<p>Research triangle park has a lot of internship opportunities. However, most internships occur over the summer anyways, so the location of the school isn’t necessarily that important as long as it has inroads into other areas. Duke students frequently go to DC and NYC for summer internships, so there shouldn’t be a major concern there. I chose Duke over Penn and lived really close to Northwestern, so I’d say all three are good choices and you can’t go wrong. </p>
<p>Duke has really strong bio and political science departments with a lot of research opportunities there. While Duke has a fairly vibrant Greek life, it’s not overwhelming - only about 1/3 of the students join a Greek organization. If you don’t want it to affect you, you can easily ignore it. There are also plenty of non-Greek organization that you can partake in. Durham isn’t the greatest metropolis, but it is more than sufficient for a college town with ample things to do (and there is more than enough to do on campus anyways to fill your time). There are a surprisingly large number of good restaurants nearby and a sufficient number of stores, theaters, bars, cultural activities, etc. </p>
<p>In fact, I somewhat liked the fact that Durham caters to a more college crowd as it seemed more inviting. In Evanston or Philly, you can’t even get into a bar until you’re 21, while in Durham, it’s no problem at all (you just can’t technically buy alcohol as they don’t give you a wristband). That allows the Duke community to go out “together” a bit more and have large events. Durham has some more sketchy areas, but so does West Philly and west Evanston for that matter. You just have to be smart like you are in any other large city. Durham offers a lot more than meets the eye and students can easily take advantage of it. Also, the cost of living is a bit lower, so that is always a plus, and you said Duke gave you the best financial aid.</p>
<p>I’d say that there is no clear “obvious” choice among the three, but I’d say your cons for Duke can easily be addressed. And if there’s no clear winner, the financial component of Duke may tip the scale in its favor. Duke is a great place and sounds like a great fit for you. And the weather is really only hot in Durham for like one month of the year that you’re actually on campus (Aug-Sept) as you’ll likely be somewhere else over the summer, so the heat shouldn’t be too bad. I came from Chicago and greatly enjoyed the more mild Durham climate.</p>