Duke University

Whenever people mention being interested in Duke, they always cite one thing: the Duke community. But for me, from what I’ve heard about and experienced so far, “community” doesn’t even begin to cover Duke. Even with that amazing community, Duke, under the surface, is so much more. It's so much more than the 14 miles square campus, so much more than the famous forest, lemur center, hospital, marine lab, farm, and garden, so much more than the crazy blue painted faces on the bleachers of a packed basketball court, so much more than the beautiful gothic wonderland and the top notch dining places. Duke, is the students. It's the camaraderie formed while camping out in the cold for ten weeks to cheer on the basketball team. It's the spirit, the passion, the late nights spent exploring tunnels beneath the school, the hectic morning runs at 2 AM to catch a bus and the late night talks in the dorm common room. Duke, is a legacy in the making. It's constantly improving, innovating, experimenting, and it won't be slowing down anytime soon. And that's why, there's nothing more exciting to come to Duke at this point in time. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always pictured myself going to college in a big metropolitan area. And the truth is, Durham, where Duke is located at, though it's growing rapidly, is no New York or LA. It has nowhere near the same abundance of internships and job opportunities. It's a place I'd never picture myself committing to. And yet, Duke’s approach to experiential learning made me completely change my way of thought; made me completely fall in love with the institution, its innovative nature, its tenacity, its persistence when faced with a challenge. Because when it comes to your education, if there's no real-world classroom around you, then Duke brings YOU to the classroom. Modeling a bridge in engineering? How about actually applying that by going abroad and building an actual bridge for a community in need? Reading about the Middle East? DukeEngage will take you there to make a real difference, to empower the youth, to examine the conflicts, to change the future. Think Durham isn't a big enough city to study the workings of a business economy? Travel to Duke Kunshan, a branch of Duke in China; smack in the middle of the world’s fastest growing economy. Whether it's through DukeEngage, DukeImmerse, a semester or a summer abroad, Duke works harder than anyone else to incorporate Global Education into your learning experience. The opportunity and impact that Duke students have aren't confined within the boundaries of a college campus or a city. It's global. With the resources of a major research institution, Duke, unlike others, approaches its academics with the same flexibility, interdisciplinary, and big-picture mode of thought as many liberal arts colleges. And what I love most about Duke, apart from all those fantastic schools and programs and majors, is this: Duke believes in you. It allows you to pave your own path, to be a maverick and a catalyst for change by creating your own major through Program II if none of its listed majors speak to you. It allows your to take your passion and run, and ride, and fly with it. And yet, at the same time, flexibility at Duke doesn't mean complete hands-off. While a lot of great research institutions have professors who may be too busy with their own research to provide undergraduates the needed support in and out of the classroom, Duke tries so hard to create programs that push professors into the fabric of students’ everyday education. The FOCUS program for first year students, for example, provides freshmen the opportunity to study with some of Duke’s most distinguished professors right away, in small in-class and out-of-class environments through seminars, weeknight dinners and even field trips. Meanwhile, upperclassmen have programs like Bass Connections that allow them to actually work on a team with some of their professors to create a project or produce an impact. As if that isn't enough, Duke Student Government also gives students around $200 per semester for FLUNCH, allowing them to take professors out to lunch to get to know and learn from them in a nontraditional setting. In all that, one thing is clear: Duke doesn't just rely on having world-class professors at its institution, instead, it works tirelessly to make these professors an active presence in every student’s undergraduate experience. When it comes to merit scholarships, Duke’s awards aren't just packages of full rides and monetary rewards for being smart or having a high GPA either. Instead, Duke takes the time establish all sorts of different types of scholarships, all tailored to your specific needs. A student interested in original research can be considered for the University Scholars Program, a full-ride scholarship with support specifically in research; meanwhile, a student who has overcome incredible circumstances as a first-generation student can be considered for the David M. Rubenstein Program, which provides a full ride and support in areas of professional networking and transitioning to college and later on the job market. Those merit scholarship programs are just a few of the many, many Duke provides. (I suggest, look them up!) So, whether you are interested in politics, business, law, medical, environment, or anything in between, whether you're a researcher, a first generation student, a leader; or an experimenter; an undergraduate journey filled with experiential and interdisciplinary learning, with fun, spirit, passion and pride, that allows you to simultaneously be a world leader in the making and just merely a young eighteen-nineteen year old enjoying life, is an experience that no other school provides in a more complete, well-rounded, forceful manner than Duke. Duke has never been about the brand, the ranking, or the title. Duke is the students, the people like you, the legacy they leave behind.