<p>For some reason, MIT had the most depressing atmosphere of any of the schools that I visited. I will still probably be applying, though.</p>
<p>Silver, definitely apply. The depressing aspect just comes from the cold and concrete. On the inside, the students love their fields and the professors love them even more. Its a great school, I just didn’t feel that it was for me.</p>
<p>The OP mentioned that Duke is highly regarded in the South. </p>
<p>As a girl born and raised in the said region (my location on CC says Midwest, but I grew up in Atlanta), I can confirm this; however, I believe this is generally because many top students in the South prefer staying closer to home, and thus Duke and Vanderbilt become their first choices. Furthermore, most of them are (understandably) more familiar with Duke than with northeastern schools. While they have friends at Duke and know what sorts of admissions standards the school employs, many students are somewhat in the dark about the Ivy League.</p>
<p>In terms of true prestige, though, I’m personally convinced Princeton is more widely recognized than Duke is, even in the South.</p>
<p>I won’t be applying to MIT</p>
<p>Xcitingeay otay XTREMEAY!!! Ereway oinggay ebay estbay riendsfay!</p>
<p>And we’ll be Linguistics majors!</p>
<p>Just a quick note: my Mom is pressing Princeton for the name (and we live in the South!)</p>
<p>P.S. Christian was right about the Southern gentry thing. As much as we like to play it down, there is still a rich Southern aristocracy (esp in S. GA and SC) and Princeton is regarded more highly than Harvard or Yale (seen as Yank powerhouses, though I don’t know why Princeton isn’t)</p>
<p>wawwwya 
Iya avehya aya ewnya estbya riendfya!! IGERTYA WNAGEP!!!</p>
<p>Princeton rhymes with pretenceton</p>
<p>^ Your pig latin is quite terrible. It’s supposed to end in -ay, not -ya :)</p>
<p>^oh dangit. that’s why it looked funny!!</p>
<p>She wasn’t speaking Pig Latin, stoopy. She was speaking Pig Swedish, where everything ends in “YA???”</p>
<p>She is using a translator on the internet (I think), but I still don’t understand the point. English works on this post.</p>
<p>And “a” can’t end in -ay so it is ended in -ya to make the rules of pig latin work</p>
<p>hahahahha pig swedish I laughed so hard</p>
<p>pftt i was not using a translator!</p>
<p>Please keep commenting…on Princeton vs Duke</p>
<p>I’m on EST and I have AP Bio and Calc review to do so I will be off the post, but I look forward to reading replies tomorrow</p>
<p>For your information, Pigs is a native speaker.</p>
<p>I didn’t attend Duke or Princeton (I went to Penn obviously), I do know many people who attended both schools. But before I go into specifics, I want to express something to you that I tell a lot of students (I was a Penn tour guide). Once you get to a certain level in terms of schools (i.e. the top 15 USNWR), there isn’t a huge difference in terms of their academic programs. The professors at these institutions are amazing in terms of their achievements and abilities, and undergraduate education is highly valued all around. In particular Duke and Princeton both have wonderful science programs, and I doubt one will prove to be much “better” than the other. As long as you are the type of person who is assertive and takes advantage of the opportunities available, you will excel at any of the mentioned schools. </p>
<p>While I believe it is true that Princeton has a more prestigious name than Duke on the whole (when considered both nationally and internationally), I don’t think you should let that factor into your decision. Duke does not have a shabby reputation by any means, and if you are interested in the sciences, graduate programs will highly respect your Duke degree. </p>
<p>All that being said, what I recommend to students who are in similar situations is to consider social atmosphere. Your social life in college can be (or should be) just as educational as your academic life, and sometimes as advantageous. Because you will be working hard at either school, you’ll want to enjoy your life outside of the classroom. A school that fosters a good social atmosphere has happier students and happier alumni. </p>
<p>Princeton is completely dominated by its eating club scene. I’m sure you’re somewhat familiar with it. You don’t seem like the type of person who cares a ton about prestige, but it is highly emphasized by students on campus in terms of which club you are accepted into. Most people I have talked to only hang out with the other students in their eating club. The system works for some students, and doesn’t for others, but I do know that the students who are not in eating clubs have very limited social interaction. If that isn’t a system that sounds appealing to you I would reconsider.</p>
<p>Duke on the other hand has a Greek system, which I believe sounds similar to Penn’s system. From what I have heard it is a great idea to join a frat or sorority because it provides great networking opportunities and a means to meet people you may not have otherwise. Also it seems as if you can be as involved or uninvolved in your House as you like- without a ton of pressure to participate. </p>
<p>If I were you, I would do a little more research into the social scenes of both schools, and heavily consider that in your decision process. but also remember that you will probably make either school work for you- most people do.</p>
<p>^Thanks, that has actually been the most helpful of the posts tonight</p>
<p>:(^ awww</p>
<p>Princeton is less douch*y, only slightly though:</p>
<p>[America’s</a> 25 Douchiest Colleges: Humor: GQ](<a href=“http://www.gq.com/entertainment/humor/200908/douchy-colleges-list-brown-university-duke-harvard-princeton-nyu-notre-dame-vassar]America’s”>America's 25 Douchiest Colleges | GQ)</p>
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<p>This statement is just not correct. Students have many connections by the time they join an eating club sophomore year and they certainly don’t only hang out with others in their club. The clubs generally have open parties, so it is sort of silly to claim that students who are not in eating clubs have limited social interactions. In addition, since half of the clubs are sign in clubs, very few people are excluded from the eating club experience if they want to join. Also, the system is much more flexible than you might think–my daughter, a senior, has numerous friends who have joined a club and then become independent for senior year, and their social life remains vibrant.</p>
<p>I contrast this with a school with frats/sororities which are joined in freshman year. If you are not selected during rush, you cannot sign in somewhere like you can at Princeton. Often kids live in their frats (by contrast no one except a few officers are allowed to live in an eating club) and the social lives of kids who have been rejected can be quite difficult, at least for a while. </p>
<p>I’m not saying either system is perfect, but I have children at both Princeton and Penn (which is similar to the Duke model) and I would have to say that I believe that the fraternity/sorority system can be infinitely more painful.</p>