<p>Why should someone choose one over the other? Which one is better in your opinion and why?</p>
<p>They are - different. A multitude of factors, in fact. The good news is this - if you end up having to choose between the two, you have two excellent choices and have done very well for yourself. </p>
<p>Let me turn this back on you - what are you looking for in a college experience, in what setting is your ideal university located, and what degree or degrees are you seeking?</p>
<p>Dude. Their mascot is the oatmeal guy.</p>
<p>Heh. In all seriousness, both wonderful choices. I just ... don't like their mascot.</p>
<p>Most people I know who chose Duke over Penn actually live near Penn and wanted a change of scenery...they really are similar schools, Duke's engineering program is better for BME and it has a large public policy school, whereas Penn has Wharton which is better for business than the Econ degree at Duke. I think those are the major differences.</p>
<p>I chose Duke over Penn. It was really hard for me to pick between the two. Both are pretty sweet. In the end, I just went with the school that gave me more financial aid: Duke.</p>
<p>Duke has basketball, Penn has Philly. Both schools have large Greek scenes, although more Duke kids stay on campus (probably largely due to Central campus, most places have no equivalent), and anybody who is reasonably social would like both places. They're pretty much dead even in academics, so the only way you could choose between the two is visiting and seeing which you have a preference for (unless you want a program the other school doesn't have, like Wharton).</p>
<p>I chose Duke over Penn because I felt that UPenn would be a continuation of HS for me (saaaame people. I'd say at least 10 kids I graduated with are at Penn, and that's not even considering other acquaintances and friends from home) and I felt that Duke would be a really fun, new, different experience, which is what I wanted college to be.</p>
<p>Honestly, if I could choose to be anywhere but Duke, I wouldn't, but if I had to, it'd probably be Penn. My best friend in the world goes there and adores it. People seem to really love it. There's that magic at Duke as well. After visiting time and time again, I realize more and more that Duke was the best choice for me. I like the housing situation better, I like the campus, etc.</p>
<p>there are so many threads with this question. go back to some of the archives.</p>
<p>Come on guys, any more reasons why duke should be picked over penn. Are biology majors better suited at Duke or Penn? What about the people and the dorms at duke? Which has a better yield to medical school?</p>
<p>why don't you look it up? especially the question to the "better yield to medical school." they have statistics online. with the dorms, you could look at some of those virtual tour things.</p>
<p>The people are probably about the same (anybody who goes to either college is going to say "OMG THE PEOPLE HERE ARE THE BEST!!!11", so asking in the Duke forum is asking for a biased POV); think about how many people debate Duke vs. Penn. Premed at any top college is also about the same--going to a school because it is supposedly "good in premed" is dumb, as most top schools have similar amounts of grade inflation and good opportunities for research etc.</p>
<p>Duke's percentage is between 80% and 85%. Penn's is probably very similar.</p>
<p>I'm not going to argue that all schools are pretty much the same - but I will argue that these two are pretty much the same.</p>
<p>lalala06 - the main thing I am hoping for here is that no-one pulls out anything that is disrespectful towards another school; and so far, I have to say, I have been really happy with the replies.</p>
<p>Honestly there is no academic difference if you rule out the strength of some programs (nursing, BME, etc). For someone looking to go to professional school or get a job (exclude Wharton which has a slight advantage over Duke X major) there is no difference. The schools are different enough, socially, however, that the choice should be based on that.</p>