D-U-K-E

Introduction
I chose Duke because I liked the size of the undergraduate student body (about 6,000), loved the campus, was excited about the sports, and thought the weather would be great. I would recommend that someone who enjoys city life, a wide variety of bars and clubs, or shopping (besides online!) would seriously consider how important those things are to them before attending this university. Also, one would ideally have a car here, because there is no viable public transportation.

Campus Life and Social Life
The social scene generally revolves around Greek life and four or five bars. There are no clubs worth mentioning. You can usually find something fun to do Thursday-Saturday nights, but on the other nights of the week, it is a bit more challenging. Duke is not a party school: you have to find the party because it won't find you. Basketball, though, is a huge plus. Being a Duke fan is one of the most fun experiences one can have as a college student. I was not a big sports fan before I came here but I am graduating a Cameron Crazy! Advertisement
Academics
Workload varies by major - as is true for most universities, the Science/Math departments require more class time and homework time. There are good and bad professors in all the departments, I recommend asking an upperclassman for advice once you move towards a major or minor.

Student Body
There are all kinds of students at Duke. There are hard-core Greeks (people who associate with other Greeks almost exclusivesly), people who don't drink at all, people who mix with many groups, people who are into music or film, and so on and so forth. Overall, it's a pretty preppy, upperclass school, but obviously no school can be entirely generalized about.

In Closing...
Duke is an amazing school, but like every university it has its ups and downs. I recommend it to anyone who gets in, though. I will graduate a loyal alumna.