Duke is the Princeton of the South..
https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/i-got-into-the-princeton-of-the-south/45336
Both are great. Duke is much larger and Freshman live on edge of campus which can be a drag but also maybe builds camaraderie.
Biotech at Duke is incredible and they have a Medical school.
Most people end up staying in the south — so think about where he wants to end up.
Using the full Census Bureau definition (including MD, TX, OK, and DC), approximately 48.3% of the domestic student population comes from the South.
If you look strictly at the traditional/Deep South & Southeast (excluding Texas, Oklahoma, Maryland, and DC), the total is approximately 35.26%, led heavily by Duke's home state of North Carolina at 13.42%.
Princeton is like an uber resourced SLAC with a good engineering program.