<p>USC v. Duke!
Hey everyone, I have a big decision to make. I just got accepted off of the waitlist at Duke, but have already committed to USC with a Dean's scholarship (10,000). Basically Duke would be about 10,000 more per year than USC. My parents are fine with either and want me to choose. I am wondering which is better for me. Both seem to have everything I seek in a campus - a good balance between academics and extracurriculars, great sports, research opportunities, strong pre-med programs, and a fun group of students. Duke is appealing to me because of their admit rate of students who get into medical school (85% versus about 50% at USC). Both alumni connections are huge, but obviously USC is a little stronger here in Southern California. I am debating between majoring in biology or kinesiology and I ultimately need to decide if I want to be far from home or not. Anyone facing the same decision that could help me out? Your thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated!! Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Duke is a committee letter school and USC is not. The admit rate you are citing is like comparing apples to oranges. Duke does not have to write committee letters for all students wanting to apply to med schools (and will control who applies by doing so-- like a pre-screen). </p>
<p>You should be more concerned with the following: where do you want to go to school, how much can you and your family afford, where is pre-med advising excellent, where can you excel and get the highest GPA, where can you get your pre-med EC’s done. </p>
<p>Both Duke and USC can offer great opportunities and both do well in preparing the pre-med in all areas. You should pick the school you would be the most happy at since your parents are fine with the money issue. However, the extra 40K in savings could be spent on your M1 year as well.</p>
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You’re totally off on that camomof3, check out this link below:</p>
<p><a href=“http://prehealth.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/Table-1-Acceptance-patterns-20092.pdf[/url]”>http://prehealth.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/Table-1-Acceptance-patterns-20092.pdf</a></p>
<p>Duke does not utilize committee letters and allows anyone who wishes to apply to medical school. As you can see, there are some students who applied with below a 3.0 and/or a 25 on the MCAT which are included in the premed statistics. Obviously, if a committee letter was utilized, these specific Duke applicants would have been weeded out to artificially inflate the school’s acceptance rate for premeds. This is clearly not happening.</p>
<p>IMHO, Duke is worth 40K more than USC provided you like it there. It will give you a big lep up if you’re applying to the elite medical schools including Duke’s very own top 10 medical school.</p>
<p>^^ You have quoted a 2009 document. Plus, it doesn’t tell me anything about letter writing at all. According to their CURRENT pre-med advising website:</p>
<p>“When it comes time to apply to professional schools, each prehealth student is offered the opportunity to interview with a member of the prehealth team who will then write a comprehensive, Duke Prehealth Committee Letter that is sent to health professions schools’ offices of admission. Duke students and graduates are well received by medical, dental, veterinary, and other health professions schools across the country. We have an excellent rapport with professional schools, and our students do enjoy a high rate of acceptance, including by the most competitive programs.”</p>
<p>So yes, CURRENTLY Duke does write committee letters according to their own website. Sure, you can choose not to go through this, but if your school offers such a letter and you don’t pursue it, you will be at a disadvantage. </p>
<p>Again, I think both schools are excellent and can well prepare a student for med school. I just think it is better to concentrate on the important things when choosing a school and not some artificial non standardized statistic.</p>