@HPTD12 Thank you for your insight! Yes, the community around Penn and Amherst are certainly quite different! I will try my best to visit Amherst, though getting there will be a little more difficult than the other two. I hope that though West Philly was challenging, did you feel safe most of the time around the immediate vicinity of Penn? I visited in late July of last year and walked around campus both during the day and at night. I was pretty comfortable and understood that I need to be somewhat street savvy in the city.
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These are three great schools with totally different personalities. You’ll get good education and opportunities at all three.
Amherst is best for undecided undergrad but it can get claustrophobic due to athlete focused divide, small town location with harsh winters and difficult air travel.
Penn is Ivy, bigger city, more opportunities but too big and impersonal. Ironically, Duke even though not as awesome as other two, can be a balanced compromise for you.
Is there any cost difference? Travel is going to add some extra expense. I believe Amherst is most generous if you have demonstrated financial needs, most expensive if they don’t understand it.
If you want global name recognition then Penn is an Ivy.
Do make an effort to visit Amherst College. Though smaller than the City of Durham, the Town of Amherst is a classic college town that caters to undergraduate students. If you want to cultivate close relations with faculty and your fellow students, you will not lack things to do in Amherst.
All three of the colleges you are considering send lots of their graduates to medical school and into careers in business and finance, so I see no point in arguing that one is better than the others for career success. What you wind up doing after college will depend you, not on the name of your college. What is more important is to find the college that will encourage you to explore your interests and to succeed in your studies.
From a practical perspective, Bradley Airport (BDL) near Hartford is about 50 minutes by shuttle van from Amherst. If you are traveling from Philadelphia with a parent, it might be easiest to rent a car and drive. In any event travel to and from Amherst is manageable.
@CupCakeMuffins Thanks for your post! I’m thinking along the same lines too about Amherst’s town and the other, large-scale environment that is Philly. I’ll get a feel about how Durham is when I visit in a few weeks. For cost, there is basically no difference here among these colleges, although Amherst may have not fully understood my financial need. I think at this level of institutions we are talking about an Ivy or not won’t make or break any career application, so that brand prestige alone is a non-factor imo.
@Fifty Thanks for the tip, I’ll definitely do my best to check out Amherst! Yes, with these colleges I agree it’s more on individual performance as opposed to what the institution offers for future success. I’m just carefully evaluating where my next four years should be spent 
Do any of these schools require parent loans?
@MrClutch007 : Re: your post #38 above: While there is no wrong, poor or bad choice among your three options, I think that Duke University offers an experience that mixes the best of all three schools.
There will be plenty of time to enjoy big city life after your undergraduate years.
@austinmshauri All have unsubsidized Stafford loans.
@Publisher I agree with your point. It was probably one of the reasons I didn’t apply to any schools in NYC since I knew that I was likely going to spend quite some time in the city when I graduate. Compromises are good!
Yes certainly around the immediate campus area at Penn I felt safe.
I do strongly encourage you to visit Amherst too. It is very different and you may really like the vibe. Even if you do not attend, years later you will be glad you made the journey.
@HPTD12 Good point. Live a life with no regrets. Amherst will be on my priority list!
Tough choice, but go with fit! Opportunities from all three will be essentially the same, so the differentiator will be the environment. If you want a bigger city, think about Penn, although most graduates from Penn/Duke/Amherst go to the city anyways so you may enjoy this time in your life to enjoy something more serene and collegial. Duke and Amherst will be more collegial for sure, with the edge in terms of school spirit and campus energy and community going to Duke. In terms of student body size and subsequent undergrad attention, Penn is the largest with slightly less attention, followed by Duke, then Amherst with the smallest size and most attention. It looks like it depends what you want. Big city, more people in college years but sacrificing some intimate academics would be Penn. Small area, tight knit community and personalized experience would be Amherst. If you like aspects of both, probably Duke is the winning fit.
so @MrClutch007 what have you decided?
Hello everyone and @HPTD12!! Sorry for the hiatus on replying, but it is only fair for me to tell everybody what I have decided after all the advice I have received. That being said, I’m so thrilled to attend Duke next year! Overall, I judged size of school with location and ability to help reach the careers I want to pursue. Duke was a balanced blend of all of these factors, and the Research Triangle is among the fastest growing regions in the United States. With a favorable location and a medium sized undergrad enrollment, I feel that I will be able to access my professors without problem.
To all of you at CC, thank you so much for all of your help in this process. This community is often labeled by outsiders as “toxic”, but I really feel that everyone is here to help each other navigate through one of the most trying, but also rewarding endeavors in life. I’ll try to employ some of what I’ve learned these past few years to help others, just like you all have helped me 
Have a great summer y’all!
Appreciate you coming back to let us know your decision!
Congrats to you! I predict you’ll love it for all the reasons you mentioned, and Durham really is an awesome city. Have a great four years and do pay it forward.
You made an excellent choice! Congratulations!
Congratulations and best of luck!
Congratulations! Make us proud 
Congratulations!