Duke vs Tufts for premed

[TonySTJ001]

I'm being recruited for track by both schools and I am unsure of which to pick. I'm undecided on my major but I want to go premed. Any input would be greatly appreciated 

[chris2k5]

Duke has more prestige in my opinion. Bigger school and more well known.

[lizyflores]

Have you visited both? Can you attend their prefrosh weekends?

Yes Duke has much more prestige. Some people turn down the "big" name schools for Duke while Tufts has more of a rep as a good school for people that did not make it into the top schools. That is reputation, what matter is where you feel comfortable.

  I did not like the town around Duke at all but would still have ranked it up there much higher than many other schools on my list.

Duke and Tufts have very different personalities get out there and spend time with students but my vote would be Duke.

[James]

In the medical world, Duke simply has a bigger reputation. If you ultimately do decide to go to med school, Duke has a lot of cachet on the interview trail. Several of my classmates at Hopkins went to Duke, for what that's worth (my favorite caveat: "the plural of anecdote is not data").

That aside, the two schools are pretty different (setting, atmosphere, region, etc).

[TonySTJ001]

Thanks for the input guys. I spent a weekend at Tufts and loved it! I'll be visiting Duke in a few weeks to make my decision 

[justpat]

Go where you feel happiest, and feel the best fit. It's all about GPA and the MCATs anyway. If one of the two is known for easier marking/grade inflation, that would weigh heavily in my voting.

What about Brandeis or Cornell?

[Nemochick517]

my vote goes for tufts. i know people who have gone to both and tufts just seems like a happier, more fun place to be. and they're premed is pretty good too.

[sgp3213]

my vote for duke!

[TonySTJ001]

So I stayed over multiple nights at both... People are much more friendly at Tufts for sure but Duke has a much better reputation and a way better campus. So many pluses and minuses for both, I really can't decide. Should money be the deciding factor? Or sports? Or weather? Closeness to home maybe? Academics(they're close to equal I hear?) Ughh...

I'm so torn between the two. Any advice?

[sgp3213]

Depends which factors you consider most important. Obviously if you cannot afford a college, don't pick it. If you can afford both than if it would make it a lot easier for you to go to one financially it may be worth considering more seriously. The rest depends on whether or not you WANT to be far from home or WANT to be in certain weather climates and such and such. To me it doesn't even seem like a decision, I would have already sent a deposit to Duke considering its a far better premed school.

[TonySTJ001]

Is Tufts' premed program really that inferior to Duke's? I didn't think Tufts was that much worse.

[netsrock]

Tony, because you are being recruited for track, I would advise you to not input your decision. Out of concern for future applicants, saying that you were accepted at Duke or Tufts will skew the data. To be frank, you are not normally in the range for admitted students, so the percent chance for someone with lower numbers will increase as a result of your admission. I am sorry if I offended you, but I am just concerned for students who are interested for Duke and Tufts.

[James]

Netsrock, don't worry - the "recruited for sports" thing is a checkbox so that we can factor it in when we do our calculations. In the next round of the formula, which will be implemented by the end of springtime, sports recruitment status will be counted as a factor where applicable. In this sense, we *really* want Tony to put in his results!

[netsrock]

ok, that makes sense. sorry for the disturbance

[James]

ok, that makes sense. sorry for the disturbance

No worries. Thanks for your concern!

[sweetdreamzzz]

I think Duke is better

[Sodapopp]

Duke is definitely more prestigious, and that will help you a lot if you're going the medical school route.
However, as much as I love Duke and Duke basketball, which is admittedly odd for a Chapel Hillian, I have to say that Tufts is probably more fun. And a lot less intense. So I'd actually go to Tufts. I'll make a list of reasons :D
1. You should enjoy your college years
2. You have a better chance of making good grades at Tufts than at Duke
3. You might get better financial aid at Tufts, saving money for med school
4. Although Duke's premed program is wayy better, that doesn't really matter because it's just premed. Most of it is textbook classes. Duke may be known for its good hospitals, but you won't even be in those hospitals that often. Plus, I really don't think there's that much of a difference between going into med school with mediocre undergraduate knowledge and going into med school with great undergraduate knowledge. I don't know if that was even coherent, but I hope so.
5. I don't know much about the town around Tufts, but Durham is a mess... my mom won't even let me go to Durham after dark, nuff said? Duke campus is gorgeous and super-safe, but unless you plan on living solely on campus, that's not really enough.

[Benjikim25]

Hmm i'd have to say go with Duke. Even though there is too mu ch hype over their basketball program and such, the academic reputation there is outstanding as well. Tufts is a smaller school than Duke, so I guess it's where ever you feel more comfrotable in

[almendrasg]

duke hands down. ive always known duke as a premed/med school. you can never go wrong going to a top 20 (or even top 10, if you like) university in the world.