<p>I'm incredibly honored to be selected for Duke's AB Duke scholarship, which is a full ride to Duke, but I also got accepted to Harvard and I can't decide where to go. I'm also considering UNC with a full ride and Rice as a Rice/Baylor Medical Scholar. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>That’s one of the toughest choices. Personally I would choose Duke, but it all depends on what your family can afford. If you don’t like Duke, don’t go. But if you could really see yourself fitting there, I don’t see why you would pass up going to a top 10 school for free. Save Harvard for grad school :)</p>
<p>If there is med school in your future (???), definitely Duke AB Scholar.</p>
<p>With your choices, I think I would drop UNC, and probably Rice from consideration. Between Duke and Harvard, I’d say there are two considerations. First, which do you like better? If you like Duke better, go there and ignore anybody who says you should have gone to Harvard. If you like Harvard better, then you have to consider the financial implications. What will the financial burden be on your family if you go to Harvard?</p>
<p>Congratulations - you have been admitted to the most stellar programs in the country. Rice/Baylor Med scholar is very impressive. I would love to see your stats - could you post them?</p>
<p>I would probably choose Rice’s program assuming that’s also a full ride and you’re 100% dedicated to med school. Guaranteed admission to med school is amazing assuming the GPA requirement isn’t ridiculous like Wash U’s. You have great options all around, though.</p>
<p>Congratulations on having such great choices. There is no wrong answer here.</p>
<p>I would guess finances would be one aspect to consider. The AB Duke also includes summer programs which may be more difficult to obtain at your other choice schools.</p>
<p>The Rice/Baylor program is interesting, but even if you are positive at this point in your life that you want to become a physician, I would not really consider the combined program that advantageous. You may change your mind about medical school - many, many freshmen do - or you may not want to go to medical school at Baylor. There’s nothing wrong with Baylor, but you may want a change of scenery after undergrad, or you may want a different medical school. The only advantage of the program is guaranteed admission and skipping MCATs.</p>
<p>Good luck making the decision.</p>
<p>
Oh, is that all? I still agree with you, but that’s a pretty big advantage!</p>
<p>Hunt-
In my experience, MCATs were not that difficult. Getting into medical school was not that difficult either. Paying for medical school…now THAT was painful. </p>
<p>A student who gains admission to Harvard and is an AB Duke Scholar can handle MCATs and medical school admissions.</p>
<p>I would choose Duke for the free ride. If you are capable of getting into Rice/Baylor, then you are capable of getting into medical school in the future. Just look at getting into Duke with a full scholarship as being equivalent to purchasing a new house costing almost $250,000 and paying for it in four years (Actually, what sounds even better is that you are actually getting the equivalent of this house at no cost to you). I really don’t think that there is any significant difference in the quality of education that you would receive at either of these schools. Full disclosure, I did not attend any of these schools, so I have no vested interest in recommending one school over the other.</p>
<p>How big of a concern are finances to your family? Which school did you like better? Obviously all of the academics are going to be similar, and you are obviously gifted and should succede where ever you go, so focus on the non-academic parts of the selection unless you are much more into one college academically than the others</p>
<p>Rice/Baylor is not a full ride, and because I’m not sure about being a doctor, I don’t think I’ll take it, although I’m still incredibly in shock at even being accepted, and it’s really disappointing to turn down such a great program. </p>
<p>As for finances, my family would have to pay upwards of $40,000 a year for Harvard (or Yale) and I have two younger siblings. Although my parents are telling me that I should make a choice based off of where I want to go, I can’t help but worry about putting such an enormous financial burden on my family, especially when I can go to school for free at Duke or UNC. On the other hand, I’ve met so many amazing people at Harvard over the past year at various events, and I feel like the environment at Harvard is full of people who are so driven, talented, and passionate about what they do that it would be fantastic just to be a part of such a community. I’m not sure if it’s worth 40k, though. I’m not too sure about Duke’s academic environment, and I’m also a bit worried about Greek life there. If anyone has any input, I would greatly appreciate it!</p>
<p>And as for stats – I have the grades that I’m sure everyone who gets into a top school has, but I think, for me, the deciding factor is that I have always avidly pursued what I was passionate about in high school. I love the arts, science, and service, and I have done all three at a national and international level through competitions, research, and doing service work abroad and at home, and I’ve also received numerous awards for the three of them. I was reeling from my notification about Rice/Baylor, though, because to be completely honest, I have never done anything in medicine before – just research and service. </p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your advice!</p>
<p>Duke offers selective living groups which are groups that you can join (like people go Greek) except they are centered around different aspects such as academic engagement or entrepreneurship. It is kind of hard to explain so check out this list here that explains each one of them, as there are a decent number and they are all so different. They act as a social scene and offer many benefits on top of that. </p>
<p>[Current</a> Living Groups | Duke Student Affairs](<a href=“Duke Student Affairs”>Duke Student Affairs)</p>
<p>The academic environment is challenging, just like any top school people really care about their grades, but its not cut-throat and at the expense of others, my friends really help me out for my classes. If you have any specific questions on that let me know.</p>
<p>Jacquelynn-Was your Finalist Weekend your first time visiting Duke? Can you see yourself at Duke for the next four years? Will funds be available for med or grad school if you select the non-free undergrad education?</p>
<p>The AB Duke Scholarship is Duke’s most prestigous merit award! That puts you in the top 1% of the accepted students in the class. You made some valid and mature points in regards to thinking of your siblings’ education. You have some awesome schools from which to choose. Start my making a ‘pros and cons’ list for each school. Then follow your heart. </p>
<p>As for the Duke concerns…My D is a Duke alumni and I know that Duke students are driven, talented, and passionate, as well. If you haven’t heard already, you will hear that Duke students ‘work hard and play hard’. Honestly, you set boundaries for your mix of work and play. My D went Greek but she kept her priorities straight and graduated with a Latin Honor. She had some friends that were Greek and some that were non-Greek and they all got along fine.</p>
<p>Best regards!</p>