<p>I am very interested in Duke, but I am concerned about life there. Is it intense and cutthroat? Specifically, I have looked at the Duke Viewbook, and the welcome letter (page 3) is titled “Are you Ready for Duke?” and all about what a challenge Duke will be. Then on page 6, in their lead article “Encountering Ideas” the quote they chose to put in BIG BOLD font is “tapping the full potential of your college years involves looking beyond the social scene…There’ll be plenty of time to party later - college is an opportunity to spend time in the world of ideas”.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, I am not wanting to find a school that parties all of the time, but I have visited Harvard/Yale/Princeton and others, and some schools seem to study 24/7 and are all about “what grade did you get?” and others seem to emphasize more the desire to see their students try new things and enjoy the college experience. </p>
<p>For those who have attended Duke, how would you describe Duke? Do the students have fun in addition to being so bright?</p>
<p>There is definitely a balance between the classroom and fun. Duke students take classes seriously (that’s how they got in, after all), but it’s rare that academics are all-consuming. There’s such an incredible array of stuff to do that it’s a <em>shame</em> not to have fun. I’m of the opinion that learning can take place outside the classroom, and this definitely happens at Duke. Dukies are involved in community service (especially tutoring), marching band, religious organizations, special interest groups, research, sports, journalism, music…and a heck of a lot more. Classes are tough, but I certainly wouldn’t say cutthroat (although the typical premed classes can be quite competitive).</p>
<p>yea…duke is in no way “cutthroat”. i was out partying 4 nights a week last year and i managed a 3.8. if you take the time to do your work and study then you’ll have time to goof off too. i found duke to have an excellent ballance between academic and non-academic life. it’s great.</p>
<p>thanks everyone. I’m glad to hear that there is life at Duke. I’ve spent the last four years at a VERY competitive high school, and everything was about being the best so we can all get into top colleges, and NOW all I want to do is have the liberty to learn what I would like to learn. And I don’t want to always be inside doing homework struggling to keep up. I want to enjoy college, and try a couple of subjects I haven’t tried before, and discover what I really want to major in. And have some fun too - maybe as a blue Devil!</p>
<p>i always find a way into the one backbreaking class, so duke isn’t a walk in the park. i really live by the whole work hard party hard mantra just by budgeting my time. i learn what i want to learn (i tried plenty of new subjects and grappled with new ideas in order to discover what i wanted to actually major in), i work hard during the week & i keep myself busy, and then i have an incredible time socially.</p>
<p>Duke students are usually the work hard/play hard type. Expect to work hard in classes and reward yourself regularly. How would we fill up Cameron for every game if we were studying ALL the time?</p>
<p>Yeah I think Duke is just trying to shake the recent attacks on it’s campus culture and make sure that prospective students aren’t turned off by the bad pr about partying by playing up the academic side to a greater extent.</p>
I’m of the opinion that learning can take place outside the classroom, and this definitely happens at Duke. Dukies are involved in community service (especially tutoring), marching band, religious organizations, special interest groups, research, sports, journalism, music…and a heck of a lot more. Classes are tough, but I certainly wouldn’t say cutthroat (although the typical premed classes can be quite competitive).</p>