<p>Oh, I have another quick question!
I’m going to be doing work-study to pay for my tuition, but have you seen any freshmen having trouble keeping up with the workload because of work-study responsibilities?</p>
<p>htrainer: The majority of freshmen dorms do not have AC. The only three that do are Randolph, Blackwell, and Belltower. Of the those, the last is the nicest whereas the other two tend to have small rooms. Otherwise, you’d need a medical reason to have a window AC in other dorms. </p>
<p>You are not allowed to bring your own AC (if everyone did then the electricity grid on campus might just fry in 0.002s) so bring plenty of fans (at least a deskfan, a tower fan, and a window box fan). It’s only very hot the first and last few weeks of school generally. Otherwise it’s bearable. </p>
<p>As for size, they tend to vary a lot depending on the building, however, I’ve found that besides randolph and blackwell, most dorm rooms are comfortably large (~200sq ft I think). </p>
<p>Finally, for work-study, it depends on the job you get and how much you work. But I don’t think many students work more than 10hrs a week really and you aren’t allowed to work more than 20hrs IIRC.</p>
<p>Thank you so much!
Is there anything that you were surprised about when you got to Duke, or anything you wish someone would’ve told you before you arrived?</p>
<p>I’d say how isolated one can get on campus if you don’t have access to a car. Durham has a lot more than just Duke and the places in the vicinity of campus. So either make friends with someone who has a car or bring one yourself (coincidentally, freshmen year is one of the best times to bring a car because parking is great on east campus, much better than on west).</p>
<p>tikiman,</p>
<p>I’m a Chinese American student at Duke, and I’d say your identification with the Asian American community at Duke is as strong as you make it. Personally, my closest friends in high school were Asian, but I don’t hang out with many Asians here at all. That’s not because I shunned them, but because that’s just how the circumstances played out. There are numerous organizations dedicated to cultural life (ASA and Diya [for the South Asians out there] are just a couple I can think of off the top of my head) and even Asian interest sororities and fraternities. I do notice that most of the Asian internationals stick together (that might be a language thing), and it is rather intimidating to see large cliques of Koreans all speaking Korean in the library. However, you’re certainly not going to automatically be associated with these groups if you don’t want to be.</p>
<p>tikiman53:</p>
<p>You definitely would not have to go out of your way to befriend Asians at Duke. When you arrive here, you will notice that a lot of minorities tend to clump together, especially since many minorities here are seeing large groups of their own race for the first time in their lives. As plumdum229 said, the internationals in particular tend to stick together.</p>
<p>However, you worry about being forced into an all-Asian group. Your circle of friends can be whatever you choose to make it. For me personally, my innermost ring of friends are all Asian, but I have a lot of non-Asian friends who I hang out with regularly. I know other Asians who have mostly Asian friends (this seems more common among Koreans), and other Asians who have almost no Asian friends. When you show up at Duke, let things play out and see what happens.</p>
<p>Personasdelsol:</p>
<p>FOCUS is a first-year first-semester program that allows freshmen to join a FOCUS cluster and take related courses in an area of study. Students in the same FOCUS program also live together in the same dorm (with a few exceptions). I encourage you to look up some information on their website, here. ([Duke</a> University | Trinity College of Arts & Sciences : Focus Program](<a href=“http://trinity.duke.edu/focus-program]Duke”>http://trinity.duke.edu/focus-program))</p>
<p>Here’s the brief overview. FOCUS is comprised of several clusters, which all focus on a specific field of study. The cluster I was in was called Modeling Economic and Social Systems, and included four courses: Statistics, Sociology, Game Theory, and Computational Polisci. Within each cluster, there are two halves; the courses I listed above are split by halves and I was in the GT/CPS half. In addition, there is a weekly dinner seminar that is supposed to integrate what students have learned in each of their courses.</p>
<p>There are some very apparent pros and cons to FOCUS.</p>
<p>Pros:
Easy schedule: You won’t have many courses to pick for your first semester if you do FOCUS, and your workload will be generally lighter. In addition, you will have less weekly class time, which can pay off when you get to sleep in later than your peers.</p>
<p>Living with classmates: This is the biggest benefit of FOCUS IMO, because it really fosters a sense of community within your dorm. People in my FOCUS hang out all the time and have grown very close. The dorm is constantly buzzing with activity and people visit each others’ rooms frequently. I’ve heard of some other clusters that did not turn out this way, but for us, it did. At the very least, taking courses with dormmates gives you something in common, from which you can perhaps build relationships.</p>
<p>Living with students with similar interests: Because FOCUS programs are geared towards a specific field, many of the students in your dorm will have similar academic interests. My dorm this year, Jarvis, is definitely an Econ dorm. As a result, many students take courses together and are easily able to study together.</p>
<p>Cons:
Postponed major courses: FOCUS takes up half of your first-semester schedule, meaning that you could start out behind everyone else in taking courses for your major and such. I know quite a few people who are taking courses typically completed first semester of freshmen year next semester, and a lot of them, plus myself, ultimately did not believe that FOCUS was worth it for that reason. In addition, taking courses like Chem 31 and Econ 51 second semester means that you will have fewer people to study with.</p>
<p>Joke classes: This may not be true for all FOCUS clusters, but at least for mine, the courses were a joke. They were interesting, but ultimately did very little to benefit me academically. In addition, they don’t get too much of the credit requirements outta the way.</p>
<p>Overall, I’d say FOCUS wasn’t worth it. It comes at a hefty academic opportunity cost and just didn’t do much for me. The only real benefit to FOCUS was the close community ties fostered in my dorm.</p>
<p>htrainer:</p>
<p>I think SBR covered mostly everything for your question, but I’ll touch on it too. Definitely bring some fans, as the first few weeks will be hot. After that, however, you should be fine. In my room, I had a window fan and a small fan next to my bed; my roommate also had a desk fan. I think our room was cooler than most though. . . Ironically enough, I actually never felt that my room was too hot until winter when the radiator was left on.</p>
<p>Rooms are a comfortable size, for the most part. My room in Jarvis is one of the smaller ones in my dorm, but I’ve still managed to get two desks (added one for a desktop for my job) and a TV up, plus space for a potential futon. Lofting your bed can help add space, too.</p>
<p>Randolph and Blackwell are known for small rooms. Jarvis and Aycock have above average rooms. GA and Southgate have very large rooms.</p>
<p>And yes, find access to a car. I wouldn’t say you’d be isolated without access, but it’s definitely nice to be able to call up a friend and hit Cookout at 3am on a whim.</p>
<p>Hope this helped!</p>
<p>~Jimmy</p>
<p>I should probably clarify my remark about feeling isolated. While most people probably won’t feel like a hermit, I, personally felt a bit isolated (not socially, but just a bit distant from the outside world) freshmen year due to my somewhat sedentary tendencies. I’m one of those people who usually don’t put much effort into something if it’s too difficult or too much trouble. Thus, not having a ready way to get out of the Duke bubble made me feel a bit cut off. However, I imagine that a car would be a nice thing to have for anyone regardless of their personality or tendencies.</p>
<p>I know you mentioned a bit about the social life, but what do you know about the Greek system? Do most people get involved, and if I don’t will I have things to do? I’m not hugely excited about drinking; is that the main form of entertainment on weekends?</p>
<p>Also, how is the food? I’m a vegan, so are there many options?</p>
<p>SBR:</p>
<p>Okay, that makes more sense. . . I had originally thought you meant isolated from the Duke community. When it comes to Duke vs. Durham, yes, having a car is very helpful. But there are also a handful of places within walking distance too. . . e.g. Brightleaf, ninth street.</p>
<p>curiosity33:</p>
<p>What exactly about the social scene did you want to know? I’m not planning on rushing, but I know a lot of people who are. Among them, about two-thirds are open to actually going Greek, and maybe one-fourth already intend to go Greek.</p>
<p>If you’re not into parties and such, don’t worry. There will be other things to do, and not everybody here parties (although a lot of people do). There are a lot of people who just hang out in the dorms and relax with friends, and there are also organized events that occur frequently. For instance, Devils After Dark hosts miscellaneous events on weekends that students can participate in.</p>
<p>You should also know that drinking is not forced upon you if you go to parties. I know a good handful of people who go out to parties but don’t drink. . . some of them just don’t drink anything at all, and others might choose an energy drink, like Red Bull, instead. I have some friends who go out with me and my buddies regularly and they don’t drink, but still have a good time.</p>
<p>Food is an interesting story. The Marketplace in the East Campus Union will serve good food on Blue Devil Days, but during the year, it’s nothing to be excited about. Of course it varies in quality, but in general it’s not very different from a stereotypical cafeteria. You do get a very good day on occasion, though.</p>
<p>There are two alternatives to Marketplace that are part of the freshmen meal plan. The first is the Freeman Center, which is the center for Jewish life. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be Jewish to eat dinner there, and their food is pretty good! The second option is Trinity Cafe, which now allows students to use their dinner swipes for the equivalent of $12 of items. This applies only on weekdays, though.</p>
<p>I can’t say I’ve paid too much attention to vegan eating options, but I know that they exist and are rather broad. That is, you will be able to find plenty of vegan options. A friend of mine is a vegan and she never struggles to find food to eat. There are meatless dishes in Marketplace, Freeman, and Trinity.</p>
<p>My answer wasn’t exactly very focused, so if you have any follow-up questions that are a bit more specific, please ask them! Hope this helped a bit!</p>
<p>~Jimmy</p>