<p>Phew. Once again I turn to you all for advice </p>
<p>U of Chicago 47 k aid
Duke 51 k aid</p>
<p>I've to do premed and wanna minor in lots of stuff (music theory being a prominent preference)...</p>
<p>I love the whole smarter-than-thou thing chicagos got going... They're smart and I know I'll push my own boundaries by going there, which is something I'd personally love to do. </p>
<p>However, there remains the matter of not just the extra money, but the much better premed rep of duke .... So please give me some opinions, what should I do?</p>
<p>Ps to learn more about me, you can check out my williams vs univ of Chicago thread... That was before duke became so generious</p>
<p>Maybe Chicago would be a better choice than Duke for you. I Feel that Williams would still be the best option of the 3, especially because you said you get easily depressed. When you say depressed by the behavior of people… do you mean the partying ways or rather seclusive and reticent behavior? If it’s the former, then Duke = definitely not right for you. If the latter… well, I doubt it’s the latter since you’re straightedge. So, Chicago > Duke in your case.</p>
<p>Erm… Depressed would actually be wrong… mild disgust??.. And its not that partying gets me that way… Just stuff like elitism or jock behaviour aren’t my favourite things to witness…</p>
<p>Other than that though, how goods chicago for premed… And my parents’ve eliminated Williams so it’s down to these two =)</p>
<p>go to chicago it seems more fit for you and don’t stress on pre-med that much. More than half of the students wanting to go pre-med drop out and do something else.</p>
<p>My take on these two schools is that Chicago is highly underrated (besides in the academia world) and Duke is highly overrated. They’re both great schools; you can’t go wrong, but they do have different cultures. VERY different cultures. </p>
<p>Chicago: Intellectual, Quirky, City-Loving, Independent, Curious, Learning for the sake of learning vibe, extremelely diverse</p>
<p>Duke: Intellectual, Traditional, Rural campus (but beautiful), more of typical party/sports loving kids, more pre-professional, diversity improving</p>
<p>They’re different. So what are you looking for? Pre Med, I think you’ll get a phenomonal education at either place. The difference is that Chicago will verse you well in the humanities also because of its core, but Duke will let you focus more just on Pre-Med. I don’t know which you want. If you’re looking at pure academics, I really think Chicago is a step higher, but that’s just my preference. </p>
<p>If I was in your boat, I’d choose Chicago. Then again, that’s me.</p>
<p>Yeah, in that case… Chicago would be the better choice. I do think it is a better match for you, but the decisions will ultimately come down to you. Have you visited either campus? :]</p>
<p>I live in Chicago, and I have visted both U of C and Duke.
Personally, I think Duke’s atmosphere is just awesome, but that’s mainly because I love the suburban feel it has to it. I’m not a fan of campuses in extremely urban areas (Chicago). Pre-med is better at Duke, but from my impressions of U of C it seemed they were pretty big on the fine arts and the sciences, so I guess it depends on what you are thinking about minoring in.</p>
<p>I would go for Duke, but you should take some time to determine the specific advantages each university has.</p>
<p>I would personally pick Chicago if I were you. It seems like you are the type of person who truly learns to explore the boundaries of the mind and enjoys sharing in intellect, and Chicago is the perfect school in that regard.</p>
<p>i lovelovelove chicago, so call me biased, but i’d pick chicago based just on that.
i don’t have sources to cite but i have heard, however, that u of c has one of the highest college student suicide rates in the nation. like, they offer several special services because of this. i’d like someone to tell me i’m full of ****, but i’m positive i read this somewhere credible.</p>
<p>I don’t think measuring diversity is solely the job of JBHE. Diversity is not owned by any one particular group of people. Also, does Duke have anything like the Odyssey scholarship? What is the international student population at both?</p>
At Duke, it’s pretty high. Nearly 10% if I remember the figure correctly. I don’t have the official numbers, though.</p>
<p>If the behavior of others really upsets you, though, I think that you would have a hard time ignoring how some students choose to spend their free time here. You’ll pretty much have to grow to accept that people are people, and they just won’t change. I do know a few “straightedge” kids, and they love it here, but they are probably outside the mainstream social scene. One is really into music and between Duke’s Coffeehouse, Durham, and Chapel Hill, there’s a lot to explore. Duke is actually pretty diverse, and you could definitely enjoy your time here, but you would probably have to make a little bit of an effort to seek out things beyond the Greek scene.</p>
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