<p>hey guys, I've pretty much narrowed down my choices down to these two schools, and I want to go into premed.
I've been to both campuses and I like them a lot, but I can't decide where to go! I know both are great schools, which makes it even harder.
For unc, I know it's definitely cheaper for me, and I already can exempt many classes because of my ap scores. However, I've already done research at Duke and know one of the professors there pretty well. Any advice?</p>
<p>Obviously everyone in this board is going to be extremely anti-Duke.</p>
<p>Honestly, I'd go with whichever school you feel socially more comfortable at.</p>
<p>Going to a cheaper school for undergrad may open up more opportunities down the road if you want to do something between undergrad graduation and medical school. Also, if you have a strong number of APs, you may be able to graduate in 3 years, which would be very cheap. I'm a social science/language person but when I went to a student q & a in the fall, a person on the panel was double-majoring in Biology and Chemistry as a pre-med and was graduating in 3 years.</p>
<p>Just a thought. I'd go to Carolina because of a ton of personal hatred towards Duke (arrogance & student behavior), town/college relations, and the people.</p>
<p>Duke is one of the best schools in the country for premed, there are a TON of research opportunities available to you there that won't be available to you at UNC.</p>
<p>Unless you hate the school or attending will bring significant hardship on your parents Duke is probably the best choice. Then again you may change your mind once you end up taking pre-med courses and change your major; you'd likely still be better off at Duke.</p>
<p>Duke has more opportunities than Carolina for premed. Carolina is however really good in premed, just not as good as Duke. Money would be the biggest issue, but other than that Duke has it over Carolina in premed.</p>
<p>I agree. If you can pay for it (and it isn't cheap), Duke is absolutely the best choice.</p>
<p>Again, med school admissions is driven purely by GPA, minimal coursework and MCAT scores. A Duke grad with a low MCAT will have a lower chance at med school admissions than a UNC grad with an outstanding MCAT regardless of the enriching experiences at the undergrad level. </p>
<p>Do not make the mistake of thinking a prestigious diploma will get you into med school.</p>
<p>Duke grads are statistically going to have higher MCAT scores anyways so I don't see how you're comment is very relevant. Prestige matters, although it won't outweigh an average GPA or MCAT score. Not to mention he fact that you will likely get an all-around better education at Duke.</p>
<p>Whether higher MCAT scores can be solely attributed to a Duke education is unproven stoneimmaculate. Whether or not one will obtain an "all around better education at Duke" is also unproven. Too many variables come into play to ever make those two claims.</p>
<p>And....unproven comments are probably THE most irrelevant of all. </p>
<p>What is known is if you have a certain MCAT, certain GPA and have taken requisite coursework, you will get into med school...the higher the quality of those attributes, the higher the quality of med school. </p>
<p>Do not overweight the prestige factor. It can be an expensive mistake.</p>
<p>[Pre-Medical[/url</a>]</p>
<p>[url=<a href="http://premed.duke.edu/%5DOffice">http://premed.duke.edu/]Office</a> of Health Professions Advising -- Duke University](<a href="http://prehealthadvising.unc.edu/pre-med.htm%5DPre-Medical%5B/url">http://prehealthadvising.unc.edu/pre-med.htm)</p>
<p>see a difference?</p>
<p>I see that Duke has a really nifty web page designer. :) </p>
<p>However, the point remains....if you do not deliver on GPA or MCATs, a diploma from Duke will not get you into med school. Same true for any college.</p>
<p>I'll repeat again (for the umpteenth time) my brother-in-law's law school experience which is pretty applicable here. BA in Psychology from lowly Colorado State. Killer LSATs and GPA. Accepted at Stanford Law, Harvard Law and a multitude a really top notch law schools. Chose Stanford because of the fa/scholarship package. Editor of Law Review, clerked for a State Supreme Court Justice, eventually worked for the best big firm in Denver. Now in private practice living on a ski slope. </p>
<p>If you listen to the majority of opinions here, that should have been impossible for a graduate of little ol' Colorado State in Fort Collins.</p>
<p>My friend went to harvard med after doing UNC undergrad, so I don't think you'll be "messing up" if you went to unc...it's what you do at wherever you go that matters. At least I hope that's the case, because I'm deciding between UNC, Duke, and Hopkins for pre-med right now, and I'm leaning towards UNC.</p>
<p>I'd agree with Bali abt it's really what you make out of it...while Duke will give you more resources, UNC's resources wouldn't nevertheless be limited...so, it almost comes down to which college u think wud suit u..in every way else. At duke, you are more likely to face grade deflation (I hard that the courses at duke are generally harder and brings down ur gpa a lot more)....but then, it's upto u to decide which atmosphere suits u best.</p>
<p>stoneimmaculate - I think that the MCAT scores of students who were admitted to both UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke and who attended Duke would be about the same as those who were admitted to both UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke and chose UNC-Chapel Hill. </p>
<p>In other words, I don't think that Duke makes you better at the MCAT, I just think Duke is slightly better at attracting people who do well on the MCAT. </p>
<p>Thus, people who are admitted to both Carolina/Duke will probably end up getting about the same on the MCAT no matter where they choose to go, so they should choose between the schools based on other factors (and cost is a completely legitimate one).</p>
<p>Whichever you decide to attend - and both are great - be sure to take advantage of the attached hospitals and medical school resources (library, career counselors, etc.). UNC's medical school is in the top 20 for research and #2 for primary care; Duke's at 6 for research and 41 for primary care - meaning, at either place, you'd have terrific opportunities to get involved with top-level medical research if you put the effort into it. 85% of Duke applicants are admitted to at least one medical school; I could not find a similar stat for UNC but I would imagine that it is somewhat comparable.</p>
<p>As others have noted, it's really going to be more about your personal feel for the school. It's up to you to take advantages of the opportunities presented at either - or both, given their proximity - to create the strongest pre-medical profile you can. A degree from either school has a proven track record of getting your foot in the door of any medical school.</p>