excluding yourself from a huge chunk of friends/the social life here. The other thing girls in particular love about Greek life here is that sororities here do not haze (and for guys its just drinking…). Pretty much every other school’s sororities hazel at Duke, they give each other chocolates, gifts, etc. Haha as you can tell, it’s a pretty loving environment.</p>
<p>If you don’t want to be always stuck in Greek life, there is always something else going on. There are parties EVERYWHERE, there are free movies in the movie theater on campus, shopping trips, hanging out in Durham, eating in Durham (Durham has an incredible restaurant scene), performances at Duke and in Durham (the Duke student body is particularly dance and singing crazed. There’s always some group performing…), attending lectures/speakers, going to basketball games (or any athetlic event), or just chilling with your friends. There’s also three to four clubs within walking distance of campus that everyone likes to go to and have a great time dancing/hanging out. Very few of Duke’s peer schools have these unique outlets…</p>
<p>There’s obviously a lot more, but I just wanted to give the picture that Duke’s social scene is definitely not dominated by Greek organizations and is in fact, very diverse. Frat/sorority parties, though, are very, very fun.</p>
<p>2) Balanced</p>
<p>A lot of schools say that they have a “work hard, play hard” environment. But to be honest, I don’t think that the phrase gives Duke’s unique environment justice. What elite school other than Duke can boast incredible academics alongside a basketball team that is going to the Final Four (a team that is coached by a gold medal winning USA basketball???)? Yeah, none. Duke has an incredible sense of balance - everyone’s really happy to be here, and you can get that feeling while on campus.</p>
<p>3) Inclusive</p>
<p>This is honestly something I love the most about Duke. Duke is a much more inclusive environment than many universities. For example, I hated how parties and socials at other schools are closed. You can only get it in you know people or if you are a hot girl or if you are a guy who brings tons of girls. At Duke, no one really gives a crap. You can go pretty much wherever you want with whomever you want… you can build your network in whichever way you desire. This is actually something unique about Duke though, and I love it. There is an incredible sense of community on campus, and everyone’s pretty willing to meet others and build a stronger Duke relationship.</p>
<p>Also, since there are no houses, this really aids in integrating everyone together… brothers live together within areas of the quads, but as I said earlier, sororities don’t have housing. This makes the Greek system pretty chill relative to other universities. Tons of girls I know here always comment about how they would have never joined a sorority at another school, but since Duke’s sorority life is so low-key and welcoming, they didn’t feel pressured and chose to do it to meet other girls.</p>
<p>1) How incredibly beautiful the Duke Gardens truly are.
2) How big of a difference a sense of pride/community at your school makes in terms of your undergraduate experience
3) How important it would be to have all the graduate/professional departments on campus, yet still have them all co-exist at a university that is very much undergraduate focus (I really feel Duke strikes a unique balance here…)
4) The importance of intelligent peers. I didn’t really factor this in too much until my acceptances, but I love having people who I can ask questions and them being able to answer. Seems dumb, but this is really important to broadening your education.
5) How diversity would impact my education. Before Duke, I was pretty against affirmative action. But after coming here and seeing how all this diversity positively supplements my education and experiences here, I understand why AA exists and why it’s important. I love the international presence on campus and the incredible diversity.</p>
<p>To be honest, my “big” gripe about life here is that it can get cold lol. Since I’m from a non-snowy place that doesn’t ever get below 35 degrees, I was surprised by how cold Durham can get to be. The busing system, at first, was something I was worried about. But now, the bus is a place for me to think and kind of relax when I’m going from place to place. Duke is a very hectic place, and it’s a nice break from moving from place to place on your feet. A lot of my friends actually vocalize about how they enjoy sitting on the bus and randomly catching up with people they don’t get the time to meet otherwise.</p>
<p>Club sports here are pretty vibrant. I have a lot of friends who did club soccer, more specifically, but I’m pretty sure that it’d translate to basketball as well. The time commitment for club sports is similar to that at the high school level: 2-3 hours a week, 4-5 days a week. You may or may not have a coach, but you travel and compete with club teams from other universities. My friends who do club sports here, and they really enjoy their time. Here’s a page about Duke’s club basketball team: [East</a> Coast Basketball League - For The Love of The Game](<a href=“http://www.eastcoastball.com/team.php?team_id=90]East”>http://www.eastcoastball.com/team.php?team_id=90)</p>
<p>If you want to participate in intramural sports, that is also an avenue for your son. IM teams compete with other dorms/selective living groups. It’s a fun, low-commitment way for those who want to stay in shape/still play a sport they love to keep the sport in their lives. I played IM soccer for a while myself. There are tons of different IM sports, and it’s very, very easy to get involved.</p>
<p>If you are a Pratt student, you can use as many AP credits as you want. This allows your curriculum to be very flexible, enabling you to double major in Pratt, get another major in Trinity, study abroad, etc.</p>
<p>Trinity students, while allowed to use the AP test to opt out of lower level classes, can only use two of their credits towards the 34 credits required for graduation.</p>