Duke vs. UC Berkeley NEED ADVICE PLS!!

coolwhip
Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:01:08 +0000

I had a similar dilemma to you. I was accepted at Cal and Duke and they were my top two choices. It was very close. Differences in prestige are rather negligible between the two schools so I would caution you against taking sunnydays’ or anyones advice based on rankings, whichever way they lean. Duke is ranked higher as a school but Cal has many individual graduate departments ranked very highly.

I visited both and Cal’s vibrant metropolitan atmosphere just seemed to fit me a lot more than Duke’s southern feel. However, everyone I met at Duke was much more friendly, social, and fun, than the people I met at Cal, a lot of whom were, to be blunt, nerds. That’s just the impression I got, though. Duke’s student body is much more attractive than Cal’s also. I ended up picking Cal for its environment and the money, because I’m instate and receiving no financial aid at either. But then it became moot when I got off Yale’s waitlist.

Since money isn’t an issue for you, I’d urge to go to Duke. It offers the same great academics with much better personal attention and counseling than an overcrowded public school. You’ll also have a much better time with its generally more sociable student body and the stress level and workload is a lot lighter at Duke. You will end up the same or better opportunities there after graduation.

Good luck!