<p>well then, since I’m not going to get any sort of scholarship from Duke, how can you justify paying 200k for an education when a graduate program could be free with a stipend?</p>
<p>That’s the argument for many people who turn to their cheaper state school instead. It’s not a problem for me because of financial aid, but for full payers, that’s a decision you will have to weigh yourself.</p>
<p>Mostly it’s only PhD’s that get a tuition waiver and a stipend; very few master’s student get funding, and even less professional students. For PhD’s, you’re working for the school as a TA or RA or you’re bringing in your own funding from fellowships.</p>
<p>Duke’s financial aid program is something like <100k has reduced loans, <60k has no family contributions, and <40k has no loans and family contributions (full aid).</p>
<p>Not much is known about the AB decision process. Basically, everyone who applies to Duke is automatically considered for merit scholarships. . . as in you have to stand out among all the thousands of applications for them to even consider giving you the scholarship. A guy from my high school got the BN, though, and I can say that he is a very well-rounded, intelligent, athletic, and sociable guy.</p>
<p>As for the cost question, it varies from person to person. For me, the choice to pay 200k for Duke as opposed to 80K for a public university came down to what kind of opportunities I saw at each institution. Ultimately, I felt that Duke offered me more freedom to grow as an individual, and so I chose the more expensive university.</p>
<p>~Jimmy</p>
<p>Of the 9 AB scholars of the class of 2011, 2 of them just won the Marshall Scholarship and one got the Rhodes. That’s the sort of level they’re on.</p>