Duke University

In high school, I found that I could ace any class with a study cram the night before any test. By doing this, I never truly learned anything. Sure, I remembered enough for the tests and exams, but if someone were to quiz me a week later, I would have had no clue as to the answers. At Duke, the small classes and interactive environments along with the extremely specific details of some courses makes it impossible not to know what you're studying. I would have to admit that in the three semesters I've been in college, I've learned more than I ever learned throughout high school.

Yes, Duke is a top ten university, and yes, they get some of the brightest students in the country, but the level and quality of academics at Duke is so much more than that. In my first semester here, I learned how to communicate basic information in Arabic, to edit film not only digitally but manually by cutting and taping actual film strips together with 16mm film, the intricacies of court cases that involve the most controversial parts of the First Amendment, and the vast differences of the cultural aspects of languages, among other things. Duke does a great job of balancing the vast variety of classes offered with in depth exploration of a class' main focus. While, yes, there are some professors that can be a bit of a bore, almost every class at Duke will teach you something new (even if that comes through a textbook rather than your professor). However, the classroom isn’t the only place where you can learn something new. The diversity and, well, pure awesomeness of Duke’s student body provides a great resource for anyone looking for something new. For example, I learned some basic Russian phrases from a girl down the hall from me, how to play ultimate Frisbee from my roommate, and even how to (properly) lift a cherry pie from the dining hall. With so many interesting people around you all the time, I would say, unless you live under a rock during your time here, it’s pretty impossible not to learn something new almost everyday.

We cover a lot of material and very quickly. As long as you can keep up with the reading you're usually okay, and you will learn SO much on so many different topics. Duke's T-reqs or Trinity Requirements (http://trinity.duke.edu/academic-requirements?p=graduation-requirements) ensure too that your education is truly well-rounded. I came here thinking I was really only going to take science classes and uncovered a newfound love for history and philosophy!

Duke is an amazing school with an incredible, if sometimes overwhelming, number of opportunities available every day. Duke administration and students work to be academically, artistically, and socially open to new things and representative of the incredibly diverse student body. A Duke student is sure to have a one of a kind experience and is sure to find a place they feel at home.

there is no other place in america where you will tap into a richer infusion of pioneering professors in their fields, fully-funded research and civil service opportunities both at home and overseas, and a fabled athletics program enveloping a worldwide fan base than at duke university. from developing single-sound multispeakers to researching glioblastoma-curing applications with renowned faculty in electrical engineering and cancer medicine, duke students are contributing to the world's next breakthroughs in communications and medicine by day, before donning the blue and white body paint to senselessly cheer for one of the most iconic and winningest athletics program in all of sports history, by night. for these reasons and many more, it's no wonder why any aspiring eighteen-year-old difference maker wouldn't want to spend four years of his or her life on this incredible campus.

Duke's a diverse school with students of all sorts of races and backgrounds. The education is vigorous, so you'll get out whatever you put in. There are hundreds of student groups, academic opportunities and living environments to choose from, so once you've found your niche you'll have discovered that Duke is more than just a university, it's an entire college experience.

Duke isn't a world-renowned institution for nothing. The professors here, on a whole are extremely knowledgeable and very willing to help students who take the initiative to talk with them and learn more. Of course, some of the professors can be hit-or-miss and doing a little research on prospective professors can save a lot of frustration during the class registration process.
Your fellow students can also be a very valuable source of knowledge. I am constantly amazed at just how incredibly intelligent and thought-provoking my classmates are both in class discussions and during casual chats.
Depending upon the path taken, each student will have a varying degree of flexibility in class choices (For example, engineers will have a very limited number of electives compared to those in the humanities). However, Duke offers such a wide variety of courses on a diversity of interesting topics that will make you wish you could overload each semester.
Overall, the academic environment here is challenging, but extremely rewarding. Some of the classes will be hit-or-miss, with professors that may not live up to the standards you would expect at Duke. However, the truly amazing classes more than make up for the mediocre ones.

Duke is the located on the most beautiful campus in America, right in the great state of North Carolina. Duke students are the ones who coined the term work hard, play hard, as you will never find a place as challenging but rewarding as you will find in Duke University. If you love basketball, you have to come to Duke- we are the school that most recently won that thing.

Duke's campus is absolutely beautiful. The professors are great and the academics are very rigorous. Also, school spirit is huge.

Duke is a top-notch research university with a massive amount of school spirit. There is no typical Duke experience - each student makes it his or her own. However, the most successful students are entrepreneurial types who are not afraid to take advantage of all Duke has to offer.