<p>DS's shoulders relaxed and his real smile appeared during Blue Devil Days at Duke. Can't say why it happened, but I watched it happen.</p>
<p>Duke was S1's top choice throughout HS--by the time he was a senior we simply couldn't picture him anywhere else, so getting in was a dream come true!! (And working hard to realize that dream means that he values the opportunity to go there--that convinced us that we would work to finance it!)</p>
<p>When we visited for the first time on Presidents' Weekend of his junior year in HS it snowed 5 inches! The gothic campus was gorgeous--and he was thrilled to see the tents in K-Ville. It was like the pilgrimage to Mecca!! He has been a happy camper (in K-ville, or any other context) ever since, and we are so thrilled that he has taken advantage of what he has been offered at Duke.</p>
<p>Good luck with the decision! Our younger son, S2, is currently a senior in HS and, ironically, has made his decision to go to that "other" school 8 miles down Tobacco Road! Yep--he is going to be in Chapel Hill for journalism (which they don't have at Duke)! S1 has been great about it, but we will be sporting the "House Divided" sticker on the car in the fall! They are very close, and I think they are excited to be near one another next year!</p>
<p>(And working hard to realize that dream means that he values the opportunity to go there--that convinced us that we would work to finance it!)</p>
<p>I get it! Thanks. My D has worked hard, but just "because"..her school is not into "elite" stuff. They aspire to the likes of Liberty and Biola...</p>
<p>Shrinkrap~I totally understand about the "elite" stuff not being appreciated at your D's school. We happen to live in an area on the east coast where the kids are under a lot of pressure about the "elite" stuff. But we have plenty of friends from around the country who are in situations like yours. </p>
<p>I know you and your D will make the right decision--all three of ours have been very happy with their choices--she will be too!!</p>
<p>Same here, shrinkwrap. We have an excellent and much sought after state flagship, and that was, with very few exceptions, the dream school and highest reach at DS's high school. Nothing at all wrong with that, either. For our son, it came down to choosing between that same State Flagship and Duke. He would have done well and been fine at SFU; Duke suited him better. We are very fortunate that it worked out that he could attend Duke. (Though having that SFU 2-1/2 hours down the road did have its appeal to this Mom.)</p>
<p>Thanks again! Just to further clarify ( in case you don't know), Biola and Liberty are very conservative Christian schools, not unlike the school she's attended for the last 14 years. We did not understand this when we enrolled her in preschool, but she has done really well, and wanted to stay. She is also one of very few Black kids, and one of maybe the top 5 students, academically and leadership wise. Needless to say, Duke will be a big change, and where she has connected (besides BSA) is with a few Christian groups on campus. I'll look them up if anybody has insights.</p>
<p>Where we live, there are 2 small, conservative Christian colleges: one in our town and the other within 30 miles. Of students at our HS who do not attend one of our state schools, I would estimate that more than 80% choose one of these two colleges.</p>
<p>FWIW, and I am not advocating Duke for your D, one of the best things about going to Duke for our son is the religious and ethnic diversity he encountered. He was accustomed to much evangelizing, proselytizing and judging in our home town. Not much inquiry and analysis. At Duke, he encountered people who were genuinely curious and interested about others' belief systems and experiences. I heard about many late-night discussions in the freshman dorm about these things. He has friends who practice religions I had never heard of before. (Do you have any idea how many religions there are in India? I didn't.)</p>
<p>As I said, this is just FWIW!</p>
<p>THAT was worth A LOT! Just what I needed to hear!</p>
<p>feel free to PM if I can help further</p>
<p>D's sir submitted! Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>Congrats!!</p>
<p>Welcome to the Duke Family! As you can tell we are a spirited group with an unbridled affection for the school (despite in my case being a UMCP gaduate). As I told another future Dukie, my sons are FACs this year ( help frosh move in, guide them through orientation, etc). If your daughter has any questions or would simply like to know two people before she arrives, send me a PM and we can put them in touch with each other.</p>
<p>Irish - I hadn't realized quite how much "House Divided" gear there was out there. license</a> plates, [url=<a href="http://store.sportsnchips.com/unc-duke-mat.html%5Drugs%5B/url">http://store.sportsnchips.com/unc-duke-mat.html]rugs[/url</a>], [url=<a href="http://www.amazon.com/University-North-Carolina-Duke-Divided/dp/B000ZPD4YY%5Dflags%5B/url">http://www.amazon.com/University-North-Carolina-Duke-Divided/dp/B000ZPD4YY]flags[/url</a>]... I feel like buying some of those license plate covers for the Robertson buses :)</p>
<p>Dr. G~we have seen the flags, but hadn't seen some of the other items. S2 is insisting that we get a flag (and we'll have to get a BC flag to sew onto it to represent our other family ACC school) DH swears that future family reunions will have to be at the ACC tournament!</p>
<p>I did tell S2 that it will be a while before I can bring myself to cheer for the Tar Heels in basketball--we've been cheering for Duke and BC for a long time--as he has. We have many pictures of him in his siblings' school colors, so it may be harder for him to be a rabid Tar Heel!</p>
<p>Hi, I'm the parent of a 2010er and a 2012er. I also live in the area, so like others here would be glad to answer any questions. Haha, I very nearly needed some of that house divided gear also when it looked like my 12er was gonna be going to school down the road after having been accepted there first in Jan. I'm just glad the envelope was big for Duke in March! </p>
<p>We may live in the area, in fact, just minutes away, but Duke is really a world unto itself, and it has already yielded a lifetime of opportunity for my 10er!</p>
<p>TenorTwelve as a Durham resident, what do you make of all the Durham bashing? My sister lives there, My BIL's family goes why back there, and we've been visiting for years. Its not a destination but how many "college towns" are?</p>
<p>As a Duke grad (T'76), may I offer Duke Tower (Duke</a> Tower Hotel and Condominiums - Duke Hotel Durham NC North Carolina), our condo/hotel, to all Duke parents who are coming to visit their sons or daughters? We are three blocks from East Campus and offer a free, 24-hour shuttle to anywhere on East/West Campus, as well as the Medical Center. We are a full condominium, not a hotel room. We cater to the Duke community and have many parents stay with us throughout the year. Our rates are very reasonable, starting at $80/night. We serve breakfast in the Historic Duke Tower Cafe ($10) and have free coffee and tea available after breakfast. We have an outdoor pool, beautiful gardens and bicycle rentals for exploring the campus and Durham by pedal power. Since graduating from Duke, I have mostly lived in Durham (other than three years in Japan) and can tell parents about cool places to go, restaurants and anything else they are interested in about the Bull City, and whatever might be relevant from my Duke experience of 30+ years ago. (Probably not much!) We have been the housing choice for the American Dance Festival, Broadway tour groups and will be the host accommodations for Duke's Full-Frame Documentary Film Festival in 2009. We warmly welcome all Duke parents and related guests and simply say, "Go Blue Devils!"</p>