<p>I am sure most of us need help deciding where to go and need help or suggestions, hence this thread:</p>
<p>I got in Early Notification, received a Likely Admission Letter, a Scholarship Letter, Honors Program, phone call from Dr. Kaufman of the Scholars Program from UNC.
While I also was accepted into Duke with an okay fin aid package... no perks (scholarships/honors/etc) though.</p>
<p>UNC is great yet I do not know if I could pass up a Duke education.</p>
<p>HELP! I cant decide!</p>
<p>Think hard about what YOU want out of college. Talk to students and professors at both schools. I'm assuming you've already visited, another visit may help but I doubt it. The price of UNC is better, the education at Duke is better. The two student bodies have different atmospheres. UNC is more fun, Duke is more studious and intellectual. At UNC you'll have a higher GPA, for which the name Duke will not make up as grad schools are number-heavy.</p>
<p>I'd go with UNC. The quality isn't that different, and a UNC scholarship is nothing to sneeze at. You can always go to Duke for grad school, if you really like Duke. I'd also compare programs, though. For many Duke's better; for others, UNC's better. It's a good way to decide. VISIT- IT'S THE BEST WAY TO DECIDE!!!</p>
<p>P.S. UNC is going to whip Illinois.</p>
<p>I just spent half of last week at UNC and then the other half and DUKE. I fell in love with the UNC campus while the gothic architecture of Duke seemed depressing. As for the social scene at UNC; it was much more diverse, in terms of attitudes, interests, etc while the duke social scene consisted of studing and drinking. I went to a Duke party friday night and two kids went to the hospital with high Blood Alcohol Levels...
I am obviously leaning towards UNC yet I'm having a hard time giving up a Duke education</p>
<p>This is a tough decision but I'd like to offer some suggestions to help you out. Clearly, I'm more than a little biased towards UNC, but I did pass up Duke to come here on a scholarship (same phone call from Peter Kaufman -- who is an amazing and wonderful guy, by the way -- I'm in his scholars seminar now). </p>
<p>Here are some talking points about why I personally believe UNC is a better value than Duke (again remember I am extremely biased):</p>
<ol>
<li><p>As a Carolina or Johnston or whatever scholar you are, UNC is pretty damn cheap. You more or less only have to pay for room and board, and even those are covered if you are in-state. </p></li>
<li><p>UNC offers a great education. True, we are not as highly ranked as Duke by US News, but we are one of the best public universities in the country, and our size allows us to offer many academic opportunities that smaller schools like Duke couldn't offer. I don't think (not that I have much of a way of knowing honestly) that the Duke education will be significantly different from what you would get here. Our professors are great, and the classes are mostly quite small (mine have ranged from 7 to 30, except for my scholars seminar with Dr. Kaufman, which is 60). </p></li>
<li><p>As an honors student/scholar, you will be a part of a great community of extremely intelligent people (not trying to sound egotistical, sorry). Each scholarship program splits up into groups led by faculty mentors who organize social and academic opportunties. My mentor took our group on a rafting trip my third week of school, and the people in my scholars group have become some of my very best friends here...they are all amazing. The honors community is also quite tight, and the honors classes are a great opportunity. </p></li>
<li><p>I'm sure Duke is an exciting place to go to school, but I think many people would agree with me if I told you that Chapel Hill is a more lively college town that Durham, and our size allows us to have lots more activites and on campus groups, shows, etc. </p></li>
<li><p>There is a definite difference in feel between Duke and Chapel Hill. Some people like the feel of one, others the other. I absolutely hated Duke when I attended the Blue Devil Days admit program, and I left early to go to chapel hill, which I fell in love with. My friend from high school loved her visit to Duke and is currently having a great time there. So it depends. My impressions: Chapel Hill is very friendly and open, Duke is more reserved. Obviously these are gross exaggerations... go see for yourself. </p></li>
<li><p>Duke may have higher average SAT scores, but there is definitely a critical mass of brilliant people here at Carolina. If you find that group of people, your intellectual experience will be just as satisfying. I am extremely insulted when people assume that all UNC students aren't as bright as Dukies. Many of us got into both and liked UNC better or decided that $42,000 a year wasn't worth it. </p></li>
<li><p>You don't have to camp out to get basketball tickets. I'm mostly joking with this one, and the people i've talked to at Duke loved their K-Ville experience, but North Carolina is cold in January, and who wants to go to school while sleeping in a tent for a month?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Anyway, I hope this gives you some things to think about. Try not to be too heavily swayed by US News and the name recognition...it's not all it's cracked up to be. Hope you come visit both and find the one that you think is the best value in terms of education and social fit. Best of luck to you in your decision!</p>
<p>Adding to Cotarheels's comments there are many others like him who chose to turn down schools perceived to be "more elite" such as Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and yes Duke to accept one of the many scholarships offered by UNC. </p>
<p>By being in the Honors Program, UNC can offer you the best of all worlds; a stellar education in a much friendlier environment, a better college town and a better overall undergraduate experience.</p>
<p>I fear that being instate, you are having a hard time because you may see some others that you don't necessarily consider "peers" also planning to attend UNC and you may be coloring your your decision based on them. UNC is one of the top 5 public institutions in the country, US News rankings aside, what really matters is your graduate degree and an undergraduate degree with honors from UNC will open the same doors as a degree from Duke. </p>
<p>There are many extremely bright, highly motivated students both from in-state and out of state that will be your peers in the honors program who will challenge and push you to be your best on a daily basis. Having the ability to be in a less cut throat environment with people who really like each other, love their school and are having a good time as well is a big plus.</p>
<p>As COtarheel said in another post, did you look at the faces of the students as you walked around both schools? There is a decided difference in demeanor between the two which is reflected in the smiles you see at UNC.</p>
<p>UNC for free is a hard one to pass on.</p>
<p>most people, when comparing duke and UNC, seem to bring up that duke is much more expensive than UNC, with comments like "is duke really worth the $42k price tag?"</p>
<p>i don't know about everyone else, but for me, a middle-class student from NJ accepted to both UNC and duke, price has become a non-issue.</p>
<p>for UNC, $11k grant makes the price tag ~$17,000/yr, all things considered.
for Duke, $28k grant makes the price tag ~$17,000/yr, all things considered.</p>
<p>what am i missing here????</p>
<p>nckid: Just saw this thread and wanted to say that COtarheel and eadad make excellent points here. And I also believe that the overall feeling you get, when visiting a campus, is definitely/absolutely of value and shouldn't be dismissed. And, as COtarheel pointed out--and as you no doubt are aware--many UNC students are also accepted to Duke. Obviously, they are both excellent schools, and I would not turn around for the difference in quality of student nor in quality of education. I'm a big fan of UNC as well, and I just don't think you can go wrong with that choice. My 2 cents!</p>
<p>oops... I just realized that original post was from 2005! Sorry. Did the OP go to UNC??</p>