<p>Depends on what you are studying. But if I was undeclared and had to choose, I'd say Duke.</p>
<p>I picked Duke over Berkeley.
I visited both, and it just fell into place at Duke.</p>
<p>You can see my long list of reasons why I picked Duke on the Duke message board. It's on "Why Duke" and "Duke poly sci vs. Georgetown SFS."</p>
<p>But as for why I went against Berkeley:
~It's too big. Yes yes we've all determined that it's a very hackneyed response to "what's wrong with berkeley" but I honestly do not like huge schools. This is subjective.
~Funding for undergrads. Private schools just have more money and more opportunities for undergrads.
~Too close to home.</p>
<p>Lots of people have told me that I would have loved Berkeley because it's so liberal, crazy, constantly moving, great city</p>
<p>But honestly, I want a good education and a great social environment, not a good city. For me, that meant things such as close interaction with professors (spare me the close seminars with TAs and the office hours tirade), friendly/laidback/polite students, and a relaxed environment.</p>
<p>I think a lot of your decision depends on whether you want a public or a private school education.</p>
<p>hmmm... there aren't any biased opinions for Berkeley posted, especially not the one from CalX......... calx where are you getting those stats from exactly because i for one know their alumni network extends far from just the south, considering i had two in my city write recommendations for me, and i'm pretty sure duke wouldn't be ranked as high as it is if the staff was subpar compared to other prestigous universities, considering duke is the highest ranked non-ivy according to this years u.s news (and yes i know rankings change), and how do you know no1 in europe/asia has heard of duke and knows of berkeley????????? </p>
<p>Duke if they offer you the money, if not you wouldn't be settling while at Berkeley</p>
<p>what do you even mean by "biased?" He might be wrong in places (and he is), but everyone's biased.</p>