<p>I know that the students at Duke are very smart, looking at the stats, but are they intellectual, too? I know the sports are great and the social life is active, but do people stay up late having intellectual discussions? Is there much of an art and drama scene?</p>
<p>These groups aren’t part of mainstream culture BUT these groups are very easy to find at Duke, 
I would argue against the typical Duke student being very smart though- I would say that he or she is more so hardworking and ambitious than highly intelligent. It depends on how you define very smart- top 10%, of course! Top 1%, nope…</p>
<p>So the students aren’t that smart? Then how did Duke become one of the hardest schools to get into? Sure, it is not as hard to get into as Harvard and Yale, etc., but it still is harder to get into than most universities.</p>
<p>People can be “smart” but not inclined toward intellectual discussion.</p>
<p>They are.
Like I said, it matters by how you define ‘very smart’.
The average SAT at Duke is only 1440, which while it is very high, it isn’t outstanding.</p>
<p>that’s stupid. duke students are brilliant. duke is less intellectual than brown, yale, harvard, columbia…probably on par with UPENN…and DEF Dartmouth</p>
<p>as someone who goes out at least three nights a week and who is known as a “bro” i will tell you i am as intellectual as any of my yale friends</p>
<p>In all seriousness, Duke students are some of the smartest people in the country. </p>
<p>We are only behind CHYMPS and probably Wharton (Penn) in terms of raw intellect.</p>
<p>I would say that we are all capable of being intellectual BUT it’s something that doesn’t happen naturally in a lot of places around campus. However, if you want to discuss philosophy with a “bro”, I think you could easily, 
</p>
<p>I joined a group on campus that thrives on intellectualism, so that helps a lot. There are outposts in which it is as strong (if not stronger) than the traditionally intellectual schools (Chicago, Swarthmore, etc.).</p>
<p>By intellectual, I didn’t mean “raw intelligence” - I may be wrong but I don’t imagine the brilliant scientists at MIT sitting around discussing philosopy and current events and the meaning of a work of art. Many kids at Wesleyan do, even though it is not as hard to get into (and I don’t want to go there).</p>
<p>It’s really a question of intellectual curiosity. It is learning for the sake of learning, and wanting to discuss what has been learned, since once everyone is out in the working world, there isn’t as much opportunity to explore the life of the mind.</p>
<p>But it’s nice to have a pretty campus, good sports team, and some fun, too!</p>
<p>ps Mondo - what are the outposts></p>
<p>I know what you meant. I guess what I’m trying to say is that Duke has intelligent students who are on the whole, not very intellectual, BUT if you want to get into an intellectual conversation with most of the students here- you certainly could! However, you will have to encourage them to do so.</p>
<p>The intellectual outposts I’ve been talking about include some of the SLG’s (Round Table) and the fraternity I am part of (Psi Upsilon- VERY VERY different from your typical frat) and simply from finding the intellectually-inclined people in your dorms and classes.</p>
<p>EDIT: Psi Upsilon is a co-ed fraternity, so you would be able to join it.</p>
<p>Catherine, I think you are underestimating MIT students.</p>
<p>I hear and participate in “intellectual discussions” all the time. It’s a very casual thing amongst my group of friends. We’d sit around on a monday night, play some mario kart, watch some headlines on jay leno, all the while talking about everything from current stem cell research and its implications for cancer treatment to the presidential candidates’ economic plans. My friends major and minor in everything from economics to english to bio/chem and BAA to engineering so we have plenty of stuff to talk about and many things that we are passionate about. </p>
<p>The point here is that “intellectual discussions” aren’t something where they put up a big “Intellectual Conversations Here” sign on the plaza or special events within “intellectual clubs/frats.” It’s also not something that requires an “Intellectual Atmosphere.” It’s stuff that occur (mostly out of the public eye) amongst friends. It’s almost a way of life where you don’t consciously try to “be intellectual.” If you like that kind of stuff, then you will be able to find like-minded people to hang out and become good friends with. </p>
<p>Of course, that’s not to say my friends and I sit around and talk philosophy all day. We party, we play, we study, we sleep, we go out, we enjoy life, we do the stuff most college students do.</p>
<p>Intellect != or ~= intelligence</p>
<p>to the above, I would argue that a lack of intellect would preclude having intelligence though.</p>
<p>Discussing intellectual ideas gets boring after some time in my opinion. It’s fun when it happens spontaneously, but not so much when you create a “routine” for intellectual discussions. Seriously, just join some groups on campus that your interests coincide with and those intellectual discussions should naturally flourish.</p>
<p>agree with the above comment placing it with penn and maybe dartmouth, but below brown, chicago, columbia etc.</p>
<p>^would like to point out that ranking “intellectual-ness” is meaningless and an exercise in futility. It’s akin to forcing a square peg into a round hole, to use a cliche. The criteria for being intellectual not only vary from person to person depending on the evaluator but are also more nuanced than simply binary. In attempting to quantify the quality of being intellectual, much information is thus lost in translation. As a BME, I’d say the quantization error of such a process is unacceptably high and, if this was a medical instrument, require the redesign of the A/D converter.</p>