u/PersonWomanManCamTV

I’ve seen multiple people on Reddit/TikTok picking Duke over “HYPSM”. Even in my own life, I’ve seen two people from my small school switch their commitment from MIT and Stanford respectively to Duke after getting off the waitlist. When I was at a function, I asked them about it, and they just said it’s cause they “liked Duke more” and ”thought outcomes were similar for what they wanted to do” (NOT due to finances/scholarships) Maybe I should think about ED next year?

I’ve been thinking about why so many people at Cornell feel uneasy with President Kotlikoff, and I think it comes down to his management style.

He seems extremely self-interested. Everything feels calculated around protecting his image, advancing his own position, and keeping powerful people happy. He’s very good at sucking up to the Board, donors, and important stakeholders, but that warmth rarely extends to the average student, staff, or faculty member.

The selective warmth is noticeable. He’s noticeably nicer and more helpful to certain in-groups or people who are immediately useful to him, while being cold, distant, or transactional with everyone else. Opportunities, attention, and resources often feel uneven — handed out based on favoritism or convenience rather than fairness or merit.

There’s also a strong performative element. Lots of polished statements and optics, but very little genuine, direct communication or emotional investment. He avoids real accountability and honest conversations when it matters. It creates this draining, “something’s off” atmosphere where you sense he doesn’t actually care about most of the community — only about how it affects him.

I’m not the only one who feels this way. A lot of students, grads, and staff describe him as cold, tone-deaf, or self-serving. His big projects feel more like administrative reshuffling than visionary leadership that actually improves life on campus.

Has anyone else experienced this? Or am I missing something? Curious to hear other perspectives.

Incoming freshman here. When I applied to Duke, I selected my area of study as "Policy, Journalism, and Media Studies." The issue is 1) that is a certificate, so I would need a major to complement it and 2) it no longer exists as a certificate. I've explored over ten different combinations for majors/minors, but I can't really pick just one area to study. I'm interested in anything and everything.

I thought about doing Program II with a focus on inequality through the lens of policy/identity/social change, and maybe a certificate to go with it (since Program II doesn't allow you to have a minor). Is this chopped?

My estimated university bill is a negative number, does that mean that I could get “refunded” for this amount? And if so, when would I receive the money?