Ok so I’m having a really hard time deciding if I should apply to Duke early action?? I want to major in engineering and as of right now I’m leaning towards civil but I’m not 100% sure. A pro with nc state is that they have a multitude of different engineering majors, I think 15 or something like that, so if I decide I don’t want to do civil, I have many options. Duke, on the other hand, has only 4 or 5 engineering majors. My concerns are that all though Duke is nationally recognized and is higher ranked, NC State is known for being an engineering school, while Duke is more focused on medicine. I fear that Duke’s engineering students won’t be their top priority and they won’t have access to the same resources that State students have.
I’m also not 100% sold on Duke because when I toured (and I promise I went in with an open mind), it did not make me happy. The students I saw seemed like they kept to themselves and I am worried about the stress culture I have heard about at Duke because of the extremely rigorous curriculum? Basically, what I’m saying is that I didn’t get as good of a vibe at Duke as I did at NC State, which was much more lively in my opinion. While my main concern is what I previously mentioned about NC state being much more Engineering-focused than Duke, I also want to make sure that I feel comfortable and happy in the environment I’m in. Any comments about what student life is really like at Duke would be very much appreciated.
To sum it all up should I apply to Duke early action? There is a much higher chance of me getting in then, and on paper, it seems like the better school and like it would be a waste not to go there if I got in because of its national recognition and difficulty of getting in. The issue is, I am not sold on it. Also, do you guys even think I would get in to Duke in the first place? (1500 SAT/ 33 ACT, 4.0 UGPA/ 4.4 WGPA)
TLDR; Which is the better deal for engineering in NC: NC State or Duke? (specifically for a student interested in civil engineering but not quite decided)