<p>ENTP - You’re right, I was just really flabbergasted by some of the things hookem has said in this thread (and in others); the post was more a personal rant than anything to further the purpose of this thread. (Having said that, I still maintain that he needed it.)</p>
<p>A quick word on diversity. I got into two LACs along with Duke, and diversity was the main reason why I picked Duke over my other two choices. I wasn’t disappointed. Just by through hallways and quads, I hear about four other languages besides English every day. Being Singaporean, I guess I help contribute to this diversity in some way, but even beyond racial and cultural lines, Duke is a very diverse place. In my group of friends I have an art major, a biology major, a Russian major, a smattering of various engineering majors, an English major, and I’m pubpol/econ. It makes for interesting study room sessions, and it also makes for interesting Marketplace table conversations. So Duke is to some extent an academic mixed bag…there are definitely the more popular majors but you meet plenty of people who are doing cool combinations of double majors or certificates, Program II and so on, and you pick up interesting little pieces of knowledge from them, be it over dinner or on the bus to West. Because of the various study abroad programs Duke offers, as well as DukeEngage, you also meet lots of students (mostly upperclassmen, since freshman year is typically spent on campus) who have built schools in Belize, studied in Tuscany, etc etc… Academically, there is a really wide range of things to soak in just by being on campus and meeting new people.</p>
<p>I can’t really comment on political diversity - I think it really depends on where you go. Among the friends I have in my pubpol classes, there’s some diversity there… among my other more “miscellaneous” circles of friends (hallmates, for example) I feel like people are fairly liberal. To be honest, I haven’t paid all that much attention to this, so I could be off the mark.</p>
<p>^ Meh, he probably did need it at some point, but I actually agreed with some of the stuff he was trying to say…maybe not the WAY he said it lol, but whatevs.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m much too lazy over winter break to type out a ton of anecdotes, but I totally agree with the two above posts on diversity. Pretty much everyone here will tell you stuff like that ^, about different languages, backgrounds, etc. It’s pretty cool :p</p>
<p>Political diversity: any and every top 10 school is going to be more liberal than conservative. That’s just the way it is. This is true at Duke, but everyone is open to discussion/debate, rather than closed-mindedness, and there are plenty of conservatives around! I think our Political Science department is probably one of the more ideologically diverse among the elite schools: several libertarians, a highranking Bush administration official…etc.</p>
<p>Its not nearly conservative or liberal in politics. More like on personal attributes and outlook on life. Your answers completely helped, though. I’m ever more excited about Duke. Thank you!</p>
<p>Riffs: In terms of personalities, diversity at Duke is great. I never looked into LACs much, but I’m guessing that some might find Duke’s student body to overall be more “mainstream” than the stereotypical LAC “indie” population. “Mainstream”/“indie” are metaphorically referring to their personalities themselves, not tastes in music or style.</p>
<p>I was bored and I was reading the entire thread… I’m not interested in Duke or anything… I’m going to Emory next year… but I must say, rather impressed how most Duke students (cept for hookem) handled this thread. just an observation.</p>
<p>As a current student, I think Duke’s social scene is far from desireable. I’ve had a decent time so far at the school but it’s ridiculous how much pressure there is to be a part of Greek Life in order to have a good social life. Unfortunately, Greek Life here is not very diverse and turns people sometimes into superficial clones with no individual identity.</p>
<p>We go to such a diverse school with students who are from all walks of life, yet 90% of the guys in fraternities are white. Duke’s Asian/Indian/Black/Hispanic population easily exceeds the majority white population, but yet they are not nealy as represented in the IFC.</p>
<p>It’s extremely hard to find your niche on campus here if you’re not Greek or an active member of an ethnic student organization. Let’s not sugarcoat Duke and make it this all-inclusive, diverse and amazing social experience when reality is much harsher.</p>
<p>^^^sorry to hear that. Our Indie son is currently in NYC with 10 of his “diverse” friends. Some are in frats, some are not, some are in ethnic organizations, some are not. All are good friends. I don’t think our son felt any “pressure” to go Greek. It is certainly a strong presence on campus, so he considered it. </p>
<p>being a minority isn’t going to keep you out of a fraternity, being critical, pessimistic, and not enjoyable to be around will, however.
Rush and see if you like the people. If you can see yourself hanging out with/living with the guys, chances are they feel the same. It’s very complementary i think</p>
<p>Not all independents are “critical, pessimistic, and not enjoyable to be around.” First, as godevils2011 said, the section parties are no longer open after first semester, so if you have what appears to be the “mainstream” social nightlife of Duke students, then you do feel pressure to join a frat or SLG (at least I did), as there aren’t many true alternatives. Frats might not outright reject you for not being white, but feeling out-of-place serves as a strong deterrent. In fact, it seems as though most greek minorities are in all-Asian or all-black frats/sororities. On the other hand, I’ve found SLGs here to be a nice option for many.</p>
<p>stumbled onto this old thread through google - just have one thing to say. in the first few pages “interestingguy” asserts that duke is full of hyps rejects. if we’re gonna be honest with ourselves here, lets get a few things straight. people who attend duke are just as “smart” as people who attend hyps. being admitted to hyps has more to do with how full of ECs your application is (or, in some cases your URM status). there are some of us who are indeed very smart, yet didnt spend our high school lives doing useless boring crap just to look good on a college application. we, you know, went out, had FUN, and just generally enjoyed ourselves. so, ill be happy to attend duke. i will be recruited just as hyps graduates will, and i will actually ENJOY college. there will be good looking women at my school. i will enjoy the fact that my school is respectable in sports…the list goes on. my main point is that theres a difference between someone who spends their life studying and doing ECs to get into hyps and someone who is naturally smart enough to do just as well with minimal effort, leaving all that extra time to enjoy life. in fact, many would say that the one who doesnt have to put much effort in to do just as well is the “smarter” one. just something to think about bro.</p>
just an observation.</p>