From providing the scoop on Greek Life to visiting East Campus, tour guides from Devils Uncovered aim to provide potential new Blue Devils with a privileged look into Duke’s campus and student life not included in University tours.
The new student-run business provides “personalized, one-on-one tour guides and mentorship opportunities to prospective Duke students from the perspective of current students,” according to sophomore Sophia Yassinger, one of the program’s three directors.
Devils Uncovered was first imagined by Yassinger about a year ago. Campus Enterprises, Duke’s oldest student-run business, hosted a Shark Tank competition for first-years to pitch an idea for a service that would benefit the community, with the promise of a cash prize and expedited application process to the organization for the winners.
Yassinger saw a gap in on-campus and virtual programs that provided a glimpse into “the real student experience” for prospective students without connections to older students who already attended Duke. From there, the idea for Devils Uncovered was born.
As part of the CE model, then-sophomores Ben Kelliher, Michelle Brown and Kaya Rajparia ran the business spring 2024 as directors of Next Ventures, CE’s start-up incubator. Once Devils Uncovered got off the ground, Yassinger, along with sophomores Alex Atlas and Bowen Kim, took over the program as Next Ventures’ current leadership team.
Unlike traditional University-sponsored tours, Devils Uncovered aims to offer an insider experience.
According to senior Emma Ostlund, one of CE’s chief operating officers, “tour guides paid by Duke are told very specifically what they can and cannot say about social life.” The Chronicle reported in February on several topics tour guides are told to steer clear of, including the prevalence of Greek life on campus and their personal admissions stories.
Devils Uncovered tour guides are free from such limitations.
“Applying to college has become so competitive. It's so hard to get your foot in the door at a certain school,” Yassinger said. “… What we're trying to do is really provide [prospective students] with all the necessary information that they need.”
The business offers two services: Devil Chats and Devil for a Day.
Devil Chats are one-on-one conversations with a current student offered in person or online that can either be centered around a “fit consultation” or the “why essay.” The fit consultation allows customers to ask unfiltered questions to determine if “Duke is the right fit” for them, while the other offering focuses on advice for the “Why Duke” essay included in the University’s admissions application. For $30, customers receive 30 minutes of their selected service.
Devil for a Day, on the other hand, gives customers a behind-the-scenes look at Duke's campus by granting them access to amenities like dorms and gyms in the company of a student tour guide, who can answer questions about the University’s academic and social scene. The service also provides opportunities to attend classes, discussions, club meetings and affinity or religious group events at $60 for 75 minutes or $96 for 120 minutes.
While conducting an online Devil Chat, Kim remembered being asked about scheduling classes for a student interested in biology, public policy, pre-med and pre-law tracks.
“That’s something that I was able to help with,” he said. “That’s not something she could have asked a tour guide.”
Today, Devils Uncovered has 11 tour guides that were hand-selected to fit “several different niches” of the campus experience. When registering for a service, customers are paired with a guide that best matches their individual interests.
As Devils Uncovered looks to expand, its student leaders are reaching out directly to college counselors and families of prospective students to market their services. According to Yassinger, Devils Uncovered representatives recently emailed between 300 and 400 college counselors across the country, including both private counselors and school employees.
She also noted that parents are eager to hear about the service.
“To be that person that’s like, ‘of course, let me give you all the answers you could possibly want’ — that's a good feeling because I know I'm helping them,” Yassinger said.
Devils Uncovered also communicates with potential customers through TikTok and free webinars. Their TikTok account, @devilsuncoveredd, features humorous and helpful content about Duke’s campus, ranging from students interviewing their peers about their “hot takes” to explaining how prospective students can elevate their “Why Duke” essays. With videos gaining thousands of views, the company hopes this strategy will expand its customer pool.
“We bring an offering that allows prospective students to really get the inside scoop of this school,” Yassinger said. “I think there's nothing that can replace that.”
Editor’s note: Junior Michelle Brown, one of the students who helped run Devils Uncovered in the spring as a director of Next Ventures, is an Editor-at-Large of The Chronicle’s 120th volume.
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