<p>Gahhhhh....which one? Id love all your two cents!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>i'm debating b/t duke and penn...sorry, that doesn't help much</p>
<p>what do you want to major in? (i'm bio/history, btw)</p>
<p>yeah...im in between brown and duke. in my post ive gotten mostly brown b/c of undergrad. i dont know if that helps. gl with ur decision. have u visited any of them?? that may help ur decision</p>
<p>I'd pick Duke over the other two in a heartbeat, but I'm a little biased.</p>
<p>Seriously though, read what I said about Brown in my other post, Brown is right for some and not a good fit at all for others. I think Duke will provide more opportunities on a whole because even though it has graduate programs which Brown lacks it still is very undergrad-focused, and offers unique programs such as FOCUS. Also, if you're really into experimenting with majors and not being tied down with requirements, something that Brown obviously fosters, Duke provides this opportunity through Program II, which you should look into. I wouldn't go to Penn unless you got into Wharton and are dead-set on business, because I don't really see how Penn College beats Duke in its undergrad education, student body, resources, prestige, or any other way. Anyway, good luck deciding.</p>
<p>how can you even compare duke undergrad to brown or upenn?</p>
<p>I know, Duke's so much better!</p>
<p>Oh....and could your ignorance/bias against Duke have to do with this statement you made:</p>
<p>"daughter accepted at dartmouth,brown, william and mary, scripps, lafayette,and dickinson. waitlisted at swarthmore and upenn. <<rejected at="" duke="" and="" yale="">>. still waiting to hear from harvard, princeton, vandy, and uva."</rejected></p>
<p>ha....yes that tends to be the sentiment of some people</p>
<p>I actually had that (Duke, Penn, Brown) decision last year and I chose Duke. </p>
<p>I wasn't 100% set on any particular major, and I'm still really not (heavily leaning toward English and Poli Sci/IR though... definitely want the certificate in journalism) so I just concerned myself more with a well rounded liberal arts education. </p>
<p>Academically, they're all comparable schools-- when I was deciding, most informed adults told me that Duke is a better undergraduate educational experience. </p>
<p>Maybe hearing adults that were born and raised in NYC (like me) who now STILL live and work in NYC and went to ivy league schools like Penn and Columbia and Brown say that if they could do college all over again, they'd go to Duke so that they could go away helped tip my decision.</p>
<p>I edged Penn out because I didn't really like the area or the student body. I didn't get into my true #1 school, and I pretty much liked all 3 of these equally. I hated West Philly, I didn't think that Penn was the safest school, to be really picky: I found buildings ugly, and I thought that it would be an extension of high school. The kids at Penn to me were the exact same snobby elitists that I went to high school with and I couldn't handle that. So many kids were from my area and it just didn't feel like a logical progression for my life.</p>
<p>That left me between Brown and Durham. For surrounding area: Providence is a way cuter/cooler city than Durham ever could be. I visited on 4/20 where everyone was stoned out of their minds and it was rainy and cold (and I had visited Duke right before and it was hot and sunny). I love Brown... but I thought their academic program seemed even a little too chill for me.</p>
<p>I chose Duke because it seemed like a new experience. I also REALLY liked the PPS program which I'm now not even planning on majoring in. I liked the idea of FOCUS and Program II, I liked how freshmen live together on East Campus, I LOVE how it's such a spirited school, I wanted to become a Cameron Crazie and tent to go to basketball games, I wanted to see a school that cared about Greek life. I wanted to do the things I really didn't expect to do when I sat down to make a list of where I was applying to college. I felt that Duke would provide me with the BEST undergrad experience out of those schools. Definitely with Penn and less so with Brown, I feel that a significant portion of the u-grad life lays in the city around it. That's great. I love cities. I love culture. But I wanted a school where everyone stayed on campus, where most people live on campus most years of their life... I wanted to go to sporting events and know that a big portion of students go to events to (or just tailgate, but that's part of the excitement). I felt that Duke provided me with this stereotypically perfect college experience in an entirely new (extremely gorgeous and picturesque) setting with a different type of people. And every single day I realize how in choosing Duke I made the best decision of my life. </p>
<p>If you have specific questions, send me a PM. I've been in your very shoes. Congratulations.</p>
<p>Wow. Yet another D here who turned down P and B. And I'll just crib from bluestar7 about why. </p>
<p>Penn - "an extension of high school." Big complaint from two of my friends there because the student pop. seemed so heavily NY/LI. They both transferred out.</p>
<p>Brown - "even a little too chill for me." This was my #1 but ultimately felt I'd flounder in the open curriculum (prompting classic quote from Dad - "that's an uncharacteristically mature decision.")</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>(prompting classic quote from Dad - "that's an uncharacteristically mature decision.")</p> </blockquote>
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<p>LOL!</p>
<p>My daughter is trying to choose among Duke, Dartmouth and Georgetown. Tough choice - each seems fabulous in its own way.</p>
<p>bluestar7...your post really makes me want to choose duke over cornell and brown...all my teachers at school think that brown would be a good match for me but i just can't decide...probably visiting all three or at least duke and brown is the best option..!!</p>
<p>Hey!</p>
<p>I am in exactly the same situation as you! I have remained kinda silent on this forum for the last year or so - I think this may be my first choice. Like you guys, I share the enviable position of having acceptances from Duke, U Penn, Brown & Georgetown - But I keep swaying over my decision. I know Duke will be a lot of fun, with so many experiences to benefit from. I don't really like the atmosphere at Penn - having said that I will visit it for the first time this Friday (me being in england and all). And I am way to laid back a person to be put in a place like Brown. </p>
<p>What I like about Duke is the focus they have on undergrad. It seems that they have thought everything through to suit our needs - acedemic programs are amazing, giving us space to learn in both the great arts and sciences college (my school) or the engineering one. The really cool FOCUS program, where we can choose from so many great interdisciplinary topics, which have nothing to do with my major choice. The sports, residential life, even the weather is great.</p>
<p>I think about the greek life - is that a problem? Durham - is it really a 'boring' town? Maybe someone out there can settle these thoughts. </p>
<p>It is funny that you saw Brown in the rain, and Duke in the sun, as when I visited the schools last year the weather was exactly the same. </p>
<p>When I think of the possibility of going Cameron Crazy as a true blue devil it gives me goose bumps. Duke's school spirit goes a long way. I understand it to be school where one can really feel he or she has gone to college, with a group of cool, well rounded and generally switched on kids. </p>
<p>It is hard to send a letter of rejection to two Ivy League schools. But then again it is hard to find ways in which they beat Duke, especially when considering their undergrad programs, which are by no means 'better'. Wharton is an amazing college I know, but apart from that, Penn and Brown only seem to go further in carrying the name 'Ivy League'. For those out there who couldn't care for that name, I say let's go to Duke.</p>
<p>When I tell people about Duke, they go "great school," but I'm starting to think thats more because of its academics than its basketball team. Its hard to get over the name factor though. Saying Columbia or Cornell goes a long way. But Duke everyone knows is a great school, and now that its academics are becoming more wellknown, the name "Duke" probably gains both athletic and academic respect equally.</p>
<p>but bingocold: have you thought about brown and duke in terms of their locations?...does duke have a disadvantage in that respect?...don't get me wrong..i'm not trying to put either school down cuz i love both...but just some concerns...any ideas?</p>