<p>absolutely. my college counselor and i both are aware that duke is a huge reach, whether i apply early or regular. he thinks that i have a much better chance at wake because people from my school with my stats regularly get in there.
so although i’m not choosing between the two or anything…i just made this thread out of curiosity because both schools interest me</p>
<p>gadad - I couldn’t tell you exactly what he was planning while he was at Wake, but I can tell you that right now, Wake does have a communications program & while you cannot major in journalism, you can major in communications & minor in journalism. He was only there for his freshman year though, and also considered business while he was there, and had the same impression of it.</p>
<p>lauriebeth - one of the things I try to keep in mind when I speak to people - both on CC and in person - about colleges is that much changes over time. Impressions from people who attended a college 15 or 20 or 25 years ago are not terribly relevant or helpful. I think most people are interested in hearing from someone who attends the particular college now - in 2010 - or perhaps graduated in the past 3-5 years. So, the impression of someone who attended Wake for just one year - and I’m guessing that might have been at least 20 years ago - would not be terribly meaningful to a high school student trying to gather info today.</p>
<p>And as a final note - students at Wake apply to the Calloway School for business in February of their sophomore year and take their Calloway classes in their junior and senior years. A freshman does not even take any business classes at Wake Forest - maybe Econ 150 - which is a Calloway prerequisite and a calculus class - but no actual business classes. So, there is no way that someone who only attended freshman year would be in any position whatsoever to pass judgment on the business program. Incidentally, the most recent Business Week rankings put Calloway at #14 in the nation and it also has the highest pass rate on the CPA exam in the nation - so I’m thinking not too shabby.</p>
<p>Need-based financial aid is much better at Duke, altho WF is trying to increase their budget.</p>
<p>Hey!</p>
<p>I go to Duke, but got accepted to UNC/Wake/other schools too and have a pretty good idea of Duke versus other colleges.</p>
<p>I think as a whole the student bodies seem the same when considering friendliness. I don’t think Duke students are obnoxious or annoying moreso than other college’s students are. </p>
<p>Anyway, if I were you I would apply to both, see where you are accepted, and then visit. </p>
<p>One note: the UNC/Duke sports rivalry is huge in North Carolina (I’m from here) and thus if someone says they are from UNC, do not listen to what they say about Duke as, trust me, it is very biased (most probably). The same goes for Duke students talking about UNC.</p>
<p>An exception I have seen on CC is Cuse. He gives pretty accurate descriptions.</p>
<p>One more thing (another, hah): From being at Duke (I think this applies to all colleges too) I have discovered that you can really be whoever you want here. There are so many people at colleges that you will not have trouble choosing what is right for you.</p>
<p>And at last, one more thing (haha sorry): There is a bus between Duke and Chapel Hill, so if you go to Duke you will be hitting up Franklin Street a lot. Durham is ragged on as sketchy, but it is really cultural and artsy and I honestly love Durham more than Raleigh or Chapel Hill, although most people would say that Chapel Hill is the nicest town (it definitely looks nicest).</p>
<p>Don’t listen to the people who say Winston Salem isn’t nice as well, because it is. It doesn’t even feel too small as one might expect.</p>
<p>Anyway, I am from Duke, so obviously I am biased. But you sound kind of like me, and I think you will love Duke or Wake Forest if you get into either. So really it is a matter of personal preference once you apply.</p>
<p>Again, I think you should just go ahead and apply to both. Consider UNC Chapel Hill as well. It is a great public school, and if you don’t get a lot of financial aid like me (pretty much go for free to Duke, which is sweet!) it is a great option. UNC is pretty much a more southern/bigger version of Duke, and they both have their pluses and minuses. Keep in mind that UNC out-of-state is probably as if not more competitive than Wake admissions and almost as competitive as Duke admissions (I’m assuming you are out of state). The one thing I do like about Duke more than the others is that there are more out of state and international students, but that can be a minus as well as a plus depending on who you are.</p>
<p>Deciding where to spend the next four years of your life is a big decision. I think you would be at home at Duke, UNC, Wake Forest, or Davidson as far as NC schools go.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>You cannot go wrong with either school. Wake is probably a slightly better teaching school whereas Duke has more high end opportunities because of the great variety of research going on there. I’d make your decision based on which one of those you care more about assuming they are equal in cost. If not equal, I’d go for the better buy.</p>