<p>Duke doesn’t accept community college credit. They’re harsh with transfer credits in general (except for study abroad) so it’s hard to find an acceptable summer replacement. They don’t even accept credit from Northwestern, an obviously respected institution (probably because of Northwestern’s quarter system). </p>
<p>As to how hard Duke is, it varies GREATLY from individual to individual and program to program (and even professor to professor). The graduation rate is very high so people don’t fail out in large numbers, but I’d say for the average person taking micobiology, organic chemistry, biomechanics, and multivariable calculus all in the same semester as a biomedical engineering major would require a lot of work no matter how smart you are - although some people manage such a schedule semester-after-semester admirably and do really well. And several science course curve to a B-/C+, so the competition is a bit more intense perhaps. Taking intermediate tennis, intro to sociology, chem 83 (aka chem for non-science people who want to fulfill their quant requirements), and an easy seminar might find Duke not a lot of work at all and could all be easy A’s. I’ve had classes that require 10+ hours of work a week outside class on top of 3 hour labs and others that require 1-2 hours a week. So, yeah, it varies largely. Look at GPA averages if you’re interested in the average, but it depends on your personal abilities and course selection. Nobody can accurately say what it will be like for you, but Duke is a resourceful and collaborative place so you’ll certainly have avenues to form study groups and learn outside of class if you seek them out. Overall, most Duke students work hard, but also know how to take a break. Good luck.</p>