<p>Ok, so I have applied to Duke and expect my final college decision to be between WashU (I was accepted), possibly Duke, and possibly Cornell or Brown. </p>
<p>I'm pretty familiar with the school and have visited twice. The one thing that concerns me about Duke is the level of academic intensity. Obviously, schools of this caliber will be challenging, but from talking to people it sounds as if academics at Duke are overwhelming. I've heard grades are curved down to an average of a B, and I talked to some people who were clearly very bright who have struggled to maintain a 3.2-3.4 gpa. Is Duke more intense than other comparable schools? </p>
<p>It is my one large concern about a school that I really love a lot about.</p>
<p>I’m not going to comment about how hard duke is academically as that is highly dependent on your major and your course choices but I’m just going to make a note that some people would say that “curving down” to a B is considered grade inflation. Many would say that curving to B-/C+ is more standard.</p>
<p>What about English? Is that typically one of the easier ones, workload-wise? I would imagine it’s more writing (obviously), and less busy work (like psets), correct?</p>
<p>Who cares?
It’s all about the GMAT/LSAT/MCAT, brah!
Duke kids are supposed to be really smart.
If some alcoholic genius in an elite fraternity ends up with a 2.5, he’s still goin’ places if he gets a 180 on the LSAT.</p>
<p>Having talked to many friends who go to schools that are comparable to Duke academically, I think that grade inflation is less prevalent here than it is elsewhere. Most math and science courses are curved to a B-/C+, which means suddenly you have half a class of really smart kids getting a C+ or less. What I found shocking my freshman year (having come from a hs where I was ranked in the top 5 and never got less than an A- in any class, etc.) was that occasionally, I was in that bottom half of the class. I’m an engineer here, and I would say that the majority of the time, I have to struggle and study my butt off just to beat the average. So yes, for most people Duke is hard academically, but I do know the people who slack off completely, cram for an exam 2 hrs before, and ace it. But most people are like me and have to study a lot.</p>
<p>I think Econ is supposed to be one of the harder majors, but I haven’t taken an Econ class yet, so I can’t comment…Of the sciences, the Bio dept is supposed to be the most grade-inflated. I have AP credit so I don’t have to take Bio, but if Bio is generally more grade-inflated than Physics and Chem, it shouldn’t be too bad. Though I suppose all the pre-meds would make it more intense.</p>
<p>But overall, I think that this is one person’s view. I think most of the students you talk to will say Duke is hard, but everyone gets through it. Honestly, if you get accepted that means you can do the work. It might take you some time to make the transition, but you shouldn’t worry all that much. Good luck with decisions =)</p>
<p>Congrats on being accepted. As for the academic rigor, it can definitely difficult, especially if you’re in Pratt. However, it is also not that hard to navigate courses so that you have a good balance of work and free time. You get to choose 4 classes, so the key is just to maintain a balance. If you chose the 4 most difficult classes at Duke each time then you would be screwed, but if you chose the 4 easiest you would get bored. From there, then, it’s your job to try to navigate what you want to take on. To do this, talk to students and look at course evals (I think they’re getting a new one for next semester) and rate my professors.</p>
<p>Also, note that you’re almost definitely not going to maintain a 4.0. I think sometimes it’s easy to remember high school where some people graduate with 4.2-4.3 GPAs because of AP courses and such. This is not going to happen at Duke. Even an A- is worth 3.7. Don’t worry, though, you’re not going to get a 4.0, but that’s okay because that’s not the standard anymore as it was in high school.</p>
<p>Here’s the link to Dean’s List cut-offs for previous semesters. Maybe this can give you a new conception of what to shoot for and maybe ease a little of your fears.</p>
<p>Econ major bio minor isn’t that hard as long as you aren’t cramming an unreasonable load each semester. Are you going bio minor as in pre-med? </p>
<p>The first few classes of econ could be considered weed-out classes, so you’ll need to man up. When you get to the elective courses in econ, though, it’s much more fun and interesting so it will be/seem much easier.</p>
<p>An econ major is definitely one of the tougher ones at Duke. Bio’s no joke since there are a lot of weedout classes for premed. And yes watch out for econ 51 and use that AP credit if you have it.</p>
<p>And to add to what the people above me just said: if AP registration hasn’t closed yet and you don’t have both AP Micro and Macro credit, sign up for whatever test(s) you’re missing, self-study, and hope for a 4 on both. A 4 or 5 on BOTH Micro AND Macro gets you out of Econ 51, and that is a very, very nice thing.</p>