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<p>This has got to be some kind of sick joke, and I despise Duke.</p>
<p>well hpysm, I see that you are a female high school student that is going to MIT as a chemical engineer. Good for you.</p>
<p>now, when you ask a question like this, shouldn’t you at least know a little about the person that you are asking?</p>
<p>In fact, I took Thermodynamics at Princeton. I took Fluid Dynamics at Princeton. I did very well in both classes. I had many a sleepless night to get the work done, but I thoroughly enjoyed both classes, which is something excpected of a Princeton ChE., would you not think?</p>
<p>Enjoying these classes made my life more “fulfilled” and allowed me to really enjoy the socializing at the Eating Clubs. </p>
<p>My suggestion to you: If as a high school senior you are not looking forward to taking these classes at MIT, then DON’T!..change majors…</p>
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<p>back to the original intent of this thread, the OP has an incredible opportunity. it’s clear that finances are negligible in this case; what matters is the alumni network, whatever differences in the academic program, and the people. while duke and princeton are not tops in mechanical engineering, they represent what top students strive for.</p>
<p>and no, i don’t have an interest in chemical engineering. i personally am considering applied math and the finance route. whether i can compete against the alpha males in finance is another story haha</p>
<p>but hypsm, the topic at hand was having fun during the undergraduate years in college and this is what you posted:</p>
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<p>If you are not going to enjoy your classes and have passion for your major then, no matter how much you socialize in college, you will not be a happy person.</p>
<p>I read the first 9 pages of this thread and then skipped ahead, so forgive me if this was already mentioned: Princeton is an hour’s travel from New York City and from Philadelphia. As an international student, I’d be excited to have such easy access to these great cities. Durham can’t compare, sorry. Also, having to take a bus from the freshman dorms to go to class on the other part of the Duke campus did not appeal to us at all. Ditto for having to take classes at UNC. </p>
<p>When we visited Duke and UNC, I was irritated by how many times basketball was mentioned. I notice basketball already got mentioned on this thread too as a benefit to Duke. Now I like basketball a lot; I just watched the NCAA tournament on TV. In general, my family enjoys sports and in fact my daughter is a Division 1 recruited athlete in whom both Duke and Princeton were interested. Still, as far as Duke was concerned, I did not consider the sport emphasis as a positive at all. For one thing, the academic standards for athletes in her sport were much lower at Duke than at Princeton. They were lower as far as admissions, and there was also a push to dumb down the athlete’s schedule once at Duke. So extrapolate that out to the other sports, esp. ones like football, and right away you’ve got a weaker student body at Duke.</p>
<p>As for the Robertson, the description I read sounded great. But OP, are you OK with not returning home to Australia to visit your family in the summers? Because as a Princeton student you could if you wanted or not if you didn’t, but you’d have no choice in the matter if you’re a Roberston scholar. Also, we were so completely unimpressed with UNC when we visited that my daughter considered having to study there as part of the Robertson to be a disadvantage. Also, do commuity service summer activities help advance your career more than actual internships in your career? Again, I wasn’t completely sure those Robertson summers were as much of an advantage as they were made out to be.</p>
<p>meanwhile for the Dukies out there:</p>
<p>[Advice</a> From the Keeper of a Long Waiting List - The Choice Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/wait/]Advice”>Advice From the Keeper of a Long Waiting List - The New York Times)</p>
<p>TheGFG, but but but…you missed the part where Duke is supposedly better for undergraduates because its boys and girls were better looking.</p>
<p>Geesh, I didn’t realize it was that bad at Harvard as an undergraduate…</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/908018-harvard-not-harvard.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/908018-harvard-not-harvard.html</a></p>
<p>where is that guy that claimed Harvard was a better undergraduate school than Princeton because of the stats?</p>
<p>OP, I personally think the strength of ME program is moot. You’ll receive a competent ME education at either school. Graduate schools matters much more.</p>
<p>If you want an incredible college experience filled with unrivaled opportunities, choose the Robertson scholarship.</p>
<p>If you want to list Princeton on your CV twenty years after graduation, then choose Princeton.</p>
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Why does it matter to you what the academic standards for certain athletics programs at either of these schools are? You know that based on SAT scores, both Duke and Princeton enroll students of roughly similar quality. Princeton is in the Ivy League so it is mandated to have higher academic standards for athletes and it can’t even offer scholarships. Duke, on the other hand, is in the powerhouse ACC sports conference and so obviously athletics will be a greater priority here.</p>
<p>Ultimately, if you feel that the fact that Duke just won the NCAA tournament and receives a lot more attention based on that fact and not for its academics right now, then Duke was never a right fit for you and I hope you are enjoying your college years at Old Nassau.</p>
<p>By the way, Duke still held classes the day after Duke won the championship. Think about that for a second.</p>
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<p>It’s interesting that you think that means anything to us. There’s very clearly a culture difference between schools like Princeton and Duke.</p>
<p>Baelor, they just don’t “get it” do they?</p>
<p>I thought the same thing when I read the comment</p>
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<p>You have got to be kidding. You are a Duke freshman and you haven’t figured out yet that not everyone in the country thinks it’s great that academic standards get sacrificed so that students can watch “better” sports teams? It never occurred to you that “the school goes hog-wild over basketball and that’s all anyone can talk about for days on end” is not a positive, but a negative, to some students? You should get together with a poster named Hawkette. </p>
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<p>You’ve just provided a huge culture clue. You actually think it’s worthy of note that Duke held classes the day after they won a championship. “Why, we’re so committed to academics we even maintain our class schedules.” See, at many other schools that wouldn’t be worthy of note, because the idea of cancelling classes after a championship win wouldn’t even OCCUR to people.</p>
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<p>I don’t think it’s a cultural divide - maybe it’s just wishful thinking from a college student needing some time to write papers and study. Classes are cancelled at Duke only in extreme circumstances. I’ve seen many more cancellations at other schools for inclement weather, a rarity at Duke. </p>
<p>There are plenty of Duke students who don’t care for basketball. It does, however, tend to pull the campus together. It’s not the case that it’s “all anyone talks about for days on-end.”
Tests and papers are still due, and the end of the semester is a few weeks away. Reality sets in quickly, believe me.</p>
<p>I just have to reiterate that if I were a high school student reading this thread, I would have some serious doubts about Princeton–or at least, about Princetonians.</p>
<p>Of course, I didn’t go to either of these schools–I just happen to have some knowledge about both, a characteristic that many of the commenters in this thread lack.</p>
<p>There is also a new trend in college decisions among high-performing high school students, that has some relevance to this thread–choosing selective honors programs at less selective schools that come with scholarship money. Students choose to be Echols scholars at U.Va. over Ivies; some even go to honors colleges at places like Maryland or Penn State. These options have been made more attractive in recent years, and they are getting some very good students who would have other options. And those schools are not nearly as good as Duke is. In this case, the OP has an opportunity to get a prestigious scholarship (with perks) at a top 10 school. It would be entirely reasonable to accept this, if he likes Duke better than Princeton for some reason. Again, the strength of the major he wants should be an important factor in deciding. But the prestige of Princeton, great as it is, does not, by itself, make this a no-brainer.</p>
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Princeton was ranked #1 in Chem Engineering a couple times and in the top 3 for a while … though that was before your time.</p>
<p>Believe it or not, there are kids that actually choose Duke over Princeton even at full Pay! ;)</p>
<p>for engineering?</p>
<p>Probably. It’s really a fit issue.</p>
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<p>Does this forum have a disenchanted eyeroll smiley? It really needs one.</p>
<p>OP,</p>
<p>I think your decision should be based on whether you actually embrace and share the values of AB Scholarship program. If “perks” are what you care about, then maybe Princeton is the choice because at the end of the day, Princeton’s brand name trumps others and more likely than not, you will find funds for academic research at Princeton. This is one of the five most wealthy schools in the nation and school-sponsored research is happening in many schools, let alone Princeton.</p>
<p>On the other hand, AB Scholarship program is one of a kind program that will give you different experience. Research the program and ask yourself if you really fit in. In that program, it’s not just about what you get but also what you can give to the community.</p>