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Coming from somebody who can’t type out an argument…:rolleyes:</p>
<p>It’s one criteria listed…not the only criteria. For an 18 year old man, hot girls can be important.</p>
<p>“Seriously, though, Duke has some hot girls, but UNC has loads and loads of hot girls (probably because it is a lot bigger). Combine that with a 60/40 girl/guy ratio, and you have a recipe for success.”</p>
<p>There must be a bus you can take to get to hot girls at UNC. LOL</p>
<p>I was actually reading Cuse0507’s response and considering his response. When you add something like ‘hot girls’ it makes you sound a bit shallow. Readers are less likely to take the rest of your points seriously with that addition. I didn’t type out an argument because I thought other posters were making a fine case for Duke. I didn’t need to.
It sounds like you all are having fun with the debate. Enjoy!
Peace.</p>
<p>I’m much more familiar with the ins and outs of each university than anyone else on CC, I think. I regularly took classes at both, interned at both the Duke and UNC art museums, had quite a few friends at UNC, did research with professors at both, worked with a corresponding student group at UNC for jointly held events, dated a UNC guy, etc.</p>
<p>So…</p>
<p>I disagree with much of Cuse’s post. Carolina students aren’t any happier than Duke students, and the social scenes are pretty much a wash. I vehemently dispute that UNC has the prettier campus, but everyone has their own ideas about that (though I do like the smoking ban!). I would certainly concede, however, that Chapel Hill (and Carrboro) is a nicer place to be than Durham. Here’s a brief rundown… </p>
<p>Academics - Carolina is roughly three times the size of Duke, and correspondingly the courses are larger, though very small courses can certainly still be found. On the flip side, Carolina’s large size means it has a broader variety of student groups and esoteric courses (e.g. Old Irish) available.</p>
<p>Housing - At Duke, all freshmen are housed on East, a separate campus with its own library, dining hall, gym, music facilities, etc. Freshmen at Carolina are often placed on south campus, but they’re not separated the way Duke freshmen are. Personally, I loved being on a campus with other freshmen, but others may not.</p>
<p>Diversity - Both are pretty racially and socioeconomically diverse. Duke wins in geographic diversity, as UNC is bound to have 80-85% of its student body come from NC. </p>
<p>Support - Duke has a much greater system of support. Pregrad/premed/prelaw/etc. advising starts at orientation, and each office is willing to walk you through every step during your four years. The same resources exist at UNC, but you have to be more proactive in seeking them out. Advising at Duke could use work, in my opinion, but advising at UNC gets almost unanimously bad reviews (Carolina’s sole major weakness).</p>
<p>Food - Tied. Duke has a greater variety of places to eat on campus, and the merchants on points system is nice, but Chapel Hill has a lot of really great places to eat. The food at UNC is pretty good due to this stiff competition.</p>
<p>Setting - Duke’s location definitely gets a bad rap. I’m actually pretty fond of 9th street, and it has the basic amenities you’d need. Brightleaf Square, DPAC, Northgate, etc. are also nice. UNC definitely wins in this category, though. Franklin has a lot of cool places to eat and shop, and though it can get kind of old by one’s fourth year, it’s still a pretty cool town. On the flip side, though, Chapel Hill is only a 20-25 minute ride away from Duke, so it’s no big deal to hop on the Robertson and spend a few hours over there. </p>
<p>I love each university a lot, and I firmly believe there is no bad decision here. Duke is probably the safer option in terms of being coddled, but a go-getter can get an equally good education at UNC. </p>
<p>I agree with Cuse; it might help to know what you plan to study. Both are strong in most areas, but there are a few fields in which one is much stronger than the other.</p>
<p>Can’t disagree with much of what warblers said, although I’ve never had a problem with advising at UNC. As far as housing goes, the Duke students that I’ve spoken with have mentioned that Dukies are supposed to live on-campus for three years. That seems pretty excessive, and while on-campus living is probably great at Duke (it is great at UNC as well), having the option to live off-campus beginning with your second year at UNC is huge. </p>
<p>Duke has some good social events/concerts (LDOC is huge, for example), but UNC’s bars and nightlife are what made me say that UNC’s social scene is better. Obviously, both schools have large Greek scenes that throw huge parties. UNC’s frats have their own houses and are located either on or just off of Franklin Street, while Duke’s frats are often located in residence halls. I’m not sure how Duke’s situation works, but I think UNC’s greek system is great. I know that Duke has a wet campus, which probably helps the social scene there as well, though.</p>
<p>First, thanks, this is all incredibly helpful. I’m thinking right now pre-med, but that could change. At UNC I’m in the Honors College (with a merit scholarship, small) so my classes would be smaller than most, and my housing good. It’s really reassuring to hear all this great stuff about Duke. I have a lot of friends at UNC and they are all saying ‘UNC.’ From my visits to both campuses, UNC seemed a happier place but from what you guys are saying that’s not necessarily so.</p>
<p>For premed I would certainly recommend UNC. UNC has a very strong premed program, and is much less expensive. Go to UNC and save the money for grad school. :)</p>
<p>Duke>unc-ch</p>
<p>Cuse, what are you talking about. For premed, come to Duke.</p>
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<p>Chapel Hill is better known for humanities than math/science, but that doesn’t make it better than Duke. </p>
<p>Do you want to work in the South in the future? If not, the prestige gap between Chapel Hill (prestige, of course, having little to do with quality of education) and Duke will widen a little bit.</p>
<p>“Duke is probably the safer option in terms of being coddled, but a go-getter can get an equally good education at UNC.” </p>
<p>This is so true of so many top notched Public vs Private (Stanford - Cal, Northwestern vs Illinois, Texas vs Rice)</p>
<p>I don’t see the gap as wide as being represented - UNC is a top 5 public and fine for pre-med. You can also take class at BOTH universities and the integration is only increasing. I also think the honors college brings UNC a little closer. If the cost difference is more than 25-30K for all 4 years than I would go with UNC.</p>
<p>Eatsalot,</p>
<p>UNC has a top notch medical center, friendly students, great advising and an excellent triangle location as well. The differences between both programs are negligible apart from UNC being much more affordable. It makes the most sense to choose UNC’s very strong premed program and save the big bucks for grad school.</p>
<p>I think it depends on how big the cost difference is and which campus culture you think fits you better.</p>
<p>Duke has a stronger academic program overall, which in practical terms means that you’ll have smaller classes and better advising. But UNC Honors removes some of these differences.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the question is whether you think any benefit you’ll get from somewhat smaller classes and somewhat better advising is really worth the cost difference between the schools.</p>
<p>Just took a look at the USNWR med school rankings, which are pretty much useless for your situation (undergrad, potentially premed) but still testify as to the strength of both schools.</p>
<p>For research, USNWR has Duke’s Medical School ranked #6 and UNC’s ranked #20. For primary care, USNWR has UNC’s Medical School ranked #2 and Duke’s ranked #42. Obviously, the medical world knows both schools well, so you shouldn’t be worried about whether school A or school B will offer you better prospects for grad school-they both will.</p>
<p>That said, you should pay more attention to the things that will matter to you as an undergrad: where do you fit in more? Which campus and town do you like better? Which social and athletic scene would you prefer? Etc…</p>
<p>So what did you end up choosing?</p>
<p>Duke > UNC, and this is coming from a Carolina student. I’m frequently on Duke’s campus and the students there are not miserable, nor is their social life lacking. They have a thriving social life so that should not be a concern. Duke is consistently ranked higher along with the Ivies, and in the long run, the status of such a prestigious school and the resources offered are going to take you very far.</p>
<p>In my opinion, UNC>Duke, but that’s just my opinion.</p>
<p>Fortunately Pierre, nobody cares about your opinion. You are irrelevant.</p>
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<p>This is why people don’t like Duke. </p>
<p>I care about your opinion, Pierre, mainly because its right.</p>
<p>The PAof Duke at USNWR is also under the opinion that Duke is the same academically as Michigan with a 4.4 rating. A very good rating for sure, but certainly not high enough to pay way more for a resident of the state of NC. UNC is very good as well.</p>