Tezzie, I'm very sorry that you had a bad experience at Duke. As a Duke student, my overriding impression of people here isn't that they are "snobbish" but I can definitely understand that if you ran into a certain subset of people, you could get that impression. Anyway, it's definitely a shame if our school is driving away laid back, fun, interesting people! ATPase, I highly encourage you to come to Duke with an open mind next month!
Also, I just wanted to comment, before this whole Step 1 scores debate gets blown out of proportion, please be sure to look at it realistically. You didn't pick your undergrad school based on average MCAT scores (or at least, I certainly hope you didn't!) While I understand that you're concerned, you should also be aware that Step 1 scores are pretty much used for getting into a good residency. As you can see from Duke's residency director reputation and great match list, the "slightly above national average" board scores aren't hurting Duke students. In fact, as a Duke student, it takes a lot of pressure off to know that I don't have to score >240 to get the residency of my choice.
Come March, if your decision comes down to Duke and one other school, and you really can't decide between them, then sure, make average Step 1 score a factor. Duke has a lot of great advantages: it's incredibly student-centered, the clinical training is super, and you have the opportunity to get a second degree without losing a year and paying the extra money, or to do research in basic science, clinical science, history, ethics, religion, health services, public health, epidemiology, etc, etc, etc. The tradeoff might be losing a few points on your step 1 score. But years from now, which will you appreciate more: the extra step 1 points, or a great experience and education that really helped you explore and define a fulfilling career?
