<p>thanks everyone for the input :)</p>
<p>bluedog: I do plan on staying in the South, mainly because I live near Research Park in Huntsville, and it’s basically an engineer’s paradise, so you make a pretty good point. It won’t cripple my parents to send me to Duke, but I know they’d rather give me that kind of massive financial support at a graduate level. </p>
<p>mom2: as always, you are awesome 
Going to Duke for grad school does seem like the ultimate solution, especially since I love UA so much as well, and with it being so much closer to home and PAID FOR, I think it will ultimately be the best undergrad experience for me. I just don’t know if I will be able to make the cut and get into Duke’s grad school in four years… but then I guess that’s the perfect motivation to not slack off at UA. </p>
<p>I have heard AMAZING things about the Caldwell lab! If I choose UA (more and more likely by the moment) I will go ahead and enroll for this summer and hopefully get a chance to see their lab, and I will definitely do all that I can to get a position working there. I am HUGE fan of their work.</p>