Stereotypes/myths about Duke's student body

bluedog
Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:57:47 +0000

First three are false.



-Duke is dominated by people from New Jersey
-Duke is dominated by students of Asian/Indian origin



I agree these are more of the recent stereotypes. Here are the facts: the #1 state represented in the Duke student body is North Carolina. The rest of the top 5 are typically Florida, New York/New Jersey, California, and Texas. That’s a pretty wide spectrum of states. You’ve got the South (NC), West (CA), New England (NY/NJ), Southwest (TX; although TX is pretty unique on its own), and FL which is also “south,” but I wouldn’t call it very southern except for the panhandle area.

[Duke Mails Admissions Decisions to More than 19,000 Applicants for the Class Of 2010](http://news.duke.edu/2006/03/admissions.html)
[Duke Accepts 602 Early Decision Applicants](http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2009/12/early_decision.html)

Duke is 22% Asian. Certainly above the US Census levels, but not unheard of at elite institutions. It definitely has increased in the past 10 years. Obviously, that’s just above a fifth of the student body, though, so clearly it’s not “dominated” by Asian students.

[Quick Facts about Duke](http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/resources/quickfacts.html)