<p>I’m going to be a senior next year and am trying to finalize my college list. I’m in a bit of a bind regarding Duke. I love the idea of attending the school and think it would be a blast, but my mom is convinced that I would not be happy there because it isn’t intellectual. I agree with her that I would be happiest where talking about classes and all the interesting things I am learning is considered normal, and I haven’t gotten the vibe that Duke is “non-intellectual” as much as she has. So, how would you describe the Duke experience/vibe? And what are common post-graduate plans?</p>
<p>^
A common misconception. I addressed that here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064501527-post2.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064501527-post2.html</a></p>
<p>Does anyone know which dorm the Visions of Freedom kids usually live in?</p>
<p>Is it likely to be the same next year?</p>
<p>trains, having read several related discussions over the years, I am going to summarize what I have read and what I have heard from my recent duke graduate. Perhaps having this come from a parent’s perspective will be helpful as you talk with your mother.</p>
<p>The intellectualism is there at Duke, but it is not of the self-conscious sort. By that I mean that, for the most part, people don’t deliberately try to be/sound “intellectual.” And the dominant culture is certainly not anti-intellectual. </p>
<p>Yes, there is discussion about issues in class. In fact, my son said that he learned almost as much from the discussions outside of class as he did in some classes (which is not a knock on those classes, but a comment on the diversity of experience and outlook that is represented by his friends and classmates). </p>
<p>There are plenty of extremely smart, engaged people who will discuss various aspects of, say, string theory with the same energy that they will argue about some arcane sports rule. </p>
<p>So, Duke is not less “intellectual” than other places. It is more a matter of style.</p>
<p>Thank you warbler and mafool! I was just about to ask a similar question, because many schools have stereotypes that, while not true to that extent, did have to come from somewhere. I’m very glad to hear that Duke is not as professionally-oriented as people consider it.</p>
<ol>
<li>When do we get our housing assignments?</li>
<li>Is it worth it to buy a computer from Duke or an actual computer store (namely apple comps? )</li>
<li>Also, if I take Regular chemistry instead of organic chemistry frosh year, does this mean I’m behind in premed classes? Thanks</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>Mid-July would be my guess give or take a week or so. Reassignments after that will be completed early to mid august. </p></li>
<li><p>That’s up to you really. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Pros of buying from Duke:
- convenience of on campus pickup
- it comes with extended warranty and on campus service
Cons of buying from Duke: - very limited choices
- generally more expensive
- specs aren’t exactly top of the line</p>
<p>Pros of buying elsewhere:
- can customize
- generally better deals/cheaper
Cons of buying elsewhere: - you need to make sure you get an extended warranty (optional but highly recommended)
- On campus service is limited to software problems
- You have to have it shipped to you or buy at store. </p>
<ol>
<li>No you won’t be behind. The majority of premeds in the years past do not take orgo first semester. There’s a reason that general chem is several times bigger than freshmen orgo and its not because chemistry is the most popular major at Duke.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks! I just thought of a few more questions,
- For immunizations, are we allowed to do it not in the US?
- If we are, how do we send the records?
- How much is a “titer”? (Namely two, the ones we need)
- Are Health sciences all, even the undergrads?
- Can we guess for chicken pox dates on it?</p>
<p>Which dorms are good on the East Campus? Do you have any info on Aycock?
Thanks!</p>
<p>cosabelle:</p>
<p>1). You can have international immunizations. I had mine in my home country and had the recorded in a little WHO immunization booklet. Perhaps you can get something similar from your local ministry of health or something of the sort?</p>
<p>2). You can usually send records to student health by fax or in person. You should call and ask to see what they want. </p>
<p>3). Titer is a measure of concentration, commonly used in instances such as “viral titer.” However, I have no idea what immunization you need. You should call student health. On the other hand, you can probably get your immunization when you come to Duke through student health. </p>
<p>4). What about the health sciences?</p>
<p>5). Call and ask</p>
<p>footballgirl: all the east dorms have their pros and cons. The three AC dorms are Randolph, Blackwell, and Belltower. Belltower is the nicest, generally compared to a 4-star hotel so I guess you can call it good. The other two have small rooms. </p>
<p>I lived in aycock freshmen year. It’s a great place, average sized rooms, walk in closets. Really really close to the bus stop, had a great sense of community and a vending machine that stocked mountain dew (very important). It was a great experience for me.</p>
<p>SBR-did you do a focus program or a pre-orientation program like “Project Build”?</p>
<p>Nope did either, though some of my friends did pre-orientation programs and they loved it. They all had their circles of friends before orientation even started. I guess it’s easy to bond when you are camping in the wild or doing other stuff.</p>
<p>What are the dorm bathrooms like? Just a bunch of sinks and shower stalls?</p>
<p>2-3 shower stalls, 2-3 sinks, 2-3 toilet stalls. Pretty standard fare.</p>
<p>Wilson has suites with 4 people per bathroom so I imagine their bathrooms are smaller.</p>
<p>Ok cool. Are the showers public or private because ************** says they’re public?</p>
<p>Lol, private.</p>
<p>Haha private, with stalls and curtains and such.</p>
<p>Ok thanks haha</p>
<p>This is kind of random, but my AP Chem teacher told us last year to keep all of our lab reports because some schools require students to show chem professors that they’ve completed a certain number of labs or something like that. Is this true at Duke? If so, does this only apply to chem classes or to bio classes as well?</p>
<p>No it’s not true. If you passed the AP test with 4/5 then you get credit and it’s assumed that you learned the materials/did the appropriate work. No need to lug all your lab reports to Duke.</p>