<p>Today after talking to my friends and family, I have decided to cancel my trip to Israel and Poland for the AB Duke finalist weekend. Who else on here is going, id love to talk to you on AIM or something. I’ll see you all there.</p>
<p>Hooray! Even though I’m not attending Duke till next year… I can say that from my visits, I LOVE DUKE!!!</p>
<p>Now I just better get the scholarship or I will feel like an idiot</p>
<p>Could you tell us what you were going to do in Israel/Poland? (On the other thread you mentioned an essay award…?)</p>
<p>Yes, I won an essay contest regarding the relevance of Elie Wiesel’s Night in todays society. The prize was an all expense paid trip on the March of the Living to Poland, Israel, and Hungary. Here is the basic itenerary. </p>
<p>Fly to into Budapest Hungary and spend the day there exploring the city. At 12:00am that night we fly out to Krakow poland. The next week is spent in Poland. We go to Aushwitz-Birkenau on Holocaust remembrance day and walk the same path that the jews walked to the gas chambers. (Its basically supposed to be symbolic). Also in Poland we go to Warsaw, Treblinka, Medojnic, and a bunch of other places. Next, we fly to Tel Aviv and spend a week in Israel. We stay on a Kibutz for a few nights and are there during Israeli Independence day. We basically travel all over Israel exploring the country.</p>
<p>So basically this was an amazing free trip. But college education, especially the possibility of an amazing scholarship to Duke. So do you guys think it was a wise decision?</p>
<p>I think it would suck if you went to Duke and didn’t win the scholarship 
But you can always go visit Europe in college through some sort of study abroad.</p>
<p>Ya that was my reasoning. Im hoping that since they know I am able to make important decisions, and sacrafices for them it will help.</p>
<p>Sounds like a cool trip… Duke is a great place to visit (and go to school, of course) but I don’t think it can beats your overseas trip</p>
<p>The important thing is to be pleased about is that you wrote a worthy essay on Wiesel’s Night, and that outweighs the obvious great things about taking the journey to Israel and Poland. Life is full of turns in the road.</p>
<p>I think you made the right choice to give 100 % attention to the important opportunity to win a big scholarship to a very costly undergraduate school which could become your future home if it is a fit for you. Choosing where you will live and grow up for four years is the challenge of your life at this moment.</p>
<p>Choosing a college in this harsh world is also a great privilege, one that you earned, yes, but also one that many others will never have. Make the choice thoughtfully and best of luck to you.</p>
<p>My S had a very hard time making the choice to attend Duke as he did not feel an immediate affinity for the school. After he made the decision to come, he has been happy since day one and never had so many terrific friends. East campus is a super freshman experience, and at first we were dubious about the split campus deal. The best thing about his experience so far has been the quality of students at Duke…not just academically but in terms of their uniqueness, diverse backgrounds and strengths in character and zest for life. The second best thing is that he has had inspiring teachers in close to LAC intimate settings but also the advantages of a larger robust school with plenty of sports and school spirit and a very good arts scene. He is a 2009er and his appreciation for Duke just continues to grow.</p>
<p>Is that for march of living??
you’ll have another oppurtunity next year but that sucks missing out on probably one of the best experiences of your life.</p>
<p>^let’s not rub it in, the guy has made his decision</p>
<p>Ya it was the march of the living. I will probably run into some more conflicts next year with school lol. Whatever, the decision is made and I am positive I made the right one.</p>