<p>Visited Emory and absolutely loved it. I could see myself there easily. I met many people there that I meshed with and I loved the campus, it's located in a city with vast opportunities, ranked in top 25, and it's only 3 hrs. from home....The downside is that they hardly gave me any money to go there, so I would be up to my ears in student loans. Also, my parents don't like Emory at all. Can't stand a thing about it.</p>
<p>Duke, I visited and really liked it there. It's a top-ranked school, all the people I met were very friendly, enjoyed the class I visited, camps is gorgeous, I can actually afford it. The downside for Duke is that I didn't really mesh with anyone I met in the Class of 2015 (my year) and it's 9 hours away from my hometown. When I think about Duke, I think there is a lot of potential for me to enjoy it, but I feel more nervous than excited, especially since I haven't met anyone that is going there next year.</p>
<p>UAB is my in-state safety school. 1 hr. away from home. nearly full ride, I've been accepted into the honors programs, and I've already gotten a good relationship with some of the faculty and my admissions officer, not to mention it is nationally acclaimed in the field of medicine. The downside here is that the academics won't be as challenging as they would be at Duke or Emory, and also I would really like to expand my horizons past Alabama.</p>
<p>Any opinions on where you would go if you were me would be GREATLY appreciated! This decision is really stressing me out.</p>
<p>If you like Duke and it’s way more affordable than Emory, it’s a no brainer to choose Duke over Emory. Duke is also a bit more prestigious/selective than Emory so that doesn’t hurt either.</p>
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<p>You were there for probably two days and will most likely forget everybody you met. There are plenty of opportunities to mesh with your classmates once you actually get on campus and there is a wide variety of individuals at Duke.</p>
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<p>I agree, there is something to be said for expanding your horizons and going out of your comfort zone. Plus, Duke and Emory are much more prestigious than UAB and will offer a more challenging academic environment and accessibility to more world-class facilities and research. If you end up not going into medicine, Duke and Emory will open more doors than UAB as well.</p>
<p>If you could only afford UAB, it’d be one thing, but since you said you like Duke and it’s affordable, this seems like a pretty easy choice to me. Again, while you may not have meshed with anybody in a 2-day period while most were probably on campus with their parents, it’s a much different circumstance living in dorms with 1700 of your classmates 24/7. You’ll have no problem finding friends - Duke has very high student happiness.</p>