<p>duke (no aid) vs. clemson (full ride + honors college)</p>
<p>I'm majoring in BME (maybe premed). Planning on going to med school, but i'm not positive...</p>
<p>$38,000 X 4 > $0</p>
<p>Much as I love and admire what Duke has meant for out son, that math is pretty darn hard to beat.</p>
<p>i know that my dad is hoping i can get a double major and graduate in three years with all my AP credits. that sort of counts as a $45k scholarship right?</p>
<p>Simple recipe:
1. Go to Clemson and excel...be outstanding
2. Use the money saved for Med school</p>
<p>i dunno...how much do you value going to somewhere where you are surrounded by ambitious, intelligent people versus somewhere where you are the exception? personally, i wouldn't want to go to a school where i wasn't challenged. if we were talking about a top-15 or 20 school offering you a full ride that would be one thing but hell i know kids who got full scholarships to University of Southern California, Tulane, BU, GW, etc. and turned them down to come here without regret. pretty much everyone here could have gone to their state school for free (i certainly could have with a stipend). clemson is a very, very different place from duke and will be your HOME for the next four years...</p>
<p>feikuai: that seems nearly impossible... who knows though... it IS impossible for me though with my major... i heard it's really tough</p>
<p>i actually live in clemson right now.... it's not all that bad, but yea, getting distracted is possible... i heard that it is better to do really well than going to a really good school for med school...</p>
<p>do they give merit scholarships to med school?</p>
<p>i received a half scholarship + honors college to UNC-CH, and I chose to come to duke. I couldn't see myself anywhere else, and i absolutely love it. It just depends on the environment that you want. That is a very tough decision though</p>
<p>well I know it's a hard decision..
I had the same dilemma last year!
SUNY (5k per year) or DUKE (no FA)</p>
<p>I chose Duke!!</p>
<p>i had a similar choice. looking back, i might have wanted to go the state school route. be confident knowing you will succeed wherever you go tho.</p>
<p>As for your question about merit scholarships to med school: don't count on it. Med school is a whole different game. Some med schools certainly do give better financial aid than others, but those are typically the top schools (with acceptance rates <5%). State schools also tend to be cheaper. Regardless, if you're going for straight-up MD (no MSTP funding) you're going to be down $100K-250K almost without a doubt.</p>
<p>Should that impact where you go to college? Maybe. I would look more into which school will allow you to develop into a good applicant for medical school. That is a completely personal choice. Think hard about the ways in which you want to grow not only academically but also socially and emotionally--and also realize that you can accomplish those goals regardless of whether you go to Duke or Clemson, though maybe it might be easier at one place rather than at the other. Money isn't everything, but neither is the name of the college you go to. I go to Duke but I realize now more that I could comprehend in high school that you honestly can be successful anywhere. It's not just a platitude that people throw out to make themselves feel better. The college you go to actually won't determine the rest of your life. It's hard to really accept that in high school, but it's true.</p>
<p>I personally think it is kind of ridiculous to take the "the only reason I am going to college is to get into med school" approach. College is FOUR YEARS of your life and is the time when you are going to grow the most as a person, find out who you are, what life is about, what your values are. Sure, you can succeed wherever you go but I personally know that if I went to my state school I would have been pretty miserable. If you don't think that is the case for you, though, go right ahead. Just don't do something because you think you have everything planned out--you could very well decide you want to go into graduate school for biology, for all you know. Choose wisely--it's harder to transfer into Duke than it is to get in the first time.</p>
<p>danielhtennis, either your family is made of money or duke has no funds to offer you, which is it?</p>
<p>This is not going to be very popular here, but Clemson is an incredible place. It is <em>not</em> your usual state univ - it has history, traditions, and unbeatable school spirit. </p>
<p>As far as intellectual stimulation, Clemson has some great new programs that are better than what I've heard from a lot of more elite schools. Check out the Dixon Fellows program and Calhoun Honors College.</p>
<p>Duke's a great school, but so is Clemson, especially free! And Clemson's a lot more generous with AP credits :-)</p>
<p>Take the money!</p>
<p>I love Duke. But take the money! (unless you don't like Clemson that is)</p>
<p>I think if you can see yourself happy at Clemson I would go there and save my money for medical school. (especially since you'd probably be able to maintain a higher GPA and not have to do the whole, "but BME at Duke is hard!" thing that I am doing now; of course, who knows you may be a super stud and you'd keep a 4.0 through the Duke BME program, but most people aren't that good/ don't have that much time)</p>
<p>Of course if you don't like Clemson then by all means come to Duke. (after all it isn't a bad place and the BME program is pretty good)</p>
<p>first of all, my family is just over the salary necessary to get SOME aid... i love clemson... and i love duke.... basically, i want to get a degree from a top school, be it undergrad or med... the thing about going to clemson and then a really good school for med is that it would be a lot tougher... it is also tough to stay really focused there... i know it's easy to say that i will, but it won't be anything like duke... the peer groups are completely different...</p>
<p>also, i live in clemson... i'm used to it... it's a greatttttt party school which i love... but i'm bored with it... i realize that i'll be starting college and i'll be in the honors college so things will be different, but still... if i ignored money, i'd definitely go to duke... i KNOW i will do well there... i might struggle at times, but all in all, i'll do well... clemson, i'm not sure... that's just the type of person i am...</p>
<p>i can come back to clemson for football games and stuff like that whenever... it's only 4 hours away... it would be kinda like getting the best from both schools... </p>
<p>i would love to hear more opinions and thanks to everyone who has responded... i know i didn't answer individually, but i read and thought about each carefully...</p>
<p>Apparently about 60 percent of students at Duke do not meet criteria for need based aid, and only 2 percent get merit aid ( not counting sport "merit"). A lot of people are paying full fare if I understand that correctly.</p>
<p>danielhstennis--from your post, it seems like you have the right ideas in mind about the trade-offs involved. how do your parents fit into making this decision?</p>
<p>Ordinarily I would say go to Clemson but in your case, I think your heart is saying Duke. Your happiness should trump financial concerns. People plan too much for the long-term these days and don't stop to think about the near future. Yes, you might be in debt for maybe a decade but that's not a big deal in my opinion if you have an incredible undergraduate experience. Duke will challenge you in ways you have never dreamed of and it sounds like you could get a lot out of a Duke education. Don't second-guess your instincts, come to Duke. The money problem will work itself out eventually, especially if you get a good job. People have survived through much worse times and what better to spend you money on than an education?</p>
<p>i am not going to take out any student loans... my parents are going to find a way to pay for it... they said go wherever i want, and they'll make it work... of course, my heart is saying that i want and kinda need to go to duke... i'm just worried about being distracted at clemson, even though i know i'd have the time of my life... but who's to say that i won't at duke... </p>
<p>bottom line is that it IS a lot of money to make my parents spend... but i plan on being rich one day haha</p>
<p>i'm still not sure...</p>
<p>Personal decision, based on family finances. My wife and I told S that we would make it happen, where-ever he decided to go to college. He worked too hard to get where he was academically to be placed on a financial leash that we really didn't have to put him on. He chose no $$ from Duke over a full ride at Vandy. None of us have regretted it for a moment.</p>
<p>For others, that may not be an option. As I said, personal decision.</p>