Brandeis vs. Duke

<p>I was placed on the waiting list for Duke, and just got in. Am I allowed to rescind my place for next year in place of Duke? and what are yalls opinions about Brandeis vs. Duke? Thanks</p>

<p>Well, they're very different schools. The locations are radically different. Do you want to be in Raleigh or in Boston? I believe Brandeis is smaller...does that make a difference to you? Duke is more of a party school and has a solid Greek life. Brandeis' social scene is much more low key. Duke has little bit better rep. But the level of education you'll receieve is probably about the same. Unless there's something in particular you want to study that Duke has but Brandeis doesn't, or vice vera.</p>

<p>im big into pre-med...and both school are pretty good...</p>

<p>I don't know much about Duke, so I can't speak to it. Brandeis and Duke are very different schools. Duke is large. Brandeis is small. Brandeis is near the big college city of Boston, but on a beautiful campus. Undergrads (even first-years) at Brandeis have the ability to conduct research with faculty members, get funded and get published; those opportunities are rare. The acceptance rate into med school for Brandeis students is approximately 80% -- much higher than average, although I'm sure Duke can't be that far behind. Also, Brandeis has the Tufts Early Assurance Program, which means that at the end of your sophomore year, you will already know that you are going to Tufts medical school. I've had the best year of my life at Brandeis. I think it's an awesome school, but you need to decide for yourself. Is it possible to visit Brandeis and Duke again? Talk to as many people as possible. Talk to students. Talk to professors. Talk to pre-health advisors. At Brandeis, she's Kate ***awa-Connelly. I've heard from my pre-med friends that's she's great and very helpful. Good luck!</p>

<p>"The acceptance rate into med school for Brandeis students is approximately 80% -- much higher than average, although I'm sure Duke can't be that far behind."</p>

<p>The rate at duke is 86%</p>

<p>yea...and i wasn't planning to go into the tufts early assurance program either</p>

<p>Correction: As per <a href="http://www.brandeis.edu/admissions/academics/outcomes.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.brandeis.edu/admissions/academics/outcomes.php&lt;/a>, the acceptance rate at med school at Brandeis is 82% -- two percent higher than I originally said. Thanks brown for Duke's acceptance rate. Remember, the national average is 52% -- so both schools are in another stratosphere.</p>

<p>NO, NO, NO, NO, A MILLION TIMES NO. For the love of God, can't they give accurate information?</p>

<p>82% acceptance rate to medical school is a bald-faced lie. It may be accurate when they include osteopathic, dentistry, podiatry, and optometry, but those are much easier to get into than medicine.</p>

<p>For your typical allopathic, i.e. MD-granting medical schools, our acceptance rate has varied over the past few years from about 60-70%. Significantly different from Duke's, assuming their numbers are correct. And that doesn't even take into consideration the people who'd like to go but are discouraged by Brandeis from applying.</p>

<p>I have the numbers, which come straight from the horse's mouth. They were given to me in a handout written by the school's Pre-health office itself. Don't let Hiatt (one of the most unhelpful, incompetent centers you could possibly imagine) sucker you like that.</p>

<p>Addendum:</p>

<p>If you really like Brandeis and you want to praise it, go right ahead. There are plenty of good things you can say that are actually true. But don't give these prospective students lies. They deserve better.</p>

<p>If I pulled the 82% number out of nowhere, then it would be a lie. I found that number from the admissions website -- you say it's wrong because it doesn't include "osteopathic, dentistry, podiatry, and optometry." The OP never specified he wasn't interested in those fields -- so as far as I'm concerned, that number is accurate.</p>

<p>And, besides, does the person who said Duke's rate is 86% have proof of that?</p>

<p>First of all, I wouldn't trust anything the Brandeis admissions site has to say. (sorry, I originally said it came from Hiatt, but I was mistaken) They're clearly more than willing to bend the truth to try to get people to come.</p>

<p>And it is not accurate to lump the other health professions in with medicine when you're talking about acceptance rates. This is not an insult to those careers, but the fact is they are easier to get into than allopathic (M.D.) medical schools. That artificially bumps up the numbers. I didn't say you got that number from nowhere. I'm just saying it's way off the mark. It contradicts what the pre-health office itself published.</p>

<p>I know nothing about Duke's numbers. However it is more well-known than Brandeis and derives an advantage from that. In addition, when it comes to backing our students for med school admission, it seems like Brandeis is "honest" to the point that they won't strongly endorse even well-qualified students, for fear of exaggeration, while other schools may really go to bat for their alums and do whatever they can to build them up and get them in even if it means making them sound like they're better than they actually are.</p>

<p>First, you complain Brandeis gives out dishonest acceptance rates into med-school. Then, you say Brandeis is too honest when recommending students for med schools -- and, unlike other schools, doesn't "mak[e] them sound like they're better than they actually are."</p>

<p>So, which is it? Is Brandeis too honest or not honest enough?</p>

<p>The reason why Brandeis doesn't exaggerate the accomplishments of med-school applicants may have something to do with our motto, "truth even unto its innermost parts." Because Brandeis cares about the world at-large, it seems we don't want to send people who may not be the best doctors into the world. I'm very pleased Brandeis values honesty over "getting their kids in," while still having a remarkable med-school acceptance rate.</p>

<p>Simple. They're dishonest whenever it suits them.</p>

<p>It would be nice if all schools told the truth about their applicants, but this is the real world, buddy. We pay a lot of money to go to college, and I think we have the right to expect that they will bust their balls to help us achieve our goals, especially when our competitors at other colleges are getting that leg up.</p>

<p>And what about the qualified Brandeis students who probably deserve to be doctors but aren't supported strongly enough? Might not they be losing out to students from other schools who "may not be the best doctors in the world," yet are getting in?</p>

<p>Wait until you have to deal with the world outside Brandeis, sulsk. It can be a cruel place.</p>

<p>What is Brandeis's motivation for under-reviewing its pre-med students?</p>