After all of the decisions have come in, my daughter has finally narrowed it down to Duke and MIT. We are from NC, so geographically the weather and location of Duke is more appealing. 2 hour car ride and the ability to have her car on campus, versus 12.5 hour car ride and need to fly to get back and forth. Being at MIT would also mean that she would not be able to come home as much. Financially MIT is cheaper, but only around $5200 per year, so that is not really a contributing factor. She has grown up a die hard Duke fan and can see herself as a member of the Cameron Crazies. 
Academically she would be pursuing two different majors. She would be doing chemical engineering at MIT and biomedical engineering at Duke, with the intent to have a secondary major in chemistry. Any thoughts or insights would be appreciated.
MIT is the finest engineering school on the planet.
Both schools are very strong. She is the one who will to have to attend classes, do the homework, and take the tests.
I don’t think that there is a bad choice as long as she goes to a school where she is comfortable. MIT is higher ranked, but that doesn’t make it a better choice for any one particular student.
When I was a graduate student at a top ranked university, there were plenty of other students there who had done their undergrad at schools ranked significantly lower than Duke, and one who had done their undergrad at MIT.
If it were me, and if my daughter preferred Duke, then I might try to get them to match MIT’s offer (although admittedly MIT has more $$ in the bank available for whatever purpose they care to use it).
@DadTwoGirls Some have recommended Duke for undergrad and then MIT for Grad school as a compromise. If only we had a magic ball and could see that that could actually happen 4 years own the road. 
“When I was a graduate student at a top ranked university, there were plenty of other students there who had done their undergrad at schools ranked significantly lower than Duke, and one who had done their undergrad at MIT.”
However, we’re talking about engineering here. With the exception of one niche area, Duke is not a close peer to MIT in engineering. Also, please don’t assume that a graduate of Duke will easily get into MIT for graduate school.
@rjkofnovi What would you consider the niche area?
Biomedical Engineering. I’ve heard many times that a graduate degree in that concentration is more valued. Perhaps she can attend Duke for graduate school?
Start a new thread here and check it out:
Duke is not an engineering powerhouse compared to the top programs in the country, let along MIT!
That’s one of the strong factors for doing biomedical engineering there. She is currently out of the country on a spring break trip and said she wanted to not even think about it until she gets back. Personally, I’m ready for her to commit to one school or the other. I also prefer Duke, mainly because of the distance. But, MIT, is MIT, so that also weighs heavily.
What is her end goal? Does she want a profession as a biomedical engineer? If so, it sounds like a win (she prefers Duke), win (apparently Duke is well known for biomedical engineering?), win (you’d prefer she attend Duke).
@suzy100 She wants to do engineering 100% (of course, that could change, but she has spent the last 4 years taking engineering classes at her school through Project Lead the Way) and was leaning towards chemical engineering or biomedical. She has no intent of going to med school, but would like to work in a lab/research capability with medical processes. When she got into MIT she was over the moon ecstatic, but Duke has always been her dream school, so of course she is torn.
Duke is a fine school, but it’s not at the level of MIT. It just isn’t…
I agree Duke is not the powerhouse in engineering that MIT is. Only a few can really compare. That doesn’t mean Duke would not be a reasonable choice for other reasons (and particularly perhaps in biomedical), but is something to consider.
I agree 100%.
@hopewhite25 Has your daughter visited MIT? Presumably she has visited Duke already. Sometimes colleges that seem perfect on paper can be very off-putting in person, and one may love a college that seemed a poor fit before visiting. An overnight visit would be especially helpful.
The two universities differ in so many ways - academic diversity (STEM students at MIT vs. wide mix of arts & sciences & engineering at Duke), campus size and architecture (e.g. separate freshman campus at Duke), setting (Cambridge/Boston vs. Durham), weather, athletic scene, etc. I can’t imagine them appealing equally to the same person.
@warblersrule We have been to Duke multiple times, but have not visited MIT yet. The intent is to visit in a couple weeks, because she has conflicts with their admitted students program. She really wants the full college experience and can herself thriving at Duke because of all the other intangibles that it offers. Weather wise, she is a southern girl at heart and I don’t know how she would handle the cold winters up north. She applied to MIT due to their strength in engineering and she has always wanted to attend Duke. I’m sure once she gets home from her spring break trip that some serious discussions will be taking place.
MIT is undeniably world class but BME at Duke is nothing to sneeze at. Seems like you/your daughter prefer Duke based on fit. I firmly believe that students are more likely to reach their potential when they are happy.
Also, it is worth noting that some long-time contributors like rjkofnovi have an axe to grind against Duke. I would take everything that he says (as far as Duke is concerned) with a HUGE pinch of salt. Refer to his post history if you want evidence of his bias.
I have no qualms disclosing the fact that I have ties to Duke so you should take that into account when you consider my opinion on the matter. The problem with people like rjkofnovi is that they pretend to be unbiased. Quite insidious!
hopewhite25. While these schools are not peers in engineering, I agree with warblersrules advice. Glad to see you’ll be checking out MIT. You should be able to make an informed decision after that.
Thanks for everyone’s input. Daughter returned from Iceland and has committed to Duke. MIT is a fantastic school and she was honored to be admitted, but she has dreamed of Duke since she was a little girl. Being in Iceland for a week also made her realize that she is not a cold weather girl and could not see herself living in a cold environment for an extended period of time. I am also happy to have her 2 hours away from home. I am positive that she will thrive!