<p>Hey, I am wondering, out of these schools, which seems like the best fit for me. I realize that I should really visit these schools, but the truth is that I probably won't be able to visit all of them. Anyways, here are my interests and what I want out of my undergraduate experience:
-great pre-medical program (good advising to really help me get an edge into medical school admissions, challenging but not impossible courses, competitive but not a super cutthroat environment, great place for research and summer internships)
-location in or close to a large city (not just any large city, but one where I can experience numerous different things like great shows, restaurants, sports teams, maybe even museums idk for sure but hopefully you understand somewhat what i'm talking about)
-really nice campus vibe (where the school is generally pretty close-knit and there is large involvement in school spirit and pride)
-pretty respectable status (high rank and a school where medical school admissions would be impressed if I even got just like a 3.5 or 3.6)
-nice people (I kind of already mentioned this, but i don't want a school where everyone is SUPER competitive... instead I want a school where people are pretty laid-back and nice with each other)</p>
<p>I don’t want to type a long post (I’ll let someone else do that) but, as someone who is also a prospective premed student, I would rank them as such (both for your purposes and for premed in general):</p>
<p>Harvard>Duke>Northwestern=UChicago</p>
<p>I would disagree with MW2. Harvard>UChicago>Duke>Northwestern in my opinion, but don’t expect to get into H. Chicago has some pretty harsh grading as a warning though.</p>
<p>Seeing as the OP wants a schools where “people are pretty laid-back and nice with each other” Duke is defintely better than UChicago (known as the place where fun goes to die). Also I don’t think UChicago has anywhere near as impressive a premed placement record but I could be wrong. Still, all are great schools.</p>
<p><a href=“known%20as%20the%20place%20where%20fun%20goes%20to%20die”>quote</a>
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Do you not understand humor?</p>
<p>I would say Harvard (easy to maintain high GPA)>UChicago (lower GPAs but great environment)>Duke (no city; known for preppy culture)</p>
<p>I am not sure where Northwestern fits in.</p>
<p>UChicago has an ultra competitive atmosphere and the students there are very serious (which, by my definition, isn’t fun). (I visited there and have 2 cousins that are current students there.) I’ll defer to you on Chicago being a much better city than Durham but Duke has more pride and community which is what it sounds like the OP is asking for…</p>
<p>Also Duke is much more renowned when it somes to premed programs; 85% are accepted to med schools. I don’t think these guys know what they’re talking about, but hey an opinion is an opinion.</p>
<p>What do you actually know about UChicago? Do you know what student life at UChicago is like? You sound like an ignorant fool. You are making assumptions based on a stereotype that was made because people do not understand self-deprecating humor. Duke may have more students getting into Med school; however, Duke is NOT in a city, which raider specifically said was a factor. He can get into a great med school whether he is at Duke or UChicago. He has a 0% chance of experiencing city life at Duke.</p>
<p>Let me note that UChicago would be a great school IF you know you can handle the Core. If you are very well rounded, I highly recommend it. If you are looking for your easy A and classes only in your major, do not bother with UChicago.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1043885-would-i-fit.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1043885-would-i-fit.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1010696-perspective-current-first-year.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1010696-perspective-current-first-year.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1050771-please-tell-me-all-fun-isnt-dead.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1050771-please-tell-me-all-fun-isnt-dead.html</a></p>
<p>Umm I sound like an ignorant fool? You’re the one claiming that Duke isn’t in a city when it’s in Durham which has a population of 260,000…</p>
<p>Also I already mentioned my experience with UChicago, I have two cousins who are current students there and I talked to them extensively about the school which ultimately led to me applying ED to Duke and not EA to Chicago. I have also visited and talked to numerous students there. My assessment is accurate. The big city thing was a small part of his post, the majority of which talked about laid back attitude and strong premed, fields that Duke is clearly superior in.</p>
<p>Chances of succeeding academically and also maintaining a social life are undoubtably lower at UChicago. Duke also has great athletics and there are restaurants aplenty in Durham. The tone of your posts makes you sound like a little kid; I’m surprised you were even accepted at UChicago with an attitude like that. All of my posts were neutral but You’re the one making a big deal out of this. You clearly skimmed the OP’s post because I guarantee you 9/10 people who actually have experience with the two schools would recommend Duke over UChicago for the OP’s purposes.</p>
<p>As overall universities the schools are on par as evidenced by the US News rankings, however Duke is defintely better socially and for premed.</p>
<p>Having visited both UChicago and Northwestern, I can tell you that Chicago definitely has more of an intellectual sort of academic environment (with its share of extracurriculars and minor D3 sports), whereas Northwestern is more pre-professional and well-rounded with Big Ten sports, extracurriculars, Greek life, etc. Both are really well respected academically, and both have access to hospitals for biomedical research and to Chicago for culture; however, Northwestern is in Evanston, a nice suburb, while Chicago is on the South Side in Hyde Park but near not so nice areas. Both are near the lakefront as well. In terms of students, I get the sense that both have school pride, but Chicago’s is based on the amount they study while Northwestern’s also takes into account other areas of student life. Based on your criteria, you sound like more of a Northwestern person, so if Harvard doesn’t work out (and let’s face it, it’s Harvard), that would probably be a good choice for you.</p>
<p>
Temper, temper! While all of you are no doubt puffed with pride over your EA/ED acceptances, most of you know these universities only from glossy brochures and perhaps a couple of visits. Let’s tone down the vehemence a bit. </p>
<p>As for Duke…</p>
<p>1. Great pre-medical program
Assuming you apply yourself, Duke will get you where you need to go. Pre-med advising is phenomenal, as are research opportunities. Pre-meds bug me, but most are collaborative rather than competitive. </p>
<p>2. Location in or close to a large city
As was noted, Duke is not in a thriving metropolis. I personally love the feel of a sprawling campus isolated by patches of forest, and it was one thing that initially drew me to Duke. Urban campuses simply cannot emulate that feel, although some admittedly do better with this than others (e.g. Rhodes’ campus is far prettier and less claustrophobic than Brown’s). Others prefer the bustling feel of urban campuses like BU and NYU, in which all of the resources of a large city are a subway or bus ride away.</p>
<p>Duke is not exactly in the middle of North Dakota, however, and usually there’s more than enough going on. At any given time, one has film showings, lectures, art exhibitions, parties, theatre performances, cultural festivals, etc. on campus, and there’s considerably more stuff off campus. Durham and the Triangle regularly perform extremely well in rankings of food, music, quality of life, etc. I’m in a much larger city for graduate school, and truthfully I miss the Triangle terribly…particularly the extremely low prices for tickets and other things. Large cities are great but can be very expensive for students!</p>
<p>[Duke</a> and Durham Rank Among the Best in the World | Duke & Durham](<a href=“http://durham.duke.edu/notabledurham]Duke”>Durham, Our Hometown - Duke Undergraduate Admissions)</p>
<p>**3. Really nice campus vibe **
Duke is rightfully known for this.</p>
<p>**4. Pretty respectable status **
That applies to all four schools.</p>
<p>5. Nice people
I found the people at Duke noticeably more friendly than several of the other universities to which I applied/was admitted for undergraduate or graduate work (namely Brown, Chicago, Hopkins, Penn, and Yale), but the students are generally less friendly than those of several more “southern” schools (e.g. Wake and Furman). In general, students are very friendly and outgoing.</p>
<p>Try not to be overly swayed by people saying that a particular college is “preppy” or “intellectual” or any other adjective. When a college has upwards of 6000 undergraduates, it is difficult indeed to maintain a monolithic campus culture. I turned down Chicago (my #1 choice in high school) for Duke for financial reasons and got along with the students there swimmingly; I found plenty of people with similar interests and mindsets as well as many others that challenged my thoughts and beliefs. While I’m sure at least some students at each of the four universities would absolutely hate being at any of the other three, I think most people would do quite well at any of them.</p>
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<p>That is not a major factor?</p>
<p>I am not saying that Duke is a bad school. I think Duke is a great school. I have visited and I have had family graduate from Duke. I am saying that UChicago students can be very laid back, and student s are very cooperative. If this student is genuinely interested in become a well rounded student, if he wants to learn for sake sake of learning, Chicago would be a great fit for him. Med schools will not penalize him for going to a school that is known for lower GPAs. If he is willing to put the work in, it may be a more rewarding experience in the long run.</p>
<p>MW2isawesome, please settle down. I understand that you are excited about going to Duke, but please do not elevate Duke by criticizing other schools based on stereotypes that you heard but never experienced.</p>
<p>As someone who attended Rice before transferring to Duke (transfered for the environmental sciences program at Duke), I suggest that you give Rice a hard look. It is next to the world’s largest medical center, has plenty of research opportunities for undergrads in biology/biomedical sciences (google Rice’s Bioscience Research Collaborative), located in a great part of Houston next to Rice Village/museum district, and has a very friendly student body. The school is known for the residential college system, which creates a tight-knit, collaborative, fun campus culture. 90%+ get into medical school. I think Duke will be great, as well as the other schools, but it seems that Rice would be a really good fit for you.</p>
<p>
Chicago has a well-earned reputation for being intense, and most students take pride in that. Part of it is due to its Core, part of it is due to the quarter system, and part of it is simply due to the mentality of the students it tends to attract. See, for example, this article written by a Princeton student about his visit to Chicago:</p>
<p>[Think</a> we’ve got it bad? U. Chicago has it worse - The Daily Princetonian](<a href=“http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2000/03/07/399/]Think”>http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2000/03/07/399/)</p>
<p>Chicago does not assign an insane amount of work, students do not live in the library, and students certainly take time to have fun – but it still comes nowhere close to the laid-back feel of, say, Duke or Penn (or even Swat). I was pleased to see a noticeably more relaxed student body when I visited recently than when I had visited several years prior while in high school, however, which is no doubt a side effect of Chicago’s efforts at becoming more mainstream. I assume Chicago will continue that trend. </p>
<p>
While that would be fortunate, there is relatively little evidence to suggest such is the case. Cornell and MIT release pre-med admissions data, and the average GPA of their accepted students is quite close to the national average. Chicago underperforms in law school placement for the same reason.</p>
<p>As a matter of fact, even several Chicago students and alumni encourage pre-meds to stay away unless something is strongly appealing about Chicago.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1066027-pre-med-uchicago-current-students-only.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1066027-pre-med-uchicago-current-students-only.html</a></p>
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<p>If you actually read my posts I was neutral until Anonymous1993 made a big deal out of me saying that Chicago is known as “the place where fun goes to die” which it is (known as)… and called me ignorant when I have probably spent 50 hours researching each college…</p>
<p>I most likely have more experience with UChicago than you as I have family there, have been there twice to visit, and extensively researched it in my application process. I wasn’t criticizing it (but perhaps the internet makes words sound more harsh than they are :/). However, as evidenced warblersrule86’s posts (with which I completely concur and have utilized similar resources/opinions in my college search) Chicago is much more rigorous and has inferior premed placement. I do acknowledge that anyone can have fun or succeed at any college though…</p>
<p>My top choices were very similar to the OP’s (Duke, Northwestern, UChicago, Stanford) and I aproached it with similar criteria so I think he/she can benefit from knowing my ultimate choice. </p>
<p>Btw I also agree that Rice is a good choice given the OP’s criteria.</p>
<p>Basically Duke fulfills all of the OP’s requirements except for the big city part. Some people like Durham, others don’t. Personally I would have preferred having a city like phili or chicago near by to have as a resource, but there is so much going on on campus that it really doesn’t mattter that much. Compared to the other schools you listed, Duke arguably has a better campus vibe, friendly students who are competitive without being cutthroat, and premed opportunities. Harvard obviously has a better reputation overall, and all of the other schools have solid cities that Duke lacks. However, if med school is your goal and given the other criteria you listed, there is no real way to justify choosing Chicago or Northwestern over Duke unless you simply fit/like those schools better (which really should be the biggest criteria in choosing a school). Harvard would be hard to turn down though and there is supposedly a ton of grade inflation there (which you’ll need for med school).</p>
<p>One quick note to Anonymous1993 though. Obviously Chicago is a better fit for you which is why you are defending it so ardently, and that’s fine. But I’m assuming you’re still a high school senior and as such you seem to be far too optimistic about how understanding med schools are about GPA differences. At most I’ve heard that schools with reputations as being “harder” than most such as MIT, Caltech, and Chicago get only a tiny boost in the way their GPAs are perceived, but in the end the students from schools that have grade inflation get a disproportional advantage (strictly in terms of GPA, although obviously there are many other factors that are considered). From everything I’ve heard and seen from previous Chicago students, it is not the ideal place for premed compared to other schools in its tier, although obviously students there can still be successful in getting into med schools.</p>
<p>Also to the OP, don’t put too much weight in the whole premed thing in choosing a school because more people drop out of premed each year than I can count once they actually start taking the classes and see what it entails.</p>
<p>FYI i’ve found out that gpa requirements are about the same for most med schools regardless of what school you go to…</p>