<p>I am absolutely in love with both schools, and I am certain that I can get into med school from either of them. How do I make a decision when I'm so torn?</p>
<p>I was also admitted to the University of Chicago, but I've pretty much ruled it out because the academics seem very intimidating and I'm not the type of person who thrives in a cutthroat environment. I want to attend a school which places an emphasis on collaboration over competition.
I want to have a thriving social life but still be challenged intellectually, and I want the opportunity to interact closely with faculty members. Both Penn and Duke are renowned for their med schools and biomedical research, but where do you think it would be easier for me to get involved?
Which student body is considered more intellectual? How safe is Penn's campus compared to Duke's? Is safety a concern at either school? </p>
<p>I come from a middle class background, so I don't want to be surrounded by pretentious preps. Which school has more of those? </p>
<p>Sorry for asking so many questions!</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard from current Penn students, the environment is absolutely cutthroat for premeds here. The curves for premed classes (especially intro sciences) are incredibly difficult. If you come to Penn to do premed, be prepared for a challenge.</p>
<p>^ I seriously doubt that the competition and curves in premed classes will differ significantly between Penn and Duke. Both schools have to maintain a certain level of credibility among medical schools for their premed course grades, and both have comparable med school placement success. I wouldn’t choose one school over the other based on the purported relative difficulty of the premed courses.</p>
<p>From what I can gather, Penn is more noted for its Business programs while Duke has a far stronger science department. The choice is of your discretion, but seeing as Business tends to <em>arguably</em> be more group-oriented, it might be the way to go. But if you’re truly interested in pursuing a path of science, I would definitely go ahead with Duke.</p>
<p>Answer my question?</p>
<p>It’s frustrating that on CC everyone immediately associates Penn with being a good business school and nothing else. Its like the College doesnt even exist for some people. Unless you want to do a dual degree program, Wharton will have little, if any, influence on your premed education at Penn. So disregard the previous post.</p>
<p>If you want to know how life really is at a school, go visit and also look on a departmental websites and look at some of the courses offered. Some departments cap classes at very low numbers meaning they’re will be a lot professor-student interaction. Others are gigantic and led by TAs. If you want close interaction with faculty, then you probably should have applied to LACs or maybe do a humanities major. Premed classes at both Penn and Duke or any top university are going to be generally large.</p>
<p>I will say that if you qualify for financial aid at Penn (if you are really middle class then I would guess you do) there are many amazing work study opportunities at HUP, CHOP, and Wistar that would look great on a resume. Neither school is particularly “intellectual” - I hate that term since any top ten university is going to attract many types of students. Both are filled with a lot “pretentious preps” - almost 50 percent of students at both schools are paying the full 60 grand to attend. But I’m sure you will be find a group of people you like at both schools - it’s not that hard.</p>
<p>^I agree. Academics at both schools are top notch, so it just comes down to personal taste IMO.</p>
<p>What do you want to do in medicine and where?</p>
<p>You have two big name choices. That said, if you want to practice in the south, a big name school in the south can help you out with patients, etc. saying you’re one of them except for UNC fans and vice versa in the northeast.</p>
<p>I don’t think it makes a difference among your colleagues though.</p>
<p>Another thing in medicine is that most doctors are flocking to states like Texas and Florida where quality of life, malpractice laws, taxes and regulations are more favorable.</p>
<p>Should any of this influence your decision. Not really. Both schools are too notch IMO.</p>