<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I've been accepted to both Duke and Penn - can you guys help me get started in terms of making a comparison between the two? Which would you choose and why?</p>
<p>Here's some info about me:</p>
<ul>
<li>Most likely I'm going to pursue a major in the Social Sciences, but I could opt to go the Engineering route as well.</li>
<li>I'm black (Eritrean), so diversity is important to me, although not as much as the quality of the education.</li>
</ul>
<p>Penn social sciences dept is good. Their psych dept is top 10 i believe. Also only one of the two choices is an Ivy League institution</p>
<p>if diversity is important to you, you should go to penn.</p>
<p>I realize I am making a giganormous generalization, but duke is said to be elitist and segregated</p>
<p>^The area it’s in moreso than the campus. The Duke student body and student life are actually very comparable to those of Penn.</p>
<p>I’d say Penn. It is better known (though duke is very well known as well). You can easily do engineering as well as the top Social Sciences, which I am planning to major in. Overall, I think your experience at Penn will be better</p>
<p>the differences between the universities are so marginal that your decision should be entirely based off whether you like basketball or not. i’m not kidding.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>thank god penn rejected you</p>
<p>i think you’ll find more blacks in Duke, plus it’s in the south. And who said Duke is supposed to be elitist? I would have thought that Penn was elitist. Some other student that was accepted at Penn said to another student who had been rejected everywhere, “you should’ve been more like me.” that’s the exact kind of attitude you can expect to find at Penn.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>so, let’s examine the logic of this statement:
one accepted applicant not currently a student at a school represents the “attitude” of a campus made up of over 19,000 students</p>
<p>let’s hope college teaches some logic</p>
<p>IHATECEREAL is ilovebagels in disguise lol.</p>
<p>Surely you would expect me to be more clever than THAT! ;)</p>
<p>The northeast might be a better location for immigrant blacks (then again, I’m not an immigrant, and I’m not black, so I’m just going off perceived sentiment). Welcome from Eritrea and congratulations!</p>
<p>“thank god penn rejected you”</p>
<p>thank god i didn’t apply to penn</p>
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</p>
<p>yes…thank god for that</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>well, i guess it’s true: you are what you eat…or dislodge in your case</p>
<p>bahahahahaha</p>
<p>Academics - Penn is stronger in most social sciences and in most engineering disciplines. Moreover, since your interests are so wide ranging, the fact that you can take classes in any of Penn’s twelve schools (though I doubt you’d get into a Med School class) provides a unique level of academic options for you.</p>
<p>Socially - Duke’s area has a larger black population, but Penn’s area has a more diverse population. Philadelphia has the second largest Jamaican population in the US, the fourth largest black urban population in the US (approx 600,000) and one of the largest and fastest growing African populations in the nation (espc East Africans). And DC is only 2 hours away which is home to the largest Eritrean population on the East Coast.</p>
<p>Prestige - for what it’s worth, some will say an Ivy League degree is more valuable</p>
<p>Ultimately, you should visit both schools if you can. And NOT when they have special weekends designed to impress you. Go visit on regular day, and meet everyday students and faculty members. See where you feel happiest. That should be the school you select.</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptances and best of luck in your choice</p>