Duke University FAQs

University:
Duke University

Subject studied:
Engineering, Economics

What subjects did you do at IB/A levels and what were your CCAs?
Subjects: Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, 2 ‘S’ Papers
CCAs: Students Council

How does the workload of universitiy compare with IB/A levels?

Comparable; you can choose your own pace.

How did you decided on this final university?
The flexibility and breadth of education afforded by the US system appealed to me. Duke has a great combination of a strong engineering school & reputable economics department.

What are the cost of living and cost of school fees for the entire duration of the degree?
Cost of living in North Carolina isn’t too high. Do budget for about USD $10,000 to USD $15,000 a year for room and board. Typically, tuition fees will come to around USD $45,000 to USD $50,000 a year.

How do teaching and learning work in your school? Are the faculty accessible?
Teaching is conducted through a combination of classroom lectures, discussions, lab work (for science & engineering), & field work. While students are given the latitude to perform self-directed learning, numerous opportunities are available for collaborative work. Faculty are accessible, and are willing to engage students.

How large are your courses?

Varies; small discussion-based classes may have 10 students or less, while introductory courses (e.g. Introduction to Economics) may have up to 400 students.

Are people very competitive academically? How many exams are there in a year? What happens if one fails the year?

There’s a healthy, collaborative spirit with regard to academics. In the US system, there’s typically a final exam for each course at the end of the semester, with about 1 to 2 midterm exams scattered during the semester.
It’s possible to repeat courses, with the permission of the Academic Dean.

How would you describe the school culture?
The Duke spirit is really strong. Duke isn’t located in a big city, and it makes campus life that much more vibrant. Sports like basketball, and to a smaller extent, football, are big at Duke.

Is there an established Singaporean presence at your university? How many Singaporeans are there per batch?
Yes there is. We have a reasonably-sized Singaporean community, and a Singapore Students Association. There are about 10 Singaporeans per batch.

How are international freshmen/freshers welcomed to your university?
There’s an International Students’ Orientation and a freshman orientation program. Freshmen are housed in freshmen-only dorms within East Campus. This is helpful in letting you get to know members of your class. Many of my closest friends at Duke were from my freshmen dorm.

Is your school “cliquey”?
To some extent. Greek life (e.g. fraternities & sororities) is rather popular. Certain groups of international students tend to form cliques. In general, however, Dukies are a bunch of approachable & friendly people.

Do people tend to hang among people of their own major/course/social class/race/nationality only, or is there a high degree of integration?
There is a good degree of integration. Due to the first-year housing arrangement and flexibility in course arrangements, there are numerous opportunities to meet people & find a group that you’re comfortable with. My freshman year hall-mates got along well, and we decided to live in the same cluster all the way through senior year. Among us, we had English majors, pre-meds, engineers, Caucasians, American-born Indians, Singaporeans – we were certainly a diverse bunch. Nonetheless, there are, as with many Ivies, rather ‘exclusive’ fraternities where people of a particular race / social class tend to gravitate towards.

What do students normally do in their spare time? Have you joined any extracurriculars? How do you find them?
I joined the motorsports team for a year, and was active in our SSA, helming it for a year. There are dedicated events for students to learn about the different extracurriculars on campus. Apart from extracurriculars, students can do lots in their spare time – attend campus events (theater / performances), socials, parties, go off-campus, explore the beautiful surroundings. During breaks, many of us venture beyond NC and travel around the US & beyond.

How would you rate the following “scenes” in your college and its surroundings: shopping, drinking, clubbing, fine arts, and sports?
Shopping – Not very active, although online shopping is very prevalent. There are very decent malls nearby (e.g. Southpoint mall).
Drinking – Active (on-campus & off). There are some pretty good bars in downtown Durham, near the American Tobacco campus. The legal drinking age is 21 and this is strictly enforced in Durham. Nonetheless, authorities provide students with reasonable leeway to hold parties on campus as long as things don’t get too rowdy.
Clubbing – Active. Don’t expect something like Zouk / Butter Factory though; the most popular club for Dukies, Shooters’, is more of a country-style establishment. Definitely not what we’d call classy.
Fine Arts – Active. The arts & theater scene is strong at Duke. The DPAC (Durham Performing Arts Center) is the largest theater in the Carolinas. It’s a beautiful establishment located in downtown Durham, just a 10 min drive away from Campus, and plays host to Broadway productions, high-profile concerts, recitals & comedy events.
Sports – Very active. Pretty much everyone is a Duke basketball fan. The Cameron Crazies, as they are called, are the most spirited in the country.

How’s the accommodation? Do most people stay in college dorms/halls, or independently? How should one look for accommodation?

Most people stay in college dorms & halls. There’s an annual on-campus housing lottery. On-campus housing is guaranteed for freshmen on East Campus.

How is the transport like? Does one need a car? If so, how should one go about getting a car?
There are free shuttle buses that ply the major routes around campus. A car isn’t necessary; if you need to take a quick trip or run errands, car-sharing services like Zipcar are available. A number of my American housemates had a car, and we could run errands together.

Is Asian food readily available? If one is to cook, where can we get the Asian food from?
Yes, there are nearby Asian supermarkets that cater to a sizeable Asian population in the Triangle region.

Do most people cook, eat at a catered facility or cafeteria, or eat out? How’s the catered food?
Most people eat at on-campus cafeterias. Portions, as with the rest of the US, are large. There’s a good variety of options, and many nearby delis and cafes do food deliveries to campus. It’s possible to cook if you’re living on Central Campus, an option open to Juniors & Seniors.

What are the laundry arrangements like?
On-campus laundry rooms are available, and are well-maintained.

Is it easy to find places of worship?
Yes; do get in touch with the various religious organizations on campus. The Duke Chapel is a great piece of architecture.

Do you think Singaporeans will experience a major culture shock?
No. Things aren’t that different in the US. For one, language isn’t a problem, people are pretty chill about things.

Do you ever feel peer pressure to do something you’re uncomfortable with?
No, Dukies tend to be respectful of each other’s values & practices.

Do you think that there might be any groups which might feel uncomfortable or marginalized at your school?
Duke is sometimes perceived to have a ‘rich, white-boy’ image. There has, in recent years, been much discourse to reinforce the importance of inclusiveness, after a couple of incidents where African-American students were abused with racial slurs.

What’s the best experience you’ve had so far in college?
Tenting with 11 other Cameron Crazies to get front-row tickets for the basketball game against our arch-rivals, the North Carolina Tar Heels, in 2009. That involved living in a tent outside the basketball stadium for a month, in the middle of winter. That was great for bonding & forging camaraderie through the pursuit of this common goal – to survive that period.

Choosing Universities- Part 1 (North California vs South California)

“California girls, they’re undeniable, daisy dukes, bikinis on top.” Katy Perry’s voice was the soundtrack of my summer in 2013, all geared up with flip-flops and denim shorts, ready to head out to the green lands of California for my first year at UC Berkeley. The funny thing was, as a born-and-bred Malaysian, I did not realize that California is almost twice as large as the entire Malaysian Peninsula. Needless to say, I felt just a little lied to when I found out that not all of California is sunshine and rainbows. And that in fact, Northern California (NorCal), was very, VERY different from Southern California (SoCal).

Que in what felt like the most cold and miserable fall semester of my life. I ended up having to purchase a whole new wardrobe made of boots and giant coats, while my bikinis and crop-tops were left to gather dust. But once I got over the shock that California in itself feels like an entire country, I began to appreciate the differences between the two half-states.

The Bay Area, located very snuggly in NorCal, is the heart of all things technology and start-ups. Silicon Valley is home to the infamous Facebook, Google, Apple, Netflix, and almost every tech company you have heard of. Naturally, the people around this area also tend to be a generation of incredibly intelligent, creative hippies. I have seen more strangely dressed individuals in the last 3 years, than I have ever in my lifetime. If you want quirky, open, passionate, driven people to be around, NorCal is the place for you. We even have the Golden State Warriors to boast about! The more notable universities on this side of the Golden State would be Stanford and Berkeley.

SoCal on the other hand, is the kind of California that you hear in songs and see in movies. Beautiful weather all year round with gorgeous beaches and wonderful views. The people are bronzed, fit and wonderfully dressed. Here, in the heart of Los Angeles lies Hollywood, so don’t be surprised if you see famous celebrities going about their day every once in awhile. I do have to admit, being in the City of Angels sometimes felt like being back in high school where the pressure to fit in and look good was reasonably high, but the beauty of the city makes it all worth it. The University of Southern California, UCLA and Caltech are the popular universities located in SoCal.

At the end of the day, Los Angeles and San Francisco are two incredibly fantastic cities that have their own personalities, each because of their fame and size, have become representatives of SoCal and NorCal respectively. My suggestion, visit them both! Stay for a week or so and get a feel for the people and the environment. They are so different that you wouldn’t think you were in the same country, much less the same state. Either way, I love both of them and I think that most of you would too.

If you have any queries, do email us at enquiries@qconsultasia.com!

Cheers,

Fung Ying

Quintessential Consultancy

Writing College Essays: A Self-Reflection.

If there was one thing I learned about the college application process when I was applying to American universities, it was that everything mattered. Getting high SAT scores or a high GPA can only get you so far. It appears as though the United States wants to know more about you, the individual; not just what you are capable of academically, but also your interests and passions, your past experiences and future plans, and what you can bring to the table. In the span of two months, I had written 14 essays for 10 different colleges, all asking about my extracurricular activities, my inspirations, my life and why I had decided to pursue the course that I had chosen.

Writing openly has always been very easy for me, and having authored tens of thousands of words of fiction during my high school days certainly helped. It allowed me to approach the questions asked on the applications with a different and honest point of view, which I believe ended up being my saving grace. Asked about my favourite work of art, I talked about a tattoo born from difficult experiences; asked about my world, I talked about how ostracised I felt from my peers after having transferred from a local to international school. In my opinion, the college essays are an opportunity to highlight what makes you, you.

My advice would be this: don’t be afraid to be different, don’t be afraid to mention your past relationships, or your family difficulties, or your struggles with fitting in. The more muck and dirt you reveal about yourself in this process, the better. Because in the end, our failures play a larger part in forming our personalities than our successes. From my three years of having studied in the United States, I have come to realize that American schools really enjoy and relish in diversity: in people going against the grain, in highlighting and developing your own unique potential.

Methodologically I would suggest collating all your essay titles in one place. Often universities tend to ask similar questions, and this would save you the hassle of having to rewrite similar essays over and over. Do this early, so that you have the headspace to brainstorm and discuss your ideas with close friends and family. When you start writing your essays, don’t stress too hard about completing them all to perfection at once. Give yourself time to sleep on what you had written for the day, and come back to it later. The best way to overcome writer’s block is to take a break and relax, do something else that would take your mind off this stressful process. And remember, you are not likely to ever meet any of the individuals who read your essays, so bask in that freedom, have fun with it, and write!

If you have any queries, do email us at enquiries@qconsultasia.com!

Cheers,

Fung Ying

Quintessential Consultancy