<p>I was deciding between Duke and Notre Dame too! I picked ND in the end, so hopefully I’m not too biased in my input :P</p>
<p>-I don’t like annoying grade deflation.
Both schools are about equal grade-wise.</p>
<p>-I don’t like a cut-throat academic atmosphere.
Both are competitive, but I think Duke is nerdier and is slightly more cut-throat</p>
<p>-I love going nuts for sports events.
Both have INCREDIBLE school spirit. Most people who don’t go to Duke HATE it, while hundreds of thousands of people love Notre Dame, so people outside of your college environment will actually like you if you go to Notre Dame. Also, thank you for making me feel normal. People thought I was an idiot for picking a school based on school spirit.</p>
<p>-I want to have free time away from academics, but I’m willing to study hard, too.
Meh. Duke has more of a party scene than ND, but it’s also more academic, so I guess they’re equal in that respect.</p>
<p>-I want to have access to impressive research/internships.
Duke is well-known for their dedication to research, so there’s no doubt that you would have amazing research opportunities at Duke. Notre Dame is trying to build their reputation as a research institution, so I think they’d be overjoyed to have you do research and a research position would be easier to obtain, but it wouldn’t be as good of a project as one at Duke.</p>
<p>-And most importantly, though extremely subjective, I want to feel at home at college.
You will feel at home wherever you go. You will love your school and make the most of it. However, don’t go to a school if you feel like you’ll have a burdensome, nagging “what-if?” feeling about the other school.</p>
<p>-No need to comment on the weather. I know ND is frigidly cold. I will visit Duke next week, and I have visited Notre Dame many times.
Well, I will anyway: Duke is hot, Notre Dame is cold. I made the mistake of visiting Duke in late June (95 degrees and disgustingly humid) and Notre Dame in early February (3 degrees and 2 feet of snow on the ground).</p>
<p>-I am planning on majoring in physics with a pre-med track and eventually specializing in orthodontics.
Duke is better in physics, while Notre Dame is slightly better for a pre-med track.</p>
<p>Bottom line? NOOOOOOOOOOTREEEEEEEEEEEEE DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME!!!
But in all seriousness, pick the school that’s best for you.</p>