<p>upper-level physics? nah, I saw this kid that I swear looks like a 12 year old in my rocks for jocks class.</p>
<p>Duke has need blind admissions so whether or not you pay to go (not being a jock) has to do with your family’s financial situation, not your grades.</p>
<p>To the original poster, just apply to a number of colleges and see where you get in. Then see how you feel about them and make up your mind at the time. Your success in life will not depend on where you go to school-it will depend on your own drive, ambition, creativity, social skills, etc. So go to a school you think you will like and which you can afford.</p>
<p>Interesting guy obviously got turned down by Duke, because he is so bitter at the school which he claims not to go to. Or, maybe he’s here but can’t get a date, or got rejected from every fraternity, or is failing. I feel sorry for anyone who has nothing better to do with their time than waste their lives trashing people they don’t know on a message board. Go help poor people or write a book or make some contribution to the world, Interesting Guy.</p>
<p>After reading the first page of comments…</p>
<p>“Duke isn’t exactly begging for applicants.”
“Duke’s Class of 2014 will be ok without you… If I really wanted to sell Duke to you, I easily could.”</p>
<p>Wow. That is the kind of arrogance that separates Duke from Carolina. We may not be as prestigious, but at least we have some realistic sense of self. We love Carolina not because it’s prestigious and rejects many people, but because it’s an awesome place… Where you would very rarely, probably never, hear comments like the ones above.</p>
<p>^^^let’s not paint all of duke with the same brush shall we? I have never heard such comments at duke in my 4 years either. I don’t love Duke because it rejects many people either and I’ve never heard of anyone who thinks that way. That’s just a weird reason for loving a school at all. And plenty of Duke students love Duke because it’s an awesome place. So…I fail to see your point at all?</p>
<p>sigh…i agree with SBR on this. and i think i can see where hookem is coming from in that a brand new “why’s duke special?” or “what’s so great about duke?” thread seems to appear quite frequently. isn’t there any way to sticky a topic like that to duke’s (and to every other college’s as i would imagine the same occurs for every university) main page?</p>
<p>^I agree. Every school has its share of arrogant students, but most students don’t love their schools for prestige/rejecting lots of kids.</p>
<p>Now if I could just rescind my application to Duke…</p>
<p>I just read over the entire thread. After reading the kinds of things that hookem168 says, it’s small wonder why many perceive Duke’s student body to be filled to the brim with arrogance. It’s not even pride, it’s the kind of blind impudence that feels more like an attempt to reduce the cognitive dissidence of not getting into his coveted “HYPS” that he’s repeated over again in the Duke forums. Hookem168, if you really do like Duke as much as you claim to, please be more aware of what you say. It’s odd, because I’ve met you before, and you’re not nearly as rude in person.</p>
<p>I’m a Duke freshman and I like what I’ve seen so far, but I’m not so naive to blind myself from its flaws. Every school has its flaws. I think interestingguy has done well to point out a flaw that I’ve seen at Duke quite a bit. Duke students can be pretty arrogant. No, it’s not as widespread as many believe. Most people here don’t notice it at all, but I came from a public school where more than half of the students were black and where one-third qualified for free lunch, so it came as a bit of a cultural shock.</p>
<p>It’s really sad, though, to see these prospective students turned off from Duke by our posts. Last year, I couldn’t afford to visit the colleges I was considering, and I found these forums to be a useful alternative. I remember there were a few posters like SBR and Senator Noodles who probably made a much bigger impact on my decision to choose Duke than they are aware of, and I’m sure that many CC’ers, whether or not they post regularly, could say the same. So, current students, please be aware of the impression you’re giving off on these forums, and prospective students, please don’t let one poster mar your view of Duke so irreversibly. I, too, was skeptical for the same reasons, but Duke has so far turned out to be a wonderful school.</p>
<p>By the way, except for when he directs his attacks to specific individuals, I find interestingguy’s posts to be hilarious. It’s a mark of maturity when one learns to make fun of oneself (or one’s associations).</p>
<p>Also, I know the thread was originally more of a “TCU vs. Duke,” but I’m sure that prospectives are clicking on here thinking it’s a more general “Why Duke.” To ease away from the bickering that’s overcome this thread, I’ll give my personal perspective on what I’ve liked about Duke so far.</p>
<p>To give some background, I’m prospectively a neuroscience and economics major (one or both…I haven’t decided). I’ll stay within these fields, as I admittedly know very little about Duke’s strength in most others.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in neuroscience, Duke is an amazing place to be right now. Neuroscience itself is a new and rapidly-growing field, but Duke’s neuroscience program is expanding even faster. Every year, it’s bringing in new professors. New professors need new students to work in their labs. After realizing my interest in neuroscience, I decided to join a lab, and within weeks, I had a job set up in one. I’m not talking about the dreaded glassware-cleaning jobs. Professors here trust students. You actually get involved in their research. Also, in neuroscience classes, a big part has been reading original research papers. It’s a nice feeling when you realize that the paper you’re reading was written by a Duke professor, and I’ve gotten that feeling quite a bit. That said, I’m not going to pretend like Duke is the only school with a great neuroscience program. If you’re still reading this paragraph, I’ll assume you have a least some interest in neuroscience. If so, the schools with the top neuroscience program (judging by which names I see the most when I read papers) are (in no particular order) MIT, Duke, Caltech, UPenn, Stanford, UCLA and UCSF. I’m undoubtedly missing quite a few, but keep in mind that I’ve only been in college for one semester.</p>
<p>As for economics. Well, I didn’t hear about Duke economics specifically before arriving here because it’s not ranked top-10 or anything (at least I don’t think they are?). I’m not sure how they rank economics programs, and I personally don’t know enough about famous economic figures to say how “good” Duke’s program is by that measure. However, at Duke, most students who are brave enough to pursue economics (Duke economics is probably one of the hardest majors here, but I think it’s still the most popular) have career aspirations in the likes of ibanking, consulting, accounting, trading, etc. If you’re interested in one of those careers, you’ll soon learn that one of the most important factors in your success is summer internships. Duke gets wonderful amounts of recruiting from the top firms (see the “Investment Banking” Forum on CC–it’s generally accepted that Duke is in “Tier 1” in terms of on-campus recruiting). That might not say much about Duke as a school, but it’s about as vital to your success in those fields as anything school-related.</p>
<p>Aside from academics, Duke provides you with resources to do whatever you would ever want (this was what initially made me choose Duke). Want to start a club? Sure, there’s a bit of bureaucratic measures you have to pass through, but after that, they’ll fully fund you. Want to volunteer abroad for a summer? Check out DukeEngage. They give you freedom to pursue your own intellectual endeavors. Sure, there are those academic distribution requirements, but one look at Columbia or UChicago’s “Core” curriculums will show how marginal Duke’s requirements are.</p>
<p>In brief, I haven’t been here nearly long enough to really tell how “good” it is as a school, but I’ve made many friends (I’m not a “frat” type, but I probably will rush for an selective living group), and I’m sure all of you won’t have trouble doing that. Everyone tries to meet everyone in the first month or two, so even if you’re not the type to make an effort to meet others, you’ll find that you did anyways. However, as a school, Duke has something to offer everybody. At no point have I felt constrained by Duke. Duke opens every door for you in every field. At least I’ve felt that way.</p>
<p>Radddd: you can if that’s what you really want. Applications can be withdrawn from consideration at any point in the admissions process from the time your file was opened to the matriculation deadline. All you need to do is call them up, identify yourself, then tell them to close your file. </p>
<p>Knat: I’m glad to hear that I’ve made a positive impression on someone here and delighted that your choosing Duke is turning out well for you. :)</p>
<p>Wow. The first few posts from Duke students on this thread really don’t reflect well on the school. I’m sure (or at least I hope) that they don’t reflect something meaningful about the university or the attitude of people who attend it.</p>
<p>Let me second a very small (but important) sentence in one of knat’s posts:</p>
<p>“It’s odd, because I’ve met you,” in reference to hookem168, “before, and you’re not nearly as rude in person.”</p>
<p>I think that’s very true. I’ve never met hookem specifically (I’m not in the class of 2013), but it’s a general rule that people often act very differently online (CC, A.u.t.o.A.d.m.i.t, other blogs/forums, etc.) than they do IRL. Anyway, pre-frosh should understand that although there may be a very few Duke students who sound like that in person, I’ve never ever met one. Not a single one in my entire time here. Basically, take everything you see here with a grain of salt. People like SBR have mastered the art of mature, considerate posts, so listen to users like him. If you do end up coming to Duke (which you should! We all want you to come, and it’s an incredible place!), and you unknowingly meet hookem or any other “arrogant” CCer, I bet they’re not so bad :)</p>
<p>P.S. “A.u.t.o.A.d.m.i.t” is censored without the periods LMAO</p>
<p>Thanks ENTPFTW 
though I do have not-so-praiseworthy moments of immaturity 
</p>
<p>But yeah, I do agree, even those that can be considered arrogant online are more often than not just fine in real life. I mean they might not become your BFF but you probably won’t even realize who they are if you meet them on campus and chances are you are not looking for 6500 BFFs anyway :D.</p>
<p>
Um, how exactly is 35% “not really that high at all?”</p>
<p>Are you a freshman (judging by your age in your profile)? Ok, sure everyone can go to section parties first semester, but frats literally throw those SPECIFICALLY for freshmen as a recruitment strategy. There pretty much aren’t any open parties second semester. Unless you join a frat or stay REALLY good friends with several members (the likelihood of which diminishes when they start pledging), you won’t be going to very many frat parties, and when you do, it’ll be as an outsider looking in.</p>
<p>Does it mean anything to you that “GDIs” (god damn independents) is an insult that has become standard vernacular among the Greeks?</p>
<p>I’m not bitter about this or anything. I’m not an independent, and I do have a lot of great friends at Duke, but I know for a fact that not everyone is so lucky in finding their niche as it seems they should be.</p>
<p>I will agree with knat that it is exceptionally easy to get involved with professors and their research at Duke, which is probably one of my favorite things about the school. Being at a huge research university with a rather small undergraduate population has its perks…</p>
<p>^ I understand the whole part about frat parties not being so accessible as time goes on. I mean, I wouldn’t want to pay a grand or so a semester or year so that someone else can come and get wasted on vodka/beer. No hard feelings.</p>
<p>Hookem168 - Stop smearing Duke’s reputation with your vacuous arrogance. I’m a Duke freshman, and I didn’t even need to read any of your posts outside of this thread to deduce who you are. I’m sorry you have to act like you’re better than everyone else in order to mask your disappointment at being rejected from the schools you REALLY wanted to go to… but honestly. I’ve met you in real life as well, and I agree with knat - after reading your Facebook group and CC posts, I was pretty shocked to find out you aren’t actually that much of a cocky ******. Stop ruining impressions of our great school and the (other) great people who study here.</p>
<p>^ What purpose did that post serve? constantly, you’re just making the problem worse by drawing attention to it and dishing out ad hominems like Chuck Norris dishes out roundhouse kicks lol. Yesssssss, we alllllllll know that hookem said some stupid stuff. A bazillion people (including myself) have already pointed this out, and people like SBR, myself, etc. are trying to bring this thread back to its original point: to HELP the OP and any other prospective students, not rant at hookem. Seriously, move on. (btdubs, any p-frosh is welcome to PM me anytime!)</p>
<p>a) Apparently, he HAS stopped lol. He hasn’t posted in several weeks, according to his “latest activity” thingy on his profile. If he comes back and brings the schtick with him, we can revisit the issue then :)</p>
<p>b) I’m willing to bet that he does like Duke a lot and really wants to be here, just like the rest of us. Whether or not he represents it well on a random online forum (he doesn’t, generally) is a different issue. I mean, look, I’ll admit: Duke wasn’t originally my first choice, either! I really wanted to go to a different school, but the “stars didn’t align.” Now, does that mean I don’t currently love Duke? No! I adore this place–the academics, the social life, the BASKETBALL (:)), all of it. From the minute I stepped on campus and talked to students, I was smitten. Duke wasn’t everyone’s childhood dream, but I think I speak for the vast, vast majority when I say that I call Duke “home” in every way :)</p>
<p>c) According to you guys, he’s not even like this IRL, so…again with the random online forum thing. I actually kinda want to meet him now, just for a laugh lol.</p>
<p>ANYway, let’s give it a rest</p>
<p>I’m also applying to Duke this year. I’ve been looking at LACs more, but they don’t seem to offer as much diversity as universities do. And by this I mean diversity in mindset (i.e. a very liberal student body, a very conservative student body). I want to be in a with mix of kids who are different. What’s diversity like at Duke. I’ve visited and I really enjoyed my time there and I’ve read the form-filling data, but I’d rather ask the people who actually go to Duke on this board to shed some light.</p>
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<p>This is one of the biggest things I love about Duke. Never before have I had friends from almost every corner of not only the United States, but also the world. A lot of the students living in my hall are international students, and I’ve never had friends of so many different ethnicities before. Being Asian and growing up in a predominately Asian community in California, the overwhelming majority of my friends were also Asian. But being at Duke, I finally have non-Asian friends that I can call my best friends (sounds stupid, but this was so nice for me…). I absolutely, absolutely love it. I love being surrounded by so many different perspectives and languages and learning form my friends about their lives in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Sweden, Spain, et al. Albeit, it’s painful watching them beast curves and complete an exam as if it were a piece of cake, but that’s also something we deal with. And hey, they learn from us too: it’s funny when they come across some seemingly “weird” American mannerisms that they had no idea existed hahah.</p>
<p>Duke has done a lot over the years to increase diversity on campus, and I feel that each step, while small, is helping change students’ experiences for the better. While there have been problems on campus due to budget cuts (e.g.; the International House and the Multicultural Center may potentially be merged, limiting benefits to certain groups), the way students stand up for diversity shows how important it is to Dukies and Duke life.</p>
<p>For exampleeeeeee:</p>
<p>[International</a> House to merge with Multicultural Center | The Chronicle](<a href=“http://dukechronicle.com/article/international-house-merge-multicultural-center]International”>International House to merge with Multicultural Center - The Chronicle)
Commentary: [Commentary</a> on the I-House/MCC Merger Duke Yellow Pages](<a href=“http://dukeyellowpages.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2009/11/16/commentary-on-the-i-housemcc-merger/]Commentary”>Commentary on the I-House/MCC Merger | Duke Yellow Pages)
Outcry: [Int’l</a> House-MCC merger elicits student outcry | The Chronicle](<a href=“http://dukechronicle.com/article/intl-house-mcc-merger-elicits-student-outcry]Int’l”>Int'l House-MCC merger elicits student outcry - The Chronicle)</p>
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