Congratulations on 2 outstanding acceptances! You really can’t go wrong, but they are very different environments:
- Leading research university v. leading liberal arts college (6,500 undergrads v. 2,000)
- Rural New England v. mid-size city in North Carolina
- Cold raw New England winters v. more mild Southern weather
- Beautiful campuses, but with very different architectural feels
- Top D1 sports with strong school spirit in ACC (a top sports conference) versus D3 sports in NESCAC which is a top small college conference but very small time compared to Duke
Both will provide excellent access to top graduate schools and job opportunities on Wall Street. At Amherst you are likely to work harder to get into some of the firms as fewer are likely to recruit on campus.
To be honest, it is a matter of fit. If you are not sure, Duke is a less risky choice as it will provide access to a broader array of academic, social, and job opportunities.