Duke University Top Questions

Duke is a very prestigious academic setting and everyone involved in the school knows that and lets you know that. It can feel snooty at times. The average student, I think, doesn't know how to relax very well other than get stupid drunk. The town of Durham could not be further from a college town. First and foremost, Durhamites dislike the Duke students, as do the Durham Police, which sometimes makes for unpleasant encounters. The administration, for good or for bad, seems to be trying to dispel the 'upper class white kid' stereotype, and as a result is somewhat colder to those students, on average, than the other 'multicultural' ones. In general, however, it is hard to clump anyone associated with the school in the same group, as it is a diverse, and fairly large school.

I love how at Duke you can get a combination of an amazing acedemic reputation and awesome sports teams to watch. The classes are extremely challenging and you might potentially never have any free time, but we students always find a way to have a good social life along with lots of work! I love the school spirit around all the different sports games and the basketball season had to have been one of the most exciting experiences of my life. Everyone at Duke loves it so much and it makes me so proud to be there. As for the whole lacrosse scandal just forget about it, it is not as big of a deal at all and unfortunately it was just blown out of proportion. Durham is not a very good college town but there is enough at Duke to keep you happy.

When people hear that I go to Duke, they tell me not to go to any lacrosse parties. I did go, and it wasn't that fun, so I realized that there was a lot of BS regarding the lacrosse scandal. Basically I love Duke and everything about it. The academics are difficult but pretty interesting, the social life is adequate for someone like me who wants to study until Thursday afternoon and then go out and have fun all weekend, and the people are very great. Honestly, I didn't really have a bad experience at Duke this year, except maybe at Student Health cause it is not very adequate for student's needs.

Duke has strong academics accompanied by one of the best athletics programs in the country. Duke's achieving students and monumental research has made it one of the top universities in the world. The students here are all extremely talented. They can study and do well in school while still finding time for extracurriculars and fun activities on the weekends. The school is relatively small with less than 7,000 students, but it's a good size for me. The campus is split up into three main campuses, and it's somewhat inconvenient to navigate because you have to take a bus between campuses. But the campus itself is extremely beautiful. Students at Duke love it. Every student is proud to be a Blue Devil. We have a strong athletic program that allows us to proudly hold our heads up high as the "Cameron Crazies." We love the campus, the people, and the school.

Duke is really a 24/7 lifestyle. Almost everyone I know goes all out, all the time, whether it be in academics, extracurriculars, socially... The library is busy til 2 a.m. the first half of the semester, 4 a.m. the second half of the semester, and 6 a.m. finals week. But the large quad parties are also rediculously filled, and I'm sure rival parties anywhere else. People don't just raise money for charities abroad- they go all the way and go to to Africa for a summer, or south America for a semester. The sky really does seem to be the limit here. It is a really exhausting lifestyle, but has such potential for fullfilment.

Small private feel... good for knowing people, bad for branching out socially. The freshman campus (East Campus) is boring and everything goes on on West Campus. Academics are pretty tough -which is good because you're paying out your ass to be there. I guess you're paying to have the Duke degree. Off campus is scary. Durham seems very sketchy and a Duke grad student was shot and killed in his apartment by a local with no connection to the victim. Stay on campus or leave only with friends. Students get robbed a lot. No one seems to care -it's all very hush hush.

Duke athletics in many ways make Duke the amazing school that it is. The classes are demanding, the students driven, and the campus beautiful, but none of it would be quite as amazing without Duke sports. If you fancy yourself a sports fan, you will never experience anything quite like a Duke-UNC basketball game- it's an experience you just can't afford to miss.

Duke has a good mix of academics and other. There are plenty of clubs to join, intramural sports to partake in, team sports to cheer for, parties to go to, fraternities and sororities to join, and just plain old groups of friends to hang out with. A lot of times people look at it as just an academic school, but the students that go there are in no way different from average teenagers and young adults. While they get their studying done (most of the time), they also like to have FUN.

I love Duke. The school size is a great median, between the large school with the giant parties and huge classes and the tiny liberal arts college where you know everyone. I still meet new people everywhere I go, yet can always run into my friends at parties. The social scene is solid, but is still recovering from the lacrosse incident. It still beats the social scene at other top colleges I was accepted into though. People are generally impressed with the fact I go to Duke, although snooty Ivy league kids still look down on me, although MANY kids at Duke turned down the very schools they are at. Chapel Hill is very close if you are looking for a college town, just a 20 minute bus ride away. In general, people love Duke. We still tent for basketball games and are probably the craziest fans in the country. I will always remember the Duke UNC games. Win or lose, the rivalry is so amazing to follow. Complaints of the social scene are probably most common, as the lacrosse incident definitely did give a shock to the administration and caused them to change policy towards off-campus parties. The administration is generally progressive, but it seems as though they do not care much about the students individually.

I also love that all freshman live together on East Campus. It's just really calming and a great way to meet people. Plus housing in general is really good. My room is 14 by 16 and it's a single!!!! Oh and did I mention that this place is GORRRRRGEOUS? Seriously, Duke Chapel is like, the best thing EVERRR! ahaha! Oh and I LOOOOVE the weather! There was one day all year when the high was below 40, and fewer than 10 when the high was below 50. It's sunny almost all the time. It just really makes it easier to be happy. Things I don't like so much: Durham isn't very nice. Chapel Hill is, but it's a 20-30 minute bus ride away. While you can stay on campus and be perfectly happy, and while many freshmen have cars (which makes it easier to get to), it is still a little upsetting that Durham isn't New York City (but it's better than Hannover, NH! Lol) The Frats. I can definitely avoid them, but, as a Christian, it just really makes me sad because so many guys just...lose themselves in the frats. They're not obnoxious, I don't think. They're very inclusive (all parties are open to everyone, for example, which isn't the case at all colleges,) but it's just...a lot of drinking. Sororities are actually pretty cool because they don't live together, and they don't really drink together. It basically just becomes about friendship and having semi-formal parties! But the frats... I wish we had residential colleges. While I bonded very well with my frosh dorm, as an upperclassmen, it's harder to make friends in your dorm. I don't know if Dartmouth/Georgetown have residential colleges, but Duke doesn't. It would be sweet to be with the same people all 4 years. Hmm...I've tried to be as open and honest as possible. I hope I've been helpful. I really really LOVE this place and love what God has been able to do to me here. I had a pretty hard time at Milton, especially being a Christian. Coming to Duke was just such a relief. It has felt so much more open, fair, welcoming and real to me. It has truly been a breath of fresh air, and I hope you get to experience it as I have, but I know that God will do great things with you no matter where you go. :-)

I like the fact that my school is big because you can sort of be unnoticed if you want to. As a black student I feel more invisible here at Duke. However, as a Black student, the school doesn't seem that big because most of the Black population tries to get to know each other. I had no expectations about Duke before I came here. I chose to come to Duke because it was far away from my overprotective parents. Students and "Durhamites" do not interact at all. There is such a communication barrier between the locals and the students. However, at my work study I work with a lot of housekeepers who are from the area and so I get to know and interact with them. There is a lot of school spirit when it comes to the men's basketball season, especially when we play UNC. School spirit is lacking for all other sports, especially women's basketball. Students are affected a lot by Duke's prestige. I know that the guys that I talk to at other schools think that all Duke girls are "stuck-up and rich". The most difficult thing about being a first-yr student is trying to fit in, and if you are a student from a big city it is hard to get used to the slow, depressing nightlife here.

Duke is a confusing place partially because of its size. With an undergrad population of about 6,000, there are enough people with which to constantly be making new friends, but there are few enough people for rumors to be spread and communities to be formed. You make Duke what you want it to be. I hang out with the backpacking Project Wild crew, and the crazy improvisors of Duke University Improv (DUI). However, you could also choose to be a part of the sorority scene, the constant frat party scene, the Engineering dork scene... of course, I am making vast generalizations here, but the basic idea is true. Duke also forms a great community in the winter and spring during tenting session for Duke basketball. Who wouldn't bond with fellow tenters, while spooning in sleeping bags for three months, waiting for the lone goal of cheering on our men's basketball team?

No one really LOVES Duke. They might say so in a crowd of Dukies, but in private conversation, I doubt many will say they absolutely love their school. Most students realize how limiting the social scene is, but instead of trying to reformulate it, they intoxicate themselves just enough to make it bearable, capable of pretending that it's awesome. Dukies have an inferiority complex. It's a great school academically, but it's not an Ivy League. There's also a weird dynamic intellectually, in that for some students Duke is a "reach school." For others, it's practically a "safety school." Duke's admit rate is pretty high given its academic standing in the rankings, which I think is problematic and leads to a huge disparity of intellectual ability and interest.

The best thing about Duke is that its big enough for everyone to find their niche. It's still a really really competitive, top-tier school, but for the most part, I feel that everyone can be happy here. It was also a nice surprise to learn that there is a decent social life/atmosphere here; that was unexpected and not typical in most top-10 schools.

A fun school to go to where people work hard and play hard, good sports environment as well

The best thing about Duke is the people. I have met some of the greatest people I have ever met and suspect I ever will meet. I came here for academics, the beautiful campus and weather, the size, and the basketball. There isn't one thing I would change about those things (except maybe a national championship). I think people love the school, and this is not a forced love but a genuine pride in wearing duke blue. I wish there was more of a college town available on some days so that i didn't always feel like i was going to the same places. However, over my 4 years we are slowly getting one. I do believe that something like a chapel hill might alter the overall character of the school, which i dont want.

having a small school is great because you more frequently encounter your friends

Duke is an interesting experience. Its not really the real world. It is an environment of excess. Binge drinking, binge studying, binge everything. I really need to take a semester away from Duke. I love it, but I need to get away.

Everyone is too motivated and doesn't know how to chill. I never knew it was so important to save the world by age 22.

Need to unite duke.