Duke vs Princeton

<p>I’ll PM you. Thanks for your input.</p>

<p>I can’t write a reply back to you because I don’t have enough posts on this website, but I’ll send you a Facebook message instead.</p>

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<p>What are some of these opportunities?</p>

<p>I’ve already spoken with the OP privately. But as I mentioned previously, I think they’re both phenomenal schools with very similar cultures. From my observations though, Princeton has a leg up both in terms of resources allocated to undergraduates and in terms of the caliber of professors/speakers the university attracts. Obviously Duke’s a wonderful school as well as I (and you, as I deduced from your posting history) know from first-hand experience - I just personally would choose Princeton, especially given that its the cheaper option in this situation.</p>

<p>EDIT: OP, as I mentioned earlier, I have no regrets about choosing Duke. Just going to throw that out there as well.</p>

<p>I would agree with that-Princeton is the most undergraduate focused research university in the country. But then again, Duke’s Neuroscience department seems to offer plenty of research opportunities to undergraduates and Princeton doesn’t offer a major/minor in this department so that’s something to consider.</p>

<p>[People</a> | Undergraduate Neuroscience | Duke University](<a href=“http://dibs.duke.edu/education/undergraduate-neuroscience/people]People”>http://dibs.duke.edu/education/undergraduate-neuroscience/people)</p>

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<p>Princeton doesn’t have a law, medical, or business school. It has more undergraduates than graduate students. However, it also has the 2nd highest percentage of large classes (> 50 students) in the Ivy League (after Cornell.) Some sample class sizes:</p>

<p>Intro to Microeconomics (Spring 2013), 422 students
Intro to Psychology (Spring (2013), 171 students
General Chemistry I (Fall 2012), 189 students
Organic Chemistry I (Fall 2012), 274 students
General Computer Science (Fall 2012), 269 students
United States Since 1974 (Fall 2012), 184 students
American Cinema (Fall 2012), 360 students</p>

<p>Some of these courses may have small break-out sections. Still, those are pretty big lecture sizes for a super-selective private school.</p>

<p>You’ll make so much cake from either school if you graduate with a decent GPA. Just pick wherever you like the most!</p>

<p>The lack of a neuroscience program at Princeton could be an issue - I admittedly overlooked that point. However, there is a certificate program at Princeton in neuroscience - one of my friends is in the process of completing the program. Also, Duke’s neuroscience program is fairly new to my knowledge. On the plus side, Duke has a neuroscience-related undergraduate publication, but Princeton has the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, so the OP can’t lose either way. It’s a win/win situation, imo.</p>

<p>From what I’ve gathered, Duke has more opportunities in neuroscience (including the particularly unique FOCUS clusters.) This is just my opinion though.</p>

<p>Duke is home to some of the world’s most highly regarded neuroscientists. People like Miguel Nicolelis are expanding the frontiers of knowledge. But then again, I’m sure that Princeton is great too. You do seem to prefer Duke though. Don’t let anyone tell you that your intuition is flawed.</p>

<p>Environment - Princeton
Academics- Princeton
Prestige- Princeton
Cost- Princeton</p>

<p>Eh… I’m not sure it’s that simple.</p>

<p>To add to this discussion, I know that Duke has a “Create Your Own Major” option called Program II which you could utilize to create a more Neuroscience-specific academic curriculum that would allow you to creatively utilize the resources of Duke’s Biology department, Psychology department, and Medical School. As long as you can justify why no currently offered Duke major would be best suited to your academic interests, you will be assigned and adviser who will help you set up a course of study that better matches your interests.</p>

<p>I’m not sure if Princeton offers a similar option especially since it doesn’t have a Medical School. You obviously have no wrong choice to make here-good luck with the big decision! :)</p>

<p>Informative, it’s actually more like this.</p>

<p>Environment-Subjective
Academics-Marginal difference (if any)
Prestige-Princeton</p>

<p>“Academics-Marginal difference (if any)”</p>

<p>Princeton>Duke for academics.</p>

<p>Debatable, it depends on department; in addition, the difference is negligible.</p>

<p>PA scores at USNWR for 2013</p>

<p>Princeton 4.8
Duke 4.5</p>

<p>There is a difference and it is not negligible.</p>

<p>Too bad university presidents don’t get to decide who gets admitted into the nation’s graduate programs or where certain employers hire…the Peer Assessment survey is an outdated metric that allows shallow university leaders to stroke their ego.</p>

<p>^^^Especially when the metric doesn’t go your way :)</p>

<p>LOL if you think Duke is even comparable to Princeton in terms of academics. Wow. You discredit yourself immediately with such absurdity.</p>