Visited - Did I just get a bad impression?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
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<p>I visited Duke yesterday (just got home today) and was thoroughly shocked at what I saw. </p>

<p>I've heard all about Duke being a "cool kids smart school" and being "well rounded" and "fun to be at." That isn't what I saw AT ALL!!! What I saw were a TON of "Nerds" walking with a ton of books, not looking anyone in the eye, etc.</p>

<p>I'm a "smart jock." I am a history loving, football playing, political activist, hard working kid, but I also like to party, and love sports, and the "fun/smart" school is what I had pictured Duke as, and that isn't what I saw. </p>

<p>I was the only one besides the guide that talked on my tour (also the only white kid, which kind of bugged me, maybe I'm just not used to being a minority), and that was weird, and I just didn't get a real sense of a well-rounded, fun atmosphere. </p>

<p>What I saw was a bunch of people focused ONLY on school, not on social life, etc, and while I work hard in school, I also like to have fun. </p>

<p>Did I just get a bad impression? Or is this what Duke is becoming? </p>

<p>P.S. Didn't see many hot girls either!</p>

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<p>Midterms…</p>

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<p>Duke students would be more knowledgeable about this than I, but it hasn’t been customary at either of the schools I’ve attended for kids to party it up in the middle of the day on a Monday. Things like classes, extracurriculars, and midterms tend to keep people busy. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>Additionally, I would assume that most of the action doesn’t take place on the main quad.</p>

<p>

I’m not even going to touch this one. Perhaps you’d be more comfortable somewhere less diverse.</p>

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<p>Obviously, everyone can have a very different experience BUT, my S had the exact same feeling at Duke. He just kept looking around and wondering if he could be friends with anyone there. Perhaps, he was just being too critical (although that is not his personality) but in the end, decided not to apply. I also have to admit he made a comment about no “cute girls” (before you flame me, those were his words)</p>

<p>Anyway, he ended up at Vanderbilt!</p>

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<p>Yeah, I understand it is a Monday, and possibly during midterms (didn’t even think of that), but still, it didn’t have like a fun and relaxed atmosphere like I expected. </p>

<p>As my mother so eloquently put it (not me) there seemed to be a lot of “asian computer nerds” and not a lot of “smart football players.” </p>

<p>NOTE: I am not, in any way, shape, or form racist whatsoever.</p>

<p>And yeah, not a lot of hot girls that I always pictured at college.</p>

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<p>College isn’t exactly an all-day everyday party. People are stressed about work, midterms, etc etc. While I understand that first impressions are important, just because you went on Science drive and saw a bunch of “Nerds” with books who had to be somewhere and who didn’t stop and smile at random people doesn’t mean Duke is a boring place. Also understand that even though Duke has a reputation for being “fun” it is also a top 10 school. We didn’t exactly get there by partying our way to the top. </p>

<p>As for your tour group, I can’t really comment on that specifically but I would imagine that it happens all the time at Duke and other places. I mean you are throwing a bunch of strangers together for a walking tour, that just sounds awkward. </p>

<p>With regards to people focusing on school…well, as others have mentioned, it was monday. When they say Duke students work hard/play hard, let’s not forget about the work hard part. Just as people don’t focus on their school work when they are at a frat party, students don’t tend to focus on fun and parties when they get down to working. </p>

<p>Lastly, maybe it’s just me, but I usually don’t evaluate the “friendability” of strangers just by looking at them for 10 seconds and I rarely hear of people who have trouble making friends here if they wanted to. </p>

<p>In the end, Duke isn’t for every one. If that first impression means so much that you absolutely can’t imagine being here, then don’t apply. You should focus on what makes you happy, since you are going to spend 4 years at whichever college you choose.</p>

<p>PS: if you want lots and lots of hot girls, go to a state school. The larger the student body size, the more hot girls. It’s pure statistics.</p>

<p>Edit: I was just wondering, you and your family seem to be very derisive towards the “nerds” especially the “asian computer nerds” but is that what you really seem to put a premium on? Being around fewer asians, CS majors, and “nerds”? Or do you just call all Asians with books and glasses Asian computer nerds in general?</p>

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<p>It’s just that being a 6 foot 5, 225 pound, blonde haired, “jock” I don’t tend to have the same personality as a “computer nerd” majoring in CS. It’s not that I think I’m better or anything like that, I’m just different. I’m not going to Reed College because I’m not very liberal, I’m not going to Florida because I’m not that much of a partier, I like Duke because of the work hard/play hard, and I didn’t see that very much. </p>

<p>I’m asking for an alternative view of what Campus Life is like, and if a “smart football player” would fit in at Duke.</p>

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<p>duke is still a top ACADEMIC institution that has some great sports (which should come second)</p>

<p>Academics are going to be (by far) the most important in all of the top ~30</p>

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<p>Any school in the top 30 will seem nerdier and more diverse than your high school. If you visited other schools on an equal academic standing with Duke, you would probably find more serious students. According to Princeton Review, Duke is considered to be one of the top 20 jock schools.</p>

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<p>I asked my D ( not White, not Asian, not “computer”, probably not your version of “hot” and maybe a “nerd”). For her it’s around midterms, but it’s not just one day or week. I am about to visit for “family/parents” day, but won’t stay long ( I did last year), as we are heading off to MY alma mater ( Howard University!), for homecoming! How “shocking” would THAT be?!?</p>

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<p>I doubt that you would have that much trouble fitting in. There are plenty of people at Duke that share your stated interests–sports, history, politics, and partying. If having white people is really important to you, they are not in short supply on campus. They still make up nearly 50% of the student body and constitute an even greater proportion in the Greek scene. Also, despite looking rather similar, I think that you’ll find nerds majoring in CS aren’t as one-dimensional as you think.</p>

<p>So, it turns out that hot girls aren’t omnipresent on Duke’s campus, but they do exist.</p>

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<p>Help me understand something. So you came to Duke during midterms and toured campus in the middle of the day on Monday. Then you say you didn’t see the work hard/play hard culture? Well just to help you out with that, the play hard part of the culture doesn’t happen at 1:00 PM on a Monday, the play hard is usually referring to nighttime activities.</p>

<p>I’m sorry to sound so critical and I’m only going to be more critical now, but if you are basing your opinion of a school on the 50-60 students you saw then I don’t know what to tell you. Also, if you are basing your opinion of a school on the group of students you were touring with that don’t even attend the university then that is also strange. And yes, it is strange that you felt weird being the only “white” kid in your tour group. Duke is an international university and just to help you out the world is becoming international, so you might want to become more comfortable with people that are different than you. </p>

<p>And lastly, how do you know you don’t have the same personality as a CS computer nerd? Basing people’s personalities on the way they look is also very strange. What I’m trying to tell you is that you are being very narrow minded. I know this message might come off as harsh but you really need to re-evaluate where you are coming from with some of you stereotypes and jumping to conclusions. I hope this helps somewhat.</p>

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<p>random thoughts (may or may not overlap with what others said)</p>

<ul>
<li>Middle of the day on a Monday during midterms - enough said about the lack of partying and the lots of stress.</li>
<li>For an idea of most Dukies’ attitudes towards academics vs. partying: I’ve found it is perfectly acceptable to go to the library and stay there all day Saturday studying for a midterm on Monday, go have dinner w/ friends, then go out that night and have fun. Then hit the books again on Sunday for that midterm on Monday. It’s also perfectly acceptable to not go out at all and just stay in and study. It would be weird, however, if you didn’t study at all and just had fun all weekend. Duke is a top-ten school, and for nearly every one of us, doing well on a midterm gets much higher priority than going out 4 nights a week.</li>
<li>Lots of non-whites. Yeah, what do you expect at a university, and a really good one at that? Lots of “Asian computer nerds”? Yeah, Duke is a really good university made up of really smart people. They happen to be really into computers, but have a conversation with some of those “Asian computer nerds” and I think you’ll be more than a little surprised at how multi-dimensional they are behind the thick glasses and WoW-obsessed exterior… Just like how multi-dimensional [I hope] you are under the blond hair and football-playing jock of an exterior.</li>
<li>Most popular majors at Duke: Econ, Political Science, Public Policy. Yes, we like politics. Yes, you’ll fit in.</li>
<li>Loudest indoor stadium in the country = lots of bball-obsessed Crazies. You’ll find plenty of sports-obsessed people here. Football…yeah, Duke kind of sucks at it and it doesn’t get the same hype as basketball, but Dukies definitely go out and support our team, especially now when we’re winning more than 0 games in a season.</li>
</ul>

<p>I’ll stop my rambling here and just summarize: Duke is known for its play hard/work hard motto. We party harder than most of the top-10 schools. We are more sports-obsessed than any of the top-10 schools. We have more school spirit than any of the other top-10 schools. BUT we are still a top-10 school, we are here to get a good education and get a good job/into a good grad/med/law school. And that last bit still takes priority. But we want to have fun while achieving that last bit.</p>

<p>Does this help?</p>

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<p>Check out Stanford. On the tour, the guide talked, students walked up to her and talked, and even some professors called her out by name to say hello. Everyone I saw seemed smart, friendly and pretty normal. </p>

<p>If only I could get in…<em>sigh</em>…lol!</p>

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<p>^lol as if Duke doesn’t have that happen?</p>

<p>Anyway, OP, you came during midterms. Everyone is a little stressed out because of looming tests and stuff, so yeah you probably didn’t come during the best time. :confused: Trust me, we have an incredible balance between academics and fun.</p>

<p>Two points:
a) as others have said, top schools are top schools for a reason - academics matter.
b)

</p>

<p>Duke has become incredibly more and more diverse over the years. If that’s not your cup of tea, I would not recommend any top ten school lol.</p>

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<p>Tiger62025: maybe that’s just bigger regional cultural differences. Maybe in Cali, people do that, but I personally would consider interrupting a tour to be extremely rude. </p>

<p>IMHO, people came all the way to Duke to find out more about the school. They took the tour because they wanted to see the campus and hear more about it from someone who is knowledgeable. Interrupting the tour to talk to the tour guide who is a friend would distract the tour guide, hold up the tour, and be disrepectful to the perspective students in my view. Same also applies to professors. Additionally, there are far more students than professors, the chances of a tour guide running into a professor that he/she knows well enough to converse with on such a big campus is miniscule. </p>

<p>But if it’s friendly interactions, I can say that it happens all the time. I stop and talk to friends I see every day and if you walk around, you’ll see that happening too. As for talking with professors, some of the ones that I know well say hi to me or wave whenever I see them, even if I haven’t taken a class with them in years or if we are across the quad from each other. I can’t tell you how many times i just walk by their offices, see their light on or their door open and drop in to talk. And this saturday my advisor is taking me and a few other advisees to lunch. So I can say that you won’t lack faculty-student interactions either. </p>

<p>Just because you don’t see it on a tour doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. Duke isn’t a static museum exhibit.</p>

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<p>OP- boy, you really know how to write a post that pushes people’s buttons! i am sure this is not the only campus you have visited, so you are comparing the atmosphere to other schools, not expecting students to be walking around carrying beers at 1:00.</p>

<p>Maybe your impression is the reason that Duke’s introductory lecture, and admissions pamphlets ,this year emphasize that they are not looking for kids with perfect scores, but smart kids who may have some ‘bumps’ in their record. When we visited, the adcom who gave the welcoming lecture said they had had several classes of 4.5gpa/2600sat kids, and the professors complained that they were boring. He encouraged less than perfect but interesting kids to apply. At the time I thought it was just another gimmick to lower their admission rate, but reading your post, maybe he was being honest.</p>

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<p>“have a conversation with some of those “Asian computer nerds” and I think you’ll be more than a little surprised at how multi-dimensional they are behind the thick glasses and WoW-obsessed exterior… Just like how multi-dimensional [I hope] you are under the blond hair and football-playing jock of an exterior.”</p>

<p>Senator Noodles- what a thoughtful, positive response! D is applying ED at Duke, I hope you are representative of the kids she might be spending 4 years with.</p>

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<p>Not trying to stir the pot here, but it sounds like the OP would be a lot happier at UNC. Lots of white jocks and hot girls. The jock: nerd ratio is probably about 4:1, and the hot girl:jock ratio is probably about 2:1.</p>

<p>Carry on.</p>

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<p>Like I said before…state schools…</p>