<p>annn - congratulations, and have a great year! I'd just add that anything you can do to get info about awesome places in and around Chapel Hill to visit and act on said information would be worth it. There are many reasons that UNC-CH is regarded so highly, and not all of them are in the classroom (or the Dean Dome)</p>
<p>DukeEng93,</p>
<p>I agree with the sentiment in Post No. 41. Duke and UNC are both great schools. What I find interesting is that two schools less than 15 miles apart can develop such different cultures. While I am sure there are more similarities than differences, there are apparently also some distinct differences. Which is better for any one person would be a matter of personal preference.</p>
<p>As a professor at Duke and being familiar with both schools, would you disagree with anything in particular in the article referenced above?</p>
<p>. Geez, been many years since law school since I was called out by a prof...and fortunately now I don't have to stand and take it.</p>
<p>Just a personal vote and nothing more. For my D it was NO contest due to her perceived fit at both universities after visiting both within a day of each other.
For her the diversity and the INTERACTIONS was the big difference. So, don't waste your time "hating" such reactions to your beloved university. They are after all personal opinions we are giving here. NOTHING posted here is fact. People's perceptions are their own.... I respect your opinion for thinking Duke is a no contest over UNC. To each his own. (I am not on the payroll at UNC either)</p>
<p>tyr - It was another case where points could have been made without certain highly prejudicial statements. Drunk driving, for example, is not "commonly accepted" at Duke, nor does one have to make that kind of comment in order to rightly praise the extensive and useful transit system in Chapel Hill.</p>
<p>atlmom - at no time and in no way shape or form would or did I say Duke is "no contest" over UNC. The only possible exceptions would be for people wanting to pursue particular degrees that do not exist at one institution, and even then I would recommend looking into the interinstitutional agreement to check out both schools.</p>
<p>Atlmom</p>
<p>I don't think DukeEgr was necessarily calling you out as a challenge to your process/decision. I think he was commenting on your "no contest" statement in light of the way the absurd comments by chr100 seemed to throw fuel on the fire....as those comments always seem to do.</p>
<p>The Duke/UNC discussion is seldom fair and unbiased and unfortunately has always had incredibly inane statements made by both sides with the Duke commentary most always diminishing a UNC education and the quality of students, and the UNC comments always throwing stones at Duke students for their attitude implying that they are "spoiled rich kids."</p>
<p>DukeEgr has ALWAYS been a voice of reason from the Duke camp. Unlike many of the more zealous UNC haters who post here and who seem to thrive on taking shots, he always has been fair and balanced in his appraisal of the two schools and offered generous praise of all the attributes of UNC and Chapel Hill. I for one, am glad he has chosen to post on our threads.</p>
<p>oops cross posted with DukeEgr</p>
<p>DukeEgr93 - It is interesting that the "highly prejudicial statements" were made by a Duke student in the Duke newspaper. </p>
<p>However, I don't think that was the difference in drinking cultures (if one really exists) was focus of the article and certainly not the part that that struck a chord with me when I first read it. I do think some comments were made in the article that perhaps point to some of the cultural differences between the two schools, from the perspective of a student who had the opptunity to attend both. I didn't get the impression that the writer was trying to "put down" Duke. It seemed to me that he was trying to articulate what he had observed to be some of the positive characteristics of UNC.</p>
<p>I agree that DukeEgr always seems very fair about the strengths, perceived similarities and differences between these 2 schools-- on this board and on others here on CC. I think warblersrule, a current Duke student, is an honest and fair contributor as well, which I've always appreciated.</p>
<p>I also agree with tyr about the points being made in the article (and thanks for posting the link, by the way). I thought it was well-written and seemed to get to the heart of some of those differences between the 2 schools. I honestly didn't even connect the "drunk driving" mention with anything connected to the Duke campus at all. Maybe I missed something.</p>
<p>maybe bad choice of words by me when all i was going to write was "UNC "and it was too short. I meant it as far as I was concerned and nothing more....so I apologize if it was taken as any thing more....of course there are positives and negatives of each school.</p>
<p>You know from my pm, i have a great deal of respect for duke and obviously it is ranked very high. Hate just isn't a word I like to read.....and don't very often.</p>
<p>No need to retract Atlmom - given the your later posted context, your 'no contest' is understandable. It was 'no contest' for my d as well. She couldn't be convinced to even make application at Duke, despite the avalanche of TIP mail we've rec'd since 7th grade (lol!). And it was no contest for her good friend who only applied to one place, early, and that was Duke. One and done was her motto. Duke was 'it' for her friend from the beginning. As I've always said, to each his own...both schools are excellent, but very different. That's the beauty of the situation and I often wonder how little ol' NC was so lucky to be filled to the brim with so many top schools where virtually everyone is likely to find a good fit. ;)</p>
<p>Now the problem here in our household has been what to do with the #2 child. He was invited to the TIP summer classes on the Duke campus but opted out for fear of incurring the wrath of his Tar Heel sister...lol! (JK...he is taking a much needed break from summer school so he can do some optional percussion camps and required band camp.)</p>
<p>Loved the article btw. Can't comment on the drunk driving thing since I'm a big believer of at least TRYING to form opinions based on first hand experience. But it is interesting that this was the observation of a Duke Robertson not a UNC Robertson. It is very likely overstatement to make the article more interesting though.</p>
<p>Coupla things - first, I definitely overreacted to what Atlmom said so I apologize for that. I broke a cardinal rule, which is, don't tell parents what they should think about their childrens' choices :) As ldmom06 said above, it was no contest; I misinterpreted a specific as a general.</p>
<p>Second - thanks for the kind words on here. Proof positive that all us blue folk can get along :)</p>
<p>Third - with the Scoville article - I am a bit biased because most of his career as a columnist, he focused on the negative at Duke in a way that I didn't feel presented ways to improve.</p>
<p>Finally - when's the CC meet-and-greet at Top of the Hill? :-D</p>
<p>DukeEgr: The "CC meet-and-greet at Top of the Hill" sounds like fun. Maybe at the Parents Weekend in October? I'll be there. (Well, I'll be at the Parents Weekend--not just hanging out at the Top of the Hill.) ;)</p>
<p>^Hey...I'll be there! All you have to say is "Top of the Hill" and my husband says "Microbrewery" and starts moving those feet....so count him in too. </p>
<p>We'll bring all our Dukie parent friends from Texas too... ;)</p>
<p>I vote for move in weekend. I think I will need a beer then! :^)</p>
<p>I want to say that I am on a learning curve here myself. I discovered CC very late in the process for my D. I wish I had found you all much sooner! I really don't mind people disagreeing with me....and if I violate any unwritten rules of CC, do tell me. </p>
<p>I will be back to CH on parent's weekend if I can find a room for our family.
Gets tight you know. </p>
<p>If anyone knows of private parking options for my D in Chapel Hill, send me a pm.</p>
<p>ldmom:</p>
<p>Don't let your kid do tip! Instead send them to Duke Young Writer's Camp! I went after my freshman year of high school and LOVED it. It was so much fun and I really grew as a writer. There was also a rivalry between us campers and the tip campers. The joke was that we were the not as intelligent artistic folk whereas they were the nerds who actually had required frisbee time every day to ensure that they would go outside in the sunshine every day.</p>
<p>Honestly though, I have several friends who loved their time at tip every year, but when we swapped stories, I thought DYWC was more fun. :) I still keep in touch with some of the people there, and, hey, heathergee was actually in one of my classes! I'd definitely recommend it, even if your daughter doesn't think she's big into writing. There's something for everyone.</p>
<p>
[quote]
On the same vein, UNC students hate Duke more than Duke students hate UNC. For MOST Duke students, this intense rivalry does not really extend beyond basketball, whereas it seems that because UNC students are from in-state, they have some sort of indoctrinated hatred of EVERYTHING Duke. I don't really get it.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Sorry, I know I'm dredging up something from 4 days and 2 pages back, but I can't help but to respond. </p>
<p>As I've said on this forum in the past, my experience was the exact opposite. I dated my boyfriend during the entirety of his 4 years at Duke, and he dated me during my 4 years at UNC. As you can imagine, each of us spent a large amount of time on the other's campus, and I even went to beach week with his fraternity for 3 years. We both became relatively close to the other's friends, and I met some wonderful people there. However, I also encountered some rude and, might I add, unprovoked responses to my affiliation with UNC; for example, I was told "You go to UNC, so you're stupid," asked if I "learned that in my UNC English class" or if I was using my "UNC words" whenever I stumbled over a word, and I was once asked if my classes at Carolina were teaching me how to say "You want fries with that?" (I would like to note that much of this was alcohol fueled, but also that I made an extreme effort never to say anything remotely negative about Duke while I was there). I even had some very surprising interactions with strangers; namely, the young man who ripped his hand away from mine mid-handshake when he was told that I went to UNC, and the transfer student who immediately informed me that she "rejected UNC. Twice!" when she found out that was where I went to school. Interestingly, though, when I complained about my experiences to my boyfriend, he agreed with me that his friends' conduct was egregious, but proceeded to point out instances where my friends had made remarks that had bothered him that hadn't even registered to me, such as the friend who asked him if Duke fraternity parties involved anything beyond playing chess.</p>
<p>My point is certainly not to prove that Duke students are monsters (as I do not believe that to be the case at all) or even to prove that the opposite of the quoted statement is true, but only to show that the perceived "hatred" truly lies in the eye of the beholder. I have no doubt that you Duke students on this thread who have posted about ill treatment at the hands of Carolina fans/students are absolutely justified in feeling persecuted, but I just wanted to make it clear that rudeness and unqualified feelings of superiority stem from both sides. If students from both schools would keep the rival bashing to athletics, it would be a lot easier for both UNC and Duke students to meet the wonderful friends that the other side has to offer. As for me, I am glad that I was "forced" to continue to spend time at Duke in spite of my wounded feelings, because I got to know some intelligent, interesting and fun people that my preconceived notions and snap judgments of Duke students might have prevented me from encountering otherwise (and I was also able to extract an apology or two).</p>
<p>^You know, it really IS a curious effect. </p>
<p>My d got some of the same nonsense from one of her h.s. friends accepted to Duke.... BEFORE they even graduated high school. Being from oos, mine wasn't that aware of the intensity of the rivalry, so she was really miffed at the insults. I was just amazed at how quickly her Duke friend was indoctrinated...lol!</p>
<p>I told my daughter this...that level of unprovoked insults, even if the guise of 'jokes' or teasing has its genesis in a feeling of inferiority. Pity is the appropriate response, not anger. ;) And, not every Duke student acts this way; however it only takes a few to fuel the unfortunate generalization about elitism and snobbery. So I recommended my d keep this in mind when considering her own words.... because that knife cuts both ways.</p>
<p>(Btw... I'm not talking about the occasional ribbing which can definitely be an 'all in fun' thing...rather the continuous barrage indicative of 'nothing better to say'.)</p>
<p>cloy - thanks for the recommendation. I will definitely look into that program for my son for next summer. Sounds like a great one...and we just won't tell ldgirl...lol!</p>
<p>He has spent the last two middle school summers in classes getting high school credits (weird gpa/ranking system in our district), and was set to take some enrichment courses at Rice. At the last minute, we changed our minds about the Rice classes because I think he needs to have some FUN (like the course you describe :)). Right now I'm in search of some percussion workshops where he can work on Latin and African drum techniques and where the atmosphere is low pressure. He has a required band camp in August which will be very intense....so I'd like it if he spent the rest of his last summer before high school in the pool, or running around barefoot or, on the hottest Houston days, checking out IMAX or other attractions down in the Museum District.</p>
<p>Listen to cloying! Duke Young Writers Camp was awesome! We met when we both went in the summer before our sophomore year and still keep in touch and are both going to UNC. Last time I was visiting, I got to see another friend I met through camp in Durham. It was definitely one of the best experiences of my life. :)</p>
<p>ldmom - WHOOPS! I didn't mean to recommend anything to your nonexistent daughter but rather your son! :x Ah yes, I once went through band camp and had to say I came out of the entire ordeal never wanting to repeat that week again. But DYWC was amazing - the camp counselors and campers come from all over the country and are really helpful, nice people. The entire atmosphere is very laid back but at the same time you make a lot of progress in your personality and writing. Give it a look, I bet it isn't too late for your son to sign up! And they pack some summery things in there, too. :)</p>
<p>As an aside (though it's the purpose for this thread) - anybody know where carolinaheaven's D decided to go?</p>