<p>There are always a score of "X vs. X vs. X" threads around this time (I remember making a few of them myself a year ago). Anyways, I thought it'd be helpful for current Duke students to write a little blurb on why they chose Duke over each school they turned down. That also helps prospectives find who to talk to if they're deciding between specific schools. This isn't a gloat session, and I hope it doesn't come off as one.</p>
<p>So here's mine. To give you a little background, I applied EA to UNC and UChicago, and RD to all others. I'm currently paying ~30K/yr at Duke (need-based aid).</p>
<p>UNC-CH: I really enjoyed the atmosphere at UNC when I visited, and having a lot of friends already attending, I got a really good impression of the school. The main selling point for me, though, was its in-state tuition. That, plus a few extras (a little merit money, a laptop grant) = $15,000/yr. Turning down top schools for UNC is not rare in NC, since UNC isn't that far away at all from being a "top school" itself. However, after speaking to a few of those students who chose UNC for its price, I realized that I probably wouldn't have been happy at UNC. They liked school and the student body, but the classes weren't challenging them enough. They were pulling 4.0's with a premed curriculum while taking on a workload that was only slightly heavier than in high school. Another big thing was business: coming into college, I was really considering investment banking or consulting, and UNC's on-campus recruiting is significantly weaker than at "target schools." If I had been premed, though, I probably would've chosen UNC, simply because maintaining an excellent (>3.9, even) GPA is still feasible.</p>
<p>Brown: This was my first choice throughout the application process, mainly because of the laid-back/low-stress atmosphere that its administration and curriculum promotes. However, when I was accepted, I began to question Brown's merits. Was Brown's prestige rooted from its competence as a school or its membership in the Ivy League? Why was it ranked so low? Some comments on CC would reaffirm my paranoia that Brown's no-stress curriculum, while extremely enticing to students, was a deterrent to employers and graduate school admission officers. I never got a chance to visit, but I started leaning away from the idea of Brown. My financial aid package from Brown sealed the deal--being $10K/year more expensive than Duke's, I stopped considering it at all. I have a friend there now and his stories of Brown are mediocre--not negative, but definitely not as unique as Brown sells itself off to be. Would I have gone there if my finaid package was better? I would probably have put it about even with Duke, and would've required a visit to decide. In the end, since I was leaning towards a "pre-professional" undergraduate education, I'm pretty sure I would've still chosen Duke.</p>
<p>UChicago: Various college guide books seemed to affirm the same idea: UChicago is a bleak, dreary hell-hole. However, it offered something that no other top school did: Early Action (with decisions coming out before RD applications were due--UNC's EA decisions came out in Jan. 25). After getting other admissions, I never really considered UChicago, but I just wanted to be able to go through a little "practice run" with an actual college that I wouldn't mind going to. In the end, I was really glad I did this. It takes a lot of stress off when you know your "fall-back" is UChicago. In the end, my perception of UChicago was probably a little exaggerated, but I still think UChicago focuses more on its graduate programs than it does on its undergraduate school.</p>
<p>Northwestern: When choosing which colleges to apply to, NU wasn't even on the list. Nothing about it really caught my attention. It seemed well-rounded, but not unique in any aspect. However, when I finished applying to my list of colleges, I decided to apply to NU as well; why not? When I got in, I gave it a little more thought, but I had the same problem as before: nothing about it stood out to me. It's outstanding in some programs and excellent in all others, but it almost felt to me as a "toned down" version of Duke.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt: This was another one of those last-minute "why not" applications. I applied mainly to see if I'd qualify for any of their merit full-rides, which I didn't. The financial aid package was pretty peculiar: for students with divorced parents, they don't look at the non-custodial parents' income/assets. At $13K/year, Vanderbilt wouldl've been even cheaper than UNC. However, I would've chosen UNC over Vanderbilt, so I didn't give Vanderbilt much thought.</p>
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<p>Duke: I went to Blue Devil Days with a friend, which is the worst thing you can do. I didn't meet any students or prospectives, so it took me an additional 2 visits to Duke to get a good feel of the school. It was little quirks about the school that got me--DukeEngage, Focus Program, etc. I just got the feeling that at Duke, you really do get to pave your own path, and whatever that path may be, they'll do whatever it takes to help you, rather than get in your way.</p>