duke vs boston university (ED)

[elder sequoia]

probably gonna be a poli sci major with data science minor
also a URM

duke
pros: better for major and minor, big undergrad research emphasis, change from where i grew up (suburb of boston), more of a close knit community
cons: durham seems to be in a concert desert where major artists would be performing 2+ hours away, can’t tour duke in the fall at all,

bu
pros: bigger city and less isolating due to northeast corridor (bos/nyc/dc), urban campus, more of an intl presence, more artists preform in bos

cons: know little about their data science/poli sci program, grade deflation, mental health crisis, too close to home (live ~45 min away)

note: eventually i want to apply to grad school in europe, don’t have a car, i’ll apply to both but but I’d be a better fit stats wise at BU
bu’s merit scholarships have a dec 1 deadline, i don’t think duke has a deadline

[native plume]

Duke is the pick here, but obviously many BU students can’t get into Duke. So I think you get in both, Duke, if only BU, you’re still at a solid school

Also, what’s the “mental health crisis” at BU?

[compact aspen]

I don’t know how good it is, but I know BU has recently opened or is opening a large new data science program, so that may be of interest. I would imagine Duke would still be the better school academically, but admissions wise it’s in a different league, so the choice may depend on your stats.

[limber inlet]

Hey there! Good luck with applying!

From what you told us about your pros/cons for Duke and BU, it sounds like you prefer Duke, and because of that, I think it sounds like that might be the good one for you. BU is awesome, and I don't think you can go wrong picking either as your ED, but you have a lot of pros for Duke and very few cons.