Junior looking at NC colleges...want to be near Duke (berurah's son's girlfriend!)

Parents Forum
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<p>Hi parents!</p>

<p>I have heard lots of good things about this site from my bf's mom (berurah). I am a h.s. junior, and I am now looking seriously at colleges in NC. I haven't taken my SAT or ACT yet, but I will be doing that soon. I have a 4.0 GPA so far <em>knock on wood</em> <em>lol</em> and I hope to keep it!</p>

<p>I just want to get an idea of some NC colleges, hopefully close to Duke, that I could start looking at. I am not sure yet what I want to major in, but probably something science related. </p>

<p>Any ideas you could give me would be appreciated!</p>

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<p>DMG, Welcome to CC. Lots of great schools in NC. We like Wake Forest, Davidson and Elon. Elon is probably the closest of the three to Duke. Of course, UNC-Chapel Hill is about as close as you can get to Duke without being at Duke itself. All of these schools are great, depends upon what you are looking for.</p>

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<p>Those ^ + NC State University, UNC-Asheville and Warren Wilson</p>

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<p>There are a lot of excellent colleges in North Carolina; obviously you might consider UNC. But you are taking the wrong approach to picking a college for yourself. It is not a good idea to choose a college in order to be near your bf, especially when you are 2 years apart -- keep in mind that your bf will be graduating at the end of your sophomore year. Assuming the relationship lasts, do you really want to be stuck in North Carolina at a school you don't really like while bf is out west working on a graduate degree at, say, Stanford? What if your bf opts to study abroad his junior year? -- then you will be a freshman in some school in NC you didn't really want while he's galavanting around Europe. </p>

<p>So - get out the college guide books - I think the Princeton Review 361 Best College guide is a good starting point -- and try to envision yourself at the various colleges and pick the place that is right for you. If your relationship with your bf is destined to last, it can survive geographical separation -- and if not, you will be much, much happier in the long run if you have chosen based on your needs and interests, not geography.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the welcome! I'm kinda new at this, so I appreciate all of the help I can get. I will have to wait to get my scores back before I can really make a list. I am just looking for suggestions right now, so thanks!</p>

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<p>Well, in the Triangle area, other than Duke, there's UNC-Chapel Hill (may not sit well with the boyfriend :) and NC State (Raleigh). Both are large state schools - State's undergrad population is at least 20K and UNC's is about 15K. UNC is very selective, especially if you're out of state (only 18% of undergrads are OOS). NC State has good engineering, pre-vet and other science programs, whereas UNC is liberal arts. There are also a few women's schools such as Meredith College and Peace College, both in Raleigh. However, I think Peace may still be two-year, and I've heard from some friends at Meredith that the sciences aren't that strong because many girls are just there for their Mrs. degree, haha.</p>

<p>Then, there's Elon, a smallish private school (about 4000 undergrads, I think) that's a little less than an hour from Durham. It's getting more selective, and the education is pretty good.</p>

<p>Wake Forest is about 1.5 hours west of Durham. It's about the same size as Elon and pretty selective. I go to Wake, and I like it a lot. Courses are rigorous and the academics are nothing to sneeze at. (It's still a good school...even if we did lose pitifully to Dook last Sunday. ;)</p>

<p>Davidson is probably about on par with Duke for selectivity. It's a small private school near Charlotte (~2 hours from Durham) with about 1600 students. </p>

<p>Those are the major ones that pop into my mind, although there are other schools that I'm less familar with that are good too (such as Guilford College in Greensboro and some of the other UNC branches...ECU, Appalachian, Asheville, and Wilmington, for instance). Hope that helps you some. Good luck in your search!</p>

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<p>I so agree with calmom!!! And I have a pretty good idea that Berurah might also agree. We will have to wait til she shows up and lets us all know. But do not, repeating do not pick schools because that is where your current BF attends. Rather use it as a starting place and figure out what type, programs, locations would be of interest to you as well as about 20 other factors. Keep in mind Duke is not that far south of VA which also has a tremendous amount of great schools.</p>

<p>Just be true to yourself, and it will all come together. And welcome to CC, more kiddos for all us CC parents!!!</p>

<p>WELCOME!!</p>

<p>Kat</p>

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<p>um with that 4.0 gpa, you might want to start looking at duke yourself! lol</p>

<p>(ha you can tell im a junior because i didnt capitalize anything)</p>

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<p>HEY HONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>

<p>Wow! What an absolute delight to see you make your first post here (and even more so to see that you took my advice about consulting these good folks! <em>lol</em>).</p>

<p>You know how <em>I</em> feel about you, baby :), and I know with my whole heart that you are going to have the most fabulous and successful college career EVER!</p>

<p>You know that I totally support you in looking closely at NC colleges. In fact, there are so many excellent colleges there that it is perfectly logical to study them to see if any of them would fit your needs/desires as a student.</p>

<p>That said, you have received some feedback cautioning you about seeking a college solely on the basis of its proximity to my son. I would tend to agree with those who (politely) put forth this opinion--the MOST important thing to consider is whether or not a college is right for YOU and whether or not it is a place you will feel at home and enjoy even if he were to leave the area (you, more than anyone, know his plans ;)).</p>

<p>So, of course I think you should consider NC schools--but not limit yourself to them, O.K. sweetie??</p>

<p>
[quote]
Just be true to yourself, and it will all come together. And welcome to CC, more kiddos for all us CC parents!!!

[/quote]

kat~ You're a dolly...thanks, on behalf of my "fourth daughter" for this great welcome and of course, your sage advice!!</p>

<p>
[quote]
Assuming the relationship lasts, do you really want to be stuck in North Carolina at a school you don't really like while bf is out west working on a graduate degree at, say, Stanford? What if your bf opts to study abroad his junior year? -- then you will be a freshman in some school in NC you didn't really want while he's galavanting around Europe.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>calmom~
Well, we could only hope, couldn't we?? ;)</p>

<p>I know that you do not know this simply amazing gal, but please do not underestimate her! She is a bright, energetic, involved and engaged young lady. She is involved in athletics and many other things. </p>

<p>She is decidedly NOT a follower, but rather a leader who makes the most of each moment. She even started the STD club at school!! (ummmmmm, that would be "Seize the Day" club!!) This is a young lady who would NEVER make her entire college decision based on a boy (regardless of how truly phenomenal he might be ;), though admittedly I'm a bit biased!)</p>

<p>No worries about her sulking around some NC college, pining away for my son. She's got a LIFE to live!!!! </p>

<p>~berurah, mom to her own six and this "adopted" one!</p>

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<p>Okay, good -- thanks B for giving us the "scoop" on this girl. It's so hard to tell sometimes. I'm biased towards southern LAC/small universities (and I'm originally from your neck of the woods), so I heartily second (third, fourth) the comments you've received about Wake, Elon and Davidson. Given your stats, I'm not sure Meredith, Peace and Salem would be the best fit and/or challenging enough.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Okay, good -- thanks B for giving us the "scoop" on this girl. It's so hard to tell sometimes.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>lderochi~</p>

<p>Happy to be of service! You are right...so often on these forums we only get two dimensional pictures of three dimensional people--it is easy to miss the nuances.</p>

<p>I had actually already discussed Elon and Davidson with her...there are SO many good suggestions here. It's really EXCITING! :)</p>

<p>thanks for posting! ~b.</p>

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<p>I sent you (dukemansgirl) a pm already, but I think juba2jive gave you a fairly accurate look at some of the schools in NC. Meredith actually has an outstanding music (and art) program and is much stronger academically overall than is Peace (and Peace is a 4 year college now). I had to give a presentation/talk once at Peace, and, frankly, was dumbfounded by some of the questions I was asked. Whew. Mind-boggling, really. So I agree that Peace would not be challenging. But just to set the record straight, although Elon is a fine university and growing (also with a very strong musical theatre program), it is definitely not on a par academically with either Davidson or Wake.</p>

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<p>jack~</p>

<p>Thanks so much for both posting here and for pm'ing DMG! She will be SO happy to get that! </p>

<p>Hmmmmmmmmmm, musical theatre at Elon? May have to consider that for my next two.....</p>

<p>Davidson and Wake sound like two real prospects for DMG......</p>

<p>Thanks again, ~berurah</p>

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<p>Welcome to CC dmg! </p>

<p>Berurah - it's not enough that you've got 5 more of your own to post about here??? You've now got the whole extended family!</p>

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<p>andi~</p>

<p>The plight of the "mom of many"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <em>lol</em> Now, next will be my oldest D and her bf.....<em>sigh</em> ~b.</p>

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<p>great suggestions, all, but please bear in mind my nephews' (both ACC alums) rule: you are only "allowed" ONE ACC school per family, even extended family, so that means UNC, Wake, NCState, et al are OUT. LOL</p>

<p>Best of luck to you berurah.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
great suggestions, all, but please bear in mind my nephews' (both ACC alums) rule: you are only "allowed" ONE ACC school per family, even extended family, so that means UNC, Wake, NCState, et al are OUT. LOL

[/quote]
</p>

<p>blue~</p>

<p>The ironic thing is that I think she's REALLY interested in UNC! Could you just imagine watching the games together?? <em>lol</em> </p>

<p>Thanks for the good wishes for her! fondly, ~b.</p>

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<p>bluebayou, that takes away ALL the fun!!! My DW is a Tar Heel, I'm a Blue Devil -- August will be our 19th wedding anniversary. In the extended family we have:</p>

<p>Georgia Tech
Clemson
Virginia
Another Tar Heel</p>

<p>And for good, measure, looking at the SEC and the family/extended family:</p>

<p>Florida
Georgia
South Carolina
LSU</p>

<p>I will say, however, that the angriest I have ever seen my DW is when we were dating and I scored some tickets to the UNC-Duke game for her. Not amongst the crazies in the bleachers, in the Grad School reserved seats. After spending two hours imbedded with Duke fans (and sitting with Duke fans she actually liked personally) she was furious. Livid. Red-faced. Daggers for eyes. </p>

<p>BTW Carolina WON that game by 15+ points! </p>

<p>Having learned my lesson, I then took her to a Duke-Maryland game. She hated Maryland. How bad could this be? Plenty bad. By the end of the game if Lenny Bias had asked her to elope she would have been gassing up the car. She may have hated Maryland, but on that day we clearly established that she <em>loathes</em> Duke. </p>

<p>One more. At my Duke graduation, my loving Mother-in-Law-to-be wore a "Go To Hell Duke" button in Carolina Blue on her lapel. </p>

<p>Good memories.</p>

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<p>Let me throw out another idea - road trip school. Close enough for long weekends, far enough away for completely separate experiences - U of Richmond, Furman, questionably UVa (close enough in distance, maybe a little harder to get there) W&M is also questionable - some would even include Emory, but I'm thinking closer. Just another thought.</p>

<p>Don't you live in the Midwest, B? Davidson, Elon and Wake are 3 sort of "on the way" to the airport in Charlotte.</p>

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<p>That was funny, ldreochi!</p>

<p>When my S was looking at schools, the names Wisconsin and Northwestern came up for various reasons, but he said no way was he going to any Big 10 school that wasn't Michigan (Son of 2 alumni.)</p>