Duke vrs UCLA

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Help me out please!! The problem is, I don't think I would be able to get in to Duke regular decision, but I think I have a good chance of getting in ED. Obviously, if I apply ED and get in, there's no way I'd be able to see if I got into UCLA or not ... my second dream school. So, I'm trying to figure out whether I should apply to Duke ED and if I get in, forget about UCLA, or take my chances RD with Duke and UCLA.</p>

<p>The two biggest things I'm worried about is that the area surrounding Duke seems really boring (I'm the type of person that loves to go out and explore/visit places, I'm a wanderer at heart ;P ) and is really white. </p>

<p>I'm also worried about class offerings about UCLA ...how strong are they in the subjects I'm interested in? I don't really know much about LA's academics, but what really draws me in is that most of the student body isn't white, and it's in LA. </p>

<p>Interests: Developing nations/humanitarian work, environmental science/zoology, studio art, advertising, languages, study abroad.</p>

<p>Duke:
+Has its own island for marine biology studies, lemur center, great biology department.
+Smaller classes
+ Flexibility for people with undecided majors.
+ Seems to fit me really well academically</p>

<p>-Student body isn't very diverse, (seemed mostly white when I visited.)
-North Carolina seems reallllly booorrrinng and in the South.
-Preppy/jock/conservative auggghghhghgg </p>

<p>UCLA:
+Very diverse student body!
+LA!! OMG!! (I love LA it is such an exciting place)
+Nice campus</p>

<p>-Freaking huge/huge classes
-Might have problems graduating in 4 years/signing up for classes
-Lower quality of instruction (?)
- Not sure about whether academics fit me as well</p>

<p>It seems essentially my dilemma is great location/diverse student body @ LA versus better academics at Duke. Auggh!</p>

2

<p>You can check on diversity at collegeboard, which says Duke is 53 percent white while UCLA is 33 percent white...UCLA is much more diverse but Duke has its fair share of URM's etc</p>

<p>Duke is also an exciting place to be for a number of reasons</p>

<p>About UCLA, many schools have huge intro classes, and just because its larger and less selective doesn't mean quality of intruction is worse</p>

3

<p>-Duke has a smaller percentage of white people than the country as a whole. Everyone says that it "isnt diverse" yet it is under 60% white to about 70% of the country as a whole.
-North Carolina isn't california but it isnt boring. There are things to do in Durham and Chapel Hill is a cool place... you are 30 minutes from the capital... you can get to the beach or the mountains in about 2 hours respectively.
-Also, if an area has less to do I think it often makes the student body more cohesive because they look for fun on campus instead of just going to nearby places to do EVERYTHING.
-North Carolina IS in the South... but the Triangle is a liberal section of the state (if you look at county break downs it is one of the few blue areas). With UNC, Duke, NC State, and RTP right in the middle the triangle really isn't a conservative place at all. It is a well educated and enlightened area: Higher PhD rate per capita than anywhere in the Country.</p>

<p>Both UCLA and Duke are good schools though... I'm just speaking from the side that I have more personal experience with.</p>

4

<p>based on your cons for Duke, why is it even on your list? It does not appear to be a social fit for you. There are hundreds of colleges with great academic programs. Why Duke?</p>

5

<p>bluebayou:</p>

<p>Duke seems to be the best fit academically for me in terms of my interests. They have a lot of really exciting programs for biology/environmental science/zoolgy students, like their lemur center, forest, and island. UCLA is socially a better fit for me (and has a fantastic location), but Duke seems to be a better fit academcially, which is why I'm conflicted.</p>

<p>DrumNDukie/thoughtprocess: Thanks for your comments ... I was wondering, DrumNDukie, since you seem to be a student(?) at Duke .. how would you say the general atmosphere of the student body is? </p>

<p>When I visited it seemed sort of preppy, but then again, I was only there for a day and it's hard to judge stuff like that when you aren't an actual student.</p>

6

<p>although i am not a current student, i will be attending duke in the fall, as an african-american student, diversity did play a factor in my college decision, i even wrote some application essays about it, anyway, i found duke to be diverse enough, at least for me, and even at more diverse campuses such as wash u. st. louis or bc, the students still self-segregate most of the time which negates the advantage those colleges had in a so called "diverse" campus. I stayed at duke for 4 days toward the end of march and liked the social scene there more than other colleges i had visited, there's so much going on campus that you can't be bored, and if you do want a change of scenery, raleigh isn't that far away, and even downtown durham has places to go, and there are a lot of other nearby campuses you can go to, i hopped on a bus from duke to unc and checked that out for part of a day.</p>

7

<p>bounce:</p>

<p>Cal has at least equal programs in bio/enviro/zoology as Duke; UCSD is stronger than UCLA. My point is that most of the top 100 unis are going to have strong programs in those areas. If the Duke culture does not fit, it does not fit.</p>

8

<p>Actually... I wont be attending duke until next year. I am a native of Durham though... so I know a decent amount about the area which was the main focus of my response. So I don't know exactly how it is for students (though I have spent some time on campus). So I will leave the question of the general atmosphere to someone more qualified.</p>

9

<p>bluebayou - Duke's academics are among the best, which makes it worthy of consideration even when it may not seem a good social fit - at the same time, UCLA is also a great school, so I think talking to current students would be the best way to decide</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
Duke's academics are among the best, which makes it worthy of consideration even when it may not seem a good social fit

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I'd be wary of this. If not for a lucky break that will help a lot in grad school, my social experience at Duke would have caused me to transfer to UVA in a heartbeat. </p>

<p>That said, a lot of the OP's cons about Duke seems to be based on stereotypes more than anything else, so I hesistate to say that it wouldn't be a good social fit.</p>

11

<p>banana, could you please elaborate on this? :</p>

<p>"I'd be wary of this. If not for a lucky break that will help a lot in grad school, my social experience at Duke would have caused me to transfer to UVA in a heartbeat."</p>

<p>Socially, my biggest concern is diversity. I am Jewish, so I'm not a minority, but I come from an ethnically diverse school in California I love having friends of all different races. Visiting Duke was definitely "white shock".</p>

<p>I also love the California atmosphere much better than in other parts of the country (no offense to the rest of you). So I guess, in short, I am a diehard Californian and it is difficult thinking about going anywhere else for college. </p>

<p>Can anyone comment on the jockyness/preppyness of Duke? I also got that impression, something I did not like. (I'm the liberal/nerdy type.)</p>

12

<p>There are plenty of liberal/nerdy types here if that's what you're looking for. I also don't think you'll have a problem with the diversity at Duke. If you want friends of all races, you can have them. Like another poster already said, Duke is actually less white than the country as a whole. The racial mix is pretty much what one would expect from any national university. Also, I've heard nothing but good things from Jewish students about Jewish life and their overall experience here.</p>

<p>I haven't had any jocks of the "student"-athlete variety in my classes, or at least not any obvious ones. It depends on the course. If you're a sociology major, expect to see quite a few of them. Same goes for notoriously easy classes. I think you'll see them filtered out when it comes to the more challenging or intellectually stimulating courses.</p>

<p>Disclaimer: Since I know someone will jump on me for this, again, I am talking about athletes who are not academically-inclined.</p>

<p>As far as my experience goes...well, I'll give you the short version. I just haven't really clicked with people here. I have a lot of acquaintances, and for the most part I get along with everybody; I just haven't made any real friends. There are other factors involved, but that's the gist of things. I've taken steps to try and improve my situation for next year, so with luck things will get better. I also really don't think my situation is one that you can predict, because people I know that are very similar to me socially have had no problems.</p>

13

<p>Honestly you are focusing WAY too much on the academics. At the undergrad level you can only learn so much, you'll really tap into resources at the graduate level. Any top school will MORE than fill your needs and has special programs.</p>

<p>My advice: Appy ED to Brown. Its perfect for you socially (relaxed, great location, not jock-prep, etc) and has one of the best grad placement rates around.</p>

14

<p>why not just research better schools. honestly your dream school or your number 1 school shoouldn't have any negatives in your eyes.</p>

15

<p>Hey-
I think you and I were are sort of coming from the same place (not just literally). I'm a pretty liberal California girl and I'm not that into sports or preppyness and all that, and I'm going to be going to Duke next year. At first I thought that Duke wouldn't fit me at all, but I visited/stayed overnight twice and the people I met were such a diverse bunch that it completely blew away my stereotypes. I applied ED but somehow the UCs didn't get my letters of rescind, and I ended up getting into UC Berkeley, which was my second choice. After visiting Duke, even when I got into Cal I knew that Duke (with smaller classes, more of a community etc) would be a better feel for me. If that helps you out at all (I'll be a freshman at Duke next year)</p>

16

<p>thoughtprocess:</p>

<p>Whether or not Duke is #1 or #10 or #50 in academics is not the issue. Bio, zoo, and enviro are pretty standard majors at any uni, as well as many LACs. For the average high achieving undergraduate, the academic offerings of the colleges are therefore similar. </p>

<p>If the OP does not want a school with a dominant greek culture (note, I said 'A dominant', not 'THE dominant'), then there are plenty of other top tier unis that will provide the academic fit as well as social fit. Slipper suggested Brown, for example. Columbia/Barnard might be worth a look for someone who wants to enjoy a city. Or check out Wash U or Emory -- the point is that all are GREAT schools, and have plenty of faculty resources to teach undergrad sciences.</p>