<p>I'm trying to decide between going to Duke and Northwestern. I don't know what I'm going to study (perhaps biology/pre-med at this point, but it's very subject to change), so I'd like for my college to have both breadth and depth in terms of subject matter. I guess that means I also want academic freedom. The trouble is that I feel these schools are very close academically, with Duke maybe having a slight edge. But Northwestern also has the advantage of being close to a big city, which is a pretty big appeal to me. Weather is not a problem for me, and their athletic programs aren't going to be a large factor. Most of the extracurriculars I'm interested in are going to be available at both schools (IM sports, and while I like the theater programs at Northwestern, I'm probably not good enough to take full advantage of them). So it comes down to academics and fit (social life and student body). I'm going to visit both this month to help me decide, but I would appreciate any input you all might have. What are Duke students like? Are the academics particularly difficult or competitive? Personally, I'm leaning towards Northwestern because while both schools have similar academics, NU has Chicago nearby. Why should I go to Duke?</p>
<p>I'm in the same. exact. situation. </p>
<p>All I can tell you is that I am heeeeeeavily leaning towards Duke. And I prefer Chicago over Durham anyday...... </p>
<p>Duke students are extremely well rounded, academics is in par with those of ivies. I'm actually heading down to Durham tomorrow morning. I'll be back Saturdayish, I'll tell you how it is if you'd like :)</p>
<p>Me too, I'm having a tough time deciding between Duke, JHU and NU. Like hol76, I'm also leaning towards Duke. :D</p>
<p>I might as well add myself to the confused list. You can see what I'm trying to decide between below my user name :).</p>
<p>Kind of being pulled in all directions right now...</p>
<p>Skipping academics (which you can compare for yourself and decide accordingly), I'd say that although NU has a better surrounding area (Chicago > Durham/Raleigh, duh), I'd say that the actual Duke campus itself is much "prettier" than NU just because it is so heavily populated with flowers and trees and the buildings are just something else. :) Come visit and decide for yourself!</p>
<p>Don't confuse Evanston with Chicago. :)</p>
<p>Evanston is one of the nicest college towns I've seen. Chicago is only 40 minutes away from campus, and there are free shuttles running from campus Mon-Fri.</p>
<p>I'm finding it funny that I have the exact same debate going.... Northwestern or Duke</p>
<p>While Northwestern has the major city... Duke has the school spirit and better weather. And although I'm from the Northeast and don't care about temperature... there is something nice to being able to sit outside in college and relax</p>
<p>Otherwise I just plan to visit both to make the decision</p>
<p>I am actually not a fan of Duke's ginormous, freshmen-living-away-from-everyone-else, take-a-bus-to-class campus.</p>
<p>Arti - actually a lot of people are skeptical about the freshman campus at first, but I must say (and I'd imagine the majority of Duke undergrad posters here will agree) that it was a fantastic idea. You are not thrown into college with upperclassmen living all around you, and it gives you a great opportunity to meet other freshmen and develop relationships that last throughout your Duke life.</p>
<p>As for the ginormousness of campus: yeah it's big, but I never found it too big of a hassle getting around. I also tend to like how each area on campus has its own unique feel (in part influenced by the different architectures). To each his own.</p>
<p>I agree, too. It really does sound like a bad idea but it really does work out for the best. Most sophomores find that they miss East Campus.</p>
<p>The move was hideously unpopular when it was first announced, and freshmen (now) tend to like it so much that the administration has often used it as a justification for other seemingly-frustrating moves.</p>
<p>"I know you don't like this new idea, but... well, you didn't like the idea of a freshman-only East, either, and, obviously, that one's turned out great. So... trust us on this one."</p>
<p>I doubt that mentality is going to fly with the CCI report.</p>
<p>I see what you mean for things like justifying increasing the freshman food plan for next year.</p>
<p>I want to clarify it's Chicago downtown that's 40 minutes (12 miles) away from campus. Evanston and Chicago share a boarder and all of the nicest neighborhoods in Chicago are located along the lakefront between Evanston and Chicago downtown (collectively called the North Side; hence closer to campus). Happening neighborhoods like Lakeview/Lincoln Park are actually closer to NU than UChicago even UC is inside Chicago (in the south side).</p>
<p>Oh, I didn't mean that it was a good excuse for the administration. I just meant it as a reflection of the popularity of freshmen-only East: that they reference it as a justification for other unpopular moves.</p>
<p>Evanston is a pretty happening and fairly affluent (not snobby however) suburb with over 100 restaurants/cafes in/near the downtown area. There has been a lot of development in the past decade with strong housing market; people see it as one of the "hot" places to live. <a href="http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/freshman/campuslife/evanston.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/freshman/campuslife/evanston.htm</a></p>
<p>Regarding academics, allowing for individual differences in students, I think the three are fairly comparable. Northwestern is somewhat unique in its lack of Teaching Assistants for lower division, undergraduate classes (reminds me of Princeton). I have said in previous posts that I think Northwestern’s Campus is stunning and I personally would enjoy the proximity of Evanston/Chicago (reminds me of Palo Alto/Stanford?). Finally, being a big fan of LACs in general, I think the attention to undergraduate education may set NU ahead of the other two because NU really represents the advantages of a larger campus, division one sports, etc. with a focus on undergraduate education.</p>
<p>Northwestern doesn't even come close to touching Duke's BME/pre-med/natural sciences programs if those are the areas you are interested in pursuing. Ultimately, you must remember that you're coming to college for the education and in your case, you would be better off at Duke. Besides the education at Duke, you're also getting great weather, fantastic school spirit/social life/athletics, and a gorgeous campus to boot. What more do you want Arti?:p</p>
<p>1.) What's the third? JHU, from post #3?</p>
<p>2.) If they don't use TAs, does that mean that they don't have large classes? Or that they don't break their small classes into smaller discussion sections? Personally, I rather like the way Duke has their situation set up: TA's are never teaching a course, but they are used -- sometimes heavily -- to facilitate associated small-group learning.</p>
<p>3.) If you think NU's undergrad campus is nice, you should see their other campus on Michigan Ave. That's a nice place. (Notice that this is not a comparison to Duke.)</p>
<p>4.) Choose NU over Duke... because of the sports? I hadn't realized a first-round exit would reflect that poorly on us.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Northwestern doesn't even come close to touching Duke's...natural sciences programs
[/quote]
</p>
<p>huh?</p>
<p>USN's ranking in natural sciences:
bio
Duke: 12th
NU: 29th</p>
<p>chemistry
Duke: 43rd
NU: 9th</p>
<p>physics
Tied at 29th</p>
<p>earth sciences:
Duke: 34th
NU: 31st</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>Don't tell me they are graduate rankings. Tell me what basis you used to make such claim.</p>
<p>I'm not sure when those ranking are from or where, but Duke natural sciences have become rather amazing in the few years that I've been here and are going to continue to soar. The new French Science Center is a great state of the art science research facility that bridges together a lot of these natural sciences (the chemistry department moved into this building over winter break). There are lots of opportunity for undergrad research, and that seems to be expanding as well. Also the chemistry classes that I've taken are taught by gifted professors who really know their stuff, do amazing research, and are very interested in their students. I can't speak for Northwestern, but natural sciences at Duke are strong and will become a lot stronger.</p>