<prompt> Human: So I have to decide where to attend college by May 1st. Im deciding between Duke University and University of Wisconsin-Madison my states flagship university. If I go to Duke, my total debt after 4 years would be around 30k in subsidized federal loans and at least another 30k in private loans probably from a 2nd mortgage on my parents house. If I go to UW-Madison, I would only graduate with 20k in unsubsidized federal loans or 15k if I finish in 3 years due to AP credits. They are both very good for my intended field of study animal biology and pre veterinary medicine and I know it would probably make financial sense to go to Wisconsin. However, I would get a better education at Duke and I just cant get over the thought that Id be passing up a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to study at such a prestigious university with a 9 acceptance rate, ranked 8 in the nation, and that if I were to go to Wisconsin which is much easier to get into all the studying and work I did to get a 35 on the ACT and a 4.0 gpa wouldve been a waste of time. Ive been agonizing over this for the past month, and I just cant decide!EDIT: Thanks for all the replies! I know that UW is also a great school, by better education I mean that many classes at UW are huge not my learning style, taught by TAs, not professors, it is not as undergrad-oriented, and the support and advising for undergrads is not as strong as Dukes.  <response>: Honestly, UW-Madison is called a public Ivy for a reason. Everybody knows its one of the best state schools and they have top-notch faculty. Your future wont be hindered by attending Madison instead of Duke as long as you continue working hard. Go to Madison, save yourself some cash. : 