<p>Accepted at both. What do you think? I have a hard time making a decision.</p>
<p>A little more information on your interests and preferences would help..</p>
<p>Well, you ARE asking this question on a Duke forum...so I hope you're not surprised when I say choose Duke</p>
<p>One thing that turned me off about Northwestern was the quarter system. I have lots of friends that go there and it seems like they have mid-terms every day because their terms are so short. Plus, they don't get out til the end of June, nearly two full months after Duke gets out. I personally like getting an early start on summer jobs. Obviously, quarter vs. semester is personal preference and not that hugest deal, but I didn't want to take that many exams (plus, I didn't want to go to school 10 min away from my house ;) and somewhere I had already taken courses). Both great schools though! And there are definitely positives and negatives about both and it's about match. I can say from experience than Evanston >> Durham, North Carolina weather >> Chicago weather, Duke facilities slightly better than Northwestern's, Northwestern football > Duke football, Duke basketball >> Northwestern b-ball, Northwestern drama >> Duke, etc etc.</p>
<p>Also, if you're interested in pre-med (don't know if you are), another turn off for Northwestern for me is the fact that their med ctr is in Chicago on a different campus. So, if you want to do medical research as an undergrad, I imagine it's very difficult. Duke's medical campus is adjacent to the rest of the campus.</p>
<p>Evanston is also more expensive than Durham, but worth the cost, because it's a much nicer city with a lot more to do (within walking distance!). Being along the lakefront is nice too, and I absolutely love Chicago, which isn't too far away (although the "L" absolutely takes forever). I could give even more comparisons, but I think that's enough. Visit both. See what you like. Go with your gut.</p>
<p>i would personally pick duke over nu, mainly bc of the amazing bball and sports scene. both schools are awesome socially, yet have very different social atmosphere. NU, being located at north suburb of Chicago, gives you virtually endless options for dining, pro sports (cubs, bulls, bears), bars, and many others. Also, Chicago is one of the few cities that is very clean and nice, and most people like the city much better than say, Philadelphia or Detroit.</p>
<p>However, Duke provides what i consider more of a 'traditional' college feel, since its campus isn't adjacent to big urban region and all the college students live and do everything together within the campus. In addition, duke's sports programs should be really exciting and enjoyable, esp. to many college sports fanatics. Also, my observation is that duke's student body is a bit more cohesive than NU's bc NU's students, in many occasions, go out to the city and do their own thing as groups. On the other hand, Duke's students, i thought, were a bit more interactive within their school boundary. Although both schools are excellent, it depends on what social setting and atmosphere that you like in choosing between these two.</p>
<p>Depends upon several factors that you have not shared in your original post. For example, what do you want to study? What are your interests? Where do you live, regionally speaking, and what is your tolerance for cold weather? Evanston & Chicago are much nicer than is the Durham area, but the weather is better at Duke. The quarter system at Northwestern is not for the academically squemish as four courses per term--not the usual three courses as with most trimester/quarter system schools--is the norm.</p>
<p>If you have THAT difficult of a time, I would tell you to pick which school would be cheaper to attend.</p>
<p>"If you have THAT difficult of a time, I would tell you to pick which school would be cheaper to attend."</p>
<p>Haha. But that isn't always easy either. My Northwestern and Duke aid packages are within a thousand dollars of one another. It's rather freaky.</p>
<p>Wow really? NU must've gone completely wacky, cuz mine are 9k apart (in grant money).</p>
<p>Thanks all the input. Money wise, it is big big different for some reasons. You are talking about $18K different...</p>
<p>i am a bit concern about the city - Durham from what i heard...is it like New Haven, Province? My focus will likely in international relations and political science.</p>
<p>Durham is not the greatest town; you'll probably spend almost all of your time on campus. It's not necessarily unsafe if you're smart (i.e. don't go wandering around Durham late night by yourself), but there's just not much to do. That's one of my biggest gripes about Duke.</p>
<p>Anyway, I chose Duke over NU last year too. The impression I got was that Duke seemed to care more about their undergrads, plus NU's strongest departments (journalism, theater, etc.) weren't what I was going to be pursuing.</p>
<p>Also consider the social scene at Duke; it's very Greek oriented. I'll be the first to admit I'm not the biggest fan of it, but everyone finds their niche wherever they go.</p>
<p>If you want any more info, let me know. I'd be glad to talk more about these two schools as I researched them quite a bit last year...but it's getting late :)</p>
<p>Yeah, CNI. I guess it's pretty common to have near-similar aid packages for both schools. In fact, I have the identical aid packages for NU and Duke: $0 each :(</p>
<p>Actually, I never applied to NU, but the joke wouldn't work otherwise.</p>
<p>Godevils.. thank you...just heard back about Berkeley too..accepted with Regents scholarship...it is better to have choices than without!!</p>
<p>I noticed the acceptance rate at NU is abouut 10% higher..yet people say they are equally hard to get into? Why so?</p>
<p>NU acceptance rate: 27 percent, Duke acceptance rate: 23 percent</p>
<p>SAT range for NU: 1350-1520
SAT range for Duke: 1340-1540</p>
<p>They appear to be close in terms of selectivity.</p>
<p>yes, parts of Durham are sketchy. But as to "Spending most of your time on campus" at Duke, keep in mind that 9th street is a short walk from East Campus, and there is a nice assortment of restaurants, shops, etc. in the 9th street area. If you or a friend has a car (and one of your friends will probably have a car), there are lots of other options.</p>
<p>Going Greek is not the only way to enjoy your Duke experience. And the frats have to include all students who want to to attend their parties. So you do not need to belong to a frat to party with your friends.</p>
<p>How about comparing Duke and Northwestern from the BME and Business prospective?</p>
<p>Duke's BME is one of the best programs in the nation (rivaled by JHU).</p>
<p>From a general view, Northwestern's engineering program is "better" if you look at rankings; however, in biomedical engineering, Duke is considered one of -- if not -- the best.</p>
<p>From a business perspective:</p>
<p>Duke is stronger on Wall Street (IBD, S&T, PE), and I would assume NW is stronger in Chicago.</p>
<p>In consulting, both schools are great, but I think NW has a slight edge...I am not positive however</p>