<p>We took our son for a visit to Duke last week (as well as UVA and UNC). Our trip to Duke did not go well, based simply on the physical appearance of the campus, particularly the dorms on the east (?) campus. As parents, we tried not to agree or disagree. Another parent of a prospective student said her daughter actually cried when she saw the dorms on east campus and her daughter had wanted to go to Duke since she was in the 8th grade. Feedback? Help? Suggestions? Ideas?</p>
<p>maybe you could offer some specifics as to what you didn't like about them. Of course east campus lacks the amazing luster of the gothic west campus, but i still find it to be nice. FYI, I live in NC about 35 minutes from Duke/UNC so I have gone to both many times and as far as campus aesthetics go, I feel as though Duke dominates UNC. I also went on the tour/info session at UVA and found Duke to be superior but its just personal preference I gess. By the way, im a HS senior applying to Duke & UNC (was going to apply to UVA but not since I visited and saw nothing special about it)</p>
<p>Let it be clear that I am not a Duke student, so this is not a blatant bias. Its just my opinion as a prospective applicant to both Duke and UNC-CH. For what its worth though, Duke is definitely way better than UNC in overall awesomeness. At least in the Raleigh-Durham area, if you tell someone you are going to UNC, they are like "oo, thats nice". And if you tell them you are going to Duke, they are like "WOW!! impressive (and stare at you in admiration)" But aside from that, I find the campus to be amazing with so many wonderful opportunities. Don't get me wrong, I would be happy to go to UNC, but I jus found Duke to be in a league of its own.</p>
<p>Both are awesome schools though and I'm sure your reasons for concern are valid. I think it just needs to be clear that everyone has their own opinion about these things, and thats what makes picking YOUR college a critical but exciting choice.</p>
<p>Honestly, I don't spend that much time in the dorm. I'm out the whole day and I usually stay out in the evenings too because I have stuff to do. IMO, all I really need is a comfortable bed, a desk and power outlet, a bathroom, and a closet. Otherwise, you learn to just ignore it. </p>
<p>Actually, now that I think about it, I really wish I had the energy to dwell on just how good/bad the dorms are at Duke. But unfortunately, most of the time I spend in my apartment go toward sleeping.</p>
<p>yeah, I'm a prospective student and when I visited, I didn't really take a second look at the dorms, I was too busy admiring the rest ofhte campus...in all honesty one dorm room shouldn't deter you from going to you dream school</p>
<p>sometimes a kid's gut feel is all it takes to add a college to "The List" or drop it like a rock from The List. If you S did not like what Duke has to offer or the vibe or the look, keep looking for a "better" place for him, a place he'll want to call home for four years.</p>
<p>there are also sororities and fraternities -- just saying :/</p>
<p>as a Duke parent, I must admit that the shuttle between West and East annoyed me when we were shopping and also felt like a minus at accepted student days, but I was wrong about East. East has tremendous meaning to Duke upperclassmen/women. They love it. Each class gets to bond on East before the impending issues of choosing where to live on West begins. Vandy has just moved its entire freshman class to the former Peabody campus...to gain some of the residential college feel, although sadly this lasts only one year before moving to West.
It is such a safe haven, the largely --granted unairconditioned dorms..running window fans in the fall and spring...are COZY, and blessedly not concrete block high rises we saw at some other colleges..they are in a human scale of only 3 or so stories..that feels good with radiator heat and wood floors in the original campus. Closets are rather good on East..one per student and our son had the smallest room on his hall..others were spacious. Each dorm puts out silly sports teams and the freshmen compete..they have their own nice gym and dining hall and coffee shop and the Library on East is quite handsome. For musicians, the orchestra hall and music faculty is steps away. Some faculty members live in a few East dorms...all in all..East is a precious part of Duke life, and one oftened remembered fondly before the move to West with all of the residential non Greek and Greek groups and older students to contend with. My son went Greek but has maintained tight ties to a score of people in his freshman dorm on East...also the FOCUS groups are scattered into one dorm each..although your roommate is not in FOCUS if you are..this also builds a sense of community fast for those how opt for it.</p>
<p>Really the issue of whether you want to attend a school has to come down to a bit more than how pretty the dorm room is or if its exterior is estheticaly pleasing. My S attends Duke and is in the Freshman dorms and is really enjoying the school. His dorm is fine and he loves his classes and professors. The other students in his dorm are all nice and interesting individuals and they all enjoy each others company. The campus itself is beautiful and one of the nicest we visited. As for my sons dorm room, he loves it. I grant you it is not as beautiful as upper class dorms exteriors but the kids attending enjoy the dorm and transportation is great. Actually you are in walking distance to Brightleaf square for nice restaurants if you want to go off campus. I am not sure if the other dorms are larger? I would add that before attending Duke my S went to a U Penn program and his dorm there- which was one of the nicer ones actualy, was not as nice as the one at Duke. Both were in older historic buildings which might be the issue. I know some schools are putting a lot of new money into new dorms. Personally I really don't think that should be the critical issue in deciding which school to attend, but that is your decision. If you research the schools as much as I have, of the most competitive schools in the Country Duke and Stanford rate amongst the best for the happiest students.</p>
<p>Definitely agree with Faline2 above. I loved living on east. Parking was close, laundry even closer, library is across the quad, E-print is the next building over, marketplace is a 2 minute walk and the gym is behind the library. It's awesome. Plus all the freshmen live together without the upperclassmen and frats and stuff, so it's a nice transition from high school into college.</p>
<p>If you think the dorms on east are bad, try living in the older ones on the West main quad. At least the ones on East are more spacious with convenient parking, laundry, etc. The rooms aren't the biggest but the dorms have nicer hallways, common areas, and bathrooms. </p>
<p>The older west dorms have all the disadvantages of east (small rooms and no A/C) combined with narrow dreary hallways, far away laundry and parking, and ugly common areas and bathrooms. I couldn't wait to no longer live in those.</p>
<p>With so much going on at Duke and with probably the most beautiful campus in the country at your doorstep, who really wants to spends any free time in your dorm? Your dorm should be one of the lowest criteria for choosing a college. Open your mind and look at everything else Duke has to offer. It is an incredible school!</p>
<p>As a parent, I can echo many of the sentiments above. My d was in a very small unairconditioned double room with a very small closet as a freshman. I was the one distressed on move-in day at what we were paying, but she said not to worry about it. She, like many of the students at Duke, is highly adaptable and flexible and she grew to love her dorm and the East Campus experience. The parking was fabulous. The walk to classes or the bus is short. She had a faculty member living in residence.
She is now in a just slightly bigger room in a dorm on West Campus True, the dorms are not like some of the roomy newer ones we have visited on other campuses, and personally I do think UNC and UVA have prettier overall campuses, but finding a fit is much more than first impression of a campus. However, if that is so important, I wonder if Duke is the right fit.</p>
<p>My D hated living on East Campus and could not wait to be on West. As you can see from the posts each student is different!</p>
<p>She loves her classes and her professors. She appreciated the opportunity to be a part of DukeEngage. She is active in several organizations and has made many deep and lasting friendships with international and American students.</p>
<p>If the physical aspects of the campus are important to your student take that into consideration. There are many great schools with fabulous dorms and up to date dining facilities - Duke is not one of them. </p>
<p>Duke does intend to invest in new facilities for students but that is several years away. For the past 10 years Duke has been working with the City of Durham and the surrounding neighborhoods to add new dorms. Activist neighbors have put a halt to many of Duke's plans and the City of Durham planning commission lets the activists have their way. New plans to build dorms by the Sarah Duke Gardens have drawn outrage from Durham residents who are concerned the gardens will be destroyed by students walking to and from classes! I can't believe some of the comments Durham residents have made about the new plans to link main, central and east campuses with new housing and dining facilities.</p>
<p>Too bad I already walk to and from class everyday through the gardens...</p>
<p>Dorms should be the least of your concern, trust me.
Your dorm won't be so hot freshman year unless you get Bell Tower.
I didn't get Bell Tower (Gilbert-Addoms) and I wouldn't trade the GA experience I had last year for some 'strange Bell Tower experience'.</p>
<p>There's no reason to base your college visiting experience on dorms because you have no idea which dorm building you'll be staying in. For instance, even though GA, Belltower, Randolph, and Jarvis are all on East Campus, the rooms are completely different. </p>
<p>Personally, I love my dorm room...but it doesn't really matter. The fact of the matter is that if I didn't like it, I'd hang out in the common room, or the main quad, or the library, or the marketplace, etc. etc.</p>
<p>RHD, I think you make a good point. I didn't read your post to indicate satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the specific dorm rooms - I read your post to indicate your son's disappointment with the feel of the east campus. As a parent of a freshman, I can tell you that we shared some of that same initial feeling. However, we just returned from Parent's weekend and were delighted to see the benefits of the east campus outweighing the weaknesses. The close proximity of the Marketplace, the library, the gym, and the shared sense of community that the freshmen enjoy seemed to trump the lack of charm that is found on the west campus (as well as UVA and UNC). My daughter just called us tonight completely energized about another program that she is interested in pursuing at Duke - the richness of the offerings at Duke is amazing! The "place" becomes far more than the physical structure in which you are housed. We've put the issue behind us because our daughter is so satisfied...and I was able to take in my first game at Cameron this weekend!</p>
<p>So the freshmen don't find it overly inconvenient having to take a bus to get to early class or if they stay out late?
(I went to a school decades ago with multiple campuses -- hated having to rely on the bus).</p>
<p>And curious, is it common for freshmen to have a car on campus?</p>
<p>my son is only three hours from home and we didn't provide him with wheels till his senior year when he was employed when he started borrowing other people's cars which we found to be not the way to go. because so many students are truly truly from far away, it is quite common not to have a car, no matter if you are wealthy or middle class or on complete financial aid. More juniors and seniors start showing up with cars but they are optional. My son LOVED FOCUS too..which is not for everyone but completely turns first semester Duke into a small Davidson like place..all day with the same 20 students who live in your dorm and he was taught by senior highly published professors and had a bang up field trip with them. He did not major in a related subject..but they all go hang with those teachers still three years later and there is a bond with fellow FOCUS grads. Duke is an interesting mix of big school/small school. East is part of the small school experience you get. The bus...is an annoyance during crowded hours when everyone is waiting for a ride..and a relaxation when you travel to West in quieter hours of the day or night. I have seen East at night several times, and the kids are always on the lawn in sort of old fashioned capture the flag or capture the bench (ha) mode...chatting and hanging out on their "block." The benches of each dorm are huge fun.</p>
<p>1down, 1 to go--</p>
<p>As a current Duke freshmen, I can honestly say that there is no problem with the bus system here. During school hours, the longest I've had to wait is 5 minutes, and that's really stretching it. Normally I have to wait a minute or two.</p>
<p>Mon-Wed: Bus hours are 6AM-2AM, Thur-Sun: hours are 6AM-4AM. Late enough for ya?</p>