May 1st is coming soon and I don't know what to do!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

Hey everyone!

I’ve been put in the unfortunately lucky position of choosing between some great colleges. I really have no clue where to go and I have about 10 days to decide so I’m getting a little nervous. My options are Yale, Duke, and UVA.

Yale has been my been my dream school ever since I remember. I believe this would be the best fit for me socially and academically; the only issue is that we’d have to take out loans of about $10k/yr (my parents have yet to give me the final number, but this is the estimate). We are currently appealing as Duke unbelievably gave us more aid than Yale. I’m going to Bulldog Days next week FWIW.

Duke- Not as expensive as Yale but not as cheap as UVA. I like the school and would be fine if I had to go there, but I just can’t seem to let go of Yale. I did go to Blue Devil Days and really enjoyed it.

UVA- I’m from Virginia so it’s much cheaper since I’m in-state, in addition, I received a full tuition scholarship, so the COA is about $12k (and I’m in the running for another scholarship that will cover the cost of the rest of the school). I’m also CSS and an Echols Scholar, so if I went I would have many opportunities and resources at my disposal. However, I’m mainly concerned that it’s a state school and has to obey rules set by the Virginia government; also, I know it has a worldwide reputation but the prestige at some of my other options is hard to ignore.

Financial Situation/Career Goals: The main dilemma is that I want to go to medical school so it would make sense to keep undergraduate costs low and choose UVA. However, I’m not completely set on medical school and I’m also interested in business and policy so what if I end up in a career where a name brand college is much more important than it is in medicine? Also in a lot of instances, 2 years for an MBA is a lot cheaper than 4 years of medical school so undergraduate debt wouldn’t matter to the same extent (I think, I could be wrong on this). I think if I chose not to do medicine, Yale and to an extent, Duke, could help me with providing prestige and other academic pathways whereas UVA wouldn’t (to the same degree that Duke and Yale could). If I were to do medicine and still go to Yale, I read a statistic that said you shouldn’t take out loans that exceed your estimated entry-level salary and the average medical school resident makes $40k/yr, so the loans should be doable.

Final thoughts: In my mind, Yale > Duke > UVA, but I know that my emotions don’t really matter in this decision as much as I would like them to matter. I’m not sure if I would sacrifice my chances of going to medical school just to go to Yale but I know that last year I was 100% set on becoming a doctor, and now I’m about 85% sure that I want to be pre-med. There’s always a chance that I could have a further change of heart in college or get weeded out by the difficult courses, so I don’t want to make my undergraduate decision with that being the number one priority, maybe the fourth priority.

Thanks for all your help and for reading through this entire post!
-Slytherclaw12

PS. I also have more reasons to choose one college over another–I’ve thought about this for a long time–but I just didn’t list all of them.

2

The reality is you have 3 great options. I know it’s painful now trying to choose between them, but all 3 are so wonderful that you will probably end up being very happy and getting a fabulous education. What you want to avoid is a situation where you are second-guessing your choice, and are not fully committed to where you end up.

I personally think Duke is every bit as good as Yale and probably stronger for premed and business, though that’s arguable. If I had a choice between Yale with debt vs. Duke with no debt I’d personally definitely choose the latter, but that’s just me. But Yale has been your “dream” school, and if you are really set on it then it may be worth the difference. But it would depend on the detailed financial breakdown, what your parents can realistically afford, and on your other reasons. See how you like Bulldog days, and if you still really feel like you would be happier at Yale than at Duke, then push hard for more financial aid to make it a simpler choice.

3

If you’re dead set on going to Yale just file an appeal with Yale financial aid telling them that Duke gave you a better offer. The Ivy League schools do a financial aid match with all other ivies, (and usually) Stanford, MIT, and Duke.

4

Yale considers home equity in their financial aid equation. Princeton and Harvard do not calculate home equity which is one of the reasons why H/P have the best financial aid offers to many families. Duke does consider some home equity but I believe it has less of an impact than Y. Duke’s financial offer for my son is also better than any of the ivies.

5

For somebody interested in med school, I’d honestly choose UVa. Great school, full ride, Echols Scholar gives you more opportunities. You’d save a bunch of money for med school and nobody cares where you did undergrad at that point anyways. UVa undergraduates still do really well in med school admissions. If you end up not doing med school, UVa is still pretty solid and should open up doors, but perhaps not quite as many as Duke and Yale.

But, it IS an emotional decision and you don’t want to live with “regret.” And this quote says it all to me: “In my mind, Yale > Duke > UVA.” So, maybe Yale?

" I like the school and would be fine if I had to go there, but I just can’t seem to let go of Yale. I did go to Blue Devil Days and really enjoyed it."
This doesn’t make it sound like you want to go to Duke.

Wherever you end up, go in with an attitude that you’re going to LOVE the place. Otherwise, it’s a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy – if you go in with the thought that you “settled,” you’ll come the conclusion that the place is sub-optimal. All three great choices, can’t go wrong. As a student in your situation, I probably would pick Yale. As a parent, I’d encourage my child to choose UVa…And Duke is a good middle ground, but I don’t know the price different between Duke and UVa in your situation so hard to say.

6

@renaissancedad I agree with you that it would be a good idea to make the decision after Bulldog Days because I might think I like Yale and then hate it. However, I was just getting really anxious and wanted to post something.

@Brycifer We’ve already appealed and gotten the aid adjusted, but they told us that they wouldn’t match Duke. In the Facebook groups, other students have been talking and it seems that overall Yale financial aid wasn’t as generous as previously. I called and they said their matching policy only pertains to peer schools, i.e. Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, and MIT.

@bluedog Sorry my post probably made it sound like I would consider Duke as a last resort. I really did enjoy BDD, and Duke honestly fulfills all the academic, extracurricular, and demographic requirements I’m looking for–I’m just worried about fitting in socially.

7

“I called and they said their matching policy only pertains to peer schools, i.e. Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, and MIT.”

It’s not directly germane to your decision, but personally that kind of arrogance really turns me off.

8

@renaissancedad Yes it bothered me as well. We’re going to meet with Financial Aid when we go for Bulldog Days because I’ve seen stories of people who have gotten Yale to match Northwestern, and other places that aren’t considered “peer schools”, so I know it’s possible.

9

^ Any top 10 school has to be considered a “peer school”. Once you get to that level of school, it’s largely a matter of personal preference and fit. To suggest otherwise indicates a bit of a disconnect with reality, IMO.

10

Based on your post, it sounds like Duke is the less attractive best friend of the girl you really want to get with. If you go with Duke, it seems like you will be living with regret for the rest of your life…

11

^ If that’s truly the way the OP feels, then I would agree with you.

12

Hello - To be honest with you, there isn’t a huge difference between Yale and Duke. However there is a big difference with UVA.

In general for students who definitely want to go to med school the best option is to go to an affordable school where you can get the highest GPA. Med school admissions are focused squarely on your GPA (particularly your science GPA), and MCAT scores. College prestige doesn’t factor much at all. You will also need to get some good letters of recommendation. If you are confident that you can get good grades (ie 3.8 and above) and get to know your professors well enough to get good letters, then UVA would be a good choice. Med school is expensive, and there aren’t many scholarships – most students take out loans. Adding to the fact that you will be doing a residency and forebearing loans, most med school graduates take 15-20 years to pay off their loans.

If for some reason you decide not to go the pre-med route, then Duke or Yale would be better options. Keep in mind that about 2/3 of students change their major during college.

13

@Slytherclaw12


[QUOTE=""]
Duke honestly fulfills all the academic, extracurricular, and demographic requirements I'm looking for--I'm just worried about fitting in socially.<<

[/QUOTE]

Huh? This makes no sense. The exact same high-achieving students that go to Yale go to Duke as well. Why would you fit in better socially at Yale than Duke?

I would lean toward Duke over Yale but you have not given solid numbers. please indicate how much each school will cost your family per year.

14

Any update on the recent financial aid meetings? To be honest, I’d say Duke + $40k overall is better than Yale, but I understand why the Yale prestige makes things a bit more complicated. Both schools have very similar job and med school placement and if you do well at either school, you’ll have very good opportunities.

If you have any specific questions about life at Duke, please ask.

15

Neither of our Echols scholars enrolled at UVA. And we live with some regret that no one attended UVA for grad school either. What a waste of a great institution. Hint. Med School and the MBA at UVA are very expensive regardless of your status as a resident. I know two or three people personally attending good med schools after taking their Echols but you have to be very self directed to learn as much in STEM at UVA in my opinion as is ideal. Personally, I would go to Duke for premed or to Yale if the price differential is not too much more. I prefer the intimacy of the housing program at Yale and the sports life at Duke. I prefer the depth of financial resources in STEM at Yale and at Duke.

Our parental regret (hindsight only) is that our Duke grad is now putting himself through night school MBA and working full time. He went the business route but what did he know at age 18? UVA has a nationally revered undergrad business program. Frankly UVA has a few terrific networks in other fields as well for post grad employment including all things Public Service and international and all financial fields. Business schools really don’t want you till you have worked. Getting work is the challenge and UVA meets that challenge very very well.

But for STEM courses, I think some students respond much better to the labs and facilities at Duke and at Yale. Med school however should not be viewed with rosy glasses. They will go after your parents’ assets till you are 28. Merit money is very hard to come by in med school --don’t kid yourself…it is not like undergrad at all…so UVA undergrad may be your only 4 years at a decent cost rate. Med school loans are deeply intimidating and should not be viewed lightly. But if you spend all your cash on Yale or Duke undergrad, can you be happy with a state med school like the Medical College of Virginia? I know a ton of graduates of the MCV program who chose it for the price point. Can you consider armed services for your medical school costs? Obviously, many roads to getting it done. Most involve major loans. Your parents will be older by then. Think realistically about your family resources. And your ability to handle large loans on your own for med school.

congrats on your lovely problem.

16

When I was at Bulldog Days, we went to the financial aid office and asked for another review and it’s now around the same price as Duke. So with that, I think I’m going to Yale!

17

@Slytherclaw12

hey, problem solved. hooray!!! and congrats

18

Congrats! happy Bulldog years wishes ahead.