<p>is there an extreme difference in the quality of academics between UNC and Duke?</p>
<p>Also, for any people (unbiased pleaaaaassseeee) who know a lot about UNC and Duke (campus looks, life, general info) (I am unable to travel to NC), how would you compare the two schools?</p>
<p>"is there an extreme difference in the quality of academics between UNC and Duke?"</p>
<p>Yes there is. While both share resources in the research triangle, duke's superiority over UNC in academics is flagrantly absolute. UNC is one of the best public schools in the entire country though. Duke is comparable to most ivies in academic quality.</p>
<p>Since I have been to Duke, here are my thoughts...</p>
<p>Aesthetics:</p>
<p>Duke is EXTREMELY large. It will require the utilization of a bus (for the most part) in order to receive transit from the three main campuses (East, West, Central (Genius huh?:))). West Campus is one of the most stunning spectacles I have had the pleasure of viewing...and rightfully so. Duke borrows much of its architectural panoply from Princeton University. Central, on ther other hand, is the least impressive aspect of Duke's design (consisting of a fragemented sector of almost dilapidated apartments) and is under heavy renovating. However, you can make the choice to never venture there, but know that it is a cheaper residence for your junior/senior year. East Campus for freshman facilities has more of a Georgian and placid theme writhed in its architectural frame. It is beautiful and quaint. </p>
<p>Social Scene</p>
<p>Duke is known to be very boisterous with its "rah rah" basketball enthusiasts. Everyone is extremely courteous and making friends is easy. The student body is not as overtly intellectual as some of its ivy peers, but this lack of pretension is refreshing. </p>
<p>Classes:
I attended only an orgo class and I must say that the science/premed classes are very intense. Duke is very hard freshman year (from what i hear) especially if you are in a special FOCUS program. The FOCUS program is a shared residential experience where people opt for small intro classes with a distinguished professor. There are also weekly dinners with him/her. </p>
<p>General Info:</p>
<p>There is a great shopping mall not far from the campus and also the luxury of a beach as well (from what i hear). Students are given a DukeCard that decries the need of pocket money almost altogether. The food is great from what I ate and restaurants around the area are benign enough to accept your DukeCard instead of monetary transactions. In short, go here. :)</p>
<p>... dang SAT words</p>
<p>It basically comes down to the money issue and since it seems that ur from out of state, the difference in cost between UNC and Duke is really not that much. Academically, Duke is better, socially, I'd say they're pretty similar. Both schools have great reputations in NC, but Duke is more nationally reknowned. I visited Duke back in April and drove by UNC. Duke's campus is really nice, but I thought the same about UNC, especially since it is a state school. I would also think the resources at Duke are slightly better, due in part to a larger endowment, campus, and potential.</p>
<p>I have visited both several times, so I guess I can add a bit. </p>
<p>UNC, for out-of-staters, is extremely hard to get into, owing mostly to the fact that only about 13% of the entering class can be from outside NC. Thus, the vast majority of people at UNC will be from North Carolina. A common stereotype is that UNC is clique-ish. This is not entirely true, but there are many people that already have friends from high school. UNC has a very nice campus, and it favors brick where Duke favors stone/Gothic. The campus is particularly beautiful in spring, and the Old Well and Davie Poplar(s) are popular sites. UNC's strongest programs are biology, journalism and communications, history, chemistry, classics, psychology, and math/statistics. Classes, although large (it is a public school), get a lot smaller after the intro classes, and math/English classes are capped to a small number (30?) to make it easier on students. Chapel Hill trumps Durham hands down in terms of a college town, and Franklin Street is exceedingly popular. Students are fairly friendly, a bit less so than at Wake Forest or Davidson, and professors were generally very helpful when I visited. Most UNC students live off-campus, but I think housing is guaranteed for all 4 years. The campus is relatively small; a 15 min walk will take you across campus. Most students that graduate from UNC bleed light blue blood, and almost none regret the experience. </p>
<p>As far as academics go, Duke comes out ahead. There are many people at UNC that would certainly not get in at Duke (trust me), but the people in the honors program at UNC are extremely bright and well-rounded. Duke has one of the very best biology programs in the country, and its English, math, German, public policy, engineering (esp. BME), economics, and chemistry programs are also excellent. UNC does little to attract the best in-state students, with the result of many going to other schools (Duke was way cheaper for me than UNC, and I'm in-state!). UNC does award the Morehead, Robertson, etc., but the number of students getting these scholarships is very small. Duke has a nicer campus than UNC (if you like Gothic), but it is very large, which could be a drawback. Duke lacks the "intellectual" feel of some of its peers, but I think Duke's pragmatic student body is much more comfortable. Duke has many resources than UNC lacks- a marine laboratory, a huge forest reserve, a primate center, etc. However, there is cooperation between the two schools; it is possible to take a few classes at the other school, and the libraries share materials. The students were friendly, and the campus has been buzzing with activity every time I've visited. Duke lacks the pressure-cooker atmosphere that many schools have (unless you're pre-med, perhaps), which I think is one of the best things about the school. Duke offers an amazing education, and its study abroad options are varied and popular.</p>
<p>Like I said on the Virginia thread, yogurt, for the price, Virginia beats out Duke and UNC.</p>
<p>But Duke and UNC are great schools and if you have the money and it just fits you, you should go there - but academically Virginia is just as good.</p>
<p>you mean UVA by virginia? nah.</p>
<p>Sorry, but I have to disagree with you thethoughtprocess, Duke is excellent, however for the amount of money you have to pay for Duke vs. Virginia - it really is not worth it. Furthermore, I think of Duke and Virginia as equals, neither better than the other. If you are in-state at Virginia, there really is no question.</p>
<p>Furthermore, when I was in high school, I had the option of Duke, Hopkins, Cornell, and Virginia. Even as an out of state student, Virginia by far was the cheapest - plus it was as good as the other schools. Now with a new program called AccessUVa, Virginia is even more affordable.</p>
<p>can u tell me ur stats</p>
<p>UVA is a great school. It is unfortunate that the Echols scholars get no merit money. My S chose Duke over both UVA Echols (and UNC) as an Out of State student. Both UNC and UVA were cheaper, but to him, Duke was worth the extra $$. To each his own.</p>
<p>I was Echols, its a really cool program</p>
<p>But Duke's overall betterness (along with the rest of the schools I was deciding between) made being an Echols seem not too improtant</p>
<p>Like 1sokkermom said, "to each his own". I still believe Virginia is equal to Duke and all the other schools I listed and the money situation is what makes it better. </p>
<p>Its been a while since I applied to Virginia, but if I remember correctly, my stats were 3.9 something (I do remember I had 2 Bs and the rest were As) unweighted. I got a 1510 on my SAT - 750 Math and 760 Verbal - I think there is a new SAT now where there are 3 sections. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>VirginiaAlum:
I'm not sure when you attended UVA. However, as an out of state student, the cost to attend is really not that cheap. According to the web site, the estimated cost/year for out of state students is "$33,414 + travel".
This number will go up each year, and the state has been having budget problems. While I agree that this is still cheaper than some private colleges, it is not really that much of a "bargain" for out of state students.</p>
<p>It's actually funny that someone mentioned UVa. On the same excursion junior year, I visited UVa, Duke, and UNC. I liked all three schools, but decided that if I was going to go to a large, out of state public school, it'd EASILY be UVa over UNC. I think that UVa is just such a spectacular, gorgeous campus, where UNC isn't so hot. I mean-- UNC certainly isn't ugly, but I felt it looked a little run down and worn in at points, but, then again, it is one of the oldest schools in the nation.</p>
<p>Duke was worth the like... 5 thousand extra than going to UVa out of state. Seriously. UVa is really expensive out of state. UNC is much more of an academic bargain, but out of state, is probably harder to get into than UVa AND possibly Duke. (My guidance counselor told me that I'd get into UNC before I'd get into Duke).</p>
<p>Anyway-- although Duke has a pretty significant Greek presence on campus, Greek life is even bigger than UNC and it makes up a majority of the social life. However, UNC has Franklin St which is perhaps one of its biggest draws and attractions. Franklin St has everything from great restaurants and stores, to simple services a student absolutely needs (drug stores, coffee shops, etc.) and plenty of bars, independent movie theatres and music stores, etc. Duke is sorely lacking this environment-- 9th St. just off of East Campus has some great restaurants but really nothing else, and is certainly nowhere near as aesthetically pleasing as Franklin St. (I can go on and on about this topic-- I took an architecture class and a project was to compare UNC and Duke, and Franklin St. was a major part of the paper). Duke is more cloistered in that off of East campus is residential area and some sketchiness, and you need a car to get off of West (and cut through Duke forest) whereas UNC is much more integrated into the community, in part because UNC is North Carolina's state school and it's a great education at a good price and they just won (boooo hiss booooo!) and the state understandably has a lot of pride in the school. UNC's professors live in the community, whereas Duke professors tend to live further away from campus in more affluent areas, but it's really no biggie, because at Duke you're blessed with small classes and professors bending over backwards to meet you for lunch or coffee or to chat about anything you possibly need to chat about.</p>
<p>I mean-- both schools have intelligent, nice people that love and care about their school. You're going to need to learn all the rules of NCAA basketball and begin to love the game, your coach (even though as a Dukie, I don't know how it's possible to love Roy Williams), your players. You're going to own a few more articles of blue clothing-- although a different shade of blue at each school (come on, Duke blue is gorgeous, and Carolina blue looks gross-- look at their bball court. vomit!)</p>
<p>In my case, I'm more of a journalism/communications type of student, and UNC is probably stronger in that area than Duke, but I wanted a well rounded liberal arts education, and I feel that Duke trumps UNC in that department.</p>
<p>What else... oh! Personally, I didn't want a school where it was almost expected for me to move into an apartment after freshman year. A lot of people at UNC tend to move off campus or into their fraternity or sorority house, whereas at Duke, you need to live on campus for three years. (Also, to throw UVa back into the mix, they have a crappy housing system from what I remembered and have heard from my friends who are students and housing is only guaranteed one year and they have to move off campus). Granted, sometimes you'll find off campus housing that's cheaper than living in the dorm, and that's super great and all, but I personally love the thriving campus social life that Duke has.</p>
<p>hmmmm.. just how important is the campus? i mean its been mentioned soo many times on this thread...</p>
<p>personally i wouldnt mind going to college in a ghetto in somalia if the education was good and the people were nice...</p>
<p>duke's great campus was just an added bonus to me, i never really factored that in when i was visiting/selecting colleges.... well to each his own i guess..</p>
<p>I actually wouldn't want to go to a ghetto college in Somalia, but I'd go to a school with a bad campus if the academics and people are cool.</p>
<p>I think campus was one of the less important things, though maybe it did play a really big role without me being totally aware of it lol</p>
<p>"Anyway-- although Duke has a pretty significant Greek presence on campus, Greek life is even bigger than UNC and it makes up a majority of the social life."</p>
<p>Sorry, I know I'm a "lurker," but I have to completely and totally disagree here. I have strong family ties to both universities, have spent a significant amount of time socializing on both campuses and have very close friends in fraternities and sororities at both schools (I'm actually in one myself and my boyfriend participates in a social Greek organization at the rival school, so I have firsthand experience on both fronts). It is a known fact that the Greek presence is much heavier at Duke than at UNC. I'm not sure of the exact figures, but I believe around 30% of the Duke student body is affiliated, as opposed to about 15% of the UNC student body (where, if my information is correct, numbers are gradually dwindling). If you want to avoid fraternities at UNC, it's pretty easy to do - just don't go near Fraternity Court, which is the self contained area of the rowdiest frat houses - but most of the parties at Duke are given by social and cultural Greeks and selective houses, which are essentially fraternities without all the Greek letters and ritual (although there are notable exceptions, such as the afterparties and semiformals of the various cultural organizations on campus). </p>
<p>I'm not trying to indict either school for its Greek presence - obviously, as a Greek, I appreciate it, but I also have problems with some aspects of it - but as someone with years of experience with the campuses and Greek systems of both Duke and UNC, I thought I'd offer my limited expertise on the matter. If you are absolutely dying to be in a Greek org on a campus with a strong Greek culture, Duke is going to be more of the place for that. If you abhor Greek orgs with a passion, I'm not saying that they have no presence at UNC, but you will never have occasion to feel out of place because you are not a member of one (personally, I wouldn't recommend either extreme, since you are missing out if you completely submerge yourself in or cut yourself off from the Greek orgs). If you're mildly interested or disinterested or neutral, you can probably find your place on either campus.</p>
<p>"What else... oh! Personally, I didn't want a school where it was almost expected for me to move into an apartment after freshman year. A lot of people at UNC tend to move off campus or into their fraternity or sorority house, whereas at Duke, you need to live on campus for three years. (Also, to throw UVa back into the mix, they have a crappy housing system from what I remembered and have heard from my friends who are students and housing is only guaranteed one year and they have to move off campus). Granted, sometimes you'll find off campus housing that's cheaper than living in the dorm, and that's super great and all, but I personally love the thriving campus social life that Duke has."</p>
<p>It's not necessarily expected that you'll move off campus at UNC. You always have the option to recontract the room you are in, unless your dorm is being renovated. Many people live in the dorms through sophomore and junior year. From what I know, it's true that there are hardly any seniors that still live in the dorms at UNC, while I know that many seniors at Duke choose to remain in campus housing even though they've been released from their obligation to it, since Central Campus apartments are so cheap and convenient relative to places like The Belmont and houses off East. Also, there was a little trouble at Duke the past few years with students coming back from abroad second semester and so juniors were given the opportunity to enter a lottery to get permission to find off campus housing to accomodate everyone. So, not everything about housing is so cut and dried. </p>
<p>"UNC's professors live in the community, whereas Duke professors tend to live further away from campus in more affluent areas"</p>
<p>I grew up in the Triangle and attended school and was friends with many children of professors at both Duke and UNC. I'd say both sets of professors self-segregate into the richest neighborhoods in southern Durham and Chapel Hill (some Duke profs live in Duke Forest, a very affluent neighborhood near campus but not really accessible to the average student, and some UNC profs live near campus, but those homes are prime real estate and therefore astronomically priced). </p>
<p>Sorry to seem to have picked apart your post, bluestar! You seem like a pretty positive and balanced person (well, as balanced as anyone with a Tobacco Road affiliation can be ;) ) with regard to the two schools. I just had to comment on a couple of points that contradicted my extensive experience with the two schools and Durham and Chapel Hill (I've lived for many years in both places). Hope you're enjoying your time at Duke to the fullest, and taking advantage of that lovely Robertson Scholars bus (the lifesaver for those of us with friends at both schools and who are involved in "intercampus" relationships!!!).</p>
<p>I went to school a while back but I got really good financial aid - and my family is probably middle to upper middle class. I had to pay something like 20K a year, while Duke I think was 32 or 33K. A neighbor of mine whose son now goes said he had to pay only 25 K (I don't know his family's situation however). Plus I heard about this new program called AccessUVa where they now give you even more aid. I don't know your financial situation, but at least for me, it was a 10-15K difference per year.</p>
<p>Duke > UNC</p>