Duke University

I know I used this site when I was deciding colleges, so I thought I'd weigh in here.
Duke was not my first choice. I applied on a whim because the common app supplement was short. However, after I got in to all my schools, I visited Duke first and then my first choice (Brown). The whole time I was at Brown, I was thinking about Duke. It was like having a crush on an entire school. The classes I sat in on were personal and thought-provoking. The campus was wide-open and green, with a forest in the middle of it. The students I met were the kind of people I'd always wanted to be friends with (and now that I'm here, I'm friends with them! Go figure), and the focus of the campus was on the cause I've taken to heart my entire life: the environment.

There's no hyper-competitiveness here, surprisingly. I hear all these stories from my friends at Harvard and Princeton about sabotage, etc., and I'm shocked. Even in competitive classes like chemistry and biology, we help each other out. Of course, Duke does provide incentive for this; our final math grades get better if everyone does well.

The town doesn't like us (remember the stripper who tried to sue the laxers a coupla years ago?), and there's not much to do. This is the only downside of the school. However, buses run to Chapel Hill every 30 minutes, and shows and performers just come straight to campus. We get tickets for $5 to everything, too, which is amazing. There are also loads of school-sponsored events and clubs, and a lot of restaurants on campus (like waaaaay a lot). About 20 off-campus restaurants will give you food for your dining plan points, which is very nice, especially when you're studying and want to order in.

This school is loaded, so we get a lot of free stuff. Free t-shirts, free pre-theater-release movies, grants to travel basically anywhere you want to go. There's also a campus on the beach for people interested in marine science or who just want to live on the beach. The foreign studies program can send you anywhere in the world. We have one of the highest percentages of internationals, too. All the classes are ridiculously multicultural.

Oh, and it's early January and the coldest it's gotten is 29. All you Southerners are shivering, but if you're planning to go Ivy, expect it to be a lot colder than that for a lot longer.I really can't say enough good things about this school. Visit and you'll fall in love!

1st Year Female -- Class 2012

Education Quality: A+, Surrounding City: D

Duke is great. The social life is vibrant, the people are all pretty interesting, and there are a surprising number of down to earth people. There is rampant grade deflation however- the Ivies give out easy A's to pad their student's gpa's while Duke does the exact opposite. The faculty are quite approachable.

1st Year Male -- Class 2012

Useful Schoolwork: A+, Surrounding City: D+

Duke is a wonderful learning environment that is just the right size. The social crowd at Duke is definitely distinct from the library-obsessed crowd...stay away from them. There are obviously a lot of nerds/geeks/etc. here, but that is only to be expected at such an excellent institution. If you're coming here for athletics, there is a strong sense of community within the athletes, almost to the point of isolation from the non-student/athletes. Know that Duke is the prettiest campus in the world, despite Durham's disappointing social life. Greeks don't run the social calendar but there is always something fun to do, be it sponsored by Greeks or the university.I absolutely love this school and wouldn't choose any other.

1st Year Female -- Class 2011

Campus Aesthetics: A+, Innovation: F