<p>Although Duke is in the south, some say it isn't really a "southern" school. What is it like in that sense?</p>
<p>I won't be a student until next year, but from spending time there I would say it is a sort of mix of north and south. A large percentage of students are from the north, so that gives the somewhat "northern" feel, if you could call it that. However, because it is in the South, it still seems to retain the slower, easier-going pace of life. It seems much less cut-throat than other schools, the people seem much more open and welcoming. I was born and raised in the south, and it doesn't seem that much different from anywhere else down here.</p>
<p>Duke has a northern feel not only because many students come from the north but also because much of the faculty and major administrators come from the north and came from the north in the past (or at least went to college there). When people picture southern schools where I come from, everyone has an accent and is more laid back. You won't really find that here. There is a large portion of southerners, but I think that it is like northern schools in its great diversity from around the country and the world. I wouldn't say that it has a slower, more easy-going pace of life at all. People are very driven and motivated and stop at nothing to get what they want. It has a very pre-professional environment in some aspects, like the Ivies for example. I seriously do not feel like I'm in the south at all when I'm here. When you step off the campus, it's another story.</p>
<p>OK mensa160, now spin what those two said into a negative impression of the school like we all know you're going to.</p>
<p>Duke is the perfect balance of "southern" and "northern." It is southern in that everyone is by and large extremely friendly, regardless of where they're from (Tennessee, Texas, Toronto, or Tanzania). Believe me, this contrasts starkly with some northern Ivies like Harvard, where, some of my friends say, people don't know how to respond when you say hello (I'm kind of joking, kind of not...). The professors here are unbelievably warm and responsive for a research university. I have had lunch with professors, gone to their houses for dinner, and have had great one-on-one conversations with them. From talking to friends at other schools, this seems like it is very rare. It is interesting because despite the fact that most people here are not from the South (professors and students), I think Duke's location and reputation attract northerners, and people from all over the country and world for that matter who are naturally warm and friendly people.</p>
<p>That said, Duke is "northern" in its student body composition and diversity--second most represented state is New York, third is Florida. My class is 8% international, 11% African American, 18% Asian, 7% Latino--more minorities than practically all of the Ivies. Despite what some erroneous review books say, I have found that races and classes interact a whole lot here. (Sometimes I feel like there is so little wrong with this place review books have to make things up.) I have friends of so many different ethnicities, races, socioeconomic backgrounds, sexual preferences...and everyone gets along great. I can tell you that coming from a private school in Massachusetts, Duke is a whole lot more integrated in comparison. </p>
<p>Thus Duke combines the best of both worlds. Though people here get dressed up to go out, they wear sweats to class and are very chill in general. I hesitate to apply any stereotype to Duke students because there are so many types of people here--in fact the only thing they all have in common is that they're really interesting and awesome and fun when you get to know them.</p>
<p>Duke now has Dick Brodhead as pres. You don't get any better than that.
Yalies are still mourning their loss. :(</p>