<p>please advise me on this with pros and cons of each.</p>
<p>Just curious if you've even visited either campus yet? Just from personal experience, my son was accepted to Duke and thought he was going to love it - thankfully Duke flew him up there because he didn't like it, it just didn't feel like "home", same with WashU - but a half hour after he stepped on the Yale campus he called me and said he knew that he was home, Yale was it.</p>
<p>Mind you, not that Duke (or WashU) aren't good schools, I'm not saying that at all, he may choose one of those for Med school, but as far as undergrad school he felt, after visiting those 3 schools in succession (there were others summer before as well) that Yale was it.</p>
<p>Bottom line, try if you haven't to visit, otherwise, you've definitely come to the right place to get answers to your question, though I'm not sure how many Yalies can give you pros/cons on Duke.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>i have visited yale. i did not like new haven, but i loved the learning atmosphere on the campus. i am planning to visit duke next week.</p>
<p>I am very familiar with Yale/New Haven and Duke/Durham (having lived in both places with family members attending both universities.) They are extremely different environments: Duke is much more of a fraternity and sorority school with lots of school spirit and strong athletics. The campus is large and feels suburban with lots of gardens and forests for outdoor running etc. Yale is in the middle of New Haven so has a more urban feel. City streets run throughout campus. Fraternities play a minor role on campus, few participate, but students are assigned to residential colleges which give a strong sense of community. If you are not interested in frats/sororities this may be an important difference. The weather is much milder in Durham. New Haven is one and a half hours from NYC whereas Durham is far from a major city. Most Duke students enjoy spending time in Chapel Hill, located 20 minutes from Durham.</p>
<p>Some other differences: Yale has lots of play productions so is terrific if you enjoy acting or theater. There are outstanding plays and productions that come to New Haven before going to Broadway and as a student you can attend for very little money. Duke has ACC Basketball. The Duke vs UNC Basketball game is an extraordinary experience and students enjoy the rivalry. The Harvard-Yale football game is also fun (for the rivalry and the tailgates), although the football itself is usually less exciting.</p>
<p>I feel guilty for saying this, but GO TO YALE!!! Seriously. I applied last year and absolutely loved the school. Duke is obviously an excellent school (:)), but there are relatively few fields that Yale doesn't trump Duke. Neither New Haven nor Durham is that great of a city, but Yale's location is, like collegebound mentioned, a big advantage. The architecture is similar at both (hey, it was a factor for me), and the housing system at Yale works out a bit better than East Campus at Duke. Not to mention the Masters' teas, Silliflicks, etc. I also think the student body is a bit more well-rounded. You really can't go wrong with either, though.</p>
<p>Warblersrule, how do you think the lacrosse scandal will affect Duke, and what is the atmosphere like on campus? I've read articles that make it sound like the atmosphere is currently very tense.</p>