<p>In terms of academics (especially in terms of biology/chemistry major for me), social scene, general campus vibe, student body, and cost, which is the better school?</p>
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<p>There I fixed it for ya. And I believe the only one who can answer that question is yourself.</p>
<p>Well, I faced this dilemma not too long ago, and I chose Duke. The reason for this is because, although Duke costs a lot more, the opportunities I saw at Duke were far greater than those at UNC.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, UNC is a good place to go for an education, but just an education is enough. You should think about your undergraduate years as the four years where you will have the most freedom to pursue your interests. After undergrad, you’ll never have the same opportunities to do things you wanna do that are irrelevant to your career. With that in mind, you should go to the place that you believe can answer all of your unique interests and passions. For me, that was Duke, and I’m not regretting that decision one bit.</p>
<p>If you wanna ask any questions about other stuff (academics, social scene, campus vibe, student body, cost, etc), feel free.</p>
<p>In terms of academics, Duke definitely has an edge over UNC in a lot of fields, and in terms of biology, I can say with confidence that Duke has a stronger program. I’m not as sure about chemistry, though. One thing to consider in terms of academics is the fact that UNC takes all your AP credits, while Duke does not. This means that you can really get ahead if you wanted to with AP tests you’ve taken (which, seeing you’re considering Duke, I’m assuming you’ve taken a lot of); a sophomore I know at UNC is currently applying to med school, because he used a lot of pre-college credit and is planning on graduating early. So this means you’ll get out of those sucky, 300+ people intro classes and get on with it, which can be very desirable. At Duke, you can only use 2 credits, and the rest is for placement, but they’re pretty anal about it, and you’ll still have to take a lot of classes that cover ‘similar material’. Though it’s just 10 times harder than you remember it from high school.</p>
<p>In terms of the ‘opportunities’, Duke has a lot to offer. Just imagine - you’re paying over 50 grand to attend a school with an undergraduate population of around 7000 at Duke, compared to less money, with more than four times the people at UNC. This means Duke has a lot of opportunities that money can buy that UNC can’t offer. </p>
<p>Well, if you were Asian like the previous poster and I, this shouldn’t be a problem at all. Just check US News and World Report’s 2011 college rankings (or any year, for that matter, since the existence of the US News and World Report college rankings). Duke is ranked top 10 in the nation for a reason. </p>
<p>I do acknowledge, though, that for the price of Carolina, the education is LEGIT. Visit the campuses, shadow some students, get to know them more, etc. Since you’re curious enough about this to take the effort and ask around, I’m sure you’ll eventually end up making the right choice. Good luck! ^_^</p>
<p>Out-of-state: I’d say go with Duke. Out-of-state admission for UNC is virtually as difficult as Duke, and the tuition is almost as much too. Duke has a stronger biology program anyways, so as long as you like both schools equally, Duke just makes more sense.</p>
<p>In-state: Wait and see what kind of financial aid you get from Duke. Duke biology is better, yes, but UNC is a highly legit school too, and it’s a great value for in-state kids. If Duke is going to be significantly more expensive than UNC, then unless there’s some other factor that attracts you to Duke, UNC is the choice that makes more sense.</p>
<p>(I may or may not know what I’m talking about, fyi)</p>
<p>When I visited, Duke as a whole seemed much more academically driven. When I visited Duke in the morning on a Saturday, there were a lot of kids in the library and a few milling around campus and socializing (on Friday night, there were definitely a lot out and about!). At UNC later that day, there were lots of kids milling around outside and only a few in the library. To me, they were very different environments.</p>
<p>At UNC, you will be with some scholars and some average/above average high school students from NC. At Duke, everyone will be a scholar. Where do you think you’d fit best?</p>
<p>It’s comparing a top-notch public to a top-notch private school. Duke generally has stronger and more rigorous academics. Both schools excel at sports and have beautiful campuses. Duke, being much more prestigious, might hold more career opportunities.</p>
<p>@hl0523–Based on my experience as a Duke student, I’m pretty sure that you didn’t see many Duke students socializing in the morning simply because most of them were sleeping. Had you visited UNC in the morning and Duke in the afternoon, your observations likely would have differed considerably. Also, if you’re looking to judge the work ethic of a particular college’s student body, Saturday is probably not the best day to visit.</p>
<p>Funkyhamster, I definitely took that into consideration, but still noted what I saw :)</p>
<p>First of all, in-state or out-of-state?</p>
<p>Duke is more prestigious academically, although UNC can hold its own. UNC is located in a much better college town, and both schools tend to do well at sports. Visit both, and see which setup you like better.</p>
<p>Even though I’m a Duke student, I have a lot of respect for UNC-CH. Chapel Hill is a beautiful town with tons to do on Franklin Street, UNC students are very friendly, the campus is beautiful, and UNC-CH has a lot of top programs. It’s a a school that I respect a lot. Although I give the edge to Duke, I do think UNC-CH has a lot of opportunities as well.</p>
<p>I don’t think you can really go wrong with either school. The only big difference is the type of program you’re trying to do, and your financial situation.</p>
<p>unc-ch is definitely good academically, but simply doesn’t have the prestige of duke (at least around here…i live in mass)
kids at my school don’t think unc-ch is prestigious. neither does my dad…he thinks so many other schools (including umich) are more prestigious than unc.
whereas everyone thinks duke is supppper prestigious.
unc-ch is a great school nonetheless. out-of-state it’s not that grea tof a deal financially…almost as expensive as a private school. but in-state it’s an incredible value for your money.</p>
<p>Having graduated from UNC Chemistry department over 20 years ago, I can tell you that UNC beats Duke on chemistry in any day. On the other hand, if you are talking about premed and medical school, Duke does have an edge. In business, both are super-duper. Depending your intended area of study, you may get different answer. To be honest, both school are great ones. You can do no wrong with your choice one way or the other. I personally love both schools. It may boil done to how much you want to pay for what you are expected to get in return. This question is the one that you can answer for yourself.</p>
<p>well in all honesty, UNC is a leader in its field, and Duke is a leader in its. I don’t know how massgirl’s family and friends feel about UNC…but a lot of OOS student practically dream of getting into the school. Its med school is ranked 20, and it has a journalism program that beats princeton. It also certainly has a lot of science programs that can match and place higher than Duke’s (top 20). In addition, UNC has produced way more Rhodes scholars than Duke. In my opinion, from what I have researched, the prestige (in science atleast) balances out for both Duke and UNC. It really depends on which school and social environment you like the best. A lot of students tend to choose schools by their recognition/rank. However, you simply cannot rank Duke and UNC lol. The reason why duke is higher ranked, is b/c it has a lot more programs/majors to offer (engineering for ex. b/c UNC doesn’t have this major). I like a lot of things about both schools, and now it just depends on how much each will back me up financially. :)</p>
<p>^What? I agree with some of what you have to say, but some of your “facts” are incorrect.</p>
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<p>I agree that UNC’s med school is top notch. But Duke’s is even better at #6 in the country.</p>
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<p>Uh…UNC has done well and is in the top 15 in the nation at producing Rhodes scholars, but it hasn’t produced “way more Rhodes scholars than Duke.” Since 1904, Duke = 39. UNC = 41. That’s pretty much the same. Since 1990 (a more reasonable timeframe to see the current state of the institutions), Duke = 20, UNC = 14. Both among the best in the nation.</p>
<p>[The</a> Rhodes Scholarships - Winner Statistics by Endorsing Institutions<a href=“+1%20this%20year”>/url</a>
[url=<a href=“Office of the American Secretary | The Rhodes Scholarships”>Office of the American Secretary | The Rhodes Scholarships]The</a> Rhodes Scholarships - Winner Statistics by Endorsing Institutions<a href=“+1%20this%20year”>/url</a></p>
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<p>UNC has 67 majors in its arts and sciences college along (excludes education, nursing, journalism, etc. that I believe you can enroll in sometime during your undergrad years). Duke has only 49 majors, including its engineering ones. So, UNC has actually more majors than Duke.</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://admissions.unc.edu/Academics/Majors/default.html]Find”>Academics - Undergraduate Admissions]Find</a> your major at Carolina](<a href=“Office of the American Secretary | The Rhodes Scholarships”>Office of the American Secretary | The Rhodes Scholarships)
[Duke</a> University Admissions: Majors & Minors](<a href=“http://admissions.duke.edu/jump/academics/majors.html]Duke”>http://admissions.duke.edu/jump/academics/majors.html)</p>
<p>I’m not saying Duke is unequivocally better than UNC. I just wanted to clear up some of that misinformation stated above.</p>
<p>well at the end, I did say that UNC and Duke are both good schools. It really doesn’t matter where you attend (duke/unc). The fit should depend on the individual. It’s just that some OOS ppl are misinformed about UNC…so that got me a little irritated at the fact that they make assumptions w/o experience. And haha, I think in my frenzy I may have exaggerated the facts. But Thks for clearing it up. I know that Duke is internationally recognized as a really great school, but UNC is awesome too in its own way. I highly respect both schools, and it’s really hard to hear anything negative about them from ppl who don’t know enough. 
I may have had my some of my stats incorrect, but I have a good sense of each university’s caliber.<br>
Many times, a lot of ppl try to familiarize an institute by numbers. Eyeballing it this way can help, but it shouldn’t make up for your entire impression of the school. Visit UNC and Duke. See what you like and see what you don’t like. Each school will have pros and cons (sometimes you may just find pros). Weighing it out this way will definitely help. Some ppl who like both campuses might go ahead and apply for the robertson scholarship (which I think the OP might be too late for since its deadline is Dec 1). This will enable one to take classes at both campuses. Such programs exemplify just how unique both universities and their experiences are. :)</p>