Duke or UNC?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>My mom is having me cut back on my college list because of financial reasons. I currently have both Duke U and UNC on my list. </p>

<p>I am looking for a diverse, more urban campus that's full of opportunity. I'm also looking for an incredibly solid academic experience.</p>

<p>I've heard these campus' have drastically different "personalities" but no one has ever described them to me.</p>

<p>Anyone have any info that'll help me make my decision?</p>

<p>Also I guess chances of getting in may make/break the decision also:
I am OOS, African American female, Top 6% of class, 33 ACT.</p>

2

<p>Neither, Wake Forest University.
You would probably get a very nice FA package.</p>

<p>Otherwise I would probably apply to Duke (as much as it pains me) but only because you are OOS.</p>

3

<p>But it’s even less diverse than UNC :p</p>

<p>statistics wise at least!
haha i’m really a stickler about that.</p>

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<p>UNC would be much cheaper financially but idk if it would have the whole ‘urban’ feel</p>

5

<p>Yeah that’s what I like about it. Merit based scholarships <3</p>

6

<p>Chapel Hill is not urban.</p>

7

<p>I go to UNC, so of course I’m biased, but Durham is pretty …err really ghetto. It is definitely urban, though, but it really isn’t that great of a city.</p>

8

<p>

I am a huge Carolina fan, but that’s a statement with little justification. You have no idea where the OP stands financially. </p>

<p>Several of my in-state friends from high school chose Duke over UNC specifically because it was much cheaper for them. (Sadly, some of them really wanted to go to UNC.)</p>

9

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<p>That’s wild. UNC is only about $10k per year in-state, compared to Duke which is closer to $40k. Duke must have given your friends a full ride or something.</p>

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<p>State schools are very stingy about meeting OOS aid. I believe UVA is one of the only schools to meet 100% of OOS financial Aid.
For the OP, this year’s Wake Forest freshman class is 25% “diverse”</p>

<p>I have visited both UNC and Duke, neither of them are urban in the sense of GWU, BU, or NYU.</p>

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<p>I believe UNC meets 100% of demonstrated financial need as well.</p>

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<p>Wake actually is in line percentage wise with other institutions as far as non-athlete AA females. The school’s issue is attracting non-athlete AA males. </p>

<p>Both schools are fratastic and pretentious in their own ways. Not having a good amount of spending money is gonna be a bigger problem at Duke than UNC. Duke has a geekier student body whereas UNC has a large and diverse enough student body to find plenty of normal people. Duke is a slightly bigger leg up in life, unless you plan to live in NC where UNC is on par with Harvard to many of its bball fans.</p>

13

<p>If you want urban, that is fine. Then look at urban campuses in DC, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, St. Louis, New Orleans etc. (pick the cities that you think will meet your specific objectives and fulfill your needs/interests). </p>

<p>Being an URM will help you with scholarships and financial aid. With a 33 ACT you are good to go almost anywhere. So it comes down to what kind of experience you want. </p>

<p>For example, do you want to be at a super prestigious school full of people who are very competitive? Or could you see yourself at a school where you may well be near the top of the pack, sufficiently challenged but not stressed, allowing you more social time and/or community involvement time?</p>

<p>Do you want internships for working? What kind of work? High power financial jobs or something in the non-profit world? What are your passions? When you “want to make a difference in the world” how do you answer that question? </p>

<p>Are you religious? Or very secular and non-religious? Does it even matter? </p>

<p>Also, the urban thing need not necessarily be like George Washington and NYU. There are lots of schools that have a classic college campus but are inside large cities, offering you the best of both worlds: BC, Fordham, Emory, Georgia Tech…even Northwestern (its not in Chicago but its very close).</p>

<p>Are you a prestige type person, or more interested in the program and financial package? </p>

<p>Only you can answer those questions (honestly), and that is what should drive which schools should be on your list. Nothing wrong with Harvard and Yale, Princeton and Georgetown etc. What about Brown? Its in Providence, RI. But also consider lots of match schools and even some relative safeties that may offer you something more than “prestige”, maybe the experience of a lifetime, excellent friends, amazing internships, a little less stress but challenge you to think for yourself. </p>

<p>Its really all about you, in the sense of defining the many schools where you will excel, but also be very happy and fulfilled. Are you a radical, contrarian or edgy person? Or more conformist and low key? Do you prefer to be in a group of people of your ethnicity or does it matter? Are you political or apolitical? Do you want a small campus feel (BC or Fordham) or like the anonymity of a large school like NYU? </p>

<p>Don’t be afraid to look around and explore ideas “outside the box” of conventional wisdom, meaning "the schools that everyone else thinks I should attend. Look hard at what the school mission is, they type of people who go there and whether you can make a big difference while there. </p>

<p>Every school has a culture. You generally have to visit the school when school is in session to get a feel for it. You will often know whether its a fit, or whether its not you. </p>

<p>Who are you now? Who do you want to become? What changes do you want to make in yourself? Are sports important (to attend and enjoy?) </p>

<p>Georgetown and George Washington are vastly different schools. So are UChicago and Northwestern. So are Harvard and BC and Tufts. So are Yale and Trinity or Wesleyan. So are NYU and Columbia and Fordham. So are Saint Louis University and Washington University in St. Louis. </p>

<p>Its a great misnomer that all kids with 1500 SAT’s or 33 ACT’s have to go to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Duke…or name an uber elite college. You would be very surprised how many kids with those stats end up at match and even safety schools…mostly by their own choice, because of scholarships or they just wanted that unique experience. </p>

<p>UNC and Duke are both great schools with plenty of URM students. They are different in their culture and the overall experience is different. Neither is a classic “urban” campus, though they are both near Raleigh. But Raleigh is not exactly a classic big city either…its a lot of spread out sprawl and research stuff.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>I don’t know how you define “diverse,” but Duke is more diverse than UNC is almost every conceivable way - racially, geographically, etc.</p>

<p>UNC:
70% White
11% African American/Black
9% Asian American/Asian
6% Hispanic
4% Other/NR
2.2% International</p>

<p>60% female/40% male</p>

<p>[Discover</a> academic opportunities that distinguish Carolina](<a href=“http://admissions.unc.edu/Academics/Class_Profile_and_Rankings/default.html]Discover”>http://admissions.unc.edu/Academics/Class_Profile_and_Rankings/default.html)
**
Duke:**
51% White
22% Asian American/Asian
10% African American/Black
6% Hispanic
6% International
5% Other/NR</p>

<p>50% female/50% male</p>

<p>[Quick</a> Facts about Duke](<a href=“http://news.duke.edu/resources/quickfacts.html#students]Quick”>http://news.duke.edu/resources/quickfacts.html#students)</p>

<p>**UNC<a href=“stays%20constant%20due%20to%20public%20charter”>/B</a>:
82% North Carolina
16% Other States
2% International</p>

<p>**Duke<a href=“class%20of%202013”>/B</a>:
13% North Carolina
23% Southeast US
17% Mid-Atlantic
14% New England
13% West
10% Midwest
10% International (56 different countries)</p>

<p>Both good schools - very different student bodies. Large public vs. medium-sized private. Both strong athletic programs. Duke has an engineering school, UNC has pharmacy and journalism (among other program differences). Average academic stats are different as well. UNC is certainly strong, but it’s admissions are not as competitive as Duke’s (although OOS at UNC is certainly very competitive; in-staters definitely skew the stats).</p>

<p>UNC:
Avg SAT (out of 1600): 1303
SAT Verbal range: 590–700
SAT Math: 620-710
SAT Writing: 590-690
ACT avg: 28.7
ACT range: 26-31</p>

<p>Duke:
Avg SAT (out of 1600): ~1480
SAT Verbal range: 670-780 Trinity (T), 690-770 Pratt (P)
SAT math: 680-780 (T), 700-800 (P)
SAT writing: 680-770 (T), 690-770 (P)
ACT range: 30-34 (T), 33-35 (P)</p>

<p>As I earlier alluded to, you can throw out those UNC statistics from an admissions standpoint since you’re out of state, but they are useful to see the (slight) difference in quality of students if you matriculated. You can see that (from a test standpoint, at least), somebody in the 75th percentile at UNC is around the 25th percentile at Duke. You’ll get a great education at either though, no question.</p>

<p>Visit both and see where you think you’d be happier. That’s all I can say.</p>

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<p>Is it? That certainly could be the case, but it’s certainly not need-blind *and *full-need like Duke. Also, how they calculate your demonstrated financial need is completely different. UNC is much cheaper to begin with, but calculates a higher EFC (estimated family contribution). Duke’s average grant is >$30,000. So it depends on your own personal financial situation.</p>

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<p>I wouldn’t worry about not having a good amount of spending money at Duke. It’s not a problem. Durham is cheap and the vast majority of the student body doesn’t blow gobs of money. There are plenty of “normal” people at Duke. I actually think the opposite re: greek system; that UNC is “greekier” in that the Greek system is so much larger, there are houses on campus, etc. At Duke, it’s sections of dorms or off-campus. Maybe on a percentage basis, Duke has higher (~30% join frats, ~40% sororities), but that’s just because the student body is so much smaller. And a lot of Duke’s sororities are not “stereotypical” sororities, believe me. I think of UNC as more proper, southern, preppier than Duke, but others may disagree. I guess Duke has more of the New England prep school types, but it certainly is a small portion of the student body. I think the stereotypes of both schools need to be taken with a grain of salt - you can find your niche at either as they both have large and diverse student bodies.</p>

15

<p>bluedog,</p>

<p>You were using ADMITTED stats for Duke. I am not really sure why even intelligent people on CC keep making such mistake. For schools like Duke, admitted stats for each section can be 20 points less than the stats for the enrolled class. Anyway, you can use collegeboard.com as your source.</p>

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<p>Actually, the houses are all off campus. Granted, they’re just across the street, but there are no frats or sororities actually on campus.</p>

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<p>True. But my conclusions are still valid as the ranges barely change. Using enrolled class stats from collegeboard only moves the boundaries down 10 or 20 points for reading and writing, while math remained the same range. ACT range of 29-34 instead of 30-34. Still, not close to UNC’s ranges.</p>

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<p>Sorry, misspoke. I just am under the impression that the Greek system is more significant at UNC since they’re allowed official residences, while at Duke, they are not. (Although you could argue that since they’re in houses you don’t have to deal with any Greek people if you don’t want to; i.e. there is more segregation between greeks and non-greeks, which could be a good or bad thing depending on what you want).</p>

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<p>
[QUOTE=bluedog]
That certainly could be the case, but it’s certainly not need-blind and full-need like Duke.

[/QUOTE]
</p>

<p>Actually, it is. UNC-Chapel Hill is need-blind and meets 100% of demonstrated need for both in-state and out-of-state students.</p>

<p>
[QUOTE=bluedog]
I just am under the impression that the Greek system is more significant at UNC since they’re allowed official residences, while at Duke, they are not.

[/QUOTE]
</p>

<p>Greek life at Duke is simultaneously much more pervasive and slightly less insular than that at UNC.</p>

<p>At Duke, over a third of the student body is greek-affiliated, and greeks occupy the key social spaces on West Campus. Sure, they don’t have houses off campus – but they have space in the dorms themselves. The frat houses (and frat parties) are essentially in the dorms, and you would have to actively avoid Greek life to not come in contact with it on a regular basis.</p>

<p>At UNC-Chapel Hill, a smaller portion of the student body is Greek, but those that are involved are more intense about it. Greek houses are off campus, which makes them easier to avoid but also makes Greek life more separate and insular. </p>

<p>Of course, in both cases, you can avoid greek life. And in both cases, you can choose to be involved in greek life while still having an integrated social life. But it is true that the character and nature of the two school’s greek scenes are noticeably different.</p>