<p>Well, recently I went to a Duke college information session. At first, they introduced the college as being competitive for admissions, difficult to get into, etc. Then, however, they broke off and let the students talk. No joke, when asked about greek life the students said it was not domminant, the food was "suckish" but improving, and first year dorms were, once again "suckish" as there was no air conditioning... but apparently at least the ourside of the dorms were nice. They then went on to tell us that the town was not a very good college town... but that Chapel Hill was a great college town and that Duke did a great joint degree deal with UNC. </p>
<p>Now, like I said, the three key speakers did not say any of this (as I expected, all their bullet points were how great the university was), but the students when we broke off are the ones who seemed more truthful and said this.</p>
<p>So, anyways, to put it in a nutshell I was really looking at applying to Duke as it stuck me as a great school... until going to this meeting. Can any students tell me some pros about the things the students mentioned as being "suckish"?</p>
<p>At least Duke students are honest? If they were upfront about what sucks, there shouldn’t be any surprises for you if you do come. Also, I doubt you can find a college where everything is perfect. Every university has its flaws. Anyway, the food isn’t that great, but it’s far from from sucking. The majority of people that visit tell me the food is better than their respective college. At least we still have hot breakfast unlike Harvard. </p>
<p>The air conditioning issue only matters for the first month of school anyway. There are some freshman dorms with air conditioning, too.</p>
<p>As far as Durham goes, it’s probably not the best college town in the sense that it’s not a great place to party or a particularly easy place to get around. It definitely can be a bit dangerous, too. However, there are people that prefer to live in a more “real” city where life doesn’t revolve around the university. Also, if you’re into community service, it’s overflowing with needs. And yes, if you must, you can take a free shuttle bus to UNC-Chapel Hill.</p>
<p>Durham sucks ass, but Chapel Hill is only 10 minutes away. Besides, you probably won’t have a whole lot of free time to be running around Durham anyway. Depending on your chosen coursework, you could be spending most of your time in Lilly Library.</p>
<p>If you really want to venture out, I’d argue that there’s enough places off of East that you could check out. 9th street is close and so is the bar scene on Main…and there’s always Shooters, lol.</p>
<p>Greek life dominates at Duke. The hottest girls tend to hook up with guys in the top frats. I don’t think your living group will have a tremendous effect on your ability to make friends with a wide array of people though. Many of your close friends will probably be established during your freshman year anyway.</p>
<p>The food was good. If you don’t like it, order pizza every night w/ your Duke card.</p>
<p>The 3 newest freshman dorms have air conditioning, but the rooms are tiny. The dorms on East’s main quad lack AC but have much larger rooms.</p>
<p>If you care for sports, choose Duke over the mid-lower Ivies. You’ll get to see some great basketball and some of the top football programs in the country (Miami, VTech, FSU).</p>
<p>Truthfully, how many students that have spent months eating institutional food will tell you that it doesn’t suck? I heard the complaints from my son and then visited (not a parents weekend) and thought the food was really quite good. Same issues with dorms. There are a few schools with palatial dorms and even maid service. Duke isn’t one of them. But ask any 2nd semester Duke freshman, and he or she will tell you that his or her dorm is the best on east campus. There is a community there that can’t be beat. </p>
<p>So, go ahead and apply. If you have a chance, visit after you are accepted and see for yourself.</p>
<p>1) I absolutely love the food here… there is actually a pretty good variety and the catering services like to shift things around a lot.<br>
2) After visiting my friend’s schools (peer schools, at that - eg Penn, Columbia), I’ve noticed that
a) my room is bigger
b) the dorms are more spacious
c) the outside and inside tend to be nicer</p>
<p>I guess if you look at newer schools, the dorms may be a lot nicer? But considering Duke, Penn, and Columbia… the schools are just OLDER, which may account for why the dorms may not be palaces.
</p>
<p>I couldn’t agree more.</p>
<p>Also, I agree on mafool’s last point: apply and see what happens. Duke has a lot of positives that make it great. Coming here is probably the best decision I’ve ever made. :)</p>
<p>Firstly, let me say thank you guys for the alternative opinions. I will say that I am feeling a bit more comfort about applying. I just was debating about applying when the fee is around $60. I might ask one more question, however: </p>
<p>Is the campus in general more of a… (trying to think of the word) … calm feeling? By that, I mean is it alot of gardens, park type areas, etc. – or does it have a more energetic feeling, like parties, etc.</p>
<p>The campus is surrounded on 3 (is that right, students?) sides by a forest! The Sarah Duke Gardens are world famous and a wonderful retreat. [url=<a href=“http://www.hr.duke.edu/dukegardens/interactive_map.htm]The”>http://www.hr.duke.edu/dukegardens/interactive_map.htm]The</a> Sarah P. Duke Gardens<a href=“go%20into%20the%20spaces%20for%20the%20individual%20gardens%20and%20click%20on%20some%20of%20the%20red%20dots%20for%20a%20sense%20of%20the%20feel%20and%20the%20scale%20of%20the%20place”>/url</a>
There is a lot of green space in and between the quads, but watering restrictions mean that it doesn’t stay as green into the summer as it used to. Basically, the campus is grass, walkways and stone buildings, with some plazas thrown in.</p>
<p>No lack of energy, though. If you want to find a party, you will have no trouble.</p>
<p>I am not at Duke anymore, but I have to say the dorms were horrible. In one of the years, it was 95+ for most of the first two months, and there’s no AC in most east dorms and some of the dorms on West. The singles are tiny (not even a closet in some of them), and the doubles are a ridculous size for two people. I would never live in a double and was able to avoid that through bidding for singles in different areas. </p>
<p>If you don’t mind a tiny room that’s 85-90 degrees all the time, maybe the dorms won’t problem for you. The other thing is that even when it was colder outside, they would start blasting the heat and the rooms were still just as hot. Personally the dorm situation didn’t work for me at all, and the 3 year on campus housing requirement didn’t help. It was much better to have an off-campus apartment in my last year. </p>
<p>As for the campus life, it’s very Greek dominated and more of a party scene. If that’s what you’re into, than maybe it’s the school for you. Being a big sports fan (which I’m not) would also make Duke more enjoyable. The area is also not great and not the safest either. </p>
<p>The education at Duke is very good and I liked almost all of my professors. When it came time to getting recommendations, they were very helpful and that part of the Duke experience was good. Personally I don’t think it was the right decision for me because of the other reasons, but it depends on what your preferences are. It’s good that you are researching and trying to figure out what you would be getting yourself into, because I didn’t really do enough of that before deciding on Duke.</p>
<p>law_app, It is unfortunate that your experience was not better.</p>
<p>I want to add that our son and many of his closest friends have chosen not to go Greek. They are in their senior years now and have not lacked for social interactions or opportunities!</p>
<p>Well, firstly I am not into the whole greek thing that much, but i have not looked into it enough to say one way or the other (which is why I would not mind a good greek life, in case I realized it was for me). </p>
<p>law applicant, what do you mean by not safe? Like the town is not that safe or the campus itself is not that safe?</p>
<p>Of course, common sense is important on any campus.</p>
<p>Durham is the name of both a city and a county. When people discuss “Durham” it is not always clear whether the discussion is limited to the city. There are definitely areas of the city that a wise person would avoid at night. Other areas are extremely safe. This is likely true for most Universities in urban environments.</p>
<p>Honestly, it was like that for two weeks this year. Today, the high was 55 degrees. It is definitely not crazy hot all the time, sorry. Maybe back then…</p>
<p>The party scene does not turn on until night, and only really during Thurs-Sat nights at that. So yes, during the day, it’s “calm”…in an active sort of way. (Looking outside, you’ll see groups of people standing and talking, some studying outside, a few playing pick-up soccer/frisbee, and many walking to wherever they need to go). Tranquil, but never lethargic (except for weekend mornings).</p>