For liking basketball better than 20 or so NCAA sports?
The AB at Duke is the wisest choice based on the vast financial difference. A cocooning program should also help prepare the next steps and keep a higher GPA.
Fwiw, the answers by Rosenberg in the article linked by Ewho seemed to come straight from Aesop or Jean de la Fontaine. Pretty pathetic, but heck, that’s Duke.
Not sure why OP would/should worry about getting into a medical school, he/she is clearly a strong student. The question is if OP loves Stanford so much more than Duke that his/her parents would pay up for the experience. I know of a family that turned Duke’s scholarship for Yale. I think carefully when I have to spend 250K+, so I probably would have my kid go to Duke, but not for Stony Brook.
I’d pick Duke, not just because it’s a full ride, but the school is also offering research opportunities AND Oxford. The OP would just be an ordinary student at Stanford but pretty much royalty at Duke. Duke will make sure the OP has the resources and support to reach post undergraduate goals. I agree with Mathmom, Duke offers a better college experience than Stanford.
I don’t care how wealthy you are, there is not even close to a $250K difference in value or prestige b/w Stanford and Duke - they are both in the same stratosphere. As prior posters have indicated if you got an AB Duke, you won’t have to worry about your GPA and MCAT scores in 4 years, and yes, you will probably get into a better medical school/grad program than Stony Brook. Take the money, paint your face blue and have a great 4 years.
@bluebayou With all the extras, I think Duke would probably be a better experience. (It’s more than just a free ride.)
I’m not crazy about Stanford, I don’t like the way it is so separated from the community, and I’m not a big fan of Palo Alto. (I have cousins living there.) To me the campus just felt too much like a country club. I like things that look a little more lived in. The dining halls felt like hotels to me. I’ve had this gut feeling every time I’ve been on campus. That didn’t stop me from encouraging my oldest to apply, but it’s not what I’m looking for in a campus. There’s things I probably wouldn’t like about Duke too, but I haven’t seen it except in pictures.
(And I’ll freely admit my dislike of Stanford is somewhat irrational.)
My dislike of Duke is irrational and I still pick it over Stanford.
I’m a Duke alum and I would not normally advise anyone (with the exception of basketball players) to chose Duke over Stanford, but in this case I’m going to vote for Duke (simply because of AB Duke, no other reasons).
@mathmom - D2 was very keen on Stanford until we visited it. She thought it was too manicured. There were people power washing the rooftop when we were there. She liked Berkeley (vibe) better. My SIL works there, she certainly enjoys all the perks as an employee. I am also not a fan of Palo Alto.
As a 3rd generation Cal grad, I am wired against Stanfurd. That said, Duke seems to be the best offer. Oxford? Free tuition? Congrats on having a fabulous problem!
Duke absolutely! Slam dunk!
I have the pleasure of knowing someone IRL who picked the AB Duke over Ivy’s and the very tippy top schools. He had the most incredible experience at Duke and the most amazing experiences after his undergrad there, including grad school at one of the top schools that he turned down.
Go to Duke, and as Dick Vatale says, Duuuuukies Baby!
“M.D./Ph.D, which would be free anyway” - this is NOT free. Since MD/PhD is longer than MD route, it costs you your “physician” earning. For example, if program is 6 years (it could be longer), then 2 yars of physician’s earning could be around $400k. Well, the cost of MD route (4 years) at expensive private Medical School is around $300k (indluding living expenses). So, it is “questionable” the least which one is more expensive.
Duke program looks the most attractive to me based on my D’s experience. However, her experience combined 2 of your options. She was at full tuition Merit scholarship at college (in-state public), but she also was in non-accelerated combined bs/md there. Her program allowed her to retain her spot at Med. school in her program and apply out. She was the only one who applied out, the others in her program did not bother, went staright to the med. school in their program. Having guaranteed spot is a huge advantage, however, my D’s expereince has proven that if you conitnue working very hard at college, then you will earn the stats required to apply Regular route. She had a great selection of additional Med. Schools and graduting in May from the one that was outside of her bs/md program. That is where my preference for Duke program is coming from. Just keep in mind though, that it is more risky option.
Let’s be rational for a second, won’t we? All of us like certain things about schools and dislike others, be it atmosphere, culture, or simply architecture or the presence of certain nefarious groups on campus. Duke is the clear winner in this case because of the scholarship. A better experience is entirely in the eye of the beholder. Were you to ask 100 students who are accepted at both places, and chances that the needle would not point to NC.
This said, a bit of objectivity is required. I am not sure what one might seek as town/gown relationships or if Stanford is expected to organize Kumbaya sessions with its “community” but that lack of relationship is mostly a myth repeated by people who are flying through in a six college whirlwind tour before hitting Napa or raving about San Francisco. That and calling Stanford the biggest Taco Bell in the world.
Is the town/gown relationship in Durham that great? Seriously? Duke and Durham an example? Is the community separation that great at a school that separates its freshman housing from the rest? A school whose employees call it The Plantation? Farm vs plantation? who knows!
Since when is having a manicured campus considered a negative? I could buy the fact that students interested in playing golf on campus, ride her horse, or simply practice soccer might build great muscles riding the bike to the precise locations, but being immaculate and operating smoothly? Really?
Oh wait, beyond the AB money, there is one thing that favors Duke by a mile. It houses the largest collection of primates in an academic setting. If unclear, ask my friend Warblersrule.
Duke all the way. Stonybrook is a “suitcase school” located in an upper-middle class residential LI town with little to do for undergrad aged students so most local students commute home on weekends. Nearly everyone I knew who attended Stonybrook felt student life on campus was woefully lacking for those reasons.
Also, the high proportion of pre-meds/medical sciences majors at Stonybrook means competition for grades for med school/keeping some scholarships may actually be more stiff there than at Duke. That combined with a high student population typical at many public university campuses and lack of school spirit if that’s your thing makes it very different from an undergrad experience at Duke or Stanford.
I agree with all those saying to delete Stony Brook. I also have to agree that Duke is the clear choice unless your family is very well off, and would be able to pay for Stanford AND medical school without raising a sweat.
I would say that even if your family is very well off, Duke is a clear winner here. Wealthy people do not throw money around 
Unless $250K is chump change to your family, a clear vote for the full-ride to Duke if I was in your shoes.
I have to say that, unless the folks turning down the full-ride and AB opportunities at Duke are getting tremendous fin aid from HPSM or come from filthy rich families or have the ability and goal of getting in to VC or launch successful startups (and thus pick HS or maybe M), I’d have to seriously question their judgement. If it comes up in an interview that they turned down the full-ride to Duke and they weren’t so rich or poor that finances should have been a consideration, that would be a strike against them in my book.
Maybe it’s just me, but I tend to think of Stanford and Duke as much more similar than dissimilar and that they are more like each other than either is like the three old Ivies. Trying to make overly fine distinctions between them seems rather silly to me – unless you have a truly raving preference for In-N-Out over barbecue or vice versa.
PT, for some people, financial aid based on a zero EFC comes with fewer restrictions that merit aid and is … more predictable. There are no requirements to maintain a certain GPA or other related issues.
While this does not address the case of the OP, there are also students who have a clear preference for the HYPS school and when the economics are comparable, they select the school they liked the best. I think that the people who made the choices described by EWHO might have exercised better judgment than you might give them credit for.
As always, decisions are personal and individual and belied by generalizations. The conclusion is, however, the same : the decision to attend Duke is a matter of strict finances and the availability of a very generous scholarship when financial aid is not existent. A number of my friends made that exact choice and have been ecstatic about the results. Students who went to Vanderbilt or UNC as opposed to paying full fare at Yale, or even attending UT in Austin or … Dallas when HYPS was available.
Others went the opposite route as Katwkittens described many times.
Totally agree @SomeOldGuy!! As a Duke alum, we would always refer to Stanford as the “Duke of the West”! With less successful basketball I might add…
Also, don’t underestimate the prestige of moving on to med school or wherever with an AB Duke Scholarship on your resume - it is definitely a feather in your cap! One of my best friends was an AB Duke and he went on to do his JD/MBA at Harvard and after a solid career in investment banking and private equity, he now has his own VC fund.
@xiggi, did you miss my clause of “tremendous fin aid”?
In any case, I admit to biases. I work in a bottom-line-oriented industry, am biased towards pragmatism, and forgoing money/profit because of feelings would be seen as a serious lack of judgement in my field (mind you, spending more money for more/better opportunities certainly is justifiable).