<p>I am starting to get really excited about one of the focus programs, but I'm concerned about two things: </p>
<p>(1) How hard is it to get into focus clusters? </p>
<p>(2) What are the downsides to getting involved in a focus program?</p>
<p>I want to know more about focus too. If I apply for one now is it possible to back out of it later if I decide to? Also does anyone know anything about the Exploring the Mind focus? Thats really the only one that seems interesting to me.</p>
<p>I am a Focus alum (Evolution & Humankind) - in regards to your questions:
(1) depends on the cluster, the science/medicine ones tend to go quickly since there are a lot of incoming freshmen thinking about med school. you choose your top three choices and the acceptance rate is about 85% into one of them. If you're applying for more competitive clusters, make sure your essays are polished.
(2) taking multiple classes on a single topic, albeit from a multidisciplinary perspective, can become tiring at the end of the semester since the discussions can tend to get repetitive. Clusters with more a more general topic probably do not have this issue.</p>
<p>-yes, if you applied and were accepted, you can always back out come Fall. All I know about Exploring the Mind is that it is one of the more competitive clusters.</p>
<p>leejwwc - did you enjoy it? would you recommend it? What do you think has been the experience of other students?</p>
<p>I really enjoyed my experience with Focus. Unlike many introductory courses, which are taught in the large lecture format, all Focus courses are taught as seminars that limit class sizes to between 12 and 15. During class, professors rarely give lectures - rather they brief students on the assigned readings and then open up the floor to discussion and debate. Assignments usually come in the form of research papers rather than exams. I feel that this style of instruction, although demanding, really prepares students well for their subsequent studies at Duke, regardless of field.</p>
<p>My son loved FOCUS, although his topic is not offered right now. He will be a senior but he still socializes with the profs and the members of his FOCUS group and I think he would list FOCUS as a top five experience at Duke for him..not everyone feels that way. But in our opinion, FOCUS sort of turns Duke into say...Williams or Bowdoin or Davidson for one semester..and you have the thrill of WOW I am at a top Division One sports school with 6000 students and endless research ops and yet my classes are as intimate as any at a top LAC, and the teachers all know my name. Eventually there are some big classes at Duke, but it is pretty cool to start out in small seminar rooms with senior professors.<br>
Everyone at Duke is a top student really..so it is never fun to write essays for instance and have them critiqued...but he had a fantastic intellectual exciting class with a great team of teacheres. There were a couple premeds in his group. Here are the positives: you have to do your writing requirement anyway, yes? It is fun to write about a topic that is being studied in depth in three related courses. My son has senior professors..not that Duke doesn't give you top professors most of the time, but he had REALLY senior professors who were highly published in their fields and just wonderful to the students, inspiring. East Campus is already tight, friendly, and your dorm is already going to have "dorm spirit" with or without FOCUS, but it is still great to have your entire FOCUS group in your freshman dorm..but not as roommates..not too claustrophobic, but definitely a relationship builder for study groups. Your FOCUS group will likely eat some evening meals together when the classes combine for special lectures now and then and you will have field trips that are great. FOCUS can serve as a way to get an in depth look into three more departments. It is not unusual to have a couple members of a FOCUS class to eventually find their way to a major in a dept represented in FOCUS. Some of the FOCUS groups actually get freshmen involved early in research. When you are a first term freshman you still have the privilege of "learning for learning's sake" and just jumping into a new learning adventure without fretting about what looks good on your transcript for a job or grad school..you have TReqs to fulfill first term and your major or minor or double major is usually not selected. You just have the fun of places to explore and people to meet as a freshman. Even if you don't do FOCUS, you will love East Campus anyway..it is still cozy for all students, but FOCUS gives you one more little corner at Duke for long hours with great teachers before you have a more complicated life to run on West. I would suggest that you spend a lot of time on your essays as it is common to not get your first choice...and I further suggest you open up to more than one choice as a happy outcome. Our son's FOCUS groups still has a bond, and he still goes to some of the profs just out of real love for them and interest in what they are up to every year, and they are still tight.</p>
<p>Faline, great post but I didn't understand this part...</p>
<p>"I would suggest that you spend a lot of time on your essays as it is common to not get your first choice."</p>
<p>Are you saying a good essay improves you chances of getting you first choice?</p>
<p>yes b/c the essays are reviewed by the faculty that teach in each cluster and not some random admissions officers/coordinators. so the more passion/knowledge you convey, the more likely they are to accept you to study under their cluster.</p>
<p>Does the focus program make it difficult to have a flexible schedule? Also, I know that focus groups live together. Does being in a focus program limit the opportunity to live in your first choice dorm?</p>
<p>Does the focus program make it difficult to have a flexible schedule?
-Not at all. Only 2 of your 4 full credit courses first semester will be Focus courses. The other 2 are chosen by you. Focus classes satisfy general education requirements that you would otherwise need to do with elective courses.</p>
<p>Also, I know that focus groups live together. Does being in a focus program limit the opportunity to live in your first choice dorm?
-Duke does not have hall preferences - its randomly assigned based on personal preferences (e.g. single vs. double, AC vs no-AC, etc.) Unless you are in the substance-free hall (Brown) or the other special living groups (I believe there is one for the arts), your hall will be randomly assigned to you. Likewise, each hall hosts a particular Focus cluster which varies each year. In your sophomore year, you WILL get to choose the hall you want on West Campus though.</p>