<p>I really like Duke on paper, but I'm not in love with it, and before I make a decision, I want to be in love with it. The other school I am looking (and leaning towards) is TCU (Texas Christian University). I "want" to love it, but I just have a weird gut feeling. </p>
<p>I visited Duke, and it didn't "feel" bad but it didn't feel "right" either. But I visited a MONDAY MORNING during MIDTERMS week, so I know I didn't get a complete portrayal of life as a Blue Devil. </p>
<p>So, current students, parents, alumni, etc. </p>
<p>A) We don’t need to sell Duke. Duke sells itself. Duke isn’t exactly begging for applicants. You could start by browsing the gajillion threads in this forum.</p>
<p>B) If the other school you’re considering is TCU . . . I don’t really know what to say to you anyway. I’m from Texas, and there are at least 3, probably 4 or 5 schools in the state that outmatch TCU in just about every way (academically and/or socially). If it’s a matter of “fit,” then I could possibly understand, but the kids I personally know at TCU aren’t exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. That’s all I’m saying.</p>
<p>Well I’m not going to try to sell you Duke. What I will advise is to go with your gut feel, and if you need any validation, reread hookem’s A) paragraph: We don’t need to sell Duke. Duke sells itself. Duke isn’t exactly begging for applicants.</p>
<p>We also wanted to like Duke. On paper it looks great. Upon visiting, the “Duke doesn’t need you, you need Duke” theme was repeated over and over again. Harvard, Princeton and Dartmouth, while more prestigious institutions by anyone’s measure, were much more welcoming. I felt that Duke has the academic equivalent of the “little man’s complex”; they want so desperately to be counted among the big boys that they exude an arrogance and contempt rooted in insecurity.</p>
<p>A) I don’t represent Duke Admissions or the Duke administration in any way. I represent me. And I PERSONALLY am telling you: Duke’s class of 2014 will be ok without you. That’s just a fact. The Class of 2013 would’ve been perfectly fine without me, I’m sure.</p>
<p>B) If I really wanted to sell Duke to you, I easily could. Mostly, I’m too lazy and tired at the moment, but you really can find any info you need on the rest of this forum already.</p>
<p>C) Dartmouth is NOT more prestigious than Duke “by anyone’s measure.” That might rank as one of the most bizarre, ridiculous posts I’ve seen on CC in a long, loonnnnng time. You could’ve said Yale, Stanford, or MIT, but you chose a school that is actually ranked lower than Duke and HAS been ranked lower (significantly lower, at times) for as long as I can remember. You might as well have picked Northwestern or WashU BAHAHAHA</p>
<p>Came into the thread because I too like Duke on paper but keep getting an odd feeling about it, so was looking for some quick sells beyond my basic knowledge.
“BAHAHAHA”? Really?
…okay.</p>
<p>. . . . . . . . . .
. . .
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No comment.
I’m much too tired and cranky to be able to take something like that seriously. May return in the morning.</p>
<p>hookem, as a fellow duke student, i suggest toning down the arrogance… It really doesn’t rep duke well. Whether you like it or not, as a duke student, you rep duke</p>
<p>Yeah, well, this is the mood I’m in with 2 term papers and 2 finals in a couple days haha.
I’m a pretty arrogant person, much more arrogant than the average Dukie.</p>
<p>but still…TCU? Even from a fit standpoint, the schools aren’t even remotely similar in student body, social life, demographics, location, etc. etc. ad nauseam.</p>
<p>But sure, if you want an example that sums up why I, PERSONALLY, love Duke (this certainly wouldn’t be true for all students), here you go:</p>
<p>I have witnessed drunken arguments on tons of occasions regarding everything from current events to history to philosophy. Literally, I’ve seen guys drunk out of their minds debating whether Chirac or Sarkozy were better French leaders. Once, I heard someone mention Žižek (who visited us a couple weeks ago, btw) on a Saturday night at a frat party. By the same token, I have multiple friends who claim to have one peculiar symptom of drunkenness: they all start to speak in their second language. You’ll be on the bus back from West, and your American friends will start shouting in French…or German…or Spanish…or Russian. Beautiful.</p>
<p>Duke is a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but that ^ makes ME happy.</p>
<p>I’m definitely not finishing my apps till December 31. 11:59 pm, lol. But I’m applying to way too many reaches already, and Duke doesn’t give much international aid, and…argh. I shan’t think about it!</p>
I’m actually very saddened that this was your experience when you visited Duke because mine was starkly different and it was probably the reason I chose the school over some other places I was admitted to.</p>
<p>A lot of friends I have at Duke who turned down Harvard or Princeton all mentioned that they did so because they felt that they would just be another “name” at one of those schools while at Duke, they felt that they could forge their own identity and shine. I remember how welcoming the admissions staff was and how gregarious the entire student body was.</p>
<p>I remember when our family was driving through Duke’s campus and got lost trying to find the Bryan Center. We stopped to ask a lady on the admissions staff for directions and she personally walked us all the way to the Bryan Center after we parked our car and answered about 20 questions along the way. It’s little things like that which pretty much sealed my decision to attend.</p>
<p>I just want to say that Duke is not going to fit everyone. I’m not saying that to be elitist or arrogant, but it’s just a fact. Some people may not like the locale; some may not like the greek scene; some may not like the campus; some may not like the culture, etc. That’s perfectly fine. College search is all about finding your home for the next 4 years. There’s no reason that the place has to be at Duke. </p>
<p>For me, when I visited, I loved the campus; I loved the weather; the students were friendly; the BME program was awesome; I loved living in the South, etc all factored in. That’s why I ended up here. </p>
<p>If I had to give one piece of advice, then it’s to go with your gut feeling. If a place doesn’t feel right for you, then chances are it’s probably not the place for you. I wish you the best of luck on your college search and application process.</p>
<p>Edit: just saw IG’s post so I’ll make a few more points:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Being a big fish in a little pond can be a good thing. Perhaps I’m just cynical now, after having (mostly) gone through the med school application process, but if you are applying to professional schools or even jobs, standing out is NEVER a bad thing. No matter how you look at it, if you can work with a department head or well-known prof at Duke then it’ll give you a leg up versus if you worked with a junior assist. prof. at Harvard even if that slightly advantage is in the connections. Plus if you are really that “great” it’s always better for you to get recognized for it than not. Sorry if that sounded conceited or selfish. </p></li>
<li><p>Merit money: sure Harvard doesn’t give any, they probab’t don’t need to. Bright people beg Harvard to let them in everyday. But I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that getting a full ride to a place like Duke is nothing to sneer at. Personally, getting paid to come to Duke would sound much better to me than going to Harvard purely in terms of opportunity cost and money saved.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>You should probably have qualified your statement by specifying which school at Penn. I’m sure the admission rates for Wharton and SEAS are very much different.</p>
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<p>You know I’m not going to deny that there is arrogance at Duke and I’m not going to say that Duke is academically equivalent or superior in everyway to HYPSM. But seriously? Can you maybe add a little qualifier in that statement so that you aren’t make a general blanket statement that attempts to masquerade as fact? The very fact that you can make such statements without any qualifications referencing your personal opinions speaking of your own arrogance. I guess you really don’t subscribe to the “let him who is without sin cast the first stone” philosophy.</p>
<p>Also, for the sake of uncluttering a thread, can you please make use of the “Edit” button? Your consecutive double posts were 2 minutes apart when the edit button is available for 20 minutes after the initial post. Not every little thing requires a post of its own.</p>