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For someone whose majoring in poly sci/English/History (you get the idea), would you pick Duke or Virginia?

By Baltodad (Baltodad) on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 03:30 pm: Edit

Duke is somewhat more prestigious and selective. UVA is a good bit less expensive.

Duke usually beats UVA in basketball. Vice-versa in football.

Both have a reputation for snobbery.

Both are great places to go to school, and are roughly equivalent academically.

(I majored in history and minored in poli-sci at Duke.)

By Rossler (Rossler) on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 12:28 pm: Edit

bump

By Rossler (Rossler) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 07:31 pm: Edit

Can someone please help me out here? I'd appreciate it.

By Rossler (Rossler) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 07:31 pm: Edit

Thanks Baltodad, by the way.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 08:38 pm: Edit

I'd pick UVA but I can't defend it rationally.

Who said that anything about this process is rational?

By Futurearchitect (Futurearchitect) on Saturday, April 05, 2003 - 03:26 am: Edit

I have a friend that applied to WAKE, DUKE, and Princeton... he's top of Duke's acceptance list, got into Wake as well and is going to go to UVA. UVA is an amazing school, best campus around and the students are all nice (I know several, my sister goes there) Duke is a lot smaller, not as pretty. Its up to you though, just a little insight.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Saturday, April 05, 2003 - 09:42 am: Edit

I do know that Duke is known as a heavy party school; don't know about UVA.

By Anngold (Anngold) on Saturday, April 05, 2003 - 05:48 pm: Edit

I have a sister who went to Duke and a brother who went to UVA. Both got excellent educations and both loved their respective schools. My daughter will be applying to both and would be happy at either one. My personal preference is UVA because the campus is beautiful, the town is a great college town (unlike Durham, NC) and the cost is more affordable.

By Redbeard (Redbeard) on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 03:04 pm: Edit

My impression (this is all about impressions, right?) is that Duke is slightly more prestigeous. Cost is a very real consideration, however. Consider what would happen to the $50K if you invested it at age 18 and kept it until, say, 35. It might make up for the minor difference in prestige.

By Rossler (Rossler) on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 10:05 pm: Edit

I appreciate all this commentary, and I do believe that I will be enrolling at Virginia. Thanks all.

By Rationalist (Rationalist) on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 11:31 pm: Edit

GO UVA

By Breeze (Breeze) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 10:52 pm: Edit

I'd go with Virginia too. Excellent choice!! In the departments you mention, they are actually more prestigious than Duke. They very possibly have the best English department in the nation, and Larry Sabato is the most quoted academian in politics. You'll have him your first year there in poly sci (they call it Government). Duke is good too though, so you can't go wrong!

By Failure (Failure) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 11:21 pm: Edit

UVA Class of 2007!

By Hhboyji (Hhboyji) on Friday, April 11, 2003 - 12:00 am: Edit

I have a uncle who is graduating this year at UVA. According to him, it's all nice and all, but it's bit of a party school. couple of weeks ago, there was a candidate for president who attacked by other students just because she was black. And there also was a student who nearly killed himself by drinking a lot of beer.
I mean I think probably everysingle school has some bad side, but If I were you, I would go to Duke.(if I dont have to consider finance)

By Breeze (Breeze) on Friday, April 11, 2003 - 12:10 pm: Edit

Duke has its share of drinking binge near-deaths.

The thing where Daisy Lundy was "attacked" and hurled "racial slurs" at... there has never been a suspect and her description was very vague. She was not at all injured, and her opponent "gave up the fight" in the run-off the next day making her the victor without the most votes.

At nearby Waynesboro High School, the principal was forced to resign because he was in a meeting when a gaggle of black students came to talk to him about the "racist comments" on a kid's locker.

Three days after resigning, it was found through a handwriting test that the kid wrote "nigger" on his own locker.