Just let me know the stuff you would change or don’t like
There are definitely certain things I would change about Duke, but I think I speak for the majority of most Duke students that the pros of attending a university on the level of Duke far outweighs any of the cons. Do I sometimes gripe about the somewhat high prices of meals at West Union (aka the newly Christened Dick Center), or parking on campus? Yes, but at the end of the day you have to remember that as a Duke student you are still extremely fortunate enough to be here, and that even if our university isn’t perfect, it’s sure is a great place to grow and learn as a university student.
@ldoc97 Way to dodge the question almost completely.
As an alumnus, I definitely do not miss the following:
*Waiting for the bus when living on East campus
*The competitiveness of certain segments of the student body
*The heavy emphasis on consulting and finance career recruiting
*The deceptively sprawling campus and how much of a walk it is to get from the bus stops to the Sanford building. This may not actually be unique to just Duke. I can’t imagine the trek students at Stanford have to from buildings to buildings.
@Jwest22 @“helpmegetin!” Well okay, if you want me to be nitpick all the things I dislike about Duke here are just some of them:
- The amount of used condoms in the stacks of LL2 of Perkins after LDOC (having sex in the library is one of the "unofficial" graduation requirements of Duke for all those unfamiliar with the school)
- The nauseating smell of beer vomit emanating out of the bathrooms of the freshman residence halls on Sunday mornings
- Getting body slammed everyday by hordes of commuting students trying to get to my 10:05 a.m on East Campus
- Having to fork over $500 of my work study wages every semester as a freshman because the freshman dining plan literally sucks and forces you to pay out of pocket for meals.
- The frightening number of students with mental health issues and alcoholism on campus who refuse to get treated because of the desire to be "effortlessly perfect" as Duke students.
- The high level of sexual assault on campus (according to a recent survey, nearly 40% of all Duke women are survivors of sexual violence: http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2017/04/reflecting-on-sexual-assault-prevention).
Again, I take pride in my university, even though I know it may not be a perfect place. Many of these problems are not limited to Duke, and Duke students should still take pride in the fact that they attend Duke despite the many problems with our university.
Coming from a city with high cost of living, I actually think WU prices aren’t bad at all for the portion sizes, and Duke’s “sprawling campus” is one of my favorite parts of it because I love walking/running. Uncommon opinions, perhaps
• Construction. Hate it hate it. DON’T DO IT NEAR MY WINDOW BEFORE 7AM.
• T-reqs. They encouraged me to take classes I wouldn’t, sure, but were large wastes of time–time I could have spent taking classes in subjects I actually enjoy. The three FL requirement is weird and arbitrary, and this is coming from someone that wishes they could take MORE languages but no space in my schedule because I was dealing with other T-reqs like NS courses that added nothing for me.
• How liberal the student population is. I’m chuckling to myself while writing this because I’ve heard that Duke is supposed to be one of the more “conservative” of the top selective universities. Even then, the people can be too much for me, despite the fact that I also largely lean left. The A-Quad occupation, for instance, and the way the university handled it was too much for my liking, and I actually knew one of the “Divine Nine” (haven’t seen these words in a while!).
I wrote an entire post about this very topic a little while ago:
The comments contain useful information as well.
Though the financial aid is still awesome, Duke will make you pay more for things than you should really have to. For example, you can’t save money by choosing to be an RA or living off campus (you’re required to live on campus for three years). Additionally, you’re required to pay for an overpriced meal plan for three years. So I could be saving a few thousand a year that I’m taking out loans for. However, Duke is still 7k/year cheaper than my top state school, and my family is solidly middle class.
Also, the freshman meal plan sucks. It’s really expensive, Marketplace has little vegetarian options, and you only get about $30 a week to buy 7+ meals with. If you’re too poor to pay another few hundred dollars out-of-pocket (like me), then you’ll have to be really thrifty in order to eat every meal. I don’t know how I’d do it if I were an athlete or guy, or if I didn’t have peanut butter and jelly handy in my dorm.
I still love Duke though!