<p>Beavercall, the OP loses nothing by trying, but it does not cost $7,000 (the difference in cost between Duke and Michigan) to travel back and forth from Raleigh and Detroit.</p>
<p>Ehh...I think that if you can go to Duke you should. UMich is a great school and all, but you cannot deny the difference in student body that you will find at Duke. I know Alexandre will yell at me for insinuating anything, but the 5+ kids going to Mich from my school were not even qualified enough to apply to Duke (not top 15% w/SATs below 1300...) One is actually on scholarship at Mich and he was rejected from Emory early decision (and he is filthy rich). I doubt my school is a huge anomaly. I think if you're going to spend a lot more money then might as well go to one where your peers are the most qualified with a PERSONAL feel and a tight, small community where you'll get to know half your class. Plus, the facilities here are amazing and the engineering is already great and just getting better. Somehow I don't see the logic in turning down a really inexpensive amazing public school for another state school that costs practically as much as a private school. And...there's the weather!</p>
<p>the person who started this thread wanted to have the option of going into engineering.</p>
<p>so unc is out of the picture engineering-wise</p>
<p>Alright, well all I am saying is that California, Michigan, Virginia, North Carolina, and Texas are some of the most represented states among undergraduates at Duke. I know a bunch of kids who turned down in-state tuition/reduced honors tuition/no tuition at UMich, Berkeley, UCLA, Virginia (I actually know kids who turned down the Jefferson), William and Mary, UT, and Chapel Hill to come here. People at Duke got into the honors/scholarship programs at their state schools, including such esteemed institutions as those above, and came here. They turned down Business Honors at Texas, Echols at Virginia, Morse at William and Mary, etc. There is a reason.</p>
<p>personal preference. we cannot assume that what is 'right' for the people who decided to go to duke is 'right' for others. i was just trying to give the girl helpful info about engineering programs.</p>
<p>i would never have gone to duke in the first place, even if it was free... it's far too close to home.</p>
<p>What kind of engineering the OP is going to study is very relavent to this discussion.</p>
<p>incollege, you are entitled to your opinion, but your "knowing" students who got into Michigan or who picked Duke over Michigan hardly means anything. How does knowing a few students who did this or that qualify you to judge a university that has over 35,000 students and that is recognized by academics and corporate recruiters around the world as one of the top universities in the US? I picked Michigan over Duke many years ago...as did several people I know...and I paid full out-of-state tuition to attend Michigan. Does that mean Michigan is better than Duke? Of course not. The reason you know many Michigan residents who gave up a much cheaper to attend Duke is because they had the money and Duke was a change of scenery. Also, Michigan is a household university to Michigan residents. They hardly view it as an exotic and special destination. But that does not mean Michigan is inferior to Duke, because it isn't.</p>
<p>This year, 9 students from the UAE are going to Michigan (out of 16 that were admitted). Two of them turned down Cornell, another turned down Columbia another turned down Penn. </p>
<p>Getting into Duke is much harder than getting into Michigan (because Duke is much smaller) I grant that...but the quality of the students at the two schools is not that different. At Duke, 90% of the students are excellent. At Michigan, 70% of the students are excellent. </p>
<p>But in terms of reputation, in the eyes of corporate recruiters and academics, Michigan and Duke are pretty much equal. And since the OP is interested in Engineering (in which Michigan is clearly better than Duke) and seems to favor Michigan, I would say the OP should go for Michigan.</p>
<p>And one more thing, the Engineering facilities at Michigan are also amazing.</p>
<p>But I think Pratt is pushing for a major expansion and higher quality</p>
<p>Could the reason be that they can afford Duke's tuition? A lot of people who are perfectly qualified to attend Duke or Stanford or Harvard or wherever turn down acceptances to those schools to take advantages of great opportunities offered by state schools, and are perfectly rational in doing so. I have a lot of respect for Duke and the education you can get there, but my feelings have always been that there really isn't that much of a difference between a Duke experience and one at UNC/UVA/other highly-regarded state school. If people can afford to pay significantly more money to go to Duke/private school, that's great. But I don't think that middle-class students whose financial aid decisions aren't enough should lose too much sleep over the fact that they are headed to a state school. Studies have shown that your undergrad institution makes little difference in salary. And for those of us (I include myself in this group) who believe that college is more than just a means to an end (med school/law school/i-banking/whatever), the social experience at a top state school can rival that of any private school. I was accepted into Duke, Harvard, Yale, and other privates, but I decided to call Chapel Hill home not only because of the scholarship I was offered, but because I loved the atmosphere and thought that I would fit in better here than I would at one of the aforementioned private schools. So not only am I saving a ton of money, I am having an incredible college experience and receiving an excellent education! I think that people who are concerned with money should think twice before forking over many times more in tuition dollars instead of taking a scholarship or in-state tuition from a state school. In many cases the benefits cannot justify the costs.</p>
<p>Sorry...my post ended up being somewhat more tangential and philosophical than the direction of this thread warranted...didn't expect it to change quite so much when I was drafting my reply to incollege's post above</p>
<p>So is Michigan Semptitern. For example, Michigan is building an entire facility purely devoted to Biomedical Engineering and another facility devoted purely for Computer Science and Information Technologies. </p>
<p>sem, you got OWNED. alexandre, you probably could have talked me into attending michigan when i was a prefrosh a few years ago.</p>
<p>actually, no, you couldn't have, but you would have come really close!</p>
<p>i am a big fan of michigan though. funny this is on the duke forum.</p>
<p>Beaver, I have nothing but the utmost respect for Duke. It is an amazing university. Certainly as good as Michigan...in some ways better, in other ways, not quite as good. But the OP is interested in Engineering, admits to liking Michigan best and financially, Michigan would actually be cheaper. So you see, I had to speak (write) my mind... or as my Willie (Shakespeare that is) said it best, "...who could refrain that had a heart to love, and in that heart, courage to make his love known?" hehe</p>
<p>wow, so many responses! so to explain a few things..</p>
<p>the primary reason that my parents think that michigan is too expensive is because it's public but still costs that much. unc-ch out of state is much cheaper than michigan out of state. and though that doesn't matter much, my parents hold the belief that you can get a better and more personal college experience at a private university. plus of course the facts that duke is #5 in the nation and half an hour from our house help out a lot. i know my mom doesn't want me to go out of state.. she'd rather me stay close to her (and save on travel) lol. which brings up another thing..</p>
<p>i was also accepted to johns hopkins and my mom also doesn't want me to go there. basically for the same reasons as michigan. it's further away from home and just as expensive as duke. and ranked lower. but when it comes to engineering, both hopkins and michigan outrank duke. even in duke's strong point (#2 in biomed engineering), hopkins outranks it at #1! (these are all based on u.s. news by the way)</p>
<p>so based on quality of the engineering program alone, neither duke nor unc would be the best. based on other factors, they would be. it would help a whole lot if i could just decide whether i want to do engineering or not! i just don't know if i'd be good at it yet. if i did end up trying it out, i'd probably do mechanical but i don't know for sure.</p>
<p>by the way, one of the posters said that they got merit money from michigan after talking to them at campus day. do you think i could get anywhere by calling them instead? i tried calling once but i didn't get to speak to anyone important. and back then i hadn't been notified of my other acceptances so i couldn't use them as leverage.</p>
<p>as for which school "felt right," i don't really know. i never even got the chance to visit michigan and i haven't visited duke yet either. i don't know if i'd be able to survive in michigan weather :D. hopkins and unc were nice but i didn't get that "OMG I HAVE TO GO HERE" feeling that people talk about.</p>
<p>Charmed, why didn't you apply to Georgia Tech?</p>
<p>
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it would help a whole lot if i could just decide whether i want to do engineering or not! i just don't know if i'd be good at it yet. if i did end up trying it out, i'd probably do mechanical but i don't know for sure.
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</p>
<p>seems like you are a very diligent and well-rounded student to have been accepted into such great schools. a student with your talent should be able to do just about anything she wishes. if you are very interested in engineering, go for it. by the way, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING IS THE BEST!!!</p>
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the primary reason that my parents think that michigan is too expensive is because it's public but still costs that much.
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<p>michigan is an expensive public school, that much is true. they money they get from tuition is spent on keeping their facilities up-to date and making sure the students have the same kind of exposure to technology and research that students in private universities have. if you can, definitely visit the campus and take a tour. the opportunities available to michigan students are simply amazing.</p>
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but when it comes to engineering, both hopkins and michigan outrank duke.
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<p>i guess that means you should decide whether or not you want to do engineering. refer to quote # 1 response also.</p>
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plus of course the facts that duke is #5 in the nation and half an hour from our house help out a lot. i know my mom doesn't want me to go out of state.. she'd rather me stay close to her (and save on travel) lol.
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<p>yeah... i could never go to a school that cose to home, which is exactly why i chose not to go to duke or unc. i'm sure your mom will support you no matter what decision you make.</p>
<p>
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by the way, one of the posters said that they got merit money from michigan after talking to them at campus day. do you think i could get anywhere by calling them instead?
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</p>
<p>a call should be good. i received phone calls from the associate dean of undergraduate education, and he was very helpful. the school can't give additional merit scholarships to all students, but they try their best to work with your needs.</p>
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i don't know if i'd be able to survive in michigan weather.
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<p>i go to mit and at first i was afraid of cold weather in the tundra that is cambridge, ma. i was used to nice temperate raleigh weather. but if you get the "omg i have to go here" feeling, it won't matter much. look at it as a good reason to go shopping for cute winter clothes! also, you will appreciate those spring break trips to cancun so much more lol. if possible definitely try to visit the universities before may 1 to see if you would enjoy life there.</p>
<p>GOOD LUCK!</p>