<p>I have been browsing around the forums after I committed to Duke, and frankly I have been very disheartened by people talking lowly about Duke. Is it Harvard? No; but people are really bad mouthing what I viewed as my dream school in terms of academic/social life mix. Why do people hate Duke? :(</p>
<p>Are you sure it is spelled ‘Duke’ ?
I always thought it was Dook and you were Dookies.
Live and learn everyday.</p>
<p>If I had a wisecrack about Northwestern, I’d fire a return salvo. But I don’t have any intention of picking a fight.</p>
<p>i dont know much about duke at all, but isnt it something about the way their freshmen are treated? i always felt like they were considered very lowly by upperclassmen there. a lot of people dont like the fact that the freshman dorms are practically seperate from campus. just a thought.</p>
<p>I may have just come across a couple of angry people by chance, so I can’t say there is a prevailing attitude of hate. I just feel like I’m missing a piece of the puzzle because I love everything I’ve seen and heard regarding Duke. Probably me just being overly sensitive.</p>
<p>Because of Christian Laettner and Coach K.</p>
<p>[Jalen</a> Rose on early life, Grant Hill and Duke - Fab Five - YouTube](<a href=“Jalen Rose on early life, Grant Hill and Duke - Fab Five - YouTube”>Jalen Rose on early life, Grant Hill and Duke - Fab Five - YouTube)
[The</a> Fab Five on Laettner and Hill. - YouTube](<a href=“The Fab Five on Laettner and Hill. - YouTube”>The Fab Five on Laettner and Hill. - YouTube)</p>
<p>But on a serious note, this more or less spells out the general feelings of animosity towards Duke (whether true or not), both on a social and athletic level: elite, white, yuppi, wealthy, uniform, etc. I personally think this is an unfair portrayal of what is truly an amazing institution, but the image will continue to stand regardless.</p>
<p>Why hate Duke? There is a sense among the cognoscenti that Duke is a parvenu who only recently arrived at the elite school party through basketball notoriety. Because of Duke basketball, the name was just floating out there and many high stat kids used it as a backup. Some went there, or had to go there. Eventually, the academics began to catch up with the out-sized basketball reputation and, in a re-inforcing loop, better and better applicants began to apply (because the student body kept getting better academically). So, now, what people realize is that you have this solid academic school that is still framed more as a Southern jock school (basketball, Duke lacrosse,etc.). Stanford had something of the same problem back in the 50’s - 70’s, where is was a academic/football backup to Ivy Schools (very few top kids on the East Coast would even apply to Stanford, actually) until it gained a reputation independent of is association with the Pac10. That reputation came from work obviously done in semiconductors and software in Silicon Valley (by dint of the engineering emphasis originally established at Stanford). Outside of HYP, the rest of the Ivy League is kind of faceless and useless, but because the schools are “Ivy League,” they benefit irrationally from the association and get tons of great students, even the worst of whom precipitate into a very qualified class. Duke COULD be a Stanford, as Duke has Pratt, but for whatever reason (an emphasis on “civil’ and “mechanical” engineering vs. software engineering?), Pratt hasn’t done the job for Duke – ie., creating an identity of unique 'smarts” and quality and desireability – in the way that engineering had done historically for Stanford. Duke’s academics are very good, but the reputation of the school and its desireability as a destination for the best and the brightest is still a fragile construct supported by long-term name recognition bought through basketball success and March betting pools. To have the solidity of a Stanford, and the ultimate desireability of an Ivy, Duke – and especially Pratt – has got to get its act together as regards the so-called “Research Triangle,” which has produced absolutely nothing, nothing, nothing of widespread use or renown (like a Google or a Yahoo). In short, when Duke can bring something unique to the party to build on (in the way that UChicago has brought its Nobel prizes and economics reputation), then will Duke graduate into the tippy-top tier. This is why most people hate on Duke – they feel its ranking and is reputation is more the result of general name recognition (pumped up by basketball) and not truly the result of superior academics, research, or the very best students. This suspicion will linger until, as I say, Duke is identified with something unique to itself (academically!!) and/or its region.</p>
<p>Jealousy – at least it’s where I am from. No real good reason.</p>
<p>Croatian Nation,</p>
<p>Read “I am Charlotte Simmons” by Tom Wolfe and you will get an idea. Although a parody, having attended Duke for grad school, Wolfe is not far from the mark in his portrayal of the undergrads there.</p>
<p>Well, the Wiki plot summary makes that sound downright depressing. I firmly believe that there has to be a vast part of Duke that is an academically sound and socially respectable institution.</p>
<p>Freshman campus is separate form main campus and in Durham which isn’t the greatest place. Bad press from lacrosse “incident” which was dropped, but had enough of a ring of truth to tarnish reputation as drinking school where southern white boys run amok. Let’s see . . . PowerPoint written by female student detailing hook up conquests and culture of rampant drunken sex which made national press. Again, this may not be true or reflect the whole population, but it’s an image that’s out there in the press.</p>
<p>Is there any school, or for that matter any person or institution of consequence, that doesn’t have its own hate-club?</p>
<p>Its image for some reason has “jerk” associated with it. Its the mean kids from high school, with wealthy parents, who are good at school yet incredibly unreflective. Its the school that created the lacrosse scandal, a top institution that is more pre-professional that it is intellectual. This is not my personal feeling, but its how I perceive the image. Although I’m surprised that Penn, which has had a similar historical image, does not get more flack for this. </p>
<p>I think this is partially, but far from totally, true. Duke is almost 40% minority, is full of some of the most gifted and talented students in the world, and is located in a beautiful location. The alums I know from the school are super bright and well rounded people. Would Duke be on my short list? Absolutely. Would it be my top choice? Probably not. I still have the feeling that comparable schools like Brown, Stanford, Dartmouth are more well-rounded with nicer and more welcoming student bodies.</p>
<p>"I still have the feeling that comparable schools like Brown, Stanford, Dartmouth are more well-rounded with nicer and more welcoming student bodies. "</p>
<p>Here we go again. Stanford is a cut above Duke.</p>
<p>I’m gonna nip that one in the bud before it begins. Stanford is better than Duke, sure. Leagues better? No. Considerably better? Still sounds a bit much. I agree Stanford is Tier 1, Duke landing a step behind it with lower Ivies. Let’s not start a war.</p>
<p>
Well, it depends on how you look at it, I suppose. Technically Duke is one large, contiguous campus, with most of the academic buildings, the upperclassmen dorms, and the main library at one end, the freshmen dorms at the other end, and things like the Sarah Duke gardens, the Freeman Jewish Center, and the Nasher art mueum in between. In practical terms, yes, it takes about 15 or 20 minutes for most freshmen to walk to class – no worse than at UNC or UCLA and probably a great deal better given that it takes about 5 minutes by bus, which run regularly. </p>
<p>Most people like living on East. It has its own gym, its own library, its own dining hall, etc. It also has the music building, dance building, a theatre, and a sort of hipster/live music joint. Freshmen get to build a sense of community that’s somewhat unique because of this. Of course, they still mingle quite a lot with upperclassmen through classes, clubs/organizations, parties on West, etc. </p>
<p>Now, in the olden days it was men on West and women on East. THAT would get many complaints nowadays, I think. ;)</p>
<p>
Nope! Over the years, I’ve seen CC posters coming out to bash:</p>
<p>– Harvard when it came in near last in the COFHE student happiness survey
– Princeton in the Jian Li incident and a recent thread about censorship
– MIT admissions over the Marilee Jones incident
– Yale for the “No means yes, yes means…” incident recently
– Stanford for not catching a fake student
– Wisconsin for photoshopping a black student into a brochure
– Columbia for bringing Ahmadinejad to campus
– Johns Hopkins after the series of murders in 2004/2005 and the black-themed “Halloween in the Hood” party
– Tufts for the “O Come All Ye Black Folk” carol incident
– WUStL for “gaming” the USNWR rankings
– Chicago for meeting with US News people, joining the Common App, mass mailings, etc.
– NYU for its protests and the building of the Abu Dhabi campus
– Liberty U for being what it is
– Penn State for football recently
– Morehouse for homphobia
– Numerous schools for fudging numbers on the Peer Assessment survey
– Lots more I’m probably forgetting</p>
<p>What makes Duke somewhat unusual is that the above incidents brought out the pitchforks and torches, but they were usually put away again fairly quickly. In contrast, many people tend to nourish a rather deep-seated dislike for (or even hatred of) Duke. </p>
<p>I can understand a hatred for the basketball team, which is a bit odd but understandable given the overly fervent emotions of college sports fans, but a generalized dislike for a diverse campus of 6500 students, many of whom would fit in quite nicely if placed at a dozen other top schools, is rather mystifying to me. This is especially the case when people have never set foot within 100 miles of campus and go by what they’ve read or one or two alums they’ve met. The problem with reputation, of course, is that campuses change, often quite rapidly – I can personally testify that Duke is <em>much</em> more gay-friendly than when I was in high school and now has one of the largest populations among the top private schools. Similarly, I was rather surprised but pleased to visit Chicago recently and find its campus <em>much</em> more active and outgoing than when I visited in high school.</p>
<p>
Eh, what’s the big deal? I loved my time at Duke - the people, the relationships I developed with professors, the beautiful campus, the fun student clubs, etc. My feelings of self-worth and fondness for my alma mater are not in any way dependent on the opinions of others. Quite frankly, they can say Duke students eat babies for all I care. (Well, I’d probably be amused.)</p>
<p>Duke is a great school that has good placement into jobs and graduate and professional schools, and the loyalty of its alumni is second to none. I’m sure you’ll have a great time at Duke; it has a lot to offer.</p>
<p>@Placido240 Duke does have something distinctive about it. Ever heard of Duke Med? We consistently produce groundbreaking research and are recognized as one of the best and most innovative medical schools on the face of the planet.</p>
<p>Also as a freshman I can vouch for East Campus being absolutely amazing. Being with people who are experiencing a similar set of circumstances fosters a great deal of community and eases the transition to college.</p>
<p>Warbler, that was without a doubt the best post I have ever read here on CC. Thank you very much for that.</p>
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<p>I have no dog in this fight since I’m not connected to Duke, but I would disagree with your statement, warblers. Threads about H go on and on and on – I’ve participated in some of them. NYU gets bashed constantly about the lack of finaid. Tufts is the poster-child for The Syndrome. WashU is the poster-child for well, being WashU (rankings whore). Marilee Jones represents hypocrisy in highly selective admissions - it’s not necessarily an MIT thing per se. The P issue continues to resurface, LONG after the original complaint was filed.</p>
<p>btw: you failed to not the constant slap-down of (gasp) public Unis. Cal and Michigan get more than their share of arrows. (Can’t let those top publics get too uppity bcos unlike UVa, they actually recruit poor kids!)</p>
<p>In any event, I certainly don’t see constant bashing of Duke OP. Was the lax case over-the-top? Sure, but the NYT made it that way (and since cc is NE-centric…). Heck, Duke’s President even piled on, as did Duke’s faculty members. </p>
<p>But don’t be so sensitive OP. Again, cc tends to be NE-centric, (and private school fans, and anti big time D1 sports). :rolleyes:</p>