Ironically. & I have not seen a lot of Duke games in person..But I saw both of those games.
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I anticipate you can find a large number of people who agree with you – although I similarly anticipate that many Duke graduates would disagree.
I am spending a crazy amount of money to send my daughter to UVA. But we made a decision that the life experience she will get at UVA justifies the cost. And that is what my parents concluded when they went into their savings to pay for me to go to Duke Law School (instead of my going for free to many other schools). So I did not go into debt, but my father did work a number of extra years to make it up. And when I offered to pay him back, he said no - just do it for your kids.
Not everyone sees these experiences and the value of this education the same way. Which is fine – life is full of choices.
I likewise believe that the value of my Duke experience -- lessons learned both inside and outside the classroom, from fellow students and faculty members, by reading classic books in the library and comic books at Bat's -- was incalculable. It altered the entire trajectory of my life, and that of my family for generations to come. As the first to attend college from a relatively poor family in a small tobacco market town, I was only able to achieve that goal with the help of grants-in-aid from Duke, and student loans, and multiple jobs during every summer and Christmas break, and substantial personal sacrifices by members of my family. But thanks to the education I received, my life was not only enriched in countless ways, but I was able to repay those debts and, best of all, was fortunate enough to provide both of our children the priceless gift of a Duke experience, the shared benefits of which we all continue to enjoy and appreciate with each passing day.
Over the years, many friends -- usually with children in high school who are trying to choose between a large state school and selective admission private school like Duke -- have asked me whether a Duke degree is really worth the difference in cost. I always tell them that a motivated student can get a good education at any college; but to reap the benefits of a truly enriching college experience, they have to work at it, meaning that they need to actively seek out the best teachers, and reach out beyond their familiar circle of friends from "back home" to interact with peers who can introduce them to different backgrounds and cultural influences. At a school like Duke, a student can obtain a great education almost by osmosis; and unless the student deliberately avoids it, exposure to a diversity of people who bring different experiences to the table -- which not only helps to expand your immediate horizons, but stimulates an interest in continuing to learn that lasts throughout a lifetime -- is a regular feature of daily life on campus. That said, it's clear that even for those young people who might benefit most from a small college environment, Duke is not for everyone.
Go to a really good school with outstanding faculty and, almost as important -- smart, ambitious and nice fellow students. Live in a campus environment, which, while hard to believe, really is an education in itself -- different people, diverse backgrounds, and unusual ideas about the world. Most importantly, it will not be a continuation of family dinners and high schools friends. It is also important to keep in touch with graduates and faculty after high school, which will be good both personally and professionally. Sometimes we have to recycle our professional path, and it is rewarding to have friends to rely on for support and ideas.
I think the statement in your message that I've highlighted may require some minor qualification -- specifically, it depends on how you define "very privileged backgrounds." Currently, 49% of all Duke undergraduates receive financial aid in some form and amount. So to the extent that "very privileged" might be interpreted by readers to mean "wealthy enough to afford a Duke education," it wouldn't be accurate to say that a "vast majority" of Duke students fall into that category. But if you mean "privileged" in a broader sense, to include people from families who have not suffered what could fairly be characterized as social and economic hardships, then it's probably true that most Duke students fit that description.
I doubt anyone here would seriously dispute that Duke students, perhaps to a greater degree than those on most college campuses, live in an unusually idyllic environment that is largely insulated from what we would regard as "the real world." But there are plenty of students at Duke from non-privileged backgrounds who bring with them a diversity of "real world" experiences, the benefits of which they are capable of conveying to those fellow students who interact with them. In short, I agree that's there no substitute for the hard lessons to be learned from living in the real world; but that's not what college is supposed to be. College generally, and Duke in particular, helps to prepare young people for life in other ways -- ways that can't be measured solely by professional success, but that evolve and manifest throughout one's lifetime in various forms of personal satisfaction. I know very few of my fellow alumni who wouldn't reaffirm that the preparation they received was well worth the investment of time and money.
Here's some data for Mattman91 and Stray on the "very privileged backgrounds" of Duke students.
According to collegefactual.com article on Duke, "Duke University's normal financial aid package for incoming first years is $53,950. Approximately 49.0% of freshman students receive financial aid, the majority of which is in the form of scholarships and grants."
Now there are scholarships that at Duke that are not need based, such as the Benjamin N. Duke Scholars and athletic grants-in-aid. But how many athletes do you think come from families that can afford Duke?
Kindly,
Sage
'Well, there was Grant Hill, Danny Ferry and Mike Dunleavy'
New dunk from Jalen Johnson on Twitter. He looks tall!
https://twitter.com/Jalen_J23/status...760184833?s=20
Love the kid, but he's a good 2-3 feet past the FT line on this dunk.
https://i.ibb.co/C8ynHWp/Capture.jpg
Of course, Jalen isn't exactly known as a Zion-like athletic specimen, so seeing even this much explosion from him is quite welcome!
-Jason "does anyone have a solution to the JJ problem? There's already a fairly prominent JJ in Duke lore. Jalen's twitter handle is JJ1 because he is wearing #1 at Duke... does that work for everyone?" Evans
Watch him now on video, because that may well be all we ever see of him in Durham, unless you're actually expecting this upcoming season to be played.
Sigh. I think you may be correct. Getting very hard to imagine how schools operate this year. We have friends who rented an apartment for their rising junior in SoCal. His 3 roommates went down last month to move in and ALL had contracted Covid within a week. They are particularly active socially, but aren't most college students?
No surprise, but Kuminga to G-league
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/st...657618435?s=20
No. 1 2021 prospect Jonathan Kuminga (@JonathanKuming6) has reclassified to the 2020 high school class and will sign in the NBA G League pro pathway program