My top two choices for college are Vanderbilt and Duke, problem is, I can’t seem to decide which I should apply ED for. Both are great schools with excellent academics but I still can’t quite get a handle on which I should choose. Can you guys help me out? In terms of things like Academics, Social Life, Happiness, Dorms, Location, Prestige, Grade inflation?/Deflation? etc. which of the two really beats the other overall. I know Duke has the better name but recently Vandy has gotten really selective and had a lower acceptance rate than Duke for 2019 and catching up quick.
Advice? Suggestions? Comments?
Can you pay for both?
Yes, I checked the net price calculator for both and I would be able to afford both
What are your stats? You say that you can afford it but can your parents afford it? They will be paying the bills.
What major?
@TomSrOfBoston that’s what I implied.
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: South Asian
Major: Biology or Anthropology
SAT: 2200 (CR 680 Math 760 Writing 760)
ACT: Haven’t taken yet
SATII: Haven’t taken yet
GPA: UW 4.0 W 4.61
Rank: 14/644 (Top 2%)
Courses: All IB Courses
AP/IB: AP Human Geo 5. AP Macro 4. AP Euro 3. Waiting on AP Lit and Psych. Waiting on IB results as well
Senior Course load: HL English, HL History, HL Chemistry, SL Biology, HL Economics, Theory of Knowledge, AP Statistics
bump
bummppp
bummppp
Duke out of those two, taking into account admission odds and biol/anthro quality, but you are well below the 25th in SAT CR at both (for ED). Are you applying to Johns Hopkins? Slightly less selective and certainly no weaker in biology.
@Dunboyne I was slightly worried about my CR score. Hoping that when I take the ACT in September I’ll receive a score better in comparison than my SAT. I hadn’t considered JHU. Duke and Vandy were my top choices. Below those are Emory, UNC Chapel Hill, UF, USF, Miami
Good plan with the ACT. Home state is FL?
@Dunboyne Yes. Those 3 in FL are really my safeties. More UF and USF than Miami
You have a good list. Check out JHU, and I’d suggest U Michigan too, but check the cost (and distance).
Anyone else have any help or advice for either Duke or Vanderbilt? Any current students?
Vanderbilt is not more selective than Duke for the class of 2019. Duke is more selective and has a significantly higher yield. Perhaps you are comparing Vanderbilt’s RD rate to Duke’s overall rate.
Duke is ranked in the top 20-25 on most global university rankings. It has almost never been ranked outside the top 10 by US News. It has produced more Rhodes, Marshall, Churchill, Truman, Goldwater and Mitchell scholars. It brings in significantly more money for research, has a much larger endowment and a more productive faculty.
These are just the facts. I don’t mean to imply that Vanderbilt is not a good school in its own right.
@NerdyChica last I heard, Vandy had a 10% acceptance rate w/ a lower ED acceptance rate and Duke had a 11.7%. I might have misread.
I’m basically asking for as much input as possible on the two. Not just about prestige but the elements stated in my original post as well. Seems like Duke has academics well over Vandy by the opinions
You are probably mistaken.
Vanderbilt’s RD acceptance rate was 9.5%. Duke’s was 9.4%.
Vanderbilt has two rounds of ED. Duke has only one. Therefore it is very unlikely that Duke is less selective overall. Unfortunately, Vanderbilt does not appear to have released an overall acceptance rate for the class of 2019.
Location: I don’t know anything about Nashville. Durham is a great city with lots of good restaurants etc. The research triangle park is home to a lot of iconic companies like IBM and GSK.
Social Life: Duke’s is pretty heterogeneous. Although Greek life is more prominent than it would be at a school like Yale. Overall, you should be able to find your niche.
Grades: Duke doesn’t practice grade deflation. I think Vanderbilt used to (I’m not entirely sure though).
Dorms: I know nothing about Vanderbilt’s dorms but Duke’s are pretty nice and the entire freshman campus is going to be air-conditioned from this year onwards. In general, wealthier schools have nicer dorms and Duke is considerably wealthier than Vanderbilt.