<p>^^^Ha! Yeah, I had the same reaction gellino.</p>
<p>Yeah makes no sense to me. Charlottesville is one of the nicest college towns in the country.</p>
<p>Well, I assume OP made the decision, ais this is a four month old Thread.</p>
<p>I will add here only for the benefit of people who stumble upon it thinking toward next May.</p>
<p>Only an applicant and family can weigh the financial differences. To put this in perspective, assuming 66 wks of school each year, and a $32,000 annual difference in cost of attendance, each week at UVa a student will have a tax free $485 in the pocket to spend that the student would not at Duke.</p>
<p>On the west coast, we (I) don't perceive much difference between the two schools. Duke has slightly more gravitas. But I've always felt it had the same reputational impact as Cornell, Northwestern, maybe Brown, but not HYPSM, Wharton, or even Chicago. This is a bias from someone in the business community.</p>
<p>I give an edge to Duke, cost being no object.</p>
<p>But there is more than cost vs. benefit now, isn't there? OP grew to love UVa over the three month period on Duke's waitlist.</p>
<p>To me, the psychological impact of growing to love UVa is second in importance to the extra $485 in pocket each week.</p>
<p>This would have been an extremely easy decision for me--UVA hands down. It it were Harvard vs UVA, <em>maybe</em> I'd have to think about it. But Duke is no Harvard and just marginally better than UVA IMO. EAD likes to make people think Duke is in the same league as Harvard or YPMS but when "you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig". ;)</p>
<p>"As opposed to Durham"? hell yes!</p>
<p>I will say that the people in CV are VERY friendly, VERY happy, and LOVE to smile! It's really eerie....</p>
<p>So here is the breakdown:</p>
<p>CV: If you like being in the mountains and away from civilization, then UVa is perfect! However, there is NOTHING to do in CV!!! There is no Target (which draws the ire of many Hoos because they have to drive 50 mins to Short Pump) and and only one shopping mall (and it's a crappy one too). If you want to go "out" or do anything, you have to drive to Richmond (an hour away) or DC (two hours away).<br>
If you want to be around students or enjoy classes and events from other schools, you're going to drive at least an hour! JMU (Just Missed UVa), EMU, UR, VCU, VUU, VSU, and VPI are all at least an hour away from CV. Also, the town of CV is not racially diverse and its residents are comprised primarily of middle aged to retired wealthy Caucasians.</p>
<p>Durham: In a great centralized location. If you want to go out, you have Chapel Hell (only 15 mins away) and Raleigh (only 30 mins away). If you want to enjoy events, take classes, or interact with students from other colleges, you have NCCU, UNC, NCSU, Shaw, St. Aug's, Meredith, Peace (which adds up to roughly over 70,000 college students) within a 30 minute drive. </p>
<p>Enjoy sports? In addition to the big time college athletics, you have Carolina Hurricanes hockey, minor league baseball (Durham Bulls and the Carolina Mudcats), and minor league soccer (Carolina RailHawks)</p>
<p>Enjoy shopping? You have Southpointe Mall, Northgate Mall, Cary Towne Center, and Crabtree Mall all within a 30 minute drive.</p>
<p>The Triangle has earned MANY national awards and accolades, which are too numerous to list in this message, but are highlighted by: Top 5 City For Young Singles (Raleigh), Top 3 Place for African-Americans, and #3 Best City for US Bargin (Raleigh). Diversity is much better in Durham (which is approximately 40% white, 40% blk) and in the Triangle.</p>
<p>So it really depends on what you want and what you're looking for in a college town and area. If you want to be in the mountains and away from civilization, head to UVa. If you want to be in a vibrant and multicultural metropolitan area, head to Duke.</p>
<p>I wouldn't think most students are deciding what location to attend college based on proximity to Target or other colleges. </p>
<p>Your reasons are more for choosing where to want to live AFTER college.</p>
<p>You wouldn't think so, but you'd be surprised at the number of UVa students who complain that there's no Target in CV and they have to go to Short Pump to go to Target! lol </p>
<p>I'm sure the area and being isolated from the "distractions" of city life was a factor for students who choose to attend Dartmouth and Cornell. I'm sure having a campus on the beach is a reason why some students pick UNCW, Coastal Carolina, or UMiami. Being in LA is probably a big factor why students pick UCLA and USC. A big draw of NYU, Columbia, and St. John's is the fact that they are located in the heart of NYC.</p>
<p>So don't fool yourself. The type of people, attractions, entertainment, job market, and the area around the campus are all factors that influence a student's decision - in addition to the traditional factors of the school itself. I am not trashing UVa, because I think it's an awesome school. However, I'm not a fan of CV and was merely stating some of the reasons why....</p>