<p>Either way, unregistered, it was aimed at discrediting my own opinion--an opinion which I believe I am entitled to make. All I said was that Amherst was not as prestigious as Duke and Williams in my area, and you took it upon yourself to verbally mock and attack that particular opinion of mine. Of course I got defensive--anyone would, seeing as you certainly didn't take the approach of "respectfully disagreeing" with what I had to say.</p>
<p>And, you certainly don't understand the circumstances surrounding my claim about Harvard admissions (try having a family friend who donated the football stadium who assured your acceptance if you applied EA after putting a call in to an adcom), because in all truth I fully understand the college process. And, I think you'd agree that regardless of how qualified you are, acceptance is never a sure thing based on merit; when you've got connections, however, particularly in the form of deep-pocketed alumni, the situation is entirely different. Sorry I didn't predict that someone would dig through my old posts in an attempt to discredit me--otherwise I may've been a bit more explicit in that particular post.</p>
<p>I haven't been aiming to offend (and anyone who has followed this argument could quite clearly see that the majority of "offensive" remarks have come from your end anyways), and quite frankly could care less what you think or have to say, but I didn't take well to someone mocking me (sarcastically, explicitly, whichever you'd title your approach) for expressing an opinion, particularly when I've spotted you doing the same to other people in Amherst v. Williams discussions on other threads, even if no one else has commented on your harsh attitude before.</p>
<hr>
<p>And, on a more relevant note, I'm not a Duke student just yet, Sonata, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. :) From what I've heard, though, Duke is a place for both fun and hard work--if you're worried about the atmosphere being too serious, you've got nothing to worry about at Duke.</p>
<p>So far as coming from a small school goes, my school has nothing on yours but is still pretty tiny (around 500 kids). I've been used to a small-town environment my entire life, and while I've liked it and, like you, excelled in it, I definitely took the approach of wanting a bigger environment in college. The smallest schools I looked at were Williams & Amherst (and I only ended up applying to Williams of those two), the largest Penn (I didn't want to go too big), and I definitely began to like the larger school environment better than the smaller one.</p>
<p>I definitely understand your thought of getting a better education at a LAC, however. When I looked at Williams, my dad absolutely loved it--the small class sizes, the individual focus, the tutorials--but in the end, having the most personal attention in an education isn't always enough. Ultimately, I only applied to Williams because my dad wouldn't let me -not- apply. I really felt contained in the environment of the school--it just felt so small, and after hearing from a few friends currently there who admitted that there wasn't a lot to do, I just knew I wouldn't be happy there. With Duke or any other larger university, the benefit is that you'll get an amazing education AND have the full college experience as well. My friend at Duke (and a friend who is a sophomore at Penn as well, actually) both love how they never seem to run out of people to meet, or organizations, clubs or events to go to. LACs have amazing resources given their small student body, but there are certain limits when your enrollment is as small as it is.</p>
<p>I think in the end, the difference between the quality of an education at a larger school (a top-tier one, that is) and that of an education at a LAC is minimal, and what one lacks in some areas it makes up for in others (one LAC may have more individual attention, but another university may have more medical research opportunities or better facilities and what-not). I'd say base your decision more on what sort of environment you want to be in, and if you're leaning towards going with a larger one after coming out of a small school, trust your gut. Visit both, and if you feel like there isn't much to do around Williams or Amherst (I know I did--without a car, at least, and a fair bit of travel), that may be your answer. Granted, Durham is nothing special, but Chapel Hill is great college town, and that's a very easy ride away.</p>
<p>And, on another note--if you haven't already, I'd recommend checking out the FOCUS program at Duke. It's one of the things I really like about the school: broad but interesting subject areas in clusters of around 30 students, with no more than 15 in each class. Coming from a small school, it seemed like the ideal way to make the transition into a larger university--a semester of small-group (yet intense) learning, and housing in a dorm with other members of your Focus group, already creating a smaller community unit inside of the larger dorm community.</p>