ck3 wrote:Hello,
I know you guys are getting started with classes and you are busy, but if anyone has time to answer this, I'd like some feedback on why you chose Duke over UVA, G'Town, Vanderbilt, Penn, Michigan, Texas for those of you who got into schools in that range and had to choose. Thanks in advance.
I chose Duke over GULC and Vandy, and didn't apply to Texas. GULC felt too anonymous, Vandy felt somewhat restrictive in terms of geography and thus a riskier investment, and Texas just didn't appeal to me.
Money being equal, I think I would have taken Duke over UVa, although it's hard to say at this point what I would have done then because I know so much more now about Duke than I do about UVa. Frankly, I think both are pretty nice places, and it probably comes down to personal preference.
Michigan and Penn may have been tougher to turn down. I have a soft spot for Philadelphia and Penn, and Penn has a nice joint degree program that I liked. Again, knowing what I know now about Duke, it's tough to make a call on what I would have done at the time. A couple of small personal reasons for wanting to be in Philadelphia may have pushed me toward Penn. Regarding Michigan, I did not really have a desire to attend their school (blasphemy on here, I'm aware) until I learned more about it, and only ever developed a vague, unfamiliar interest in the school.
But if you're deciding between these schools, you have a problem that is not really a problem.