Penn Vs Duke ED?? I really can't make up my mind :'(

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>After talking with my parents, we feel that it would be best to apply ED to Penn or Duke this fall. But, none of us have no idea which one will be better. I'll be trying premed at either school</p>

<p>For Penn, I'd be applying to LSM/M&T with backup CAS</p>

<p>For Duke, I'd be applying to Pratt BME</p>

<p>(SIDE NOTE: Do you think it's wise for me to apply as an engineering major? I don't have any ECs that are specifically engineering based.)</p>

<p>I like the fact that Penn is in a city campus. I also like the prospect (however slim) that I will have the chance to earn two degrees. I also like how interdisciplinary it is. My parents also believe that the Penn name will carry more weight in the future if I decide medicine is not the way I want to go. It is also close to home (about 4 hours) and it is close to NYC. But, some of the things I don't like are for one I have heard that the school spirit is not as tremendous as it is at Duke. And also, I'm not sure I'm ready for city life after growing up in the suburbs.</p>

<p>I like Duke because first off it is the 3rd best BME program in the nation. Also, I have read that if I do not like BME, transferring to Trinity is a breeze. I also like how interdisciplinary Duke is. The campus is gorgeous and the research triangle is a great place to get lab experience. It is also in a suburban environment, which I'm used to. Some of the things that scare me is that if I don't like BME, there isn't another field that Duke is very well known for (PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG). Also, my parents feel that the Duke name still isn't at the level of an ivy.</p>

<p>Also, the ED stats have me a bit worried. Penn accepted 24.9% early while Duke accepted 29.6% early; past stats have also shown that Pratt has had about a 1-2% higher acceptance rate from Trinity. But Penn also accepted more of its class early than Duke.</p>

<p>Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Here are stats for reference:</p>

<p>Stats:
-GPA:4.4 (W); no unweighted; All As so far
-PSAT: 223
-SAT: 2290
-SAT II: Bio (740), Math 2 (790), World History (770)</p>

<p>Classes:</p>

<p>11th (current):
AP Chem (A)
AP Lang (A)
AP Physics B (A)
AP Calc BC (A)
US History HN (A)
Spanish 4 (A)
Adv Comp 2 (A)
(FYI- 4 AP is the max juniors take)</p>

<p>12th:
AP Physics C
AP Lit
AP Gov and AP Comp Gov
AP Psych
Mulitvar Calc / Linear Algebra
Spanish 5
Adv Comp 3</p>

<p>ECs:
MUN (9-12) Secretary 11th, Pres/VP 12th
Debate (10-12) Varsity team and some tournament awards
Mu Alpha Theta (10-12) leadership in 11th, Pres (most likely) 12th
Writing Center-Peer Tutor and I have a nondescript leadership pos.
Science Honor Society (11-12) Will run for position
National Honor Society (11-12) Will run for position
Volunteer at hospital (on track for around 200 hrs by application time)
Rec League Basketball (7 years, 5 championships)
Rec League Basketball Coach for young kids (75 hrs)</p>

<p>Internship with Grameen Bank and Yunus Center (Noble Prize Winner)
Shadowed some businesspeople at a local business
Science Internship this summer at Prestigious university</p>

<p>-Academic Honor Roll
-2012 Gov. School as a sophomore</p>

2

<p>Either one of them would be good. You should visit each school before you apply, and determine which campus gives you the best fit.</p>

3

<p>Hi Fly,</p>

<p>I’ve already visited both and both campuses have their charm. Penn is is more urban and the surrounding area is walkable. But, Duke is absolutely gorgeous and I like the idea of the campus “bubble”</p>

<p>Also, I just wanted to know whether or not it’s a good idea to apply BME due to my lack of explicit engineering ECs. I do have coursework that is concurrent with people who want to go into engineering though.</p>

4

<p>ED is for a college that is your clear first choice, and where you will not need to compare financial aid offers with other colleges. Looks like you do not have a clear first choice.</p>

5

<p>Agree with ucbalumnus. You’re not head over heels in love with a school, so you shouldn’t be applying anywhere ED. </p>

<p>It also looks like you want to apply to an SCEA school, in which case you won’t be able to apply ED.</p>

6

<p>I’m confused. You want to do pre-med. One school you want to do LSM or M&T, the other you want to do BME… What??</p>

<p>1) What school you go to does not matter for med school admissions (assuming both schools are well respected and have reasonable academic standards)
2) The fact that Duke isn’t well known for another field means nothing
3) To get into med school, you want to get a high GPA and MCAT. Will M&T prepare you for the MCAT? Is a high GPA at duke BME attainable?
4) Don’t apply ED unless you’re 99% sold on a university. You are not.</p>

<p>I would recommend figuring out if you want to do medicine, engineering, or business. Then re-evaluate.</p>

7

<p>Just want to throw this out there…but you probably don’t want to listen to the people telling you not to apply ED anywhere. No offense, guys. You will have to make a decision between the two schools at some point (or, at least you hope…), so why would you pass up the huge advantage of ED? I had a similar issue with deciding between two schools that I loved equally for ED. I picked one and went with it. I would suggest that you do the same. From my own personal experience as well as those of my classmates, the ED advantage is quite large.</p>

8

<p>Agree with the last post. Visit. Pick one and go for it. Huge advantage ED!</p>

9

<p>BME is a very difficult major. It will be hard to get a stellar gpa for med. school admissions. There are other majors at Duke you could choose that would stand you in good stead for med. school apps.</p>

10

<p>Duke has much better weather, nicer campus, and stonger school spirit imo.</p>

11

<p>At this point, I’m leaning towards Duke and BME, mainly because of some of the reasons I listed and stuff that other posters listed, like weather and school spirit. The reason I am thinking of applying to Pratt is that I read that transferring from Pratt to Trinity is a breeze, if I decide BME isn’t for me, while vice versa is more strenuous. </p>

<p>(Again, do you all think it is wise for me to apply as BME to Duke? I don’t have engineering specific ECs but I have taken classes in school that would prepare me and I’ll have research experience this summer)</p>

<p>At Penn, I’d probably try for LSM because the topic I want to study could be covered by the Biochem major. I hate saying this, but the allure of getting a Wharton degree at the same time is pretty strong. M&T probably would be a stretch because off all the requirements on top of pre-med classes.</p>

<p>PS. I already visited both schools and Duke felt like I was just as if I was at home; it had the same suburban, laid back feel. Penn was also really nice in that it is part of the city but it isn’t too busy; it also seemed like if I wanted to go to the city, it would be a breeze. Another thing is that both schools are about equidistant from my home, so distance isn’t an issue. The only problem might be that Duke has no big city around it if I wanted the occasional change of pace.</p>

12

<p>Plus, I’ve read that transferring in between the Penn schools (as long as it doesn’t include wharton) is easy if one maintains a 3.0 GPA</p>

13

<p>

You could argue that, but it would have no basis in fact. At the undergrad level, there is no such thing as the “Wharton recruiting machine.” Undergraduate on-campus recruiting at Penn is handled by a single, unified Career Services office, and the employers who come to interview on campus are available to both Wharton and College (and SEAS and Nursing) students. So students in the College actually benefit from the presence of Wharton, in that they can interview with the larger array of firms that Wharton attracts. Plus, College, SEAS, and Nursing students can easily take Wharton courses, and identify them as such on their resumes.</p>

14

<p>Bump 10char</p>

15

<p>Shameless bump :/</p>

16

<p>and… bump</p>

17

<p>I wouldn’t say Penn has a better name recognition than Duke. Many people confuse Penn with Penn State, while Duke is a solid name more prestigious than some of the Ivies, from my experiences.</p>

18

<p>I hate to be pushy, but could anyone comment on whether its ok/wise/not a chance killer for me to apply to the engineering school w/o engineering ECs?</p>

<p>And please keep posting!!! All of the comments have been exactly what I was looking for :)</p>