presidentchris

I love Duke and everything it has to offer, but i live in California, and UCLA would cost half the price. Can any of you help me decide if Duke is worth the extra 25k a year? What makes the experience worth the cost? Thanks in advance

danielhstennis08

i think if you were getting a full ride or if it was UCB things would be different... but in your case, i think duke is worth the money... sorry for not giving any details, but i'm sure someone will

BedHead

This is unanswerable without more information. Would the 25K per year put you into a lot of debt? Are your parents rich?

One needs to know how tough it is for you or your family to come up with 25K in order to give you a good answer.

If it's pretty tough, quite tough, or you'll go fully into debt, go to UCLA. If you have siblings who will need to be educated and it's tough, go to UCLA. If it's just a tad tough and you've got no siblings, go to Duke. But of course, your parents should be part of those discussions.

Look, people should weigh in here and tell you what they loved about Duke. Apparently it's got a great campus. Everyone knows it's a great school. For you, it's a great school and it's across the country: it's a good experience to go across the country to school. It'll broaden your horizons and make you a better person. But UCLA is nothing to sneeze at and is a great education; if you end up at UCLA, you'll just have to work harder to make it the experience that Duke might be. Go abroad or something; challenge yourself.

Shrinkrap

We have a similar question; Duke full cost vs. UCB ( or UCSB honors, or UC Davis...close to home) full cost ( no loans we hope). It would have been harder if D had gotten in to UCLA, because she sorta wanted to go there and she does NOT want to go to UCB, so maybe it's a nonissue, but we would feel better....One thing we told ourselves is that you are more likely to graduate in 4 years from Duke which might shift the savings a bit. UC's aren't as cheap as some State U's, so the savings isn't quite as dramatic either. We also like that she gets to try a different part of the country and a different kind of diversity.

presidentchris

Shrinkrap, I'm actually considering Berkeley as well. I got the Alumni Leadership Scholarship there, but I went to Blue Devil Days in California, and the attention I received from Duke faculty was astounding. Money isn't the biggest issue for me, but saving 100k would be nice. If I know I am going to grad school, will my undergrad location really matter?

tcmzueck

To Shrinkrap,

I'm probably going to choose Berkeley over Duke, and if I do I plan on taking summer classes at the JC. I've already got it worked out, 6 classes (3 over the internet), fully transferable. That will put me a full year ahead if I choose, though some of the individual colleges within the UC universities have unit limits. This way if I want I can graduate a year early, or if not will be able to take far more upper division courses, and far more courses just for pleasure.

Remember that private universities may guarantee graduation in 4 years, but public can often be done quicker!

thethoughtprocess

Why would you want to be finished with college quicker...seriously....

Shrinkrap

I think tcmzuek is responding to my comment about cost if it takes longer to graduate. Thanks tcmzuek! This is almost a moot point for us now as my D REALLY wants Duke.

thethoughtprocess

I think spending the fourth year on campus doing things like activities or research opens the door for more opportunities down the road.

presidentchris

Does undergraduate location really matter in the long run?

Majayiduke09

presidentchris,

If you know you are going to grad school and want to save 100,000 for it, I don't blame you for choosing Berkeley, which is an excellent university.

But yes the attention you will receive will be much less. It's going to be a trade-off one way or another