<p>I agree that the number of Noble Laureates is extremely unimportant except in how it perhaps reinforces a certain prestige. In any event, that should be like #500 on the list of the most important things to consider when making this decision. I grew up five minutes away from Northwestern, took classes on Northwestern’s campus while in high school, worked under a Northwestern medical school professor with another Northwestern student over a summer, and went to Duke. I find both schools attract a quite similar student body when just considering A&S and engineering - perhaps more social, outgoing types than other highly selective universities as well as those more into sports and have propensity to have strong affinities to their institutions and school spirit. I think this is a very positive attribute that separates Northwestern and Duke from schools like UChicago, Cornell, and JHU, for example. Northwestern does have more strengths in “specialty” schools though like journalism and the arts. But Duke also encourages and enables you to take any course you desire regardless of the school you are enrolled in unless it’s a graduate level course and you don’t meet the prereqs.</p>
<p>I personally am not a fan of Northwestern’s academic calendar, but perhaps others prefer it. Trimesters enable students to take more courses, but they also have a lot more exams and get out in mid-June. I was working in a lab fulltime for a full 6 weeks before a Northwestern student joined me; getting out in early April gave me more internship/job leverage actually and I earned more money over the summer. I realize Duke starts earlier than Northwestern (Northwestern is usually mid-Sept), but I’d rather get out early to get a headstart on the job hunt. Some may prefer the trimester system, though, but it seemed like my friends at Northwestern were always stressed with midterms coming up. I’m like “midterms again?!” Academically, I certainly see them as peers, but I found Duke a bit more laid back and collaborative due to the academic calendar and timing of things, so topics don’t have to be unnecessarily crammed in a trimester. But this was just perception based on conversations with my Northwestern friends as I was never actually a college student there.</p>
<p>I think Evanston is a very nice college town, although I am not the biggest fan of Northwestern’s campus layout. Chicago winter can also be brutally cold, although this winter was awesome (last winter not so much…). While Durham isn’t a great city, it’s more than sufficient and actually being a college town has its advantages like bars/restaurants catering to the college crowd. Can’t even get into a bar until you’re 21 in Evanston/Chicago, but in Durham you can get in everywhere (just technically can’t drink). This fact understandably leads to perhaps more on-campus/dorms/fraternity parties at Northwestern since you can’t have an event at a bar unless it’s all seniors like you could at Duke. So, while Evanston may be the better college town you arguably can’t fully take advantage of it, and I found Duke to provide the better social atmosphere from my perspective (plus, I was bored of the Evanston restaurants that I’d gone to for a while, ha!).</p>
<p>I ended up not applying to Northwestern mostly because I wanted a new surrounding and area of the country. But I also found the trimester schedule, cold weather, and not very good sports (at the time) turnoffs. Duke was also stronger in my desired major (biomedical engineering) and the warm weather makes for a more fun-filled experience in my mind. I don’t think Northwestern being close to Chicago makes much of a difference at all in obtaining internships and jobs. Duke has very strong in roads in NYC, DC, Boston, San Fran, Atlanta, and Chicago. It’s a national brand and you won’t find it hard to go where you want. I am certainly biased and am very happy with my decision. </p>
<p>I found Duke to be a great environment for both the intellectual types and the sports nuts, while providing growth in both the academic AND social arenas (and to get ahead in business in this country, you NEED to have good social skills). I would think Northwestern would do well in this regard to, so you simply need to write down what’s important to YOU and decide which school fits you better. When you’re talking about schools of this nature, you should simply go with your gut, I think. I think the academic and social differences that you perceive are non-issues as they are quite similar in reality. Good luck!</p>