Less socially adept admitted students at Duke?

[Anonymous]

Well, I wish we lived in a world where Brazilian and Portuguese Studies, Art History and Museum Theory, and Medieval and Renaissance Studies were anything but hobby majors for those with inherited wealth. But alas, it's 2026 and not 1926.

These are uncertain times for 18-22 year olds. It's not unreasonable for them to want degrees that lead to decent jobs and opportunities. I'm assuming parents here are my age and did fine with English and History degrees. But that is not the world today unless you go law school, and who wants to be a lawyer these days. Otherwise, it's barista for you with those degrees.

My kids study engineering and economics at Duke equivalent T20 schools. From meeting their friends, these are incredibly bright and curious kids, especially the engineers. Those engineering kids are probably better read than any other students. It takes a lot of curiosity and discipline to get through an engineering degree at a top school. And that follows through to other parts of their lives.

People dismissing engineering students today are living in another era. Those kids are the smart ones, and they are working in a field that values curiosity, cooperation, and problem-solving. Reading well is a side hobby. And that's ok.

[Anonymous]

Gender studies, Cultural studies and Art History majors are the tapeworm on American society. Leeches who suck up the surplus generated by others.

[Anonymous]

I think it’s funny how the tables have turned. Duke is no longer fun because it’s filled with nerdy Asian students while UChicago, by admitting rich white kids, is now fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, I wish we lived in a world where Brazilian and Portuguese Studies, Art History and Museum Theory, and Medieval and Renaissance Studies were anything but hobby majors for those with inherited wealth. But alas, it's 2026 and not 1926.

These are uncertain times for 18-22 year olds. It's not unreasonable for them to want degrees that lead to decent jobs and opportunities. I'm assuming parents here are my age and did fine with English and History degrees. But that is not the world today unless you go law school, and who wants to be a lawyer these days. Otherwise, it's barista for you with those degrees.

My kids study engineering and economics at Duke equivalent T20 schools. From meeting their friends, these are incredibly bright and curious kids, especially the engineers. Those engineering kids are probably better read than any other students. It takes a lot of curiosity and discipline to get through an engineering degree at a top school. And that follows through to other parts of their lives.

People dismissing engineering students today are living in another era. Those kids are the smart ones, and they are working in a field that values curiosity, cooperation, and problem-solving. Reading well is a side hobby. And that's ok.

Very wrong here. Spend a lot of time reading. It is the crux of my job other than managing other ppl - that and then analyzing what I read.
- $3.6 HHI and net worth over 40m

p.s. encouraging both of my college kids to study the humanities (one did that and already has IB offer).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I wish we lived in a world where Brazilian and Portuguese Studies, Art History and Museum Theory, and Medieval and Renaissance Studies were anything but hobby majors for those with inherited wealth. But alas, it's 2026 and not 1926.

These are uncertain times for 18-22 year olds. It's not unreasonable for them to want degrees that lead to decent jobs and opportunities. I'm assuming parents here are my age and did fine with English and History degrees. But that is not the world today unless you go law school, and who wants to be a lawyer these days. Otherwise, it's barista for you with those degrees.

My kids study engineering and economics at Duke equivalent T20 schools. From meeting their friends, these are incredibly bright and curious kids, especially the engineers. Those engineering kids are probably better read than any other students. It takes a lot of curiosity and discipline to get through an engineering degree at a top school. And that follows through to other parts of their lives.

People dismissing engineering students today are living in another era. Those kids are the smart ones, and they are working in a field that values curiosity, cooperation, and problem-solving. Reading well is a side hobby. And that's ok.

Very wrong here. Spend a lot of time reading. It is the crux of my job other than managing other ppl - that and then analyzing what I read.
- $3.6 HHI and net worth over 40m

p.s. encouraging both of my college kids to study the humanities (one did that and already has IB offer).

IB is more likely to hire the engineering kids today. It's still a miserable life when you're 23.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I wish we lived in a world where Brazilian and Portuguese Studies, Art History and Museum Theory, and Medieval and Renaissance Studies were anything but hobby majors for those with inherited wealth. But alas, it's 2026 and not 1926.

These are uncertain times for 18-22 year olds. It's not unreasonable for them to want degrees that lead to decent jobs and opportunities. I'm assuming parents here are my age and did fine with English and History degrees. But that is not the world today unless you go law school, and who wants to be a lawyer these days. Otherwise, it's barista for you with those degrees.

My kids study engineering and economics at Duke equivalent T20 schools. From meeting their friends, these are incredibly bright and curious kids, especially the engineers. Those engineering kids are probably better read than any other students. It takes a lot of curiosity and discipline to get through an engineering degree at a top school. And that follows through to other parts of their lives.

People dismissing engineering students today are living in another era. Those kids are the smart ones, and they are working in a field that values curiosity, cooperation, and problem-solving. Reading well is a side hobby. And that's ok.

Very wrong here. Spend a lot of time reading. It is the crux of my job other than managing other ppl - that and then analyzing what I read.
- $3.6 HHI and net worth over 40m

p.s. encouraging both of my college kids to study the humanities (one did that and already has IB offer).

IB is more likely to hire the engineering kids today. It's still a miserable life when you're 23.

My Ivy humanities kid is 21. Has that IB offer too? Not sure there's "one path" or the right one.

[Anonymous]

I entered as a undecided liberal arts/business dual major and graduated as an economics major in 1990. I actually looked longingly at Medieval Studies but it was clear there were barely any jobs. And the discipline was in a rut. Plus I would have had to acquire two dead languages in grad school and only had Modern French under my belt.

I still like to attend museums and read news about medieval studies findings. New developments since I was in college, including DNA analysis for a variety of purposes, have created far more interesting avenues to research than were available when I was an undergrad. The internet has also made it possible to research obscure subjects that I could not easily research during the late 1990s even with a gigantic university library at my disposal. If I could choose again now, I'd be far more tempted but I'm also happy with my business career.

When complaining about the prevalence of economics majors, it's worth considering that at a lot of schools one's major isn't even 50% of the credits taken. I think my econ degree was about 30% of my credits. I took lots of variety.

[Anonymous]

^late 1980s/early 1990s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting! The recent duke admits of non legacy/non connected kids that I know are bright, 'quirky', and deep into climate/environmental sustainability. Not typical duke admits. Our school/area sends a lot of kids to duke. My observation is very anecdotal, but makes sense given what OP shared. On a related note, most kids at our school have strong humanities narratives on their app but switch to econ or other oversubscribed majors when they get there...

all the time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s funny how the tables have turned. Duke is no longer fun because it’s filled with nerdy Asian students while UChicago, by admitting rich white kids, is now fun.

Agreed. But wouldn’t be so sure the rich white kids going to Chicago are barrels of fun. My rich white kid toured UChicago and it was WAY too nerdy for him. I suspect the Sidwell kids picking Chicago tend towards the nerdy side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, I wish we lived in a world where Brazilian and Portuguese Studies, Art History and Museum Theory, and Medieval and Renaissance Studies were anything but hobby majors for those with inherited wealth. But alas, it's 2026 and not 1926.

These are uncertain times for 18-22 year olds. It's not unreasonable for them to want degrees that lead to decent jobs and opportunities. I'm assuming parents here are my age and did fine with English and History degrees. But that is not the world today unless you go law school, and who wants to be a lawyer these days. Otherwise, it's barista for you with those degrees.

My kids study engineering and economics at Duke equivalent T20 schools. From meeting their friends, these are incredibly bright and curious kids, especially the engineers. Those engineering kids are probably better read than any other students. It takes a lot of curiosity and discipline to get through an engineering degree at a top school. And that follows through to other parts of their lives.

People dismissing engineering students today are living in another era. Those kids are the smart ones, and they are working in a field that values curiosity, cooperation, and problem-solving. Reading well is a side hobby. And that's ok.

Only on DCUM are jobs that START at 70-100+k not "decent opportuniites".
You are completely out of touch with what is possible with those majors from a TOP school. My kid did one of those majors at an ivy and so did some of the friends (rest were the usual premed, prelaw, tech engineers). Here is where they landed: fully funded grad school in humanities that sends virtually everyone into jobs that pay 80-100k. Teacher at a private school making 72k first year out. Two to MBB consulting, one to a think tank in DC, both making well over 100k to start. The work they do relates to their humanities degrees.
I also have a student at a different ivy in MechE. Both students read a LOT, both students are curious and are problem solvers. Both had super high stats and are smart. It takes a lot of curiosity and discipline to get through almost any major at an ivy/T10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I wish we lived in a world where Brazilian and Portuguese Studies, Art History and Museum Theory, and Medieval and Renaissance Studies were anything but hobby majors for those with inherited wealth. But alas, it's 2026 and not 1926.

These are uncertain times for 18-22 year olds. It's not unreasonable for them to want degrees that lead to decent jobs and opportunities. I'm assuming parents here are my age and did fine with English and History degrees. But that is not the world today unless you go law school, and who wants to be a lawyer these days. Otherwise, it's barista for you with those degrees.

My kids study engineering and economics at Duke equivalent T20 schools. From meeting their friends, these are incredibly bright and curious kids, especially the engineers. Those engineering kids are probably better read than any other students. It takes a lot of curiosity and discipline to get through an engineering degree at a top school. And that follows through to other parts of their lives.

People dismissing engineering students today are living in another era. Those kids are the smart ones, and they are working in a field that values curiosity, cooperation, and problem-solving. Reading well is a side hobby. And that's ok.

Very wrong here. Spend a lot of time reading. It is the crux of my job other than managing other ppl - that and then analyzing what I read.
- $3.6 HHI and net worth over 40m

p.s. encouraging both of my college kids to study the humanities (one did that and already has IB offer).

IB is more likely to hire the engineering kids today. It's still a miserable life when you're 23.

My Ivy humanities kid is 21. Has that IB offer too? Not sure there's "one path" or the right one.

It’s factual that they prefer students with degrees that highlight and train strong quantitative skill sets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I wish we lived in a world where Brazilian and Portuguese Studies, Art History and Museum Theory, and Medieval and Renaissance Studies were anything but hobby majors for those with inherited wealth. But alas, it's 2026 and not 1926.

These are uncertain times for 18-22 year olds. It's not unreasonable for them to want degrees that lead to decent jobs and opportunities. I'm assuming parents here are my age and did fine with English and History degrees. But that is not the world today unless you go law school, and who wants to be a lawyer these days. Otherwise, it's barista for you with those degrees.

My kids study engineering and economics at Duke equivalent T20 schools. From meeting their friends, these are incredibly bright and curious kids, especially the engineers. Those engineering kids are probably better read than any other students. It takes a lot of curiosity and discipline to get through an engineering degree at a top school. And that follows through to other parts of their lives.

People dismissing engineering students today are living in another era. Those kids are the smart ones, and they are working in a field that values curiosity, cooperation, and problem-solving. Reading well is a side hobby. And that's ok.

Very wrong here. Spend a lot of time reading. It is the crux of my job other than managing other ppl - that and then analyzing what I read.
- $3.6 HHI and net worth over 40m

p.s. encouraging both of my college kids to study the humanities (one did that and already has IB offer).

IB is more likely to hire the engineering kids today. It's still a miserable life when you're 23.

My Ivy humanities kid is 21. Has that IB offer too? Not sure there's "one path" or the right one.

+1
Kid's ivy has consulting, IB recruit on campus for all concentrations/majors. They hire the physics kids and engineers for different jobs than the humanities but they hire broadly from all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s funny how the tables have turned. Duke is no longer fun because it’s filled with nerdy Asian students while UChicago, by admitting rich white kids, is now fun.

Agreed. But wouldn’t be so sure the rich white kids going to Chicago are barrels of fun. My rich white kid toured UChicago and it was WAY too nerdy for him. I suspect the Sidwell kids picking Chicago tend towards the nerdy side.

From what I saw, they were extremely polite (we were asked if we needed help finding something constantly on campus, on NO other campus did this happen) passionate/driven in their discipline (extremely impressive) and the math courses are some of the most popular (still wonderfully nerdy) but my daughter commented the kids looked very impressive (well put together, adorable). Has everything you can want. Decent, nerdy/intellectual, clean cut, passionate kids. This is what I want my kid to be versus watching football and getting drunk all weekend, sorry to those that disagree. The campus was one of the nicest we toured, just gorgeous, and with a great sense of fun, with all the on campus coffee shops, free milkshakes, swings in the food hall, house culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s funny how the tables have turned. Duke is no longer fun because it’s filled with nerdy Asian students while UChicago, by admitting rich white kids, is now fun.

Agreed. But wouldn’t be so sure the rich white kids going to Chicago are barrels of fun. My rich white kid toured UChicago and it was WAY too nerdy for him. I suspect the Sidwell kids picking Chicago tend towards the nerdy side.

From what I saw, they were extremely polite (we were asked if we needed help finding something constantly on campus, on NO other campus did this happen) passionate/driven in their discipline (extremely impressive) and the math courses are some of the most popular (still wonderfully nerdy) but my daughter commented the kids looked very impressive (well put together, adorable). Has everything you can want. Decent, nerdy/intellectual, clean cut, passionate kids. This is what I want my kid to be versus watching football and getting drunk all weekend, sorry to those that disagree. The campus was one of the nicest we toured, just gorgeous, and with a great sense of fun, with all the on campus coffee shops, free milkshakes, swings in the food hall, house culture.

Our experience too! I had never been asked if I needed help finding my way around a campus until then. Such a great visit. 99% retention rate for a reason.