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Due to occasional spikes in conveniently awful press, Duke kids sometimes get a bad rap in the media for being rich, white, cliquey party animals. There was a Rolling Stone article several years ago, GQ rated us one of America's "Douchiest" schools, and of course, the lacrosse scandal still sticks out in the average American's mind when they hear "Duke." Think polos, topsiders, and Brooks Brothers club shorts.

What you should also know is that these aggressive, negative stereotypes are incredibly overblown. Is there a significant Greek presence at Duke? Sure. Some students choose to take fraternity and sorority life very seriously. Rest assured, though, that even those within the Greek system are very often actively involved in many other social and extracurricular spheres and avoid closing themselves off from the rest of campus. As an extroverted independent, I have never once felt socially alienated. I party with frat guys. I hangout with my teams from various extracurriculars. I chill with my basketball/workout friends. At Duke, our students are such amazing, well-rounded, talented individuals that the concept of over-the-top social segregation is becoming less and less of an issue. Duke might have been closer to some of our stereotypes years ago, but know that when you step onto campus now, you will be surrounded by thousands of amazing, dynamic people who don't fit into neat little cliche boxes. You can make friends with anyone and everyone.

Duke is also far more ethnically and financially diverse than people give it credit for. The admissions committee does a good job of making sure they've built a class full of people from all kinds of backgrounds, and the financial aid system is one of the best in the world, thanks to our generous endowment. Big need-based grants are far more common than our privileged stereotype might suggest.

One thing you'll likely notice from your conversations with current Duke students and alumni (no matter how old) is that we really, really, really love our school. A lot. There's a reason the Duke alumni network is among the strongest, most financially supportive, and most professionally helpful in the country. We know what a great place it is, and we like to take care of our own.

There are so many factors that lead to this kind of nigh-obsessive Duke love, and those factors are often different for different people. For me:

- It's the perfect size. ~ 6,500 undergrads is big enough so you don't feel stifled, but small enough to provide tons of seminar-scale class sizes and lots of friendly familiarity with lots of people. Starting right off in Orientation Week, you feel like you could get to know anyone if you tried. Even the physical campus itself reflects this happy medium, feeling homey but grandiose.

- It's the perfect blend of work and fun. Obviously, Duke is a top 10 academic institution. School, grades, internships, etc. will/should be a significant part of your Duke journey for sure. You'll see plenty of people camping out late (REALLY late) in Perkins library, even early in the semester. But if you got into Duke, you're the type who thrives on that kind of pressure and academic challenge, and the environment is so warm and cooperative that you won't feel like a gunner trying to destroy his peers. Group study sessions, even if none of you are studying for the same class, are frequent and show that we're all in this together. At the same time, 4 years at Duke is an incredible amount of fun. Again, this could mean different things for different people. If you want to drink and socialize via the traditional partying, there's plenty of that. If you want to live in a tent for a month or more to score sweet seats at basketball games, there are hundreds of others who are thinking the exact same thing. If you just want to unwind and watch a movie in the common room, I guarantee someone else will be too tired to go out, too.

- The people. I've said it already so I'll try not to sound like a broken record too much. You will not find a better, more comprehensive blend of smart, talented, fun, vibrant students anywhere. Period.

- It opens doors. Coming to Duke, I was very ambitious, but also very naive. I wanted a lot of things in a potential career: responsibility, intellectual challenge, and a livable salary. I did not, however, have any kind of clear idea of what direction I should take. Luckily, you'll soon find that Duke does a stellar job of opening your eyes to new and different opportunities. Through the Career Center, associations of majors (e.g. the English Majors Union), various clubs and organizations, relationships with professors, and simple word-of-mouth, you will be exposed to so many internship possibilities and career paths. If you want to go the more traditional route of law, med, or grad school, you're definitely not alone. A huge percentage of Blue Devils choose those options every year, and the support system in place for guiding you through those application processes is great. That word "option" is the real key, though. All of these things and more are options, and by coming to Duke, you effectively open the door to all of them. You could go with the flow and pursue investment banking, consulting, tech at Facebook/Google/Twitter, government work, etc. or you could enter our Start-Up competition and get funding for an entrepreneurial shot at the next big thing. You could go to a top law school or you could do Teach For America. If you make the most of your Duke experience and really give 100%, you can choose any of these things that feels right to you, and that's a beautiful thing.

Beating a dead horse, but:

- small classes. Obviously, there are the usual giant intro lectures for weed-out courses, but they are certainly not the norm at all. In the humanities disciplines particularly, my usual class has 20-30 students.

- great professors. Again, there are exceptions, just like there would be at any other university. By and large, the faculty are brilliant, eager to help via office hours, and genuinely interested in teaching.

- smart peers. Goes without saying.

Duke is essentially divided into three parts. All of the freshmen live on East Campus, but in addition to dorms, you'll find The Marketplace (the first-year communal feeding ground) a library, iconic Baldwin auditorium, classrooms, and a gym. The style on East is Georgian, so think white columns and red brick.

West Campus is for upperclassmen, and it's really the hub of Duke life. This is where you'd find the trademark Duke Chapel, Perkins Library, the Bryan Center, and a bunch of other places. The name of the game here is Gothic, so think that traditional "Ivy" look, with stone and stainglass windows and an ambient feel of academic history.

Central Campus is, you guessed it, centrally located between East and West, and it's still in its growing stages. A lot of upperclassmen choose to live on Central because the apartments are generally much larger than a typical West Campus dorm, typically stocked with a living room and a kitchen. As of the last year or two, there is also a large amount of Greek life located on Central.

Transportation between all 3 campuses is covered well by the Duke bus system. It takes a little getting-used-to before you become a real pro, but the buses run frequently enough that you won't have any problems. Also, the full distance between East and West is totally walkable if it's nice outside (which it is 90% of the time. Thanks mild North Carolina weather!)

Basketball is king at Duke. We have some other very successful sports programs, too, whether it's lacrosse or tennis or soccer. But don't get it twisted, we Blue Devils are all about our basketball team. From the most die-hard, front-row, screaming fan to the totally uninitiated, basketball fever is universally infectious here. We all watch the games, and when it's being played at Cameron Indoor Stadium, students get in free. You just might have to wait in line for a while if it's a particularly big game. For our classic rivalry with those awful UNC Tarheels, that "line" becomes a full-blown tent city for over a month, culminating in a live concert and tons of ridiculous fun on the last couple of nights before the game.

Our coach, Mike Krzyzewski (practice that spelling!) holds the all-time record for most wins in college basketball history. He's an absolute legend, but he's also a humble, respectful, nice guy. Perfect example of that well-rounded Duke spirit.