| I was on a campus tour with someone who was in at both Duke and Fu Foundation, and he ended up choosing columbia for the sheer fact that he wanted to ChemE. He only applied to duke BME bc. he said his parents forced him to, and he was pretty shocked when I told him that duke didn't have a chem E major. However, he did say that if he was to do BME, he would've chosen duke.
Here's why:
1) Some critics may think Durham is dangerous... but wait til you get to Harlem. Haha the people who think NC is at all a "ghetto" haven't seen **** yet.
2)Duke BME slightly more respected than Columbia's program, but then again, columbia as an overall school may gain the edge prestige-wise. Since you said that you were intent on studying BME, I'd think that Duke would be the better place, academically, for you.
3)I've never heard that Columbia kids were any more cutthroat than students at similar intitutions, so I don't know where you're getting the idea the Columbia students are super-intense. I guess with the Core?
Anyways, when I visited, Duke seemed much more laid back than I thought it'd be. Of course, this was on a saturday morning at 11 AM, so that might explain why the library wasn't exactly packed, but nevertheless, Duke would definitely provide a better social scene, provided that you aren't absolutely CRAZY about living NYC.
4) Koreans? Duke has a ton of asians in general. End of story.
5) The Ivy League name sure will get you places, but it's not like Duke's won't. The fact that there's an 86% (I believe) med school acceptance rate should settle all ideas that Duke doesn't garner the same sort of respect as mid-level Ivies like C, Upenn, or dartmouth. I personally would never pick a school based off of what athletic conference it was in, but while we're on that topic, the tipping point is Duke basketball.
Although you've been presented with a wonderful opportunity, I would still argue that Duke is the better choice. |