<p>now these 3 colleges are widely believed to be of about the same calibre
what do you guys think of each? pros/cons or anything in general?
i just thought one of these threads might make this board a bit more "normal"</p>
<p>I think Columbia is the best out of all of them, followed by Penn, then Duke. Columbia has the city (some see as a negative, but I think it is definity pro considering how nice and safe Manhattan is) and academically speaking, is probably the strongest of the 3. Next, Penn is wonderful too, but Phily is a dangerous place, so you go to watch your back. Duke is great too, but it has a southern feel to it, which is a turn off to some ppl not from the South.</p>
<p>Haha...I am from New England and Duke definitely does not have a "southern feel," unless you mean the better weather--don't talk out of your bum, collegekid :) The second, third, and fourth most represented states in each class are NY, FL, and NJ, for example...</p>
<p>All three colleges are definitely of the same calibre--there should be no "ordering" of them...in terms of selectivity, academicians, and ability to land a job/get into graduate school coming from each of them, you'll have an almost identical experience.</p>
<p>I got into Columbia, and visited a couple times, so I can tell you that from my time there Columbia and Duke definitely have different atmospheres. And, though I didn't apply to Penn, from what my friends say who go there it's pretty similar to Duke in its social scene and the type of personalities it attracts. </p>
<p>I believe Columbia and Penn, however, are more overtly competitive (i.e. cut-throat) than Duke. You really don't get the sense you are competing with other people when you're at Duke, but my friends at both other schools talk about the competition at each. </p>
<p>Columbia and Penn definitely win in terms of location. However, neither has nearly the same sense of community as Duke. Duke obviously takes the cake in terms of weather.</p>
<p>Besides that, just visit and see where you fit in...they are three excellent schools.</p>
<p>I'd strongly disagree with the claim that Penn doesn't have a sense of community. Philly is not NYC. It gives you things to do, but it's definitely not so spectacular that it distracts people from campus life.</p>
<p>Selectivity between the 3 colleges isn't even a comparison. Columbia was the thrid hardest school to get into this year, ahead of Princeton at 10.4%. Academics I would also give advantage to Columbia with more National Arts and Science members and more Nobel Laureates than any other school in the history of the world at 72.</p>
<p>I believe that the Core and New York City give Columbia a distinct advantage in possibilities and opportunities. As for community, in the spring you will find hundreds of people lounging on Low steps and in the south campus quad. There is truly a sense of community and campus even though it is in the biggest city in the world.</p>
<p>All three schools are distinct in atmosphere. As incollege88 said, look where you fit in best. If you are applying next year and take a tour of Columbia, I would love to be your tour guide.</p>
<p>As low as the acceptance rate is, it's because Columbia's applicant pool is comrised of more people with weaker stats (kids in NY who apply for the heck of it). Thus, the admit rate is higher, though I think it's just as hard to get into Duke or Penn as opposed to Columbia.</p>
<p>If you like the city, then Columbia is the choice. I personally didn't mind that much, but I was rejected from Penn (Wharton), which I most likely would have gone over Columbia, and chose Columbia over Duke (yea...i don't want to live in the south).</p>
<p>I chose Cornell over Duke b/c when I visited Duke, I absolutely hated the bus transfering thing. I mean, I do not think that Ithaca is the greatest place either, but it is the traditional campus that college is all about. Also, I was not all into the sports scene at Duke, which dominates life there.</p>
<p>"Academics I would also give advantage to Columbia with more National Arts and Science members and more Nobel Laureates than any other school in the history of the world at 72."</p>
<p>I might also give the nod to Columbia with regard to academics. However, your statement is what really turns me off about Columbia..."smarter than thou". These 72 individuals are not NAS members or Nobel Laureates because they went to Columbia. Columbia provides an excellent atmosphere for people like this to grow, intellectually. You can't honestly say that these same people would not have reached the same level of success had they attended Penn or Duke. Doing so gives the credit to Columbia and not the individual. To hear my tour guide and campus visit coordinator talk, everyone that gets accepted at Columbia could eventually win a Nobel prize, thanks to the vaunted intellectual surroundings at Columbia.</p>
<p>"...even though it is in the biggest city in the world."</p>
<p>Not. Check your facts before your next tour. Granted, I wouldn't care to live in most of the cities ahead of NY, population-wise. ;-)</p>
<p>Yeah, I also agree that Columbia College is a bit better academically then Penn or Duke, but also agree with the point just made that 72 Nobel Prize winners having teaching positions at Columbia has little to do with factors a pre-freshman should be considering for undergraduate education.</p>
<p>All three are different schools with different strengths and weaknesses. Go where you feel most comfortable from a gut instinct.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Duke obviously takes the cake in terms of weather.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's ****ing nuts. I'm from NC, and can't wait to leave the hurricanes, muggy and insufferable summers, code purple ozone days (yes, the Triangle area is worse than NYC and Philadelphia), and annoying winters predominated by 35º freezing rain and inept forecasting.</p>
<p>umm...we aren't at Duke in the summer and you don't know anything about winters or how nice an NC winter is until you come to the Northeast :)</p>
<p>to say the Duke winters are like mild, that is just really exaggerating the truth. Duke still gets sub 40 degree temperatures and yes, it does snow down in North Carolina. Where Duke is located, it is not located near the coast, where it is warmer. Therefore, Duke is defintely warmer than New York or Phili, but its not Florida or anything near that warm.</p>
<p>collegekid-I am from New England. I know what winters in the Northeast are like. I just spent a whole year at Duke. There is absolutely NO COMPARISON between "winters" at Duke and those in the Northeast, especially where you're going, lol...</p>
<p>You people are crazy. Just chilllllll.......</p>
<p>incollege: I'll take a foot of snow over a quarter inch of ice any day.</p>
<p>And Durham's pretty bad in September, too.</p>
<p>lol whatever, I really don't care...go be argumentative without me...I think I am about done with CC</p>
<p>As others noted, the three are pretty similar in terms of academics. I would go wherever you fit in best. In any case, I'd give the slight boost to Penn because that's where <em>I</em> fit in best.</p>
<p>what about columbia GS vs Penn SAS vs NYU stern?</p>
<p>i am pulling my hair out trying to decide</p>
<p>I picked Duke over Columbia, because I thought the academic programs were awesome and more flexible, and I like the big, airy campus feel, plus the student body is more active socially on campus it seemed</p>
<p>Columbia is awesome though, plus you can't really beat NYC in terms of oppurtunities</p>
<p>how could anyone say the weather is worse at duke than in Columbia...maybe its because I visited Columbia for the first time on the officially coldest day of the year</p>
<p>I guess this thread boils down to: go with your personal preference based on atmosphere.</p>
<p>That of course means more than meteorology, but if you're not swayed academcially, location's got to do the trick.</p>
<p>Like thoughtprocess, I chose the school that I thought had academic programs that were awesome and more flexible. For me, that was Columbia over Duke, for him it was vice versa.</p>
<p>I prefer cold weather, he prefers warmer but strange weather.</p>
<p>haha. i certainly can't wait for hail in sunshine...</p>