students at duke?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>i'm considering applying to duke ED and visited recently. When i visited, though, it seemed like everyone i saw was part of that preppy cliquey type of crowd. is that what most students are like, or did i just get a bad impression? </p>

<p>also, im from RI and to anyone who is attending duke now and is from the new england area or anywhere else for that matter, is the difference in region very noticeable? (besides weather)</p>

<p>any advice or info you can give me about duke from a student's view would be really helpful, thanks!</p>

2

<p>I'm from North Carolina, so I can't give you a Northern perspective, but I can give you a student's perspective.</p>

<p>First off, you must understand that the Duke student body is incredibly diverse-you simply CANNOT lump everyone into one category. Yes, there are plenty of preps here. There are also girls who take towels and sunbathe on the quad instead of doing homework. However, there are also an incredible array of other people here-in my FOCUS group, for example, people are really friendly and are capable of taking on any subject from Socrates to Thucydides to architecture to MV calc to organic chem. Many students here are preppy, do come from prep schools, and are often here on dad's money. However, there are also many, many students that are really cool and have done/know stuff that will amaze you. </p>

<p>I am not preppy in any shape, way, or form. True, it took me a little longer to settle in, but there are people here that matched my interests perfectly. In short, the student body is pretty much what you make of it. It does seem overwhelmingly preppy- but I honestly think you'll find that at many schools. If you don't want cliques, try a LAC. Duke is not warm and fuzzy. People will not bend over backwards to befriend you. However, it can be great if you make the effort to get to know people. We really do have all sorts here. </p>

<p>Coming from North Carolina, I can say with great certainty that Duke is by no means a Southern school. It is a Northern school in the South. Most people don't have much trouble adjusting. There's a lot of people here from NY, NJ, etc.</p>

3

<p>Hi,
Well, it's really difficult to tell anything about Duke's social structure from one visit. People have friends that they hang out with, yeah, of course. And yes, Duke is pretty preppy, though not as bad as some schools. I think you just got a bad impression, because I haven't really found Duke "cliquey" necessarily. Groups of friends form, and yes, certain characteristics make friendships more likely, hence, relatively homogenous groups of friends often evolve, which is where you might have gotten the "cliquey" idea. I don't think that points to anything about Duke that you won't find at any other school; it's human nature to seek those that have something in common with yourself. You can't see two black people together or a couple Koreans talking together and automatically assume that Duke isn't racially/socially/economically integrated. I live at Duke, and most people do have friends from many different races.</p>

<p>I'm also from the northeast, massachusetts in fact. The difference in region isn't really noticeable from on the campus; many southerners don't even consider Duke a true "Southern" school, like Vanderbilt or Emory for example; there are people from everywhere, a lot from New York, New Jersey, and other northeastern, western, and mid-western states. You wouldn't feel out of place or anything, trust me.
Durham isn't like a typical northern city; it's more spread out and, well, I'm not going to bad-mouth the city, because it's underrated, but it's not much fun for college students. But I've found that so many administrators, professors, and students have northern/western/etc. origins that I usually don't even feel like I'm in the south. Not that the south is a bad thing, I personally like that we have a larger representation of students from the south than you might find at a northern school.</p>

4

<p>Emory is undeniably the most northern school in the south.</p>

5

<p>what? emory? what?</p>

6

<p>No, Emory's not. Comparing Emory's class of 2008 to Duke's class of 2009 (because that's the data I have), Duke has 34% from the northeast/midatlantic, Emory has 30%, while both have 38% from the southeast.</p>

7

<p>so overall impression of duke is good then?</p>

8

<p>while there are ppl that are classified as "preppy" at Duke, there will be that at any college/university you may attend. It certainly is not the only "type" of person at Duke - one of the greatest strengths of this place is the sheer diversity of personalities and ppl that are here, not just racially, but intellectually. I find that I learn just as much from others as I do from the professors, and thats a big assumption to make. Another thing that I've learned to steer away from is the actual process of classifying ppl as "preps" or as "___________" (fill in the blank). By doing so, Ive been able to open up and really learn from others.</p>

9

<p>sorry, didnt mean to offend anyone by the preppy classification thing, i just meant that when i went the girls and guys i saw for that hour or so just kind of all seemed to dress that same style, and so on. </p>

<p>hmmm...so how is everything else? socially and housing and stuff? anything? :)</p>

10

<p>I'm in Alspaugh, which is one of the original dorms on East. The rooms don't have AC, but they're pretty large and even have huge walk-in closets. The hall is co-ed, but that's not a problem at all. Most of the meals are eaten at the Market Place (breakfast M-F, supper Sun-Thurs, brunch Sat & Sun). The Market Place is all-you-can-eat, and the food isn't that bad. The rest of your meals can be eaten anywhere on campus, which gives you a lot of variety. Some of the dorms are really nice and new (Randolph, Bell Tower, etc.), and people would KILL to be in those dorms. I'm involved in several activities, and I've found time to balance school and ecs. It's a great way to meet lots of great people. The professors are AWESOME, and it's really easy to come by their office and ask questions. FOCUS is really cool too. I'm in the Athens FOCUS (the best one), and we've had a lot of fun (especially our trip to DC) and have learned a lot. Most of social life (parties) occur on West, Central, or off-campus. There is a fair amount of drinking, but it certainly doesn't dominate the social scene. Although some complain about it, taking the bus is not that bad. West isn't that far from East, and I often walk instead of cramming into the bus.</p>

11

<p>i just read the post i wrote earlier - sry if I came off a bit offensive, I certainly didnt mean to do that. There's a lot of cool ppl here, certainly one won't likes everyone he/she meets but you will def meet some cool, interesting, down to earth ppl. here.</p>

<p>Since you'll prob hear a lot of the good things about Duke, I might as well share some of the bad things that most ppl dont get to objectively hear b4 they apply:</p>

<p>1) there really is nothing to do at all in Durham, especially around the Duke campus, and especially if you dont have a car. There isnt even a movie theater within walking dist. of campus yet, tho there will be one in the future cuz theyre building one at Northgate Mall which is about a 10 min. walk from east campus. The only thing off east really is 9th St. which has some small shops and such but it gets kinda boring very quickly. Other than that and Northgate which is kinda small also, there really isnt much within walking dist of east campus. Same can be said of west campus - its mostly houses and forest to the periphery of West campus which gets kinda boring after awhile as well.</p>

<p>2) The area around Duke (east) is really not that bad, but it def gets kinda scary at night b/c theres a lot of shady characters after dark. Since the campus is an open campus, theres also a fair share of crime - stolen bikes are pretty common on east, mine got stolen the first week and I know several ppl who had theres stolen as well.</p>

<p>3) Since there isnt much to do outside of campus, the party/drinking scene is HUGE on the weekend. Since I dont drink/do drugs, its not really my scene so it gets really boring for me on the weekends. One good thing tho - Lilly (the library on east) has a huge, and I mean HUGE collection of DVD's that u can check out for free, its a chill way to use up some time when u get bored or wanna take a break from work.</p>

<p>4) food here is really expensive. With the meal plan u basically get breakfast and dinner from Sunday to Thurs, then on Fri u get breakfast, Sat, u get brunch. The other meals u gotta pay for urself and the food can be kinda pricy. Theres a grocery store off east campus but its kinda health-conscious organic food store so the prices are kinda high there as well. Id urge you buy some non-perishable food in bulk b4 u get here lol, or when ur eating breakfast, pick up lunch also (stash in backpack - very popular here lol)</p>

<p>5) lastly, this is the biggest thing that surprised me - the relationship between Duke and the community is not that great - many ppl outside Duke dont really like Duke. In fact, many of the ppl in the surrounding neighborhoods off east have labelled Duke "the Plantation"</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
Some of the dorms are really nice and new (Randolph, Bell Tower, etc.), and people would KILL to be in those dorms.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Really? Well anyone is free to take my shoebox-sized room without killing me. :p</p>

13

<p>My statement also takes into account surroundings (atlanta-decatur area: the most progressive city in the south) and school/student culture.</p>

14

<p>Well, it wouldn't be so tiny if it didn't have the built-in furniture. Anyway, at least you have AC and carpet. :) And yes, people are jealous of the BT. </p>

<p>Actually Southgate is very, very nice. There was supposed to be a bus to take us to SG, but it got confused and didn't come. :)</p>

<p>Charlotte is the most progressive city in the South.</p>

15

<p>vanderbilt isn't really that southern anymore either. look at the 2009 incoming profile, I think you would be surprised. (e.g. 114 New Yorkers compared to 7 Kids from Mississippi.) Tons of kids of NJ, CT, etc. Not the same as it was 20 years ago, or even 5 years ago.</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
One good thing tho - Lilly (the library on east) has a huge, and I mean HUGE collection of DVD's that u can check out for free, its a chill way to use up some time when u get bored or wanna take a break from work.

[/quote]

And don't forget Elliott Wolf, with his 1TB of videos which you can stream and watch on your PC.</p>

17

<p>Just because a school doesn't have a huge majority of kids from the south doesn't mean that it's not southern. there are plenty of girls here at vanderbilt from connecticut that are more southern than the girls from mississippi. duke and vanderbilt have traditions that make them "southern" while emory does not conjure up images of girls in dresses at football games (if they had a team, of course) and sweet tea.</p>

18

<p>awesome, thanks for all the info. anything else?</p>

19

<p>Alright, I kinda skimmed most of the posts (sorry, I have about 20 minutes before I go to an On Tap rehearsal... and I'm currently supposed to be finishing up a 3 page paper for tomorrow :)). Here are some points I would like to make... some are in response to what has been said and others are just things I think might be relevent but are just my opinion.</p>

<p>I don't see cliques on campus, so don't worry about Duke having that "high school" feel. Actually, the thing I've recently noticed is that I have made friends through many different activities, and I don't have a problem mixing friends from different things. For example, I can go somewhere with my friends from FOCUS and my friends from the Catholic Student Center... it's not awkward like it was in high school when I hung out with drama kids and more sporty types and was too afraid to be in the same room with both groups at the same time. Maybe that's just me.</p>

<p>I don't feel that my t-shirts and jean shorts in any way put me at a social disadvantage. If I got dressed up every time I went out, I would need either to go on a 200 dollar shopping spree, or get 200 dollars worth of laundry detergent. But yeah, attire on campus at all times ranges anywhere from PJs to shirt and tie.</p>

<p>Giles is the coolest dorm ever. Enough said.</p>

<p>Art in Contemporary Society is the best FOCUS. The teachers are great, the classes are interesting, and the students are awesome. Granted, there's a LOT of writing and reading, but those seem to be constants in most FOCUS programs.</p>

<p>Alright, I've rambled on and I'm out of time. The long and the short of it is that Duke rocks. Period. :) Enjoy the application process!</p>

20

<p>I disagree...um...Jarvis is the coolest dorm ever:) </p>

<p>Anyway...my thoughts on clothes (which is my specialty actually)...I feel awkward when i go to class in soffes or sweatpants...that's all I have to say. Not really a bad thing because I don't care really, but an obscene amount of people wear real clothes to class...of course I shouldn't talk because I usually do too...but whatever.</p>

<p>That probably bears no relevance to like, any post on here.</p>