<p>"Fast track" was the wrong word. Duke has as many (or maybe even more) "useless" majors than Chicago.</p>
<p>Maybe what I meant to say was a focus on law school/med school/business school? The general trend I seem to see from Chicago is that most students don't even know if they want to go on to professional school until their third or fourth year as an undergrad, and professional school is more of a secondary consideration, and it seems that with other schools professional school is more of a given.</p>
<p>I mean Duke is in Durham but I wouldn't exactly call it "urban". Oh and for the competitive thing? It depends on what you mean by competitive. It also depends on the major I think. I can only speak for engineering but I'd say that we are pretty competitive but not in that "I hope you do bad" sort of way or even in the "I hope I do better than everyone else" sort of way. (though I am sure that there are a few people like that hiding somewhere on campus) I'd say we are competitive in the "I must work on my lab now" sort of way.</p>
<p>Anyway, hope that didn't confuse more than inform.</p>
<p>haha.. no no, i get it..
but thats not the competitiveness i want =(.. like my school, a selected cadre of students w/ no life (no social life, no sports, all books!) and some w/ life go at each other. One gets a hundred on a test; or one breaks the curve; or one even "talks" to the teacher; they all looks at the student with ridicule. its pathetic.. but i love the enviornment.. because i have their psycology figured out and its funny to take advantage of them against themselves. I'd go as far as saying that I am working hard only becuase of the competition that I have to live with. </p>
<p>and no SirGecko.. i totally got your point lol.. but eh, I'm sure i can find those hiding bastards :P</p>
<p>What you're describing doesn't really sound like UChicago, or any school, really.... Chicago is very academic, but it's academic in a way that we enjoy, and people do have lives out of class.</p>
<p>I'm also not convinced that Chicagoans work or study more than students at any other top school... I just think that we come off as working harder/studying more because we're unashamedly geeky about it at times. I go here, and I don't think it's all that intense, unless you make it intense. You can make any school intense, though. However, the minimum standard here is miles above what it is at other schools (I'm not pointing out Duke here, because I don't know Duke that well, but rather Harvard, Yale, Cornell, and schools with known "gut" courses). You can't just "float" at Chicago... you're going to have to do some work before you graduate.</p>
<p>It's also not what I consider a "competitive" environment. People discuss ideas and books, not grades. I, for one, do not know my GPA, and neither do a lot of my friends-- that number just isn't particularly important to us. I know my best friend's SSN and passwords-- I don't know his GPA.</p>
<p>I think Chicago students in general do like that, "we work really hard" perception even if it isn't quite as true as one might believe. My friend who is currently a senior there (and like a fool applied only to Chicago, a lucky fool to be sure) is certainly an example of that. He likes the "I do work all the time" kind of life but I would hardly say he doesn't have a life. He just geeks out about things a little more than your average person. (something I myself am guilty of to the point where I am on the geekier end of the Duke spectrum)</p>
<p>Also Chicago has those weird trimester things. Crazy talk I say! (just kidding, they actually sound interesting though they mess up your vacation schedules with the rest of the country; my friend gets out later than anyone and doesn't go back to school till near the end of September! September!)</p>
<p>lol, thats what i want.. i want to learn in college.. and learn as much.. but i always thought competitvie schools are just like a cynically competigvie high schools on a larger scale lol.. but hey! i can work w/ that.. and i really like chicago on my visit.. i hope to see ur there next year unalove! ;-)<br>
i HOPE!</p>
<p>Yeh, it seems to me that by the time people get to University most don't have that crazy "must be better than everyone else hahahahahah!!!" drive anymore. That or at least they hide it better.</p>
<p>I would agree with unalove that "academically intense" and "cut-throat" do not mean the same thing. </p>
<p>Duke is definitely intense academically, depending on the classes one is taking. Think you're good at math and science? Did you own Calculus? Were you the one kid in your school to actually get above a 100 on AMC 12?</p>
<p>So did the other twenty-nine people in your class!!</p>
<p>However, one barely notices that there is competition among students. I do not know most of my friends' SAT scores and don't plan to ask them anytime soon. :p</p>
<p>Duke and Chicago are both excellent schools.. and if you are not sure whether you want to get a PHD or go on a pre-professional track and are a 'geeky Greek'.. definitely apply to both. I'm not sure how much a Greek would like Chicago but I know a geek would definitely like Duke, despite the fact that Duke is definitely one of the least 'geeky' top schools out there.</p>
<p>However, from what physicsphun1 is saying, I would say he or she should do more research on Duke and then decide where to apply. Right now, it sounds like the OP isn't too interested in Duke.. what exactly draws you to Duke anyway? If you are set on Chicago, I'd recommend Swarthmore, Reed, Grinnell, Carleton, Columbia, and Brown. (The latter two are toughies though of course, haha).</p>