| It is unfortunate that several people now have perceptions of the Duke admissions committee as being elitist. That was never my perception during the admissions process. My admissions counselor covered several states and recruitment for Pratt and still was extremely helpful during the admissions process. She always promptly returned my many emails during the admissions process. She remembered me at a local information session after only a 30 second conversation while visiting Duke. I was, on the whole, very impressed with the Duke admissions experience. Their commitment to selecting individuals who are not only intelligent, but also service-minded and involved in their communities, sets Duke apart from its peer schools.
Duke, like any university, only has a given amount of resources it can dedicate to merit scholarships. It woos its top applicants with this money, as UMich woos its top applicants with their money. These top applicants are admittedly more heavily courted during the admissions process: They recieve free transportation to campus (Duke Up-close) and certainly recieve more attention. What, about this, doesn't make sense? If you weren't a top applicant at UMichigan, you would not have recieved the aid package you are discussing, and could then argue that UMichigan admissions were arrogant for not courting all applicants.
It's very difficult to be a top applicant at Duke, therefore, I'd like to see them dedicate more resources toward attracting all admitted students. This, however, would have to be a funding/trustees initiative, and does not come from the admissions office. Duke's current financial aid seems to be a fair assessment of a family's ability to pay. Duke's endowment has just increased signifcantly, and I would expect them to apportion even more funds to increase financial aid coverage, as they did this year.
I agree with one of the other posters that I think many people have an elitist perception of Duke, and thus, when they experience anything that could be contorted as being elitist, they like to label Duke with this label. I find it hard to believe that the Duke information session was anything different from that at many of the Ivy league schools. Actually, I am certain that it is not more elitist than that of Dartmouth, whose information session was arguably elitist by spending a disproportionate amount of time describing their "D-Plan" a schedule unique to Dartmouth. In my opinion, you could really say this about any university's adcom....Any school's adcom will sing the praises of its university: that, after all, is its purpose. What I would suggest is for you to evaluate the substance of a university, instead of a layer of perception based on mere presentation: What kind of academic experience would Duke provide? How would Duke prepare me for post-graduate opportunities in comparison to other universities? Can I see myself walking across the greens for four years? Deciding based on a "vibe" supported largely by a friend's perception, an adcom's understandable pride in its school and outdated anecdotal evidence seems to me to be not the best way to decide on a college.
As for the OP...I am truly sorry you're in this situation. I would certainly understand if you picked UMich, particularly if you think that it is a good fit. If you work hard and find small classes, you will have an equal academic experience and certainly will have no problem with post-grad job/grad schools.
FYI: I didn't get a good aid package at all from Duke. My family, however, just had unfortunate circumstances that increased our financial standing...therefore, our financial assessment was certainly understandable. College costs money, but I am confident that if I make the best out of my Duke education, I will not regret my decision to attend Duke. For those of you who do not have such a choice, I am truly sorry that money will influence your college choice, but if you work hard you will love your college experience and it won't matter where you graduated from. |