<p>Basically Duke fulfills all of the OP’s requirements except for the big city part. Some people like Durham, others don’t. Personally I would have preferred having a city like phili or chicago near by to have as a resource, but there is so much going on on campus that it really doesn’t mattter that much. Compared to the other schools you listed, Duke arguably has a better campus vibe, friendly students who are competitive without being cutthroat, and premed opportunities. Harvard obviously has a better reputation overall, and all of the other schools have solid cities that Duke lacks. However, if med school is your goal and given the other criteria you listed, there is no real way to justify choosing Chicago or Northwestern over Duke unless you simply fit/like those schools better (which really should be the biggest criteria in choosing a school). Harvard would be hard to turn down though and there is supposedly a ton of grade inflation there (which you’ll need for med school).</p>
<p>One quick note to Anonymous1993 though. Obviously Chicago is a better fit for you which is why you are defending it so ardently, and that’s fine. But I’m assuming you’re still a high school senior and as such you seem to be far too optimistic about how understanding med schools are about GPA differences. At most I’ve heard that schools with reputations as being “harder” than most such as MIT, Caltech, and Chicago get only a tiny boost in the way their GPAs are perceived, but in the end the students from schools that have grade inflation get a disproportional advantage (strictly in terms of GPA, although obviously there are many other factors that are considered). From everything I’ve heard and seen from previous Chicago students, it is not the ideal place for premed compared to other schools in its tier, although obviously students there can still be successful in getting into med schools.</p>
<p>Also to the OP, don’t put too much weight in the whole premed thing in choosing a school because more people drop out of premed each year than I can count once they actually start taking the classes and see what it entails.</p>