Thoughts on UPenn and Duke
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Anonymous
Steve Miller is a real joker. |
Anonymous
Yeah...let's not malign Steve Miller and the eponymous 1970s hit makers in the Steve Miller Band (attended University of Wisconsin but never graduated)...and confuse him with Stephen Miller. |
Anonymous
T went to Wharton, not the College.
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Anonymous
Same church. Different pew. They all live in the same dorms, eat at the same places, hang at Smoke's together, etc. I don't think there is any TT school that doesn't have any sketchy alums. |
Anonymous
For sure. I hope his parents didn’t choose his name as a tribute to “Fly Like an Eagle” … if so, they must be crushed …. “Feed the babies Who don't have enough to eat Shoe the children With no shoes on their feet House the people Livin' in the street Oh, oh there's a solution“ |
Anonymous
| ^+1 The Duke Chapel is the centerpiece of Duje University. Easter and Christmas services are remarkable. No longer exclusive to Protestants, the Duke Catholic Newman center uses the Chapel for Catholic Mass. Catholics are the largest single denomination on campus. |
Anonymous
I'm Jewish and I absolutely loved the chapel - seeing it from various points around campus, finding little nooks to climb up into to do reading in bewtween classes, and attending events inside. When I brought my kid to visit campus the first time, they were so excited to explore it and very much understood and felt the magic. Between the chapel, the gardens, and the separate East Campus (with completely different architecture), the physical aspects of Duke are as special and appealing as the academics. And then there's Cameron. Games there are an absolute dream come true for some kids - mens and womens games, both. (Quite different vibes but both amazing.) And . . . there's so much about Duke that is NOT appealing to some kids. Just like other schools. What feels magical to one kid can feel derivative to another. One kid's "lovely, contained campus" is another kid's "isolated and claustrophobic setting." Definitely need to visit both schools to understand and decide. |
Anonymous
| Are northerners more likely to pick UPenn? Where does Northern Virginia lean? |
Anonymous
| My elder one is graduating this year he has had an absolutely amazing time at Duke and graduating with a very very nice IB job. Younger one got in Penn this year and is headed to Wharton. We are counting our blessings! And wishing everyone the very best. I absolutely believe they would have done well anywhere, we all have to just support and trust our kids. |
Anonymous
Fellow Jewish alum who loved the Chapel. When I was in school there was a tradition of Maya Angelou speaking to the incoming class in the Chapel (I think she taught at Wake) - it truly made you feel like you were part of something huge. I went to a few services there just to see what it was like. Then we had baccalaureate service there at graduation. Hearing the bells ringing everyday at five was awesome. And the Gardens are right there and with the warmer weather are accessible much of the year. Yet Durham is right there also and though it isn't a metropolis, it is a decent city with plenty to offer, particularly when you add in Raleigh and Chapel Hill (which is, I hate to say it, a quintessential college town). Cameron is my ultimate happy place and taking my kids to a game there was a bucket list moment. I was far from the stereotypical Duke student - I was outgoing and social but on the nerdy side. But I found lots of people like myself and built a community of lifelong friends. I went to plenty of frat parties and every single basketball game. I think people like me aren't as common at Duke anymore - it is more of a barbell between the super social rich kids and the very intellectual types. But we still exist. But as you noted, different strokes for different folks. There are tons of incredible schools out there. Penn is definitely one. And there are many others. I hate people on DCUM who angrily bad mouth schools. One can provide fact based criticism, but the "that school is horrible" posters should just go away. Fools. |
Anonymous
| Important figures at both Duke and Penn have serious Epstein files exposure, so there's that. |
Anonymous
Disgustingly, this is the case at seemingly every instution in this country. For example, Harvard has Larry Summers, who is an absolute dirtbag. As Summers Sought Clandestine Relationship With Woman He Called a Mentee, Epstein Was His ‘Wing Man’ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/17/summers-epstein-wing-man-woman-described-as-mentee/ Key quote: “Think for now I’m going nowhere with her except economics mentor,” Summers wrote [to Epstein] in November 2018. “I think I’m right now in the seen very warmly in rear view mirror category.” “She must be very confused or maybe wants to cut me off but wants professional connection a lot and so holds to it,” Summers wrote in a March 2019 exchange to Epstein, explaining why he believed she continued to engage with him despite tensions. The important part is to keep these known predators and misogynists out of positions where they hold power over others. Again, using Summers as an example, if (when . . . ) he tries to worm his way back into a position at Harvard or elsewhere again, the university and everyone involved needs to hold the boundaries with huge, publich pushback. This was far from his first offense. It's enough already. |
Anonymous
I'm the PP, and I had to double-check that I hadn't actually written that myself. Plus the frat parties and basketball games. Not sure what year you were, but either we were friends or we should have been! 
Also, I love how you used the word "stereotypical". It's true we weren't that. But the Duke stereotype is so very different from reality!! From the start, I felt at home at Duke, in part because it seemed like most everyone there was enough like me in the ways that I valued. Smart, driven, social, balanced (work hard / play hard), positive and in love with Duke (lol), and always up for something new. Yes, there were highs and lows, both socially and academically. But it was the right place for me, and I still love and value the community and friends I made there. Finally, I keep hearing the same about the barbell problem at Duke and similar schools. I so hope that's not actually true. One of the best parts of my Duke experience was being with peers from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds and with varying degrees of "polish". For example, I was the first in my family to go away to college (as opposed to night school while working days and living at home), and I had close friends who ran the gamut from rural FGLI to middle class on work/study to a foreign diplomat's kid to someone whose last name is on multiple Duke buildings. Mix of races, too, mostly due to strong and lasting freshman dorm friendships. |
Anonymous
| Penn's current most prominent alum is Donald Trump, and Duke's is Stephen Miller. 'Nuff said. |
Anonymous
Larger than Georgetown? |