The allure of Duke?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was applying I had multiple alums express concerns regarding race relations on campus. It sounded weird enough that I was out.

How many years ago? Duke actually has one of the best diversity makeup of the top schools.

Only 40% white, 20% Asian, 10% black, 10% Hispanic… etc.

It wasn't the diversity on campus. It was expressed to me that all of the food service, janitorial and lower level staff are African American. Said to me by Africian American alumni, they felt that it was weird to be served by all African American staff. This was before I lived on the east coast and began to learn how segregated the cities are here, so it sounded really bizarre to me.

Heaven forbid, they employ local residents to work at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Rankings change year-to-year. Last year Duke was #5 on WSJ, #9 on Forbes, and #8 on Niche, which are the only undergrad rankings you’ve cited.

Insisting Duke is "T10" rather than "T10-T15" because in years past it was ranked among the top ten but has now fallen out of them is just laughable. Actually, by DCUM standards, I'm surprised we haven't seen threads analyzing why "Duke is plummeting in rankings."

Most people follow US News when they say T__, and Duke is T10 in US News.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Umm - great school, great weather, great basketball, great quality of life.

+1 it seems pretty clear to me

It should be for the 500k it will cost to send your kid there for 4 years.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was applying I had multiple alums express concerns regarding race relations on campus. It sounded weird enough that I was out.

How many years ago? Duke actually has one of the best diversity makeup of the top schools.

Only 40% white, 20% Asian, 10% black, 10% Hispanic… etc.

It wasn't the diversity on campus. It was expressed to me that all of the food service, janitorial and lower level staff are African American. Said to me by Africian American alumni, they felt that it was weird to be served by all African American staff. This was before I lived on the east coast and began to learn how segregated the cities are here, so it sounded really bizarre to me.

Heaven forbid, they employ local residents to work at the school.

Doesn’t Duke pay really high wages to them too? Like well above minimum wage? Seems like a good gig relative to comparable jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was applying I had multiple alums express concerns regarding race relations on campus. It sounded weird enough that I was out.

How many years ago? Duke actually has one of the best diversity makeup of the top schools.

Only 40% white, 20% Asian, 10% black, 10% Hispanic… etc.

It wasn't the diversity on campus. It was expressed to me that all of the food service, janitorial and lower level staff are African American. Said to me by Africian American alumni, they felt that it was weird to be served by all African American staff. This was before I lived on the east coast and began to learn how segregated the cities are here, so it sounded really bizarre to me.

Heaven forbid, they employ local residents to work at the school.

Doesn’t Duke pay really high wages to them too? Like well above minimum wage? Seems like a good gig relative to comparable jobs.

Duke minimum wage for employees is $17/hour. Student minimum wage is $15/hour.

https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2022/04/duke-minimum-wage-employee-student-work-study-increase-salary

[Anonymous]

What?

Duke gave us Stephen Miller

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What?

Duke gave us Stephen Miller

All the elite schools give us the best. Harvard gave us Jared Kushner, Yale gave us Brett Kavanaugh, Penn gave us Donald Trump, etc. I just love elite private schools!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What?

Duke gave us Stephen Miller

All the elite schools give us the best. Harvard gave us Jared Kushner, Yale gave us Brett Kavanaugh, Penn gave us Donald Trump, etc. I just love elite private schools!

Take it to politics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What?

Duke gave us Stephen Miller

All the elite schools give us the best. Harvard gave us Jared Kushner, Yale gave us Brett Kavanaugh, Penn gave us Donald Trump, etc. I just love elite private schools!

Yes, cherry-picking individuals from each school describes the entire place!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone hear whispers on the ED numbers this year? Last year was 4855 for reference

No idea but also curious. Any chance they break 5k this year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are smart, naturally fit/athletic, and savvy it is the perfect school.

I agree. The "allure" in this case is not about the ranking. It's very much about the personal fit between a student and Duke's personality/culture.

Duke is not a better or worse place than any other highly-ranked school. But it does have a strong campus cuture that is not the right fit for every Top 10 candidate (i.e. super smart, driven, academically successful kids.)

Kids who choose Duke solely for its ranking (or because it's the highest ranked school they got into) may not be happy there unless they are also into the conventionally social, work hard/play hard culture. Yes, everyone at Duke knows how to grind it out academically, just like at all T10 schools. But the campus personality is very social and heavy on school spirit - overtly rah-rah, and not just re basketball. In that way, it's pretty traditional and conventional. Plus it's a campus-focused school, not located in or near a big city. For kids who love that vibe, it's perfect. But for those who don't, it can be oppressive.

And yes, Duke can seem quite self-congratulatory and obnoxious from the outside. It's probably one of the reasons Duke has more haters than other T10 schools. Most students and alums tend to be VERY into the school. That's great if it fits your kid. But if it's not their style, it can be too much.

My advice is to visit the campus while school is in session. Spend time hanging out in the common spaces and the food courts etc. Observe the students and talk to a bunch, if you're willing. Why did they choose Duke? What do they like about it? What do they find challenging? And see if it resonates with your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can confirm as a west coast resident, no special allure for Duke in this part of the country. It's in a class with Vandy, Rice, NU, USC, Emory, BU, U of Notre Dame... All great schools.

From my part of the west coast Duke gets some of the top students, and we see lower ivies struggling more.

Don't bash the schools as "lower" ivy just because your kids were rejected. Instead, love the school that accepted your kid. If Duke is providing a college home for your kid, it's truly the #1 school in the world for your family.

I don’t think PP is bashing them, its just true that the ivies are not equal. Cornell isn’t Harvard and Dartmouth isn’t Princeton.

Come back after you kid gets in to Dartmouth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can confirm as a west coast resident, no special allure for Duke in this part of the country. It's in a class with Vandy, Rice, NU, USC, Emory, BU, U of Notre Dame... All great schools.

From my part of the west coast Duke gets some of the top students, and we see lower ivies struggling more.

Don't bash the schools as "lower" ivy just because your kids were rejected. Instead, love the school that accepted your kid. If Duke is providing a college home for your kid, it's truly the #1 school in the world for your family.

I don’t think PP is bashing them, its just true that the ivies are not equal. Cornell isn’t Harvard and Dartmouth isn’t Princeton.

Come back after you kid gets in to Dartmouth.

Come back after your kid gets into Princeton and Dartmouth, and chooses Dartmouth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone hear whispers on the ED numbers this year? Last year was 4855 for reference

No idea but also curious. Any chance they break 5k this year?

It’s possible but unlikely, I predict close to 4800 again

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can confirm as a west coast resident, no special allure for Duke in this part of the country. It's in a class with Vandy, Rice, NU, USC, Emory, BU, U of Notre Dame... All great schools.

From my part of the west coast Duke gets some of the top students, and we see lower ivies struggling more.

Don't bash the schools as "lower" ivy just because your kids were rejected. Instead, love the school that accepted your kid. If Duke is providing a college home for your kid, it's truly the #1 school in the world for your family.

I don’t think PP is bashing them, its just true that the ivies are not equal. Cornell isn’t Harvard and Dartmouth isn’t Princeton.

Come back after you kid gets in to Dartmouth.

Come back after your kid gets into Princeton and Dartmouth, and chooses Dartmouth.

Ivies are lottery tickets. My kid deselected Princeton and Dartmouth from the get go and instead applied to another ivy with more "allure" for him. Got into his dream school, so P and D don't matter one bit.