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<li> COST:
It’s a serious mistake to assume Duke is more expensive than UNC-CH, especially for OOS students. Half of Duke’s undergraduates receive need-based grants (these are outright gifts, with no required repayment). The size of the grant is based on family income/assets (Duke guarantees every US undergraduate full – 100 percent – financing, which is a combination of need-based grants, merit-based scholarships (rare), loans, work study, and student/parental contribution). In essence, the smaller the family’s income/assets, the larger the “no repayment” grant (and, conversely, the greater family’s income/assets, the small the grant).</li>
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<p>You need to us Duke’s NPC (Net Price Calculator) (<a href=“Net Price Calculator”>Net Price Calculator) to ascertain what your family would actually have to pay and/or borrow (and you should do so for ALL “target universities”). While this tool can be easily used to obtain useful, rough numbers, it is very important that the official NPC data submitted to Duke be entirely thorough and accurate. Most significantly – and this is important – Duke essentially warrants the NPC-derived FA package, or even a slightly better one, if the data input is comprehensive, accurate, and current. </p>
<p>Before you begin NPC trial-runs, however, you’d be wise to carefully review these important Duke websites:
<a href=“http://admissions.duke.edu/application/aid”>http://admissions.duke.edu/application/aid</a>
<a href=“http://financialaid.duke.edu”>http://financialaid.duke.edu</a></p>
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<li> VALUE:
Without question, both UNC-CH and Duke are excellent universities. However, Duke’s stature simply is even better than UNC’s. To illustrate, among National Research Universities in U S News’ most recent assessment, Duke ranks #8 and UNC #30. I don’t believe any single evaluation is too important or meaningful; however, this is indicative of the considerable advantage that Duke enjoys in a wide variety of ratings. Is that important, will that matter for YOU? Frankly, only you can make that judgement. Clearly, there are fields and careers where it will not, but there are others where it is quite liable to be decisive.</li>
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<p>Another important metric, of course, is career/income. Payscale’s latest evaluation (<a href=“Best Universities and Colleges | Payscale”>http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/bachelors</a>) indicates that – at the Bachelor’s-only level – mid-career Blue Devils make 34 percent more than their Tar Heel counterparts (<a href=“Best Universities and Colleges | Payscale”>http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/bachelors</a>). In a similar evaluation, College Atlas ( <a href=“Top Colleges Ranked by Average Salary of Graduates”>http://www.collegeatlas.org/colleges-average-salary.html</a>) found that mid-career Bachelor’s-only level Duke graduates earn, on average, $116K annually; however, data for UNC was omitted, since only the top-twenty “income schools” were listed.</p>
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<li> MOST IMPORTANT:
It is my belief that – all numbers aside – the MOST critical determinant is YOUR happiness and “cultural fit.” Here, too, only you can make this judgement. A few days on each campus will do MUCH more than any research, any statistics, and any journalistic assessment can to let you know which school is better for you.</li>
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