FOCUS Program

Duke's FOCUS program is billed as an interdisciplinary learning and living experience with benefits that last a lifetime.

In truth, FOCUS draws many good students simply because it bills itself as a program that produces them, and so the cycle continues.

The FOCUS application and acceptance process has been called arbitrary by nearly every applicant, both those who get into the highly selective foci, like Power of Ideas, Genome Revolution, Evolution and Humankind, as well as those in the Safety foci, like Forging Social Ideals and Visions of Freedom. Further, the program has made 'special' arrangements at least once in the past for Scholarship Recipients, to insure they are admitted to their program of choice.

FOCUS has earned a reputation for being a lot of worthwhile work, with a favorable GPA to show for it. Though that remains true for many Foci, some are deceptively difficult, others graded and taught poorly.

The Big Three Focuses (listed also as the most selective) are very safe options, known for changing the lives and courses study of the students they select. The least-selective foci are often mixtures of disappointed/uninterested students who applied to more selective focuses but were rejected and shuffled to insure the program fills all of its seats. These Foci are a dangerous gamble for the students forced into them, often covering uninteresting topics without good teaching. In other words, no one applys to these foci for a reason.

The best advice is to know that you can get out of the program if you wish to, and to make your decision quickly.