<p>I've already committed, but now that the buzz of Cal day is gone, I'm slipping back towards neutral. Some comments of how I am made the right choice/am an idiot would be helpful :).
Thanks</p>
<p>OMG, I was in the same boat as you. I was like “I’m going to UT,” told my family, told a friend who goes there and then woke up the next morning was like maybe not. </p>
<p>And I fell for Duke again really hard, like I imagined all the things I would do, wearing my Duke shirt to school and everything. I really kept thinking DUKE DUKE DUKE. </p>
<p>But then, I came back to UT and realized I love that place.</p>
<p>So, the moral of the story? If that little Cal bear is where your heart is, where your gut lies, then stick with it. That is unless you really want to be a Blue Devil. :)</p>
<p>^^Haas is for grads…why not get a solid undergrad education at Duke (major in economics) and then go to Haas?
At Duke, you get the prestige and you get to choose almost any major you want (unlike Cal).</p>
<p>Duke seems the most logical choice UNLESS cost is an important factor to you.</p>
<p>Haas has a business program for undergrads </p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> Program - Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley](<a href=“http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/]Undergraduate”>Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas)</p>
<p>@John117: you said “at duke, you get the prestige…”. Are you aware of Berkeley’s prestige (the huge one that it gains from having amazing grad problems… and it inevitably trickles down to its undergrad programs). I don’t value prestige too much, but very few schools will win the prestige battle with Berkeley.</p>
<p>alam1:
yeah, prestige was a big factor in my decision, lol. I had a huge bias towards duke because in cali, lots of less qualified people get into berkeley so Duke definitely stroked my ego more because it seemed more elite and exclusive. Once I got over that, Berkeley was really attractive too. </p>
<p>John117:
yes, berkeley has an undergrad business school and it is awesome (tied for number 2 with MIT), econ’s great too but the head of the economics department at duke straight up told me ugrad business is more practical and will look better in hiring, even though econ will give you a more “rounded liberal arts education” and teach you to “think better.” the guy didn’t sell duke econ as well as he hoped…money isn’t an issue, i picked what i thought was the better education and it just happens to save a buttload of money</p>
<p>Lol, lots of schools win the “prestige battle” with Berkeley undergrad. I have like 2 dozen people at my school going off to CAL but only a tiny number going to (and who got into) Duke.</p>
<p>You seem to forget that not many even apply to duke from CA/other states.
Cal/UCLA receive way more applicants than duke does</p>
<p>^Although Cal and UCLA receive more applicants because all UCs are one application and they also accept a much larger freshman class. I think UCSB receives more applications than Cal.</p>
<p>@OP: You really can’t go wrong, though. I ended up choosing Duke because because I feel like I will get better opportunities and the social vibe I got off it felt like a better fit. All of this is debatable, of course. I was also bothered by what you said about less qualified people getting in to Cal, and I would probably say Cal’s prestige > Duke’s. It’s just a matter of where you feel you are a better fit. I know that is cliche.</p>
<p>33hours, are you seriously saying duke lacks geographic diversity in its applicants when the vast majority of CAL/UCLA students are from, hmmm… CAILIFORNIA! (fail)</p>
<p>And nice job forgetting the fact that the UC’s are public schools that necessarily get more apps than basically any private.</p>
<p>Who says duke lacks geographical diversity?
I said not many people apply to duke, especially from ca.
In CA, who has even heard of duke? people know of ivys, mit…but duke?
outside of us, who has heard of duke? what have they done?
come on.</p>
<p>^Actually, A LOT of people know of Duke…everyone I’ve told that I’ve gotten into Duke go “wow” and all.</p>
<p>If you don’t know about Duke bball at the very least, you must have been living in a cave. </p>
<p>33hours, I can’t believe you still exist in bashing Duke like you have done in your previous posts. You were inactive for a while. Were you suspended?</p>
<p>Ask ANYONE. Name top colleges that are NON-IVY. Everyone would immediately say Stanford, MIT, and Duke.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure you implied that when you said “not many even apply to duke from CA/other states.” And once again, you’re forgetting that you go to a public school whose entering class is GIGANTIC compared to a private like Duke. The number of people Cal/UCLA accept is rediculous. Seriously, you can’t even compare the selectivity between Duke and any UC. I know people at the bottom of my class getting into Cal and UCLA whereas Duke rejects tons of valadictorians. And I’m pretty sure California is one of the biggest states in terms of people applying to Duke. The claims you have made lack any factual evidence other than your own sad bias.</p>
<p>Most applicants to Duke are from NC, followed by CA. So actually 33hours, a lot of Californians know of Duke.</p>
<p>Most people around the world have heard of UC Berkeley, not Duke. Layman’s prestige might not be important to you, but if you’re trying to get a job abroad, having gone to Berkeley might give you the upper hand.</p>
<p>Lol, layman’s prestige here in the states goes to Duke easily, which I’m pretty sure is more important than international prestige. People only know Berkeley is good for grad.</p>
<p>LOL, right because America is the center of the universe, obviously~</p>
<p>^Most US students want to work domestically. That’s just the fact.</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, when I was talking to some of my international friends (Hong Kong, China, Korea, England), they tell me that they didn’t consider Berkeley after getting into Duke. Seems opinions are shifting in the younger generations as Duke becomes a more international institution…</p>
<p>Berkeley definitely has a big reputation internationally. I have some friends whose parents put Berkeley as high up as Stanford and Harvard. (Which is really kind of sad, seeing the kind of people that somehow get into Berkeley nowadays.)</p>
<p>Still, after submitting my SIR to Duke and rejecting Cal’s offer prestige is becoming less and less a concern for me. It’s more about where I want to spend the next four years of my life. And although California’s weather takes the cake I gotta give it up to Duke on atmosphere.</p>