Duke University Top Questions

A place where everyone can find their niche. Perfect size to meet someone new everyday and still maintain a solid group of friends. Greek life kinda runs the social scene, but living in Durham is a plus for social life if you aren't greek. So much pride at this school that it becomes almost elitist....but in a good way.

Academics at Duke are amazing. I've gotten to personally know several professors. I feel like I'm really being prepared for life. 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. Durham can be fun once you're 21 and can go to the bars. The Durham Bulls provide some cool off campus entertainment. There is a lot of school pride - lots of people love this school and show it through athletics (basketball especially), clothing, events on campus. The best thing about Duke is that, unlike larger public schools like UNC, there are many events that bring the entire student body together. These include parties in the library, events on the quad, engineering picnics, tailgates, etc. Duke spends a lot less time trying to get us in trouble for breaking rules and instead makes sure that we are safe. This is how the world should work, but it is really only possible somewhere like Duke where we are protected from stupid, unneccessary laws that are going to be broken anyway. Maybe law enforcement could learn a lesson... If they'd quit trying to get good people in trouble and earn some quick cash (through traffic violations, underage drinking tickets, etc.) and spend that time busting real criminals, then our world would be a better place.

Duke is a place where you can meet any type of person, but the dominant person is a douchebag. However, if you want hyou can hang without them

As a boy who was fortunate, lucky or blessed enough to be accepted to every college he applied to the question "Why Duke?" comes up alot. I tell them simply. I'm happy. Duke is the one place I felt most at home, most comfortable, most like I belonged. The things I would change are inconsequential (better buses on the weekend, better drainage on the quad, getting rid of the seldom stray cat). The things that are important are the things I wouldn't change like classes, food plans, athletics, dorm life, social life, all those buzz items.

As hard as balancing school with other social activities in my life had been I still believe overall that duke is a wonderful place. The food at the marketplace isn't too bad but after awhile it becomes so trite and bland that i have to spend my money ordering food. The girls here aren't too bad are extremly but a majority of them lack a certain spunk that I need in order to keep me interested, but I am a man and i have my needs. Knowing my personality you would not believe that i am in PRatt and the one thing i hate about Pratt is that it does not really give you enough time to explore your other possibilities.

Our school is perfect and i like everything about it. There may be too much stress on social scene popularity, but not a big deal

Best thing - academics Change - social scene, too cliqued off Perfect size People are generally impressed that I go to Duke, although there are lots of lacrosse jokes Time on campus in the dorms/ on the quads Durham hates us, because of the sharp socioeconomic divide Duke's administration is pretty good, though not perfect Biggest Recent Controversy - Grace Wang Lots of school pride - yes

In many ways, Duke is like a bubble in Durham. There are the standard places people go off campus--Shooters, Brightleaf, 9th street, etc.--but being from Virginia I'm really familiar with other schools that have a very college town feel to them (Virginia Tech, for instance) and it's not like that here. There is a very distinct divide between Duke and Durham, and that is upsetting for many members of both communities. But at the same time that means there is a strong community at Duke, and to me it is a perfect size at about 6,000 undergraduates. It is not so small that it feels like high school again, but by the time you're a couple years in you pretty much recognize most of the faces in your class. That doesn't mean you know everyone, and I'm often meeting new people. There is also a strong relationship between students and faculty, if you want there to be. A big thing about Duke is you don't feel like a kid anymore when you get here, you're not babied in classes, but you're also not treated like someone Duke needs to keep a close eye on. This isn't necessarily the case on all campuses, and I brag about it. Students have an incredible amount of freedom. No one checks your room--I once had a friend at another school complaining that she couldn't have beer in her room in case the RA came in and found it and I was completely baffled by the idea that an RA could even enter your room without your explicit permission (but be wary of alcohol on East campus--it's technically dry). No one pretends like there isn't drinking or partying. Academically too, there are plenty of advising resources but for the most part it's in your hands as well. I love it, and I wouldn't want to have it any other way. The thing I think is one of Duke's greatest aspects is the study abroad options. I went abroad fall of my junior year, and it was no doubt the coolest and most valuable experience I've had at Duke. There are many options and the programs are wonderful, I can't say enough good things about it.

Honestly, Duke is a great place, and nearly every single person I talk with loves it. Academics are amazing, the people who attends are sociable, intelligent, and nice (and not quite as snobby as some Ivy-league types), and Durham is better than you'd expect (although it's definitely no New York City or even Ann Arbor). No regrets at all coming here. Chose it over Columbia and Penn.

It took me longer than most to get used to being at college, and at first I even wanted to go elsewhere (most of my good friends from high school went to the east coast). I initially thought that I couldn't meet anyone like my old friends, and I'm still close with my them. After awhile, though, I met people at Duke that are some of my best friends, people with whom I know I'll still be close throughout my life. I think that accurately reflects the fact that there are so many different types of people here, so no matter what type you are, you'll find people you love at Duke. The campus is amazing, and I'm always struck whenever I'm walking from one class to another, and I stop just to look around. If Greek life is your thing, they've got it here. If it isn't, you'll still find that Duke is a great place to be. You're not a pariah if you're not in a fraternity. There's always something to do on weekends, even stuff to do during the week at night if you have a late class the next day (or even if you don't!). If Duke students are anything, they're fun.

Duke is a great place to be, whether you're interested in the humanities, engineering, athletics, or simply having an awesome time! Everyone here is so proud to be a Blue Devil: Dukies seriously do bleed blue! During basketball season (particularly the Duke-UNC home game), students go crazy showing how much they love Duke. My favorite part about Duke would have to be the other students. We have interesting conversations in the classroom know how to have fun when the weekend rolls around. All of the freshmen live on East Campus, which is perfect for creating class unity. Even though the Georgian architecture of East can't compare to the Gothic Wonderland that is West and it can be a bit of a hassle to get up a few minutes earlier to take the bus before class, it's totally worth it. Durham isn't much of a college town. There are a few bars/clubs and a couple good restaurants on Ninth Street, but that's pretty much it. Students mostly stay on campus, which isn't a problem considering how much Duke offers. The administration seems to keep things running smoothly for the most part. Class registration is pretty straight forward and I haven't had any problems getting involved in the things I'm interested in. Recently, there has been housing complications, and some risin sophmores are having trouble finding rooms on West Campus, where the sophmore class is "guaranteed" housing next year. We are told that the administration is working things out and that everyone will have a room, so this shouldn't end up being too much of an issue. The part of Duke that I would say is the most unique is just how happy everyone is to be here. We have something like a 99{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} freshman retention rate, and I think this speaks to exactly how great the experience is here. Everyone is excited to be a part of Duke and wants to take full advantage of the "Duke experience." Come here and see for yourself how students rave about Duke... the excitement is contagious!

The best thing about Duke, is that the student body is made up of all different kinds of people. The reason I chose Duke is because I wanted to make friends from all over the US and not go to a school where there would only be people from the northeast. I think guys get intimidated when I tell them that I go to Duke. I witnessed that a lot this past summer in NYC. The first reaction I get is "Oh, smarty." It's kind of annoying. Duke definitely has a lotttt of school pride. On any given day you can spot tons of students wearing Duke attire. There is a reason we are called the Cameron Crazies.

No college town; Duke, Durham relationship sucks. Campus is supremely beautiful but the fact of the matter is, escaping campus is dirty and dull.

The teachers and the resources available, and the weather. I would make the hook-up culture less dominant and have more options of things to do besides go out to bars all the time. The size is just right. When I tell people I go to Duke, people usually seem pretty impressed. When I'm on campus, I spend most of my time in the library or Alpine. I think that Durham is a growing college town, but Ninth Street really needs to be revitalized. I think overall that Duke's administration does a pretty good job and are mostly responsive to the student body. They could have handled the lacrosse case a little better, but it was an extremely difficult situation. One experience I'll always remember is going on a spring break trip with the sailing team to the Virgin Islands.

Duke is a medium-sized student body on an veritable estate of a campus, located in Durham, North Carolina, an old, tired tobacco town that contrasts dramatically with Duke's image of elitism. Like many colleges, Duke is very much a bubble; life in the "Gothic Wonderland" really couldn't be farther from the real world, but many students are actually politically, environmentally, or socially engaged to an impressive extent. There are enough undergraduates to know half of campus, but still meet new people all the time, which keeps things from getting too stale. The student body is somewhat diverse, but in general it is highly affluent (an alarmingly low percentage on financial aid) and self-segregation is a notorious issue. After the recent lacrosse scandal, the administration has made a lot of ruckus about the "campus culture," and though a lot of policy-making definitely facilitated dialogue surrounding issues of race and gender, the only thing that has really changed is the school's rank. However, morale is back up— it's hard to get down when your team is winning, be it lacrosse, basketball, or biomedical engineering. Duke pride is very powerful thing, and for one to say they go here seems to hold increasing clout in the real world.