Duke University
Hallmarks and Quirks
Things I'm Good At:
- Beating University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (or UNC, to you). Anytime we win against them at home, we have a huge bonfire in the middle of campus.
- Churning out Rhodes Scholars. I'm in the top five private Rhodes-Scholar-producing universities.
- Science. It's the reason my pre-med track is so prestigious. My scientists even helped map the human chromosome in the Human Genome Project. Now we're working on preventing disease on the genetic level.
- Frats and sororities. There's a big Greek following on campus, with a frat house for every type of bro.
My Top 5 Must-Haves:
- Walking shoes. My campus is 9,000 acres and I've got a 7,000-acre forest to boot…get it? But seriously, bring boots. It gets rainy.
- War paint. Everyone dresses up to support the Blue Devils during basketball season. They're NCAA champs for a reason.
- A sense of adventure. How else will you check "scale the Baldwin Auditorium dome" and "walk the East Campus tunnels" off of your unofficial graduation requirements list?
- A bookshelf with room for lots and lots of books. My professors are some of the most cited in the world, and they love to have you read up on what they've written.
- A good sense of direction. There's a pesky traffic circle in the middle of campus that confuses people. Hint: Go right.
Why You Might Have Heard of Me:
- Unique research labs and galleries. Check out Nasher Museum of Art, Lemur Center, and Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture while on campus.
- Duke Medicine. Hey, if you really, really like me (and who doesn't?), you can stick around for another four years at my renowned medical school.
- Our research is top-notch. Thomson Reuters recognized Duke professors as some of the most cited in the country.
On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...
I'm probably setting up a tent by the stadium in K-ville to support my Blue Devils. We're always wearing Duke Blue while tailgating before the big game, sometimes for a month in advance.
Favorite Hangouts:
- Food Factory at Devil's Bistro, for when I'm in the mood for an adult beverage
- Bull Durham Bar at Washington Duke Inn. If you're hungry and on a college student budget, this is the place to go.
- Gross Hall coffee station. Nothing says "college student" like free Gross coffee.
Quirks:
- Perkins Library is not just for studying. You can find students trying out their dance moves behind the stacks any time of the year.
- I used to be called Trinity College, but I changed my name to Duke after the Duke family gave me a huge pile of cash to expand my campus. The rest is history.
- Need to confess some late night antics? Check out my chapel on campus if you ever want to take communion or say a prayer.
- Even fictional characters want to go to Duke. Matthew McConaughey in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Olivia Munn on The Newsroom both called Duke their alma matter.
Famous Alumni:
- Richard Nixon went here. You've probably heard of some of his...questionable activities.
- Ron Paul
- The hilarious Ken Jeong
- Melinda Gates
- Grant Hill, former basketball player