Hi everyone. I am a rising senior trying to decide where to apply and whether or not to do early decision. I want to go to grad school and do something in science research and probably get a PhD. I think that I have the grades and test scores to at least be competitive at some prestigious schools and I might apply ED to Duke, but I also like UW Madison and it’s my state school. Will it help my career and grad school chances to try to get into a more prestigious school instead of going to state school?
A school like UWisconsin can get you where you want to go in life. What is important is what you achieve at college. Wherever you go, work hard - to not only get a strong GPA - but to also develop relationships with professors, do research etc.
In general I only recommend applying ED if ALL of the following are true:
–One college is your absolute top choice;
–That college appears affordable;
–And your family has no interest/need to compare financial offers from different colleges.
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You are fortunate to have UW. Go for it! My husband went there and got his master’s at UT Austin in a high ranked engineering program.
Coincidentally my grandfather traveled from Texas to Wisconsin to get his master’s degree at UW in 1919. 
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University of Wisconsin is a first rate flagship research university. You are SO lucky to have it as an instate and likely affordable option.
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Which area of science interests you the most?
I’m not super sure, but at the moment biology, physics, maybe biomedical engineering
My husband and I both went to our state flagship university for undergrad and went on to get doctorates in science from Ivy League schools. Be proactive and see if you can work in a lab. If you do well and look for opportunities you will be fine!
As aside, my husband turned down offers at both Duke and U Chicago to attend our state school.
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We live in Wisconsin and I agree with the other posters that you can get a lot of bang for your buck at Madison. It’s a great school and you will likely have good PhD options if you are proactive and take advantage of the opportunities there. Also, there is a large cost difference between Wisconsin in-state and Duke!
another vote for UW here. besides the fact that it has a great academic rep and is quite strong in sciences, it’s also a happy place and students love it there. winter is an issue, and that’s where Duke has it beat, I guess.
Now if your goal is wall street or high finance, that’s where the name brand of a Duke or an Ivy might open more doors.
As a suggestion, when looking out-of-state, consider schools that might offer a qualitative alternative to both UW and Duke. For example, colleges such as Pomona, Reed, Hamilton, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Haverford offer excellent programs and research opportunities in fields such as physics and biology while maintaining an exclusive focus on undergraduates.
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As an alumnus of UW, I am incredibly biased in issues related to it, so I’ll recuse myself from making a recommendation. I view the world through cardinal-colored glasses.
Both are great schools. If you are accepted to both, choose based on cost and fit.
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I couldn’t agree more; LACs are a great place to major in the natural sciences. Personally, I started out majoring in biology at Duke (with a focus on oceanography) but wound up switching to earth & ocean sciences because I found the biology department so large and impersonal.
There are quite a few excellent LACs in the Midwest and elsewhere with strong science programs (Lawrence U, Oberlin, Macalester, Carleton, etc.), many of which offer merit aid.
The New College of Florida is also worth a look, a public LAC with generous merit aid that reduces the cost of attendance for OOS students to a max of about $25K a year.
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