<p>I was in a similar situation as of…last week. Haha.</p>
<p>I’m from California, and had to pick between Duke and Penn (business). Obviously, I picked Duke (see location). I really did like Penn, but these were the drawbacks for me:
- Terrible weather. This is even more significant for me, since I am literally allergic to cold. I always brushed off the weather, pretending that I could withstand the toughest Boston winters (since I originally planned on Boston College) with the grace and sophistication of a North Face coat and Burberry scarf. After my first beach trip of the new spring, laying on the grass by the ocean at La Jolla Beach, I reconsidered. Do I really want to spend 75% of my time under gray skies?? I love basking in the sun, I love vitamin D. So, no. Duke isn’t as good as San Diego, but it’s better than anywhere else I applied in that regard.</p>
<p>2) The city. Ok, this probably makes little sense since everyone knows that Durham is a crappy city, but Duke is definitely in its own little world separated from the town. In my 5 days on campus I barely caught a glimpse of Durham. Penn, on the other hand is much more open to the city. This would be a good thing if I had really loved Philadelphia…And plenty of people do, and I’m sure it takes time being a student to really experience the potential of urban coolness that Philly definitely does offer. Still, there are some cities that I fell in love with in minutes (BOSTON!), but Philadelphia isn’t one of them.
Still, on the overall tally, most people will put a ‘plus’ next to Penn in terms of location. This is more of a personal thing. </p>
<p>3) The School. Another issue that doesn’t exactly apply to you since I would have been a Wharton student, and you are in the college. Some of the Penn alumni I know ended up going to get an MBA, and then realized how repetitive it all was…On the flipside, if you are able to get an employer who really likes Wharton, you can hopefully make do without being forced to go for an MBA.</p>
<p>4) The people. OK, this is a touchy issue, but…I just had so much more fun with Duke kids. Everyone I met was just sooooo nice (this is not a term relative to Penn students, who were just dandy - it’s just that Duke kids could not have been any more genial), and forgive me for lamely using a stereotype of “southern hospitality” versus “urban business” to support my position. Penn may be known as the “party Ivy”, but Duke would undoubtedly challenge for that title if it were an Ivy.
Also: this may not apply to the college, but I think even Penn students might agree that starchy I-Banker wannabe Whartonites might not be the coolest crowd.</p>
<p>P.S. Prestige may not be an issue for you. I definitely gave a little up when it comes down to Wharton vs. Duke, but in general, how many people even know that UPenn is an ivy league? </p>
<p>This merely focused on the negatives of Penn, because there are plenty of pluses to see on the Duke forum, and the current Penn students will handle the positive aspects of Penn fully, I presume. And remember, the more bias the better! (It means students have good school spirit and love their campus ;)</p>
<p>In closing, I’ll pass on the verbatim advice I got from others in making my decision (which, as I noted was uh…a week ago): YOU ARE BLESSED EITHER WAY YOU GO!!! </p>
<p>PPS: Definitely for pre-med competitiveness is important! I’ve heard that Duke is more competitive for pre-med, which could be a bad thing! The most notorious are Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, and WashU, right?
If I were pre-med, I would probably choose the friendlier atmosphere. If that is Penn, that might work in its favor.</p>