Duke. Go to Berkeley for grad school 
Caltech is a major outlier because of its extremely narrow focus.
Berkeley at 21 makes a lot of sense (at the undergraduate level). Look at Berkeley’s standardized test scores, selectivity, yield, etc. There are easily 20 schools that are better on all those metrics (not including LACs).
Also look at how many Berkeley graduates go on to win prestigious post-graduate scholarships.
Actually, Berkeley’s a superb university. But this student has a full tuition scholarship to Duke. When choosing between two equally prestigious colleges, if one is cheaper and is a good fit, then it’s not a difficult choice.
Berkeley global reputation is ranked 6th… Duke 28.
In terms of nobel prize winners Berkeley ranks 6th among all colleges… and 4th since 2000. Duke 49.
that being said… full ride is tempting at Duke… but Berkeley is simply the better brand globally and an academic powerhouse.
So you would pick Berkeley over Caltech because Berkeley has a better “global reputation” and more Nobel laureates?
Even without the full ride. Duke over UCB all day long. The resources, quality of classmates, recruiting (in virtually every major field), network / alumni are all on a different level. UCB Good / Duke Great!
thank you all for your help. Thankfully I have until May 1st to decide.