<p>I am considering Duke as one of my RD scools.</p>
<p>Why do you guys like Duke? What's special about it? I know Duke has great academics, as some other schools do. Academics are impt, but my question would be more about a school atmosphere or anything that sets Duke apart from other schools. (btw, I am not even close to a football or basketball fan. ;) )</p>
<p>Personally, I heard that Duke is a very self-segregated, preppy school. No offense by any mean! But any validity in this rumor?</p>
<p>Looking to write that Why Duke essay, huh?</p>
<p>I like Duke because I read indepth both the Duke website and what people say online. I ended up drawing my own conclusions about what I specifically liked about the school because I had done the work by myself.</p>
<p>nah I even didn’t know there is Why Duke essay until you told me. </p>
<p>And just so you know, I did work by myself too, but also want to hear from others who are currently attending Duke or know Duke very well. Thanks for your sarcasm.</p>
<p>I said it in the “Why Duke” thread and I’ll say it here again. </p>
<p>Duke is so special because it is a school with a great reputation that requires very little effort on your part to get decent/good grades. This leaves you with many job and graduate school opportunities that most people from lower ranked and peer schools will never have even though you didn’t work as hard as them for your high gpas!</p>
<p>Duke University
Forty Questions: Grade Inflation at My Old Stomping Ground
Forty Questions: Grade Inflation at My Old Stomping Ground, Part 2</p>
<p>Duke is also really special for its top notch basketball and lacrosse programs!</p>
<p>If these aren’t enough reasons to go to Duke, idk what is.</p>
<p>^ Personally I think Duke is special because of its inclusiveness. What I mean by that is you don’t need to be a hardcore basketball fan or sports fan to appreciate the school spirit and to participate in the many such activities on campus. </p>
<p>Of course, you need to have some interest to begin with, but if you do end up at Duke, you can get in on many of these fun things just by being out and about.</p>
<p>I mis-posted some links earlier, here you go guys</p>
<p>[Forty</a> Questions: Grade Inflation at My Old Stomping Ground](<a href=“http://fortyquestions.blogspot.com/2009/03/grade-inflation-at-my-old-stomping.html]Forty”>http://fortyquestions.blogspot.com/2009/03/grade-inflation-at-my-old-stomping.html)
[Forty</a> Questions: Grade Inflation at My Old Stomping Ground, Part 2](<a href=“http://fortyquestions.blogspot.com/2009/03/grade-inflation-at-my-old-stomping_23.html]Forty”>http://fortyquestions.blogspot.com/2009/03/grade-inflation-at-my-old-stomping_23.html)
[Duke</a> University](<a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com/Duke.html]Duke”>Duke University)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Uh, have you even gone to Duke? Those statements are not true at all. If you don’t work at Duke, you will not get good grades, especially in the math and sciences. It’s true that there’s grade inflation across the nation and Duke is part of that trend. If you want good grades, especially in a tough major, you’ll have to work hard. There are schools that are more known for grade inflation than Duke…for example, Brown, with it’s no curriculum requirements, capability to drop a class right before you fail it, takes things/switch to pass/fail, etc. Duke is similar to Northwestern, Stanford, UPenn, etc. when it comes to grade inflation. You need to work hard at all of these places unless you strategically choose easy courses (which is certainly possible at any of those universities). Princeton, MIT, and Cal Tech are some schools where I’d say it’s probably a bit harder to achieve a high GPA. Harvard though?!? haha. Much easier to get a great GPA at Harvard than it is at Duke. Even having said that, you think Harvard students don’t work hard? Obviously they do and are very accomplished and intelligent.</p>
<p>^ Whole-hearted agree. . . who says you don’t have to work hard at Duke? That person obviously is clueless about Duke academics, because you’ll definitely work harder here than probably ever have in your life.</p>
<p>There are other things that make Duke special. The richness of cultures, the challenging and flexible curriculum, the vast spectrum of opportunities, and much more!</p>
<p>The people here are amazing. They work hard on weekdays and play hard on weekends. The entire atmosphere is very close-knit, and students here really bond over classes, athletic events (TENTING), and of course, weekend shenanigans. I’ve heard of some places where students fight to the death over grades. . . but not here. People are always willing to help you out when you need. This includes professors as well, who often go out of there way to offer assistance. My math professor stayed in his office past midnight during midterms to help students.</p>
<p>Oh, and if you’re not a basketball fan, you will become one. Trust me.</p>
<p>And the self-segregated/preppy charge isn’t true.</p>
<p>~Jimmy</p>
<p>Honestly, you need to come visit and experience Duke for yourself. It’s something no one can really put into words…</p>
<p>um i don’t know who told you duke was easy - its definitely not.
the math classes are REALLY hard. i know a girl who was intending to major in math, but she already dropped out of her advanced level math course.
especially if you’re looking at an engineering track, you’ll be putting in a ridiculous amount of work. same with essentially any Quantitative Studies class.</p>
<p>that being said, as others mentioned before, there is a definite work hard, play hard atmosphere here. people work like crazy 9-5 but friday afternoon-sunday morning, its essentially a playground. the students are all really close and everyone works together instead of the sabotaging that can go on at other upper level schools.</p>
Is there anything else that makes Duke distinctive?
I would just like to say it’s humorous that so many took seriously the ridiculous comments made by “110percentwahoo”. If you don’t already know, a Wahoo is someone from the University of Virginia, one of Duke’s rivals.
To answer the question, what makes Duke distinctive: campus, architecture, basketball, programs such as Duke Engage and Bass Connections, interdisciplinary programs, research, West Union, diverse student population. And more–you need to experience it yourself.