7. How’s the dating culture at Duke?
Hook-up culture is definitely the norm here. I’ll only comment on heterosexual relationships since I don’t know much else about other relationships.
20% of guys hook-up and date 80% of the girls here. These guys are typically at the top of the social hierarchy. On the other hand, girls have a lot easier time having these kinds of relationships since most guys don’t care too much about a girl’s social status on campus as long as she is physically attractive enough to them."
"1. Is Greek life huge at Duke?
Greek life is extremely huge at Duke, despite what other people might tell you. While the statistics may same something like only 30 - 40% of students are affiliated with Greek life, its presence is very prominent, and you will likely be affected by it at some point in your Duke career. These students mostly control the social and professional environment of the school because they often come from the wealthiest and most connected families.
Also, Greek life is very hierarchical. People often have conversations about which sorority or fraternity they think is “higher tier” than another one. You can see Duke’s section of the website greekrank if you want a little taste of these kinds of conversations. People will often have prejudgments about you based on what Greek organization you belong to.
Even if you don’t personally join a Greek organization, chances are, one of the friends you make first semester will. One common adage at Duke is that rush (the process of joining Greek life and other social organizations)"
"2. What’s the social hierarchy at Duke?
With some flexibility, the social hierarchy is:
1. Athletes
2. People in the “top tier” sororities and fraternities
3. People in the “mid-tier” sororities and fraternities
4. People in the “top tier” SLGS
5. People in the “mid-tier” SLGS
6. Independent Girls
7. People in the “low-tier” sororities and fraternities
8. People in the “low-tier” SLGS
9. Independent Guys
Girls have a slightly easier time than guys since many guys higher in the hierarchy will invite them out to events if they find them attractive enough.
Dating and socializing above or below your respective social tier is also virtually non-existent. People literally have conversations about which social group another person is in and will pre-judge them based on it. While there are friend groups that exist across different social tiers, it is by far not the norm."
"3. If these Greek organizations and SLGS are so great, why can’t I just join them?
Unfortunately, not everyone has equal chances at becoming a member of each organization. The organizations in “higher tiers”, except for athletes, are comprised mostly of WASPs or children of famous/important people. They won’t directly ask how wealthy you are, but they find ways to get the information out of you by asking things like what your parents do for a living, where you live, and what high school you went to. You can see any Greek organization’s Facebook or Instagram page to get an idea of the kind of people who generally join them.
These groups also start recruiting before the school year even starts through pre-orientation programs. If you want to try your luck at getting into any social organization, it will be tough regardless since you will be competing for roughly 20 spots in each group with around 300 – 500 people, if not more."
"6. What’s the typical social life like freshman year?
Most people, in their first year, will become friends with the people living in their hall. Some people will decide to remain with these friends, while others will see them as temporary friends until they are able to find the kind of friends that they want through a club or social organization. Since people can’t join social organizations until second semester, there will be more open parties first semester hosted by various groups in order to attract potential members. Aside from these open parities, freshmen also like to go to Shooter’s on Wednesdays and Saturdays. People in freshman halls remain relatively close until second semester starts.
Second semester is when rush, the process of joining social organizations, starts. This will break up many friendships as people join differing groups. Although people may say that they’ll remain friends with you after rush, chances are most of them will become closer with the people in the organization that they joined. It’s especially tough for guys since fraternities will eat up a lot of their time post rush with pledging (making new members go through certain initiations and other things before they become full-fledged members).
After rush, the open parties practically stop, and people will start spending more time with their social organizations in order to develop stronger bonds. The independents who didn’t get into anything will sometimes remain friends, but by the end of the year, you’ll most likely only have a handful of people that you’ll talk with after the year ends."
"7. What’s the social life like after freshman year?
Your friends in Greek life and SLGs will become absorbed in them, and you won’t be able to see them as much anymore outside of the occasionally catch up over lunch or dinner since they will mostly be spending time with their social groups. If you are fortunate enough to be in any of these organizations, you can find good friends in them, but know that there is inevitably some drama within any social organization, so you may not be able to get along with everyone in your group.
If you’re an independent guy, don’t expect to go to any organized social event unless you are friends with the upperclassmen in that organization. If you’re an independent girl, you can probably show up to events with your female friends who are in a social organization without knowing many people and be let in.
As time goes on, social groups will become more or less solidified by the end of your sophomore year, since sophomores can rush as well, and it becomes a lot harder to meet people outside of class. You really have to put forth the effort to make new friends and be an initiator if you find yourself without a main group of friends."
