<p>I just got back from Durham (on Saturday around 3 in the morning) after overnighting at Duke on Thursday night in a dorm and touring on Friday. I feel like a got a complete view of the school, because I talked to so many students, went to so many buildings, talked to professors, and even an advisor for students in Pratt. I participated in most of the Blue Devil Day activities and even went to downtown Durham for dinner. So while talking to a graduate student in the main student center (Bryan? Bryant?), I wrote a pro/con list about Duke, as follows.</p>
<p>Pros:
- school spirit is huge on campus
- all of the people i met were very friendly
- the weather was fantastic, hot and humid during summer, moderate winter
- beautiful campus, nice buildings
- music program is flexible and the orch. is decent
- a decent trumpet teacher from what i was told
- a very diverse campus, not just white elite ppl
- the LGBT center was nice, and supposedly the school is not as intolerant and homophobic as perceived
- the civil engineering program (and mechanical) were very small, around 40 students total
- lots of research opps. for non bme / premed ppl
- there was an architectural acoustics expert on staff
- the public policy program has a good rep
- balanced political environment b/w liberal and conservative
- heavy workload, there is some academic rigor
- sports are huge on campus
- prestige factor, ppl will recognize duke immediately
- the school newspaper was decent
- the preprofessional advising is fantastic</p>
<p>Cons:
- not as "intellectual" as other schools, academic discussions out of class are not that common
- a non-air conditioned dorm is likely freshman year, so many ppl fake allergies to get window ac units
- living on east campus involves the bus to the other side of campus
- the campus was physically divided by roads
- the food plan was bad this year (but is changing next year for the better)
- Durham and surroundings are shady, very reminiscent of shady parts of baltimore, but baltimore is technically far worse
- LOTS of BME and premed ppl, kind of gross really to have that many bio ppl and activities on campus, it was a little suffocating
- it was a little self-segregating, and there was some white elitism
- there was A VERY ACTIVE drinking scene on campus (i.e. tailgate, and frat parties, and clubs in area)
- lack of things to do besides drink and study, and occasional student group events, otherwise a commute to chapel hill or raleigh is necessary
- very fratlike (maybe a misconception about greek life on campus)
- lingering ties to religion were there, but it wasn't that bad, simply noticeable
- the heavy workload can apparently cause ppl to crack
- study abroad is not paid for by school</p>
<p>On the whole, Duke was a very nice university. I could see myself learning there and doing quite well. There were many students who did not partake in the heavy drinking lifestyle and stayed in the dorms to work. The Fitzpatrick (FCIEMAS) building was gorgeous, but alas as a CivE major most of my classes would be in Hudson; Hudson was nice though. There is a huge emphasis on bio and med and bme, but the admin wants more ppl to do other eng. branches so it is more diverse. A lot of my original views of Duke were negated, but some still linger. I am from Maryland after all, where ppl chant F*^k Duke at bball games.</p>
<p>Edit: And there was no "30-ft. wall." But there was a small stone wall around East Campus, which is more symbolic of the Duke student body's isolation from Durham's general public than literal. And the students are supposedly very open to helping each other on hw and do not sabotage like at other places. It was very laid back - I guess it was the Southern lifestyle without the stereotypical negatives of the South, but maybe they just were not out in the open. The Duke bubble seems to sweep things under the rug, and that's why the lacrosse thing is big because ppl are now confronting larger issues like race and class and women's rights and elitism that were previously ignored.</p>