is all this stuff true???

<p>i was looking up student views of duke on another site and this is what ppl said:</p>

<p>"-minorities are shunned. if you aren't 'main-stream' you will be an outider. there is essentially no racial integration, and at meals, for examples, you sit with your race. Its like we were back in the 1800s...
- the social life here is extremely over-hyped. At many parties you have to already know people to either get in or have a good time. It is extremely difficult to meet people here.
-the dorms are same and limit social interaction
-the classes are HUGE. many are weeding-out classes for certain majors. the stats (like student to prof ratio) are really skewwed because only some of the profs teach.
-Way too preppy. If you don't like hanging out with kids who drive BMW's and who dress like their at a country-club everyday, you won't have many friend (probably none though actually)"</p>

<p>"The social life here is over-rated. Everyone comes thinking they'll have a great time, but don't have one once they get here. One reason behind t his is because many people have boy/girl friends long distance, so even dating is really hard. In general, the social life here is lacking.
this is an okay school if you like to be part of a cut-throat compettive academic enviroment. Everyone is gunning for each other, and it gets to wear on you after a while. This isn't a user-friendly school, from my experience. "</p>

<p>... and i was considering duke to be my first choice! could i get some clarification please?!?</p>

<p>god i hope thats not true.. i just sent in my reply card telling them that i'll be attending there... i mean i really hope thats not true...</p>

<p>Wow, that guy seems really annoyed. I am just finishing up my first year here and had a totally different experience and I am definitely not a preppy guy. I'd love to expand on that and give my side but that would take a while and I have some finals to study for in the next few days. After I'm free I'll give my take (it's a lot nicer).</p>

<p>holy crap! if that's true i'm screwed. i don't consider myself 'main-stream' or preppy. and i just sent my reply stuff too :/. someone else please tell me it isn't true!</p>

<p>Don't worry! No, that is a very biased, depressing, and wharped outlook on Duke. You have to understand, a lot of people who post negative reviews do so because something very personal happened to them which distorts their whole perception of Duke. I am not main-stream or preppy, I'm not in a frat, I am not athletic, and I am having an amazing time here--I am so sad to be leaving. My friends are of every race and background. My dorm is extremely close and I have gotten to know tons of kids here. The first-year experience is very conducive to meeting people. And I have yet to encounter kids who are overtly competitive with each other. Basically, I question whether the kid who wrote that really went/goes to Duke or if he wrote that in a rage after failing a test or something.ion of Duke. I am not main-stream or preppy, I'm not in a frat, I am not athletic, and I am having a great time here. My friends are of every race and background. My dorm is extremely close and I have gotten to know tons of kids here. The first-year experience is very conducive to meeting people. And I have yet to encounter kids who are overtly competitive with each other.</p>

<p>You sure the person who wrote that isn't a disgruntled Maryland fan (or from some other school) trying to get a few shots at Duke? They tend to write slanted stuff about us all the time. I agree 100% with incollege88 by the way.</p>

<p>That post totally smells like troll bs. Lol, my first thought was like Duke25's: Maryland.</p>

<p>i guess college is what u make of it.. but i have heard that duke is a "career focussed" school... which is what infact my dorm host told me, and many people on campus repeated</p>

<p>okay.. i went to studentsreview.com and there are ALOT of disgruntled comments about Duke!!! i just wanted to make sure that i wasnt applying to some snotty, racist school</p>

<p><a href="http://www.studentsreview.com/gettingin.php3?ST=NC&SH=DU%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studentsreview.com/gettingin.php3?ST=NC&SH=DU&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>i won't disagree that every econ major (practically) is career focused - but despite being the largest major, it isn't the ONLY major. the majority of people i know still don't even know what they want to major in. and speaking of largest majors....yes the intro econ class is huge, but that doesn't mean every class is huge. the intro public policy class is 110, and the next biggest core classes are 35 each. </p>

<p>and speaking of being mainstream (more accurately, not) i'm a girl who is athletic, plays in trumpet the orchestra, is in navy rotc, and will likely be a public policy/ics double major, turkish minor....maybe some mainstream things, but kind of in a weird combination.</p>

<p>i can't stress enough how collaborative people are here. there are always people helping one another, in study rooms, the library, everywhere. now, i'm not speaking as a science major, and perhaps things are more insane in that part of trinity...but i have repeatedly found that it's more like you vs. the course, not you vs. your classmates.</p>

<p>and everyone comes expecting a good time and then they don't? what? am i missing something? talk about a gross exaggeration. you will get out of it what you put into it - and no matter WHERE you go, you have to make an effort to make friends and expand your peer group. colleges do not make friends for you, though they will provide different on campus groups to connect with other people with similar interests</p>

<p>i'm actually entertained by those comments....i mean....wow. of course the southern prep style is big here compared to, say, california (we californians ALWAYS have fun joking about it - 'seersucker? what the hell, is it a type of fish?' 'you paid how much for that polo? why? there's a little alligator on it?' 'sperry topsiders? yeah, i've seen them, but only on my dad.'), but, just like in life, there is no requirement to hang out with every single sort of person on campus. this is like high school, but more focused and more intellectually stimulating - and like the real world, there are all sorts of people here. you will find your niche.</p>

<p>and yes, the racial integration thing is a topic of discussion here....while i have friends of every race, religion, creed, i won't deny that there is still some self-segregation - but this is not always BAD thing. it's ok to associate with people you have things in common with - just like sometimes you see athletes sitting together, people from teh same sorority sitting together. that being said, it's more common to see a diverse bunch of people sitting together.</p>

<p>and if there are parties you can't "get into" i don't know where this person is looking. there are flyers advertising all sorts of parties everywhere - from frat parties to clubs being sponsored by cultural groups.</p>

<p>and honestly, the most awesome thing was this thursday....first night of reading period. a duke university improv show - with over 1000 people filling the auditorium. to see that many people show up to support 8 students on stage is always inspiring.</p>

<p>sorry for rambling, i've been writing in turkish for the last 36 hours. now it's back to work on my command of the english language. anyways, i just tried to quickly throw my thoughts onto the post, let me know if you have any specific questions.</p>

<p>I agree with lex. Also, if you look at the "How do I get in?" part on that site for any college there are extreme comments. Just look at Yale's, for example:<a href="http://www.studentsreview.com/gettingin.php3?ST=CT&SH=YU%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studentsreview.com/gettingin.php3?ST=CT&SH=YU&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Stop being worried and start getting excited about Duke. It is an amazing place. </p>

<p>If you want to make friends with kids from different backgrounds you can and will. If you want to stay with kids from your own background you can do that too, though I doubt you'll learn that much. </p>

<p>If you want to go around and make friends with a lot of kids in your dorm you can and will--you'll find it's incredibly easy if you're a friendly person. If you want to sit in your room all day like a dweeb (prejudging people without getting to know them or what they're about) and be anti-social you can do that too, though I doubt you'll be happy. </p>

<p>If you want to go out and have a good time there is almost always something to do on Tuesdays/Thursdays/weekends, which can or CANNOT involve alcohol, etc. If you want to avoid social situations like the plague that's okay too--though again, don't know if that's the best choice. </p>

<p>If you want to take a ton of seminars and small classes and visit your professors during office hours and soforth, you're welcome (and encouraged) to do that, especially through programs like FOCUS. If you want to sign up for all weed-out huge lecture classes and avoid seminars or smaller classes (which make up over 90% of the classes at Duke), you can try that, though I doubt you'll be intellectually satisfied.</p>

<p>And if you want to befriend all the ultra-rich Manahattan prep school legacies and be a tri-delt and surround yourself with extremely wealthy kids, by all means do it, if you think that is your personality. But if you want to interact with the 95% of kids here who don't fit that description, then you might find yourself a little more at home. </p>

<p>You see where I'm going here? If you come to Duke and don't make and effort or try to be someone you're not then you won't end up having a good time. But if you start familiarizing yourself with the amazing numbers of resources here (instead of reading crap like that kid wrote on studentsreview) and begin making an effort to get to know people with whom you'd get along, you'll find you will enjoy life here immensely, and never want to leave--which is what I'm feeling right now.</p>

<p>thanx alot.. after reading those comments on studentsreview.com i got soo scared that my PERFECT school wasn't that perfect anymore! i know alot of ppl who've saud they had great times at Duke.. but then again most of them were really "mainstream" ( not that thats bad or anything!) n i'm sooo far from mainstream that its not even funny</p>

<p>maybe studentsreview.com attracts students who hate their school?!?</p>

<p>i seriously think i can picture myself as a Dukie someday, u guys.. now i just hope i can get in!!!!</p>

<p>btw: lex.. i'm a californian too! i lived in nc when i was a baby, but then we moved out west! whats it like compared to cali?</p>

<p>lol
I'm not white, and I don't have any non-white friends, what will I do?</p>

<p>(just kidding)</p>