<p>Hi, i was wondering if anyone could tell me what really separates duke from other top schools...something you can't get from their website/brochures ect. i get that they have top notch academics, sports and spirit, but so do other schools. i was wondering because i really want to ED next year but my parents are kind of really against it, since its farther than they'd like me to be, and asked me why duke, when so many other schools could provide the same resources/opportunities. they are not buying the whole "awesome research opportunities" and "great people" and "great sports" bit, so in short: what aspects of duke that make it awesome are duke-specific?</p>
<p>I attended a summer camp at Duke for two years (woo TIP East!), and I can say that the campus is drop-dead gorgeous. After touring just about all the other Ivies, I can say that only Princeton could come close to Duke, but Duke still wins, hands down.</p>
<p>It probably won’t help with your parents :P, but still.</p>
<p>Some other things: Duke has merit based scholarships, including a few full-rides, if you don’t want to try banking completely on financial aid (which is what the Ivies do).</p>
<p>And I dunno. Looking from other threads and what people in general say, the top schools really aren’t all that different from each other. The Ivies and the Top schools are all fantastic, and anyone would be extremely lucky and fortunate to get into any of these! If your heart is set on Duke, just tell your parents that!</p>
<p>Or you could always apply to a nonbinding early action and apply to Duke later.</p>
<p>Great sports. Great weather. Great social scene. On top of great academics. I wouldn’t say that’s a common combination at all. Stanford…and? Also beautiful expansive campus. If you want more specifics, great sense of community, unique programs such as FOCUS and DukeEngage, prevalent undergrad research (even Harvard has come under criticism for focusing on its grad students too much sometimes…Princeton is more undergrad-focused), interdisciplinary research, relatively low cost of living but still plenty to do in the surrounding area, 2 hrs from the water/beach, 2 hrs from the mountains and camping, good BBQ, etc.</p>
<p>thank you both! hopefully they will come around…</p>
<p>Is there a reason that your parents would not want you to go to a school farther away? Is it because they want you home on weekends or once a month? Is it because they want to visit you a lot? Is it because travel costs of Thanksgiving, Fall/Spring break, etc will be prohibitively high? If its the former I would say you should strongly advise your parents that you probably won’t have a ton of time besides vacations to travel back and forth. Not to mention it’ll put a serious damper on your social life and independence. If it’s the latter then it may be justified if they have to foot the bill for airfare 3-4x a year.</p>
<p>mostly because it would be generally difficult to come home/visit on short notice, but also because they just want me to be close (4-5 hrs away, as opposed to duke’s 10 hr drive). also, my mom doesn’t want me to have to take a plane (i have no idea why though, and it is not bc of the costs). i know that they want me to be where i want to be and are willing to let me apply RD, but what is the point of stressing and waiting until April for my #1 choice that i would 99.9%, plus i explained how the acceptance rate is higher ED, which is when they asked what makes duke so much different from another top school that is closer to home. i explained the school spirit, research opportunities ect but they don’t think that those are specific enough reasons…</p>
<p>a 4-5 hour drive really isn’t convenient enough for going home or visiting on a short notice. Duke was 5.5 hrs away from home by car for me and in the 4 years I was there I made an unannounced trip back home just once and that was during a break not during school.</p>
<p>i know, but they think that somehow being 5 hrs away is really that much better than being 10 hrs away…it is so frustrating!</p>
<p>Have you visited yet? I know once my family saw it and learned about the school from the campus tours and such they were encouraging me to apply ED because they liked the school so much.</p>
<p>well, part of the problem is they don’t even want to visit until i get in (if i get in), which is not a good idea if i were to ED…i was supposed to go over the break, when i caught them at a weak moment, but then they changed their mind, so i think i can convince them to go down over the summer, which isnt as ideal bc schools not in session and it will be so hot, but i will take what i can get…maybe then they will get the attraction</p>