<p>Besides the awesome bball team and beautiful location... Anything stand out?</p>
<p>What made you personally choose Duke? </p>
<p>Also, regarding class size and professors... what is an average class like? Do prof try and get to know their students, or do you really have to make the initiative?</p>
<p>being number 5 on usnews.</p>
<p>hehe jk :)</p>
<p>You won't really find many differences of class size/ course selection in any of the top schools. </p>
<p>I chose Duke because I like the social scene, and really enjoyed big, open spaces and the warm weather (Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, etc did not fullfill those requirements to the extent I wanted...)
Also, its got great all around placement in every field (business, law, and med are what I looked into specifically)</p>
<p>Actually, disregard all of that. I picked it because it was number 5 on US News :)</p>
<p>Haha about #5.. thethoughtprocess what do you mean "you won't really find many differences of class size/course selection in any of the top schools. are they small or big and do you get personal attention from profs?</p>
<p>He means that the differences are minuscule when it comes to the class sizes in many of the nation's most scintillating institutions. That should not be a factor in your judgement. However, when it comes to personalized attention, schools like Dartmouth and the LACs are almost unrivaled.</p>
<p>Ditto - the difference between class sizes at Duke and say Columbia, Penn, Cornell, Harvard etc. probably aren't very different</p>
<p>All these big universities have large intro classes, smaller advanced classes, and really small seminar classes</p>
<p>You get the most personal attention at smaller schools like Williams, Amherst, and Swarthmore right off of the bat</p>
<p>Aside from internet research that pointed to Duke as a good school for what I wanted to pursue, I had other reasons for choosing Duke. I visited the campus in October, during Parents Weekend (it was just a coincidence). The energy that emanated from every single person there was amazing. People were friendly and happy, and I was even invited to a party (my dad continues to tell people that the only reason I decided to go to Duke was because of the invitation). Of course, the campus was beautiful as well. Another large factor was the information session. The woman who conducted it was extremely informative because she was a parent who had gone through the admissions process as well as an admissions office, so she was able to give advice from both sides. After walking around on campus and attending the info session, I was really able to see myself attending Duke. This also helped me to write my Why Duke essay. I'm so excited that I will be there next fall.</p>
<p>yeah i'd have to agree that the atmosphere on campus greatly contributed to me choosing to go to Duke. Everyone seemed so much more relaxed (even during an exam period when i visited) compared to other schools I visited, especially in the northeast. I loved that. College is a place to study, but also a place to live. Living at Duke will be a great experience because of that outstanding social life that livens the whole campus. Combine that with the excellent academics and you have yourself a perfect match!</p>
<p>FOCUS Program is unique.</p>
<p>Also for bio majors - the facilities are incredible: Duke Marine Lab, Duke Forest & Primate Center, Artificial Climate Lab, pretty large dept. w/ outstanding faculty, research opportunities, bio-related study abroads in Africa, Costa Rica, and Duke Marine Lab/Bermuda Triangle, and diverse course offerings, ability to specialize w/in a specific area of bio during undergrad. - Yeah, I'm a bio major :)</p>