Duke University Top Questions

Describe the students at your school.

KJ

There is such a variety of race on campus. Coming from South Carolina, I was surprised to see the vast presence of Asians on campus. People still form cliques, but I suppose that's naturally going to happen in any environment. Most kids at Duke are friendly enough.

Christine

Everyone feels out of place the first two years. Most freshman spend hours getting together the perfect outfit, perfect makeup... Most people I knew felt very lonely. But by junior year most people had finally found perfect, lifelong friends... If there were four tables of students, they would be, stereotypically, 1) the asian engineers 2) the athletes 3&4) Misc. other groups of people. But everyone would know someone else from all four tables. There is a really fluid social structure here, which is great, but I found that most people dont have their typical "clique" or "group" present at state schools.

Jeff

Small. A lot of white kids and asian kids. Probably more preppy than not. The student body is very Greek driven, with "popular" kids being in the good frats and sororities, and no one giving much concern to other people. Most people seem conservative despite the fact that it is a liberal arts school (must come with the money). A strange Korean population exists that seems to display open distaste for American culture and stick to themselves and their work.

Matt

Frats are pretty active and throw a lot of good parties. There's plenty to do on campus, and plenty of different kinds of people to meet. You're sure to find a group you fit i with.

Charli

Unfortunately at Duke, groups tend to segregate themselves. I haven't seen any blatant racism, but the separated groups seem to do it to themselves. While individuals mingle with no problem and you can see all sorts of odd pairings on the quad, when in groups, that doesn't happen. You never see two blacks mingled in a crowd of other students. It will either be one, or a whole group. The Indian students also tend to all know each other and have a whole community within themselves. In my freshman dorm there were a lot of Asians. The first few weeks they would keep disappearing to do the Asian Associating things all the time and some of my friends and I joked about forming a White Association so we wouldn't feel so left out. That would be hugely politically incorrect of course.

Drew

Duke has 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} minority. However, that includes a huge East and South Asian community. We are one of the top rated schools by the LGBT, however there is still a small gay community at the school. The socioeconomic diversity is weak, as the upper classes are overrepresented. However with the new Financial Aid Initiative that is expected to change. Religion is an interesting topic on campus. A huge atheist population is there. Jewish students have a state of the art Jewish center, and there is a significant population. The Chapel has many religious services, and Catholics and Protestants both have strong showings. We also have Sikhs, Buddhists, Jainists, Hindus, etc. I think there is a strong plurality of religions. Duke students are from everywhere. I have met people from many countries, and 46 of the states by my last count, but every state is represented. There is a large population of activists and politically apathetic students, however the middle ground is silent. The Conservative Union is very strong at Duke, however the school is probably majority center left. The only students that won't fit in are those who are unwilling to branch out and find their niche, but I find that true at every college.

Matt

Duke is definitely super preppy. There are no goths or emos. The asians from Asia self segregate, but otherwise, I don't really notice race as being an issue either way. People don't talk about their parents' money in general, but it's definitely upper and upper middle class, as with all elite private universities.

Brad

The average student on my campus is white, a member of the upper-middle class and wears polo shirts with the collar popped up and wears khaki pants (guy) or Seven's jeans (girl) and flip-flops all semester long despite the weather. I don't really have any experiences with the LGBT group on campus. It is sort of unacceptable to hang out with people like that but nobody ever blatantly says that. I hardly associate with people of different races and cultures because the Black population tries to stay exclusive. The majority of the students here I would say are upper-middle class or upper-class compared to my family. Most students come from North Carolina with New York, Florida and Texas having a large representation of students here. Most of the students here come from the suburbs (unlike the inner-city, like me) and went to boarding schools or high performing public schools unlike the run-down high school that I went to. The majority of students here are pre-med - it's so sickening. The majority of students here are a member of some fraternity or sorority. I think black and white students are the groups least likely to mix.

KJ

Most of the students at Duke are from wealthy families. There is a wide geographic distribution of students; however, they are all pretty wealthy. It is a predominantly democratic campus but with a vocal conservative population. Everyone is so intellectual at Duke, that everyday rebuttals to previous columns are printed in the daily newspaper (The Chronicle), which is awesome, by the way. There are issues on campus; however they all are very public and being addressed. For example, the prevalence of eating disorders is being addressed by the Women's Initiative; the recent sexual assaults have been met by protests; the racial disparities are being addressed by the Center for Race Relations; and the abundance of frats is being addressed by our new President Dick Brodhead. Therefore, if you want to cause some change come to Duke! Likewise, if you are coming to Duke, be an activist!

Will

A lot of self-segregation, in part due to the conservative social scene. There is not much space for LGBT students which creates one monolothic gay culture/community. This is unfortunate because in the real world the gay community is pluralistic. It's hard for gays at Duke who don't fit the monolothic gay scene, and a lot of gays just don't come out or don't ever get involved with the gay scene or other gay people because they feel excluded. One thing I enjoy about the general social scene, though, is the work hard, play hard ethic. People are serious about their coursework, but come Thursday or Friday night, people get crazy. It's good times. But again if you're not part of the mainstream scene, you'll have to find other outlets to "play hard."

Nate

While it may not be the most "prevalent," there definitely exists the feeling that "everyone" has money. A truly poor student from a hard-up family probably would not fit in as such; he or she would have to pretend to have money (buy clothes they can't afford, work jobs on campus so that they can still go out that night and spend money at the bar, etc) if he or she ever wanted to socially fit in in the dominant social scene (the Greek scene).

Travis

fairly diverse

Jake

I think there is definitely some division on campus. I have had a unique situation with this being in the most diverse fraternity that holds changing this scene as one of its core values. Consequently a good portion of my friends are different races, religions, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds, or other classifications. Thus, i question these ideas when i first see them because i believe there is some degrees of separation in the community but some students really take it to heart to make a difference. I think outside of the reach of some of these groups, as well as at times within, there is some division that could be fixed.

jordan

highly cliqueish and judgemental

Alex

I came from a town of 2500 with one black family, a couple of Mexicans, and maybe one Jewish family. Coming to Duke was a little bit of a culture shock, but I love it. The diversityhere is awesome. It is a side of life that I really enjoy seeing.

danny

There are like two cool people that go here.

Kelly

Divided, everyone is racist and cliqish

Bud

Students do talk a lot about how much they'll earn today as if Duke is some magical machine that cranks out 6 figure salaries.

Parker

cliques. blacks and whites rarely mix in the greek scene, which is hugely unfortunate and a major problem that goes unchanged. 4 tables of students - 1. asians 2. blacks 3. frat bros/sorority girls 4. random GDI's (goddamn independents)

Eric

Duke's student body is in general, very driven and motivated, and determined to be successful. There are a lot of type A people at Duke, and as a result the level of achievement is very high. The person most likely to not fit in at Duke is the person who is not self-motivated and forward-thinking for their own life.

Parker

Students are all great, diverse and interesting.

Gene

What the fuck what do kids wear to class? We don't care at Duke. Grow the fuck up.

Harper

They are really pretty preppy, as mentioned above, but they are generally friendly and interesting people. People at Duke are most interesting/approachable early during college before they have settled into a real routine, but it is still possible to meet and connect with other students throughout the entire four years.

John

I don't think anyone would feel out of place at Duke. That's the beauty of a college this big - there are enough people where even the weirdest person can find SOMEBODY to hang out with.

Chris

Very few students at Duke feel out of place. I feel like there are groups for everyone here, especially after the clubs sign up day, where I saw so many different clubs of different racial, religious, or common interest backgrounds. Anything from robotics club to Indian dance was available. Tables in the marketplace where we eat are always very diverse with plenty of different races as well as backgrounds and majors.

Tate

diverse, outgoing, interesting, smart

Nick

diverse

Nico

Insanely diverse, contrary to popular belief.

Joe

Duke's size is just right. There are enough people that you can always meet someone new, but its small enough that you are bound to see that person again. There is a lot of school pride - lots of people love this school and show it through athletics (basketball especially), clothing, events on campus.

Peter

sick

Mike

As diverse as they come, when it comes to interests, ethnicity, nationality. I love how you can find someone who is completely different from you and yet you still connect with them on some level. It's amazing and appreciated

Eddie

For the most part I don't feel that race is that big of an issue here except when it comes to the social groups unless your a floater like me and go aout talking to anyone. At times i felt that some girls take a look at me and as soon as they see that I am black they put in the back of their mind any type of personal relationship they could have with them. On the same note I guess you can say for every girl that looks upon you for the way you look their is another one who wants to get to know you even more. I believe some lines are set by money but a majority are not.

Sandy

Very diverse and well rounded. I think its great!

Amanda

I think I've touched on a lot of this stuff already, but even so, there is diversity here, but there is also self-segregation. Greek life is huge, and somewhat divisive in some ways. There is a huge divide between the black frats/sororities and the white frats/sororities. But I think if you go beyond the surface a little, you'll see that social relationships are not that simple and most people have friends and acquaintances from/in many different social spheres. I think that some students would feel out of place, but there seems to be a niche for everyone here. People are really from all over. Of course there are a lot from the south, a lot from the northeast, and a lot from the west coast, but I've met people from all over. My roommate is from Bombay and lives in Ghana. People come to Duke with a lot to offer. The money here is obvious, but not everyone's wealthy. Future careers are a big thing, but it's not something I encounter in terms of people bragging about how much they'll one day earn--more like worrying about their job prospects coming out of college with a liberal arts degree, or worrying about trying to get into med/law/business school, or worrying about internships and resumes and all of that. Duke is competitive but not viciously. People aren't out to win against one another, and I've never found that people hide their insecurities or anxieties about the future.

Scott

The types of people that go to Duke are very diverse - although if I wanted to generalize, I'd say there are a fair number of preppy types, slightly liberal student body, students are into athletics, and it's more of a northern school despite being located in the south. Going Greek is fairly popular, but most people don't. I'm independent, but also have friends in the Greek system. It's easy to find other people with similar interests and, while Durham is not the greatest city, there's plenty enough to find to do. I think almost every person would be able to find their niche at Duke. The only person that I might say to look elsewhere is somebody who is really artsy/hippie type and wants to focus on that as a career. Duke isn't particularly known for the arts, and artsy type people don't come here as often (although Chapel Hill is known for its great music scene). The vast majority of people at Duke love it, and couldn't dream of being anywhere else. Speaking of racial integration, I think it's pretty standard as everywhere else. I personally have tons of Asian friends (I'm white), although that is perhaps because Asians are disproportionately in my classes in engineering. I also have a fair numbers of hispanic friends, and only 1-2 African American friends. Not sure why this is, but I think that's pretty standard at Duke for some reason (also it could be because there are not as many African Americans in engineering). The black community is extremely close-knit and tight, and they have a couple events a year that everybody attends. The girls are generally pretty attractive and there are a ridiculously small number of overweight individuals at Duke - people care about their health, their looks, and work out (some people work out too hard and care about their looks too much).

Ben

When I come home from breaks, my high school friends joke about how I'm Duke-obsessed, how they must have brainwashed me. Honestly, Duke's just that great.

Lindsey

As I said earlier, the students are the best part of Duke. Residential life is amazing: I always have my best friends living within walking distance. Some of my best times here have been the completely spontaneous late night talks in my dorm, which make me realize how important it is for all Duke students to live on campus for at least 3 years. Duke is made up of all sorts of different kinds of people, so everyone can find a group to fit in with. Students do tend to self-segregate, however, whether it be based on money, race, etc. Duke students are goal-oriented: we all want to do well and achieve great things in our lives. This is the reason why we chose to come to Duke. Despite this desire to achieve, people are not fixated with how much money they will earn. We just want to do the best we can, so we can achieve whatever our goals may be. I have friends who are interested in global health and aspire to become doctors who can save lives in developing countries, as well as friends who want to go to business school and one day own their own company.

Devin

Most duke students seem to be from New York, or the south. Be prepared to have money, and flaunt it.

Brett

I think that students of lower socio-economic status would feel out of place at Duke, and in general Duke, like most of society, seems to be relatively self-segregating, particularly by class (more so than by race). Most Duke students are from North Carolina, or the Northeast, particularly New York and New Jersey, and are generally upper middle class if not just wealthy. Students are predominantly left-leaning in terms of politics.

Blake

Duke's rigorous academics and high tuition attract a population of high achievers; to get here and stay here does take hard work. Many students are from the East Coast, with some Californians and a lot of international students thrown in for good measure. Racial diversity does seem to be greater than the school gets credit for, but socio-economic diversity is more limited and self-segregation— a ubiquitous Duke-ism— creates rather impermeable social boundaries. About forty percent of students join greek organizations their freshman year, and though it creates further social divisions, a lot of people (myself included) credit their frat or sorority membership for their strongest friendships. The stereotypes listed above are visible to various extents, and fraternity brothers rarely fraternize with Asian nerds, but the school is only so big and people generally get to know one another cross-culturally through classes, organizations, and freshman dorms. Individuals tend to be defined by their affiliation, however, and whatever status that entails. More recently, there has been a lot of conversation around what it means to be a woman on Duke's conformity-ridden campus. There is an oft-referenced image of the "Duke girl" parked on a treadmill until she finishes her reading— a telling description of the pressures young women face and the ideal of "effortless perfection" they hold themselves to. What does lend an atmosphere of diversity to Duke is the broad range of interests and skills among its students, and the passion they have for whatever they do. Having a campus full of go-getters means that start-up businesses, organizations, and publications are common, and there is a lot of activism in a plethora of forms. Politically, the student body seems more conservative than the college population at large (there has been uproar over a too-liberal faculty) but representation is actually pretty balanced, and in my experience is mostly based on geographic background. Since the school newspaper is read universally, students are probably more aware of what goes on at Duke than outside of it, which increases the sense of the "bubble." Even so, everyone is pretty politically and socially informed, with a propensity to discuss election politics or China's economic progress in the same sentence as their drink order.