<p>Aren't these schools very closely related? I know that in terms of academics, Duke is better, but in terms of athletics, UNC is slightly better. If you were accepted by both, which college would you choose, and why?</p>
<p>Depends on what you are looking at majoring in. If you intend to major in something like engineering, Duke is a no brainer, as UNC outsourced its engineering school to NC State. If you are looking at business, for example, UNC would be the obvious choice. </p>
<p>I didn’t apply to Duke (would never go there in a million years), and love it at UNC. The atmosphere is better, academics are comparable, and the girls are much hotter. Sports are no comparison-UNC dominates in that category.</p>
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I wouldn’t say that. Carolina has a better business program by default, but an econ degree at Duke will get you just as far.</p>
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A few things to consider…
[ul][<em>]Freshmen at Duke are on a separate campus. While many Carolina freshmen are on south campus, it’s not quite as separate.
[</em>]UNC is a larger school with a greater variety of courses.
[<em>]Duke is a wealthier school with attendant perks (e.g. free printing).
[</em>]Most Duke students live on campus. Most UNC students live off campus.
[<em>]Duke is much more of a bubble than UNC.
[</em>]Advising at UNC is notoriously bad.
[<em>]Durham as a college town is notoriously bad.
[</em>]Brick and sprawling campus at UNC, Gothic and quadrangles at Duke[/ul]</p>
<p>Really, you can’t go wrong with either one. They’re only ~10 miles apart with a bus constantly running between, so there is a lot of interaction (both academic and social) between the two.</p>
<p>I’m biased, but I would chose UNC every single time, unless you are interested in engineering. Why? UNC students seem happier. I visited both schools while applying, and UNC had a better atmosphere. Just my opinion. Also, as the Daily Tar Heel pointed out, UNC has to be better if Duke’s student body president from last year was seen partying it up on Franklin Street on a Tuesday night…</p>
<p>If you know what you want to study, that can be a factor. UNC has a better Journalism department and better business better business school. And UNC’s chemistry department is one of the best in the country. There are actually four Robertson Scholars from Duke in my class right now.</p>
<p>Two last notes, free printing is at Duke, but that’s just paid for in your tuition and fees, same way as UNC. And advising has a bad reputation at UNC, but I have never had any problems with my advisor. Beyond that, the departmental advisors are all pretty awesome.</p>
<p>It’s all about what you want your college experience to be. Duke may be higher ranked in a lot of polls, but I don’t the academic experience at UNC is any less enriching. Both schools have some pretty amazing professors, and both schools have some less than stellar ones. Size is probably the biggest difference, but packerfan89 is right about the atmosphere–it’s very different. And athletics? Let’s call it like it is; at least in recent years, Carolina, hands down, has had the better athletics program. Advising is definitely hit or miss.</p>
<p>If you are choosing between the schools and you really don’t know which way to go, it is definitely worth a visit. Four years is a long time to not like your location, so it’s important to go with what works for you. And with them being so close together, it’s so easy to do both in a weekend (though you should try to come during the week to sit in on some classes and see what the campus will be like on a normal day).</p>
<p>Here are a couple of articles written by Duke students for the Duke Chronicle that speak to some of the differences between the two schools:</p>
<p>[|</a> The Chronicle](<a href=“http://dukechronicle.com/node/129733]|”>http://dukechronicle.com/node/129733)</p>
<p>[|</a> The Chronicle](<a href=“http://dukechronicle.com/node/145356]|”>http://dukechronicle.com/node/145356)</p>
<p>We have $40 of free printing included every semester, and I have rarely met people who exceed that.</p>
<p>64% of students live on campus. I believe the breakdown is 84% of first years and sophomores live on campus, then juniors and seniors mostly go to live off campus.</p>
<p>Just making sure facts are straight.</p>
<p>I would never go to Duke because I hate its campus and the people from my high school who went there. But to each their own, I guess.</p>
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If you want to get technical, it’s 55% of all undergrads living on campus.</p>
<p>I agree that it’s not really a big difference, however. A huge chunk of the off-campus crowd lives on Franklin or in frat court next to the Ackland, essentially as close to the university as possible.</p>
<p>The social scene at UNC is more spread out, however. At Duke you’d find that most parties take place on the main (west) campus, with a smaller locus on Ninth Street and at Shooters. At UNC, you’re more likely to have things going on both on campus and off, with some events taking place as far (I use the word loosely) away as Carrboro.</p>
<p>Duke is a much better school academically. Why else do you think that UNC is more fun? The kids there have less work to do. Durham is not as nice of a collegetown as chapel hill, but it’s not very far away. UNC has been better the past few years in athletics, but it looks like they’re going to drop significantly this year (I’m speaking basketball, we all already know UNC was overrated in football this year)</p>
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<p>Our football team could lose every game for the next five years and we’d still have a better team than Duke. And all of the preseason basketball rankings that I’ve seen have UNC in the top 5 or 10, well above Duke.</p>
<p>As far as athletics go, it isn’t just about the past few years. All-time, UNC is much, much better athletically than Duke.</p>
<p>wildcat343, students who have attended classes at both Duke and UNC generally report that there are no significant differences, other than that class sizes at UNC may be marginally larger. Do you think that Duke would participate in the Robertson program with UNC if the administrators at Duke thought UNC to be inferior academically to Duke? The fact is that both are great schools, either of which can provide you as much of an academic challenge as you are willing to accept.</p>
<p>How are the premed programs in both? Fair, laid-back, or cut-throat? Does Duke or UNC have better career advising for premeds? I’m an Asian valedictorian interested in becoming a physician, but I think any of the colleges would be a good fit for me, if I can get in.</p>
<p>which one do you think has a better arts program, in particular Studio Art, i know UNC offers a BFA whereas Duke has a BA. also, which has the better facilities?</p>
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<p>For your sake Wildcat, I hope you were being sarcastic and realize how ignorant that comment was.</p>
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<p>What? With Deon Thompson, Ed Davis, and Tyler Zeller returning from the championship team and the number 2 recruiting class in the country, UNC is already right in the thick of the Final Four conversation. The last time dook was not overrated in the preseason rankings was during the 03-04 season, ie the last time dook made the Final Four. Look for more of the same this year; although with Kyrie Irving signing, 2010-11 looks to be a bright season for dook.</p>
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<p>Touch</p>