Negatives of Duke University?

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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

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Hahahaha, I must admit that this is pretty true. The sheer number of premeds encouraged my decision to switch my major from Biology to Earth Science (6 majors per year instead of 150-200), although I plan on taking lots of Biology classes.</p>

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study abroad is not paid for by school

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That's not true at all. Who told you that? Financial aid follows you on study abroad. The proportion of grants, loans, and parental contribution stays the same. In many cases, study abroad can actually be cheaper!</p>

<p>keep in mind my comparison for "paying for study abroad" is to schreyer honors at penn state, which covers all expenses, as many times as you want to study abroad. and the financial aid for abroad does cover it, unless they don't give you much in terms of aid. then you get screwed over.</p>

<p>About the intellectual discussion thing -- I've only ever attended Duke, so I can't compare it to anywhere else. But I've had plenty of intellectual discussions outside the classroom, whether they were conversations that started in the context of a class and continued after or if they just came up amongst friends. I still remember my 3rd night of college, when I went to Rick's Diner with some friends and we actually discussed philosophy, physics, and string theory over milkshakes. Also, this may not be "intellectual" per se but 3 of my friends and I had a conversation the other night after our Passover Seder about religion, the idea of Judaism as an ethnicity vs. a religion, etc. We wound up talking for 3 hours about religion and its significance. It does happen a lot - I could cite many more examples, but there's no point. Anyway, it was also something I didn't REALLY see on my Blue Devil Day, but I want to let you know that once you're a student here, you see that it definitely does happen all the time.</p>

<p>Negative #1: Busing</p>

<p>Negative #2: Marketplace Food</p>

<p>Negative #3: Detachment from current events or "Duke Bubble"</p>

<p>Can you explain why the busing is so bad. Not efficient? Too crowded? Are there buses that head over to Chapel Hill or Raleigh, or is it just Durham?</p>

<p>Transportation seems to always come up when discussing the negatives of Duke, i want to know why.</p>

<p>I think the buses are fine. During the week, service between east and west campus is continuous, and sometimes the buses can get crowded, but it's tolerable. The only problem for some people might be during late nights and weekends when there is less (and indirect) service, but they are planning to modify it for next year. </p>

<p>Buses only go to different parts of campus and to UNC.</p>

<p>There are DATA buses that go into Durham, too.</p>

<p>That's ok because Duke allows cars, right?</p>

<p>Duke does allow cars.</p>

<p>Don't forget, the Marketplace food plan is changing, too.</p>

<p>i just got back from blue devil days, and I am definnnnitely going to duke. read my post on "gtown sfs vs. duke" or something like that for my full account.</p>

<p>to everyone who told me that self-segregation wasn't an issue, you were right! I talked to a lot of minority students and they said that it happens, esp. during frosh first semester, but it goes away, especially because not that many people WANT self-segregation.</p>

<p>and to "stuckinlimbo," I too thought that it was slightly religious when I saw the "he is risen" stuff on The Bridge; however, students explained to me that the Bridge is where everyone paints all these events and the fact that whoever wrote that covered all the other events was a serious faux pas. It was also easter when we went.</p>

<p>someone asked a student at the minority students panel if there was a religious vibe on campus, and he said "No, not at all. Except for the really huge CHAPEL in the middle of campus, you mean?"</p>

<p>Mmm, yeah. About the bridge thing. Honestly, there was a message on there that I REALLY DID NOT LIKE, and I was just glad to see it painted over with anything. The "He is Risen" thing is just because it's Easter -- and you know what, as a Jew, I'm cool with that. I think it's awesome that people are free to express their religious beliefs -- whatever they are. I mean, if some of my friends and I wanted to go out there and paint "Happy Pesach," we totally could and it would be perfectly acceptable. I even kind of liked the entirely white effect.</p>

<p>As I've said before, I can speak for the Jewish population here moreso than any other religion -- and it is HUGE. Seriously huge. So that's pretty cool. I mean, the school can't be too religiously intolerant if they're offering kosher for passover meals (not just at the FCJL...at events around campus when they offer dinner, this week they've also been offering "kosher for passover" options -- which I TOTALLY appreciate!) and serving matzah in the Marketplace. I also happen to adore the Chapel.</p>

<p>I didn't mean so much that the school is intolerant of other religions so much as intolerant of the unreligious, those not practicing any religion.</p>

<p>Definitely not a problem, as will be true at any major national university.</p>

<p>They are so religiously intolerant at Duke that when they found out I was an agnostic they burned a question mark on my front lawn.</p>

<p>mensa160 also must wear a UNC-blue A on his chest that stands for Agnostic.</p>

<p>Anyways, by far the worst thing about Duke is the food. This is somewhat mitigated by the fact that you can use food points to order things (though that's usually more expensive) and the fact that ARAMARK is finally leaving (YESSSSSSSSSSSSS)</p>

<p>Don't fret-- the plans that DUSDAC has been creating for new food options on campus sound absolutely great... and a lot of it call for really improving the freshman dining situation. </p>

<p>Busing isn't that much of a pain in the ass. The average student is not going to need to go back and forth a million times a day. There is enough time between each class block to get from East to West, and if you suspect you might be a minute or two late (that's really all it'll be if you happen to miss every bus or something) on a regular basis, give your professor a heads up. The buses are also only crowded immediately before or after each 'class block ends or begins. Therefore, if it fits in your schedule and you don't want to stand on a crowded bus, linger around the campus. There are plenty of things to do on East or on West, even if its chatting with a professor or grabbing a bite to eat.</p>