I have to disagree with much of ctwickman's above post. Having lived in Durham for about 3 years now, I can vouch for the fact that there's TONS to do around here...I'm not sure what justifies the "no entertainment" comment. The triangle area has a great music scene, the restaurants around here rival those of the north, there are mountains a couple hours to the west, beaches a couple hours to the east, great golfing, great shopping, plentiful volunteer opportunities, and the list goes on and on...
While many of the roads ARE dark, it's because instead of street lights we have those reflectors embedded in the roads, so I haven't found the darkness to be a problem. Furthermore, I've been completely amazed at how accessable everything is around here, so again, I can't see how ctwickman's comments are justified. Everywhere I go is easily accessible from a major highway, and construction is now completed on highway 40, the new highway 540 is completed, and the Durham Freeway (route 147) is great! It's totally different from New England, where I swear I spent half of my college career sitting at red lights in Providence.
Of course, since Durham this is NOT a "big city," things are of course much more spread out. A car is necessary, but I see this as a big plus for medical school...I don't ever feel "stuck" anywhere, because I can get in my car and go wherever I want! (and it's so cheap to live here that it's easy to afford it on my student loans)
Having been through the toughest parts of the Duke curriculum, and having talked to many students at other medical schools, I can assure you that Duke is not by any means significantly more difficult than anywhere else!!! Once again, ctwickman's comments are totally out of step with what I've heard from the overwhelming majority of Duke students. To be honest, I'm really sick of hearing this stuff...it seems like every few weeks someone posts about how Duke "squeezes two years into one" and how it "sucks" and is "so much tougher," and it's just NOT TRUE. I had lots of free time during first year, and second year is the same as the third year anywhere else. Our third year is much more relaxing and productive too (I'm getting a master's degree), and fourth year is just like it is anywhere else. But don't just take my word for it...ask other Duke students and they'll tell you the same! And it's not that I'm at the top of my class either...I'm your average Duke Med student, and I've gotten by just fine, with plenty of time to have friends, have a life, and even get a second degree during my 3rd year.
Duke very consistently receives extraordinarily positive feedback from interviewees about how nice, friendly and normal its students are. Having interviewed at a dozen or so schools myself, I found this to be true as well. Granted, it's likely that any "not nice" students wouldn't show up in admissions to say hello, so that's why it's important to talk to lots of students, but most importantly ones who actually go to the school, like me! I can only think of a couple students in my class who perhaps aren't genuinely happy at Duke.
Please take those negative comments about Duke with a grain of salt...they're inconsistent with what the overwhelming majority would tell you.
