<p>I'm thinking of applying ED to either Columbia, Duke or Penn and I wanted to know what advantages you think Columbia has over the other schools. I am probably going to major in biology and be premed, but I might also consider going to law school. Which school best fits my academic interests? I have lived in big cities all my life but I'm not averse to living in a smaller one for a few years. I consider myself to be an intellectual, but not in a pretentious sort of way. I don't plan on consuming alcohol in college and I'm not a big fan of parties and raves (which is why I'm slightly nervous about committing to Penn or Duke). Access to world class professors is very important to me and I want to attend a school where the faculty is as committed to teaching as it is to research (this is one of the reasons why I have my doubts about committing to Columbia). On the political spectrum, I lean conservative and would like to attend a college where my opinions are respected. I would really appreciate some insight into the campus culture at all 3 schools.</p>
<p>I don’t think the neighborhood surrounding Duke is all that great. I can’t comment on how it is in comparison to Columbia or Penn though.</p>
<p>I was at Duke for four years and my children were at Barnard.
Duke is a little more conservative at the student body level but still has plenty of left leaning types. Duke is way more “rah, rah”. I had the impression that the students in some segments were working harder than they do at Columbia. (Weird.) But if you want to slack off you can take the courses that were designed for jocks.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t let your desired field of study affect your choice. Either institution can teach you much more than you can take in.</p>
<p>You said that you could live in a large or small city and that that didn’t matter. I think it should be more important. You spend most of your time outside of the classroom. Compare the excitement of New York with the beauty of the Carolinas.</p>