On the Road Again! – Duke University
Located in Durham, North Carolina, Duke has 6,000 undergraduates on its beautiful campus. The campus includes a botanical garden that spans more than 55 acres. Students are required to live on this gorgeous campus for three years.
During my most recent visit, I learned even more about the undergraduate academic offerings. Duke has long been known for its academic excellence. Ninety-five percent of the students were in the top 10% of their high school class. With an admissions rate in the single digits, admissions to Duke is tough, to say the least. For those lucky enough to be admitted, both the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and the Pratt School of Engineering offer undergraduate opportunities for research and interdisciplinary learning. More than 50% of undergraduates engage in research. This is no wonder since Duke is located in the Research Triangle of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. While it is common to switch majors in liberal arts at universities, this can be less common in engineering. But, Duke offers this flexibility allowing students to switch their majors within engineering. Duke wants its students to engage with professors and will pick up the tab for students having lunch with faculty members though a program with the acronym FLUNCH (faculty lunch? fun lunch? – you decide). On the Last Day of Classes (LDOC) students enjoy a celebration with food, music and games on the main quad as a way to relax before finals begin.
Duke has a vibrant student body. Students at Duke work hard and play hard. Greek life is off campus and bustling. Duke’s sports teams are powerhouses especially in men’s basketball winning numerous NCAA championships. In fact, Krzyzewskiville, known as K-ville for short, is a tent city that forms outside of Cameron Indoor Stadium before the start of the basketball season. Students camp out in tents to secure their spot in line for Duke’s men’s basketball games, with the first person in line earning the coveted spot of tent monitor. Women’s basketball and men’s lacrosse have had recent winning seasons as well.
Duke encourages students to think beyond its campus. Duke provides funding for students interested in a gap year ranging from $5,000-$15,000. More than half of the students study abroad. Even in the summer, Duke students are on the move. Duke Engage is a summer eight week volunteer program with travel and living expenses covered. Nearly one quarter of all undergraduates participate in this program. Whether it is academics or extracurriculars, you are sure to find a lot to offer at Duke.
