Dukes Anonymous :)

[pagemmapants]

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Baylor v. UCSD v. Duke was my ultimate choice.

I decided to spend as much money as humanly possible.

 

[nevercold]

Hey med students,
Out of curiosity, what schools did y'all decide between, and what made you decide to go to Duke?

I was between Duke, UVA, and UMD. Also Penn, but didn't like Philly that much.

I had four factors (in no particular order):
1) [location] I liked North Carolina, especially that it was the warmest of the three
2) [people] I liked the people the most here (100% smart/on-the-ball and 100% nice/collegial feeling)
3) [curriculum] Get to clinicals early, strong boards, and third year was unique
4) [nebulous] Something was just exciting about this place

 

[nevercold]

Also worth considering is that despite the fact that Duke moves up and down in the US News and World Report top 10, Duke is consistently very high in residency program director rankings. This is not just important for your residency application--if you excel anywhere you will do well in the match--but is important for your training.

It says something to me that Duke grads are highly regarded by residency programs. It says that if you get accepted here and come through our program, you are quite likely to be a capable physician. Let's not kid ourselves, there is a lot to learn and a lot of responsibility in medicine. Getting to the point where you are quite capable is a journey fraught with worry about your ability to do so. I think I feel more confident about that as a Duke student.

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

oh yeah...the optho guy. i'll totally PM you once i get off my post-interview high and hit the real world with real questions...i was the one born in singapore, i think thats the only thing that would distinguish me during that lunch meeting...

Duuuuude... I totally remember you. 🙂

Hey med students,
Out of curiosity, what schools did y'all decide between, and what made you decide to go to Duke?

No decision honestly. My rank list was as follows:

1. Duke
2. Duke
3. Duke
4. Duke
5. Duke
6. If they don't let me into Duke, I guess I'll go to that school in TX 🙁

Why Duke?
1) People
2) Curriculum
3) Duke is obvi baller.
4) Awesome Dukies on SDN

 

[Dr Durden]

WashU, Vandy, and Dook.

1) People: awesome peers, check out your second look weekends (yes, pretty subjective)
2) Curriculum: obvi 👍 👍
3) School: connected to the ugrad campus and K-ville
4) Location: cheap, Southern weather, near mountains & beaches
5) SDN excitement level: kidding that this entered into the decision .... sorta 😎

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

Ditto on the beaches. 2.5 hours or less away, and they are freakin' amazing.

 

[panther42]

25...

I can feel the anxiety building

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

No need for anxiety. You will be fine. Que sera, sera. Trust me... the anxiety really isn't worth it. Just enjoy what you've done up to this point, and what you will soon be doing in the future (which is trying to stay awake enough hours during the day to study).

 

[xrevision]

I hope to get into duke next year! It is my absolute #1 choice.

 

[pagemmapants]

You're in good company, xrevision. It's a great place to be.

 

[chinny5187]

25...

I can feel the anxiety building

lol

i don't know about this countdown thing

I just got an interview at Duke last week (absolutely stoked about it!), and because there are no dates left theyre trying to schedule me a regional interview.

I called again this week to see if they had set one up yet or not. They said they were still working on it and that there were 70 people who they had to set these up for!! (theres a chance i might have heard wrong and it was 17, but i'm pretty sure it was 70.) So it looks like it'll be a while before they get these interviews set up, completed, the results reported back, and the decisions made on the candidates. I'm more happy about this than sad b/c it ensures even later interviewees get considered equally, but unfortunately may prolong the wait for many people.

 

[panther42]

lol

i don't know about this countdown thing

I just got an interview at Duke last week (absolutely stoked about it!), and because there are no dates left theyre trying to schedule me a regional interview.

I called again this week to see if they had set one up yet or not. They said they were still working on it and that there were 70 people who they had to set these up for!! (theres a chance i might have heard wrong and it was 17, but i'm pretty sure it was 70.) So it looks like it'll be a while before they get these interviews set up, completed, the results reported back, and the decisions made on the candidates. I'm more happy about this than sad b/c it ensures even later interviewees get considered equally, but unfortunately may prolong the wait for many people.

nonsense, we're hearing from duke in 25 days and that's that!

Actually, I agree that the wait will most likely be prolonged, but I don't think it will be too much longer. This same situation happened last year, although they still stayed pretty close to the date they said they would get decisions out. I think we heard around the 10th. I would be really surprised if we don't hear by mid-March.

 

[nevercold]

I have two more interview days left to do (maybe 3). Anyone have any great questions I could add to my [robust] arsenal?

 

[diosa428]

I have two more interview days left to do (maybe 3). Anyone have any great questions I could add to my [robust] arsenal?

How about this: the night intern that works when you're on call overnight on surgery routinely makes you go scut work all evening and the go around and collect midnight vitals and then present them to her, which always takes until 3 am, preventing you from getting any decent sleep during the night or doing any work. You are on call Saturday, with a test on Monday, and if you stay up all night on Saturday you will sleep all day Sunday and not get any studying done. However, the night intern does not know you have to take call this weekend and it's unlikely anyone would ever know if you even came in. What do you do?

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

How about this: the night intern that works when you're on call overnight on surgery routinely makes you go scut work all evening and the go around and collect midnight vitals and then present them to her, which always takes until 3 am, preventing you from getting any decent sleep during the night or doing any work. You are on call Saturday, with a test on Monday, and if you stay up all night on Saturday you will sleep all day Sunday and not get any studying done. However, the night intern does not know you have to take call this weekend and it's unlikely anyone would ever know if you even came in. What do you do?

Wow... can't wait to be a second year... 🙄 🙁 👎

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

I have two more interview days left to do (maybe 3). Anyone have any great questions I could add to my [robust] arsenal?

Here's a question that I was asked at my Duke interview - "Define professionalism."

Or... ask them another moral dilemma they have faced other than the one they wrote about. That would be freakin' brutal.

 

[hra87]

Here's a question that I was asked at my Duke interview - "Define professionalism."

Or... ask them another moral dilemma they have faced other than the one they wrote about. That would be freakin' brutal.

Heh, why ask these meaningless questions that will bear no relation to how well they'll fit at the school or how good of a doctor they'll make? Do you put any weight on the answers?

Professionalism, off the top of my head - following a rigid social code defined by the traditions of your practice.

My definition doesn't make it sound very good, huh?

 

[nevercold]

How about this: the night intern that works when you're on call overnight on surgery routinely makes you go scut work all evening and the go around and collect midnight vitals and then present them to her, which always takes until 3 am, preventing you from getting any decent sleep during the night or doing any work. You are on call Saturday, with a test on Monday, and if you stay up all night on Saturday you will sleep all day Sunday and not get any studying done. However, the night intern does not know you have to take call this weekend and it's unlikely anyone would ever know if you even came in. What do you do?

That's a good one, although chances are I won't remember the whole scenario! 🙂

 

[MrBurns10]

How about this: the night intern that works when you're on call overnight on surgery routinely makes you go scut work all evening and the go around and collect midnight vitals and then present them to her, which always takes until 3 am, preventing you from getting any decent sleep during the night or doing any work. You are on call Saturday, with a test on Monday, and if you stay up all night on Saturday you will sleep all day Sunday and not get any studying done. However, the night intern does not know you have to take call this weekend and it's unlikely anyone would ever know if you even came in. What do you do?

Wow. Who's the night intern? Just come in, page 2222 and don't tell your intern you're on call. Technically, you're on trauma call, not call for your team...

 

[diosa428]

Wow. Who's the night intern? Just come in, page 2222 and don't tell your intern you're on call. Technically, you're on trauma call, not call for your team...

Also, WHY AM I UP AT 4 AM?

 

[panther42]

Just be sure that their answer to 'why duke?' is solid and make sure it includes a shout out to all the Dukie hopefuls on SDN.

 

[Jathin]

Interviewed on Valentine's Day yesterday, I don't think I got to meet you FemalesCantDrive/Diosa/MrBurns =(

 

[hra87]

What's the PBL vs. lecture breakdown at Duke, btw? Forgot to ask during interview day.

 

[Dr Durden]

IMO, PBL doesn't really exist in the preclinical year at Duke. We have 2-3 labs a week of 2-3 hours each which sometimes involve light "pimping" or working with small teams (dependant upon your lab instructor), but nothing like what other schools trumpet as PBL.

To give you an example of this week's 1st year schedule:
Mon: 9-4, 6 lectures
Tue: 9-4, 4 lectures, 1 lab
Wed: 9-5, 1 lecture, 1 lab, and a few hours practicing physicals on wards
Thu: 9-4, 4 lectures, 1 lab
Fri: 9-12, 1 lecture, 1 lab

And this is as intense as it gets. Labs are mandatory, but you can download/stream videos of lectures from your home, the library, your fave cafe, or even the beach.

 

[hra87]

IMO, PBL doesn't really exist in the preclinical year at Duke. We have 2-3 labs a week of 2-3 hours each which sometimes involve light "pimping" or working with small teams (dependant upon your lab instructor), but nothing like what other schools trumpet as PBL.

To give you an example of this week's 1st year schedule:
Mon: 9-4, 6 lectures
Tue: 9-4, 4 lectures, 1 lab
Wed: 9-5, 1 lecture, 1 lab, and a few hours practicing physicals on wards
Thu: 9-4, 4 lectures, 1 lab
Fri: 9-12, 1 lecture, 1 lab

And this is as intense as it gets. Labs are mandatory, but you can download/stream videos of lectures from your home, the library, your fave cafe, or even the beach.

Great, sounds PERFECT. Is it possible to not go to lectures AND not listen to the streams though (I really don't get much of anything out of hearing the professor explain it, and I think it's much more efficient to just learn it from the notes/book. In undergrad I mostly attended lectures but never learned much, so I figure in med school when I'll be crunched for time I should try to avoid them altogether). My only concern is that I'll go through my entire first year not knowing any of my classmates.

Well, my main concern is GETTING IN.

 

[nevercold]

from ... even the beach.

Indeed. This has been done by many. And by many I mean at least by me.

 

[nevercold]

Great, sounds PERFECT. Is it possible to not go to lectures AND not listen to the streams though ... My only concern is that I'll go through my entire first year not knowing any of my classmates.

Lots of the tests are based on lecture material and the lecture material is usually not *every* detail on the exam. As I remember it:

Molecules & Cells (biochem, cell bio, etc) - diverse lecture topics, hard to *just* get it from the books b/c the exams will be lecture based and not all professors for this give out notes and the ppt is not always perfectly explanatory. A few professors like to talk about stuff that is not in the powerpoint slides and also test on that stuff. Dr. Newgard does a lot of the metabolism stuff and he usually has like 10 slides for an hour lecture, so he's one that doesn't have everything in the slides.

Normal Body - Anatomy is anatomy, you can get that from the lab and the books. Physiology has pretty good notes for most topics and you could probably do well with a physiology textbook and just the notes and powerpoints. Histology is partially lab based and the lectures are a little more nebulous, but I'm guessing you could get most everything from the notes and the histology text which is good.

Neurobiology - Human behavior component is something where lecture is needed to get all the info. The neuroscience part is much more scripted and all the information you need is available non-verbally.

Body&Disease - Immunology you can get from the ppt and from the textbook (which a lot of the ppt is taken from). Other topics vary in how well all the information is covered in the ppt and professors do add information. If you study from the textbook for these topics, you would have to overstudy to make sure you covered everything.

Ultimately, many people at least watch through each lecture once so they know what information they have to know. If you don't learn well from just listening, you can stream at 2x to get through faster and then focus on your notes and what you've identified in textbooks.

You have tons of opportunities to get to know your classmates first year b/c while lectures are mostly optional attendance, there are lots of attendance-mandatory labs and small groups. There's also practice course where you get to know people. And finally there are lots of social events during the first year and people form study groups as well.

 

[xrevision]

I guess its a good thing I'm used to taking a lot of labs. Last year I was taking 4 science classes, and each had its own lab.

 

[hra87]

Lots of the tests are based on lecture material and the lecture material is usually not *every* detail on the exam. As I remember it:

Molecules & Cells (biochem, cell bio, etc) - diverse lecture topics, hard to *just* get it from the books b/c the exams will be lecture based and not all professors for this give out notes and the ppt is not always perfectly explanatory. A few professors like to talk about stuff that is not in the powerpoint slides and also test on that stuff. Dr. Newgard does a lot of the metabolism stuff and he usually has like 10 slides for an hour lecture, so he's one that doesn't have everything in the slides.

Normal Body - Anatomy is anatomy, you can get that from the lab and the books. Physiology has pretty good notes for most topics and you could probably do well with a physiology textbook and just the notes and powerpoints. Histology is partially lab based and the lectures are a little more nebulous, but I'm guessing you could get most everything from the notes and the histology text which is good.

Neurobiology - Human behavior component is something where lecture is needed to get all the info. The neuroscience part is much more scripted and all the information you need is available non-verbally.

Body&Disease - Immunology you can get from the ppt and from the textbook (which a lot of the ppt is taken from). Other topics vary in how well all the information is covered in the ppt and professors do add information. If you study from the textbook for these topics, you would have to overstudy to make sure you covered everything.

Ultimately, many people at least watch through each lecture once so they know what information they have to know. If you don't learn well from just listening, you can stream at 2x to get through faster and then focus on your notes and what you've identified in textbooks.

You have tons of opportunities to get to know your classmates first year b/c while lectures are mostly optional attendance, there are lots of attendance-mandatory labs and small groups. There's also practice course where you get to know people. And finally there are lots of social events during the first year and people form study groups as well.

Wow, thanks a lot. You Duke folks are the most helpful here.

BTW: is body and disease organ/system based?

 

[nevercold]

Wow, thanks a lot. You Duke folks are the most helpful here.

Let's just say cardiology consults affords one some extra time 🙂

BTW: is body and disease organ/system based?

Mostly yes. Immunology is separated out and there is an extent to which microbiology is also tough to integrate. The rest proceeds system by system (cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, hematologic, etc.), covering pathology, micro, and pharmacology.

 

[meowkat444]

How about the social scene in NC? Dating? Live music? Public transportation? Cultural diversity? Political climate?

I love the school and the research but am a little nervous about these things, moving from Los Angeles. Not that we have good public transportation... But I'm a single musician and I'm going to want to spend a little time outside of the academic community, and I'm wondering if it might be harder to do so at Duke. Thoughts? I know that to an extent it's what you make of it, but there really is a difference in different places.

 

[MrBurns10]

How about the social scene in NC? Dating? Live music? Public transportation? Cultural diversity? Political climate?

I love the school and the research but am a little nervous about these things, moving from Los Angeles. Not that we have good public transportation... But I'm a single musician and I'm going to want to spend a little time outside of the academic community, and I'm wondering if it might be harder to do so at Duke. Thoughts? I know that to an extent it's what you make of it, but there really is a difference in different places.

Well, regardless of what I tell you, Durham is very different from LA. But there's a lot going on around here that you won't be bored in your limited free time. Raleigh was recently rated in the top 5 best cities to be single in...I can't really speak from personal experience from that one as everyone I've dated I've met through school, but you know, magazines don't lie. There's plenty of good live music to hear in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, from big bands to small local stuff. Public transportation isn't very good here...you really need a car if you come here. Cultural diversity: because it's an academic center associated with a university that brings in many international students, cultural diversity at Duke is pretty big. Durham itself, however, I can't say the same. And politically...think of the Triangle as a big blue island in the middle of the red sea. Of course some of the students/doctors are conservatives so if that floats your boat you won't be completely alone.

 

[jsol]

How about the social scene in NC? Dating? Live music? Public transportation? Cultural diversity? Political climate?

I love the school and the research but am a little nervous about these things, moving from Los Angeles. Not that we have good public transportation... But I'm a single musician and I'm going to want to spend a little time outside of the academic community, and I'm wondering if it might be harder to do so at Duke. Thoughts? I know that to an extent it's what you make of it, but there really is a difference in different places.

yea I would also like to know a little more about NC. By the way congrats on the duke acceptance meowkat444

 

[meowkat444]

how annoying is it to get to raleigh/chapel hill? do people sometimes live there and commute in? is it realistic to want to live in some sort of "neighborhood" and still get to school relatively easy, maybe by biking or bussing or on a motor scooter or something, which i'm dying for an excuse to get?

and thanks! i'm super excited for revisit.... i did love the school a lot.

 

[hra87]

1 last question - what percentage of the class would you guys/gals say ends up getting honors in the first year classes?

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

1 last question - what percentage of the class would you guys/gals say ends up getting honors in the first year classes?

Whatever percent can achieve 90%... varies by class.

So as far as dating goes, get used to not meeting people who aren't med students (read: FCD is bitter about dating situation in med school that will never get any better cuz FCD and cuz FemalesAreCrazy). OK sorry... that was a rant.

Also, I was in the admissions office late in the afternoon on V-day. It was brief and people looked to be heading out so I just got my drink and was on my way. It's all gravy.

 

[nevercold]

There be neighborhoods aplenty,
There be honors far and wide,
Of young people there sure be many,
And flirtacious ladies to stoke thy pride.

In all seriousness, you can meet ladies and gents in the area, at Duke (there is more to Duke than just the med school), at the hospital, and apparently while away during 3rd year (oddly common).

Generally about 30-40% of the class is able to earn honors during the basic science rotations, but the threshold is fixed and is not based on class performance.

Anywhere from 20-30% of the class gets honors on the clinical rotations, but sometimes closer to 40%. Anywhere from 10-50% earn a "Pass" and the remaining percentage gets "High Pass."

People do sometimes bike to campus (and there are neighborhoods close enough), although I really think that people get drivers licenses in North Carolina without any drivers education or knowledge of where their gas pedal and turn signal are (my one beef with the state).

 

[hra87]

How about the social scene in NC? Dating? Live music? Public transportation? Cultural diversity? Political climate?

I love the school and the research but am a little nervous about these things, moving from Los Angeles. Not that we have good public transportation... But I'm a single musician and I'm going to want to spend a little time outside of the academic community, and I'm wondering if it might be harder to do so at Duke. Thoughts? I know that to an extent it's what you make of it, but there really is a difference in different places.

What type of music? From what I hear (a friend that goes to chapel hill) the music scene in the triangle is great (high proportion of college students=good music).

 

[Jessie12]

yea I would also like to know a little more about NC. By the way congrats on the duke acceptance meowkat444

They sent out acceptances already??

 

[hra87]

They sent out acceptances already??

Don't worry, MSTP.

 

[meowkat444]

There be neighborhoods aplenty,
There be honors far and wide,
Of young people there sure be many,
And flirtacious ladies to stoke thy pride.

well, if you wrote a poem about then clearly i have to go there...

 

[longhorntarheel]

This is a general question that I think you guys can answer since some of you have interviewed us. How does the committee decide who will interview each applicant? Is it a random process? Based on interests? Or based on the candidacy of the applicant pre-interview? Just curious. Gratzi

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

What type of music? From what I hear (a friend that goes to chapel hill) the music scene in the triangle is great (high proportion of college students=good music).

I hear it is really good too. Pagemmapants can probably shed much more light on this. So can husky... although he doesn't get on SDN much anymore. But from what I hear, freakin' sweet.

 

[nevercold]

This is a general question that I think you guys can answer since some of you have interviewed us. How does the committee decide who will interview each applicant? Is it a random process? Based on interests? Or based on the candidacy of the applicant pre-interview? Just curious. Gratzi

Haha, I'm an interviewer and I don't even know this. To be honest, we all sign up for interview days and they assign us 5 applicants to interview. We have 6 interviewers for each day (to cover 15 applicants x 2 interviews/applicant). I think it is pretty random because I have gotten a pretty random assortment of interviewees.

 

[diosa428]

how annoying is it to get to raleigh/chapel hill? do people sometimes live there and commute in? is it realistic to want to live in some sort of "neighborhood" and still get to school relatively easy, maybe by biking or bussing or on a motor scooter or something, which i'm dying for an excuse to get?

and thanks! i'm super excited for revisit.... i did love the school a lot.

Some of our classmates live/d in Raleigh or lived close by and I'd say it would be a pain, especially during second year when you have to be in really early and those extra 20+ minutes could be killer. I think Raleigh is like 30-40 mins away, depending upon what part. Chapel Hill is closer, but the road that takes you from Durham to Chapel Hill is not a fun one to drive in the morning because of traffic. It's probably like 20 mins normally to CH. Or you can just live close to CH, like Burnsie does, cuz it's cheaper to live in Durham than CH. You could def live in a neighborhood in Durham, there are tons around that are pretty nice. However, getting around most of Durham requires getting on freeways, so you'd have to live pretty close to school to bike or ride a motor scooter.

 

[diosa428]

So as far as dating goes, get used to not meeting people who aren't med students (read: FCD is bitter about dating situation in med school that will never get any better cuz FCD and cuz FemalesAreCrazy). OK sorry... that was a rant.

Try dating people who aren't already married... you might have better luck 😉

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

Try dating people who aren't already married... you might have better luck 😉

I hate you.

 

[rukh214]

I searched quite a bit, but I cannot seem to find Director Wallace's email address anywhere. I have written a letter of interest (i.e. "How do I love thee, Duke? Let me count the ways..." that I am sending by snail mail today, but I also want to electronically send Mr. Wallace a copy (he gave us his rousing speech; Dr. Armstrong was not in the office on the day of my interview.)

Ought I simply to send the email to the Admissions Office at medadm [at] mc.duke.edu and ask them to send it his way, or can any of you fine Dukies (or non-Dukies in the know) supply me with his email address? Thanks in advance!

 

[MrBurns10]

I live about midway between Durham and CH (about 10 minutes each way...a little more to UNC) and really love the location. It's within 8 mins to the mall and only a few minutes to a bunch of restaurants and the like. I have several classmates who live close by and everyone seems to like it. Other people live in North Durham, like diosa, which is convenient to Duke but not so convenient to CH or the mall.

And I believe Richard's email is [email protected].

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

Burnsie, make diosa stop being a :bad word: to me.