<p>I plan on applying to Duke and to be part of the class of 2014, but I am just curious as to how strong the history and political science programs are.</p>
<p>I’ll just put my “Why Duke?” essay from the supplement on here..</p>
<p>There was tension in our Duke family, and it wasnt even March Madness. Dad had told me for the past three years that I was right for Duke, but Mom pictured me at a Christian school. My question was, is Duke right for me? Could I continue to grow spiritually in what Mom called a worldly, rich kids school? For all of my life, winters meant Duke interviews, and I secretly listened from my place at the top of the stairs as Dad described Duke with words such as stimulating and life-changing. Mom cringed when he lobbied Mike Schneider (10), a son of our close missionary friends, to choose Duke over Notre Dame, and I listened carefully when he answered questions for Nikia (11) about racial attitudes on the Duke campus.
Surprisingly, it was Mom who noticed that, when we visited last April, the student body actually does look like it is portrayed in the Duke view book, where in every picture an assortment of countries and colors is represented. Whether it was the chapel service, Bryan Center, or Perkins Library, the scene was the same: students from obviously different backgrounds mingling to learn from each others unique experiences. This is what I want: to offer every single one of my gifts and talents to be sculpted by the Duke community. I want to join in the harmonies of Lux Aeterna with the prestigious Duke Chapel Choir. I want to contribute to and question the discussions of IMPACT Christian Fellowship. I want to challenge myself to learn from the Durham community while serving through DukeEngage. I want to bask in the sunlight of the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, trying to recuperate from the previous nights triumph at Cameron Indoor.
When the Asian Frisbee player who was wearing a Campus Crusade T-shirt patiently answered my questions about the neuroscience program at Duke, we were all completely sold. Mom has undergone a different sort of conversion, even offering prayers on my behalf.</p>
<p>What a wonderful essay. Welcome to Duke. You’ll love it.</p>
<p>thanks! I can’t wait!</p>
<p>wow! sweeet essay!</p>
<p>If you were looking for an eclectic community you could have found that at just about any of the top thirty or forty schools (discounting public schools). So with that said, why Duke? I’m just curious.</p>
<p>You know what bothers me: There is a very good answer to this question, “Why Duke,” that so many of us (Dukies to-be, Dukies, and Dukies-Once-And-Forever) feel the answer to, but cannot articulate. I was critical of CEO but lets be real - my essay was just as confused. My first argument was, “Well, screw the Ivy League,” but obviously that isn’t a good reason to pick a school. And yet, I am so sure that there is something special about Duke. I can point to certain things, but lacking some sort-of cohesiveness they fall apart. Then again, that is the story of so many profound things we wish we could say and are never able to.</p>
<p>It wasn’t just the eclectic community, jct, although I can see where you’re coming from.. it was the perfect combination of that which complemented the academics, which complemented the attitudes of students, which complemented the activities, facilities, and opportunities on campus.</p>
<p>and I completely agree with you- it is very difficult to put into words “why duke,” especially since I’ve grown up in a family where I thought that duke was the only school in the country until about the age of 7. I don’t think I’d exactly call my essay “confused,” but hey- the admissions committee said they loved it, so I’m not complaining. the other aspects of my application probably also helped answer the “why duke” question for them. thanks for your input. :)</p>
<p>Does Duke have a good creative writing program?</p>
<p>Yes, it’s one of our strengths.</p>
<p>I have the feeling I am going to love Duke when I visit April 2nd. They are flying me out one day early and I get to stay an extra day with a student. The level of accommodation is really turning me on to the school. </p>
<p>I think I could be really happy at Duke entering their Public Policy program and taking a handful of other courses I’m interested in: Biology, Theology, Art History, and Creative Writing, for instance. I should probably know this, but does Duke have a core? Or, are course loads generally flexible?</p>
<p>We do have a set of requirements we ask you to meet, but they’re relatively flexible. For example, we want two Arts, Literature, and Performance credits (ALP). You can fulfill then in English, Dance, Music, Art History, The Art Market (Economics), presumably even a few political science courses qualify. We want two Natural Science credits – but biology, chemistry, physics all count, and there’s a few lighter courses that each department offers, like Astronomy or Dinosaur Biology.</p>
<p>So while there’s a lot of requirements, there’s a lot of courses that can fill them – and many courses that will fill several of them.</p>
<p>(standard Trinity vs. Pratt distinction applies here 
)</p>
<p>Compelling read. I’ve grown to love Duke after reading this thread. :)</p>
<p>Any of you Duke students care to critique my why duke response?</p>
<p>Padfoot, how did you get Duke to fly you out there?</p>
<p>does anyone know anything about the Duke economics program? How does it compare to that of schools like WashU, UVA, Northwestern, Cornell, Emory, etc.</p>
<p>Went to a Duke presentation with my son. Economics is the most popular major on campus.</p>
<p>LOL i googled “math 32” and it brought me to this thread. nice to see such duke love and at the same time, learn that i should never take math 32 as a freshman lOL.</p>
<p>I am not really into Duke but my advisor strongly suggested me apply. This is an amazing thread and I have known a lot about Duke, something the website doesn’t tell. Personally I still prefer U of C.
it seems that Duke is good at everything therefore not unique. i like Caltech, which has famously bad humanity studies, or Yale, the best school in Law but never great in science studies. but Duke…</p>