Should I choose Yale after a mandatory gap year, or Duke this year? I just graduated from high school and I intend to go to med school.

I have two thoughts: 1) I went to Yale and my sister went to Duke. They are both great schools that will prepare you well for whatever you want to do afterward. But they are going to be different experiences. One school is in the South, the other in the Northeast. Duke is big on sports (particularly basketball). At Yale, sports are an afterthought. Yale has a residential college system and a pretty insignificant Greek scene; Duke has no residential college system and thus frats and sororities are more important. Please, please make this decision based on fit and quality of life, not on which school will put you in a better position after you graduate. 2) If I were you, I would look at the opportunity to take a gap year as a HUGE positive. I am about to start medical school at UCSF at 28 years old, 6 years after I graduated from college. The 22-year-old 1st year medical student is quickly becoming the exception rather than the rule. I think that the median age of our incoming class at UCSF is 25 or 26. Take a year off to travel and explore new interests and figure out who you are and what makes you tick. If money is an issue, work a shitty job for part of the year to fund your travels -- that will be a hugely important experience in its own right. You're still young. I guarantee that 10 or 20 years down the road, you won't regret taking time to grow and explore.

First off, kudos on your accomplishments and admissions to two fantastic universities! That is no small feat! Go with the school that "feels" more right to you and where you feel more at home. These are both top tier, highly respected academic environments, so it's not as if there are real questions of caliber or brand value on your résumé. Your comfort with the campus, the community, and the surrounding cities will be a huge part of your multi-year time and financial investment. New Haven, CT and Durham, NC are different cities in very different parts of the country. If in your heart of hearts, however, you truly like them both the same, then I'd favor the opportunity to take the gap year. Who I thought I was and what I thought I knew at 17-18 and at 22-23 were very different. This is from the vantage point of my mid-30s, where I am more confused than ever and know next to nothing... and am as happy as can be. The opportunity to take that year is very likely to be great chance to learn about the world and about yourself, and will almost certainly help you get more out of the major investment of time & money that you put into a college education. You may wind up choosing to steer your life in a different direction than you thought.

Both will more than adequately prepare you for med school admissions. Pick a school based on best fit (location, student life, etc...).

Those are some fantastic options. I haven't attending either school, though I have visited on several occasions. I have, however, gone to medical school (including with many graduates from Duke and Yale) and I can say that both schools will prepare you well for medical school. One piece of unsolicited advice would be to not major in "Pre-med". Pick a subject (chemistry, physics, biology, biochemistry, etc.) and be good at that. You never know if you'll change your mind later, and a pre-med major isn't quite the same as a physics major, in my opinion.

As I haven't had the slightest interest in applying for medical school or becoming a doctor since I was 13 years old, I won't presume to tell you what to do to maximize your chances of getting into med school. (I would suspect choosing between Duke and Yale and deciding whether or not to take a gap year are irrelevant to your chances. What matters most, I'd bet, is what you do with your college career whenever it is that you get there: your grades, your MCAT scores, and extracurriculars that demonstrate intangible qualities desired in doctors, such as commitment to community, caring for others, enthusiasm/abilities for scientific research, ability to overcome real-life challenges, etc. etc.) But I do have a couple things you should think about: Volunteering  and travel are not things for which there are deadlines. You can start travelling at any time, and there are sure to be opportunities for you to volunteer whenever you want to start. I think both are great options for spending a gap year. If you decide to travel, I urge you to do so in a way that takes you away from the familiar and forces you to interact with the locals. That's the most fun, and it's the way to make you think, and make you grow as a person. If you choose to volunteer, I urge you to pick your experience not based on what you think will look good on your med-school application, but where you can do the most good for those who need your help the most. People -- by which I mean admissions officers -- aren't stupid. They know a resume padder when they see one. I also wanted to comment on this statement: "Why wait?! By the end of all my studying, I will be 29/30 (I'm currently 18)!" Yes, when I was your age, I thought 29 or 30 was "old," too. It's not. Whether you complete your training to be a doctor at age 29, 30, 31, or 32, you can still expect to have a career of 35 to 40 years, if you wish. A headstart of a year or two is not going to make a real difference in how fast your career advances. You're in a rush to get to what you see as the destination right now, and that's common for those finishing high school. But I'd urge you to focus on the experience and the "journey" itself. I know this sounds corny. But in this, as in many things in life, focusing on the destination actually makes it more difficult to reach, while focusing on the journey makes the destination more worthwhile.

I think there may be a small flaw in the question: you are asking for a choice between two options, with no quantifiers or qualifiers included. Thus, you will only get definitive answers from individuals who have predetermined biases, one way or the other. Under these circumstances, I'd have to recommend Duke. If you were to provide a little further color to your question, it might encourage a wider diversity of answers, each bringing with it some more robust reasoning. For instance, if you were to explain (as a theoretical example) that you want your undergraduate institution to be the same as your post graduate (medical) one, and that you want to specialize in such-and-such a medical field, people with more knowledge than I possess would be able to advise you as to (a) the trends for each medical school pulling from its own undergraduate pool, (b) the reputation and facilities of each medical school as it relates to your chosen medical field, and/or (c) the benefits or disadvantages of continuing your postgraduate education at the same institution that you undertook your undergraduate studies. UPDATE: Saw that you have added some "color commentary" to your question, subsequent to my original answer above! Hope it proves helpful. For my part, I can now further respond by suggesting that your decision needs to be borne of your own self- evaluation: do you think this stage in your life (and possibly your life in the future) is best served by a gap-year experience that will enrich you in ways that only "in the field" experience can do? Or do you believe that it is more useful to forge ahead with completion of your education, thereby shifting that "impact" year ahead to when you are a fully qualified physician? Can you do more good, and be more fulfilled, as a young volunteer of 18, or as a young doctor of 29? Perhaps those aren't your governing criteria? Decide what is important to you at this juncture, and - without really knowing you - might I suggest that anyone who has succeeded in securing places at two of the nation's most selective universities, regardless whether deferred or otherwise, is likely to maximize the value of whatever experience they engage upon. I am confident you will get the best out of either course of action, and prosper. More importantly, I hope you will do great things for others, whether now or later!

I wouldn't recommend a gap year unless you can work out detailed and specific plans for it. I took one. While I eventually did some great stuff (field research in Ecuador, EMT certification), the amount of time I spent doing nothing really killed my work ethic and study habits for when I got to college. If you're considering it, start doing your research immediately. It's very likely that there are still plenty of programs, internships, or jobs you can apply for. Maybe not many during the fall, but certainly the rest of the year; and in any case, it's better not to have choice paralysis. If you have the opportunity, traveling can certainly be a good way to fill up time that you can't schedule a program for. Be decisive. Find options, determine what you most want to do, and apply for it now. Don't sit around agonizing up until deadlines.

As others have noted, you have amazing opportunities before you, regardless. Assuming financials aren't a factor (and it sounds like ability isn't either), and assuming that you're set on a career in medicine, I see very little downside to starting your education immediately at Duke. There has been research showing that where a person is admitted to school is a better predictor of ultimate success than where they attend. With two amazing schools, filled with amazing faculty, the marginal difference is unlikely to be substantial. The experience may be different, but you can make of it what you choose - whether you're making friends in a college house or through campus organizations, you can still make friends. However, you don't currently have a plan to make full use out of a gap year (and it doesn't sound like you need to catch up on the basics), so a gap year at this point sounds like it would waste time (and time is much more precious than a brand name of a school). Starting at Duke now will get you to medical school earlier, get you to residency earlier, and get you practicing medicine earlier. When it's all said and done, you can retire a year earlier, or work a year longer and save more lives than you could if you delayed a year. Duke is also located in the research triangle, allowing for countless opportunities for research experience along the way, in innovative private companies, if not in the many medical schools in the area. Good luck to you, regardless of the path you choose.

I strongly suggest that you visit both Duke and Yale, and choose the place you feel most comfortable in.  Duke and Yale were different schools in two very different places 30 years ago when I was at Duke, and, I suspect they're still very different. BTW, I started out as premed, and ended up as a CPA/MBA.  Don't be surprised if you change your mind, and be open to new opportunities that await you at college.  You're obviously an outstanding student and will be successful at any major university. Good luck to you!