Hey Everyone, so I got accepted to both Dartmouth and Duke(as a Karsh Scholar) and am currently deciding between them. Considering that I’ll be going for Engineering/Computer Science, which option would be better for me, and why? What are the major negatives of each of the universities? What are their positives? @ucbalumnus @mom2collegekids
Are both the same cost for you? How close are they to your home?
I have received full rides at both the universities, and I’m an international applicant.
Duke has the wider reputation. Have you visited both schools, and how do they feel to you? How do you like the depts, and other college aspects. Congrats on the great merit. Good luck to you.
You cannot go wrong with either one - in many ways, they are very similar. Both are affluent, “preppie”, homogeneous schools with deep traditions on gorgeous campuses. I would look at the CVs of the Eng profs at both schools and see if you can make a connection, you may as well go somewhere where someone is doing research in an area you are interested in. Congratulations
Funny my son is making the same decision. We have toured Dartmouth last summer. Now we are going to see Duke soon. His interest is in economics and would like to go to Wall Street upon graduation. Any suggestions? Another school he is considering is Georgetown.
@hzhao2004 If Wall Street is what your son is after, Dartmouth is the way to go. It’s a target school and all the major Bulge Bracket banks recruit there. Dartmouth’s D-Plan also lets students get off-cycle internships. Dartmouth is also Morgan Stanley’s biggest recruitment college. Duke is also good for Wall Street though. However, Duke and Dartmouth outplace Georgetown by a mile 
@hzhao2004 I would investigate the Wall St connections with internships, departmental connections, Co-op etc.
Dartmouth (4276 UG) and Duke (UG 6646). Depending on the specific depts and student plans. Where does son feel better at? What do you see with ‘parent eyes’? I personally prefer Duke, but not familiar at all with Dartmouth. Duke has a wider US connection/recognition.
I suspect Wall St does like diversification at some level with kids from various ‘top’ universities. Yes there are alum and family connections. Going to one or the other probably won’t preclude or guarantee anything.
Good luck to your son.
Duke sucks at basketball
@Oberyn Also, Duke just became national champions!! 
Yes as a WI native, I can now commiserate with my friends that are KY fans. I can take solace that although Duke has been to a lot of men’s national championship basketball games (11 times) they just won their 5th. Feel bad for the WI team that came short last year and their all this year just fell short when they gave up their lead late in the game last night.
Disagree strongly with Duke having stronger name recognition than Dartmouth. Yes, Duke has built a name, fueled in part by its high-profile athletics, but Dartmouth is an Ivy League school with a rich history, superb reputation, and a legendary alumni network. Also ranked #1 amongst all if the Ivies in undergraduate teaching and alumni giving (a key indicator of satisfaction with the college experience.)
I don’t know much about the Computer Science comparison, but if your interest in primarily in Engineering, I would look at Duke first. I believe the only degree that can be earned in four years at Dartmouth is the B.A. (Dartmouth calls it A.B. using the Latin abbreviation). To get a Bachelor of Engineering (equivalent to a B.S. at most schools) requires an additional year. If you follow this course, you get both an A.B. and a B.E… I’m not sure how marketable a BA in engineering is, so you’re probably looking at five years.
Also, if you follow the rankings, Duke’s engineering school is ranked quite a bit higher than Dartmouth’s.
I’m not knocking Dartmouth at all. It’s a wonderful school and I am an alum from there. I also have family connections to Duke. Both great schools.
An AB(BA) in engineering is fine for “Engineering Lite” types of jobs (project management and such). To actually build bridges and prototypical engineering, you’d really need the BE(BS) to be a competitive applicant.
The other thing to note is if you go for a 6th year at Dartmouth, you can get the MEM (Masters in Engineering Management) through Thayer. This lets you do both engineering stuff and engineering management, since it’s kind of the “MBA” for engineers.
Also, sorry I didn’t have you winning the championship in any of my brackets, Duke. My bad.
My son just came back from touring Dartmouth a few days ago, and he just fell in love with it. After seeing both Dartmouth and Duke, he is now committed to Dartmouth. He intends to major in economics and applied math. If one’s interest is in engineering, I can see why the choice can be different.
Dartmouth’s engineering track is advertised as taking five years to complete a BS, but out of all of the sources that I have talked to (granted only 3 Dartmouth students), they have all been able to complete their BS in 4 years (while still maintaining a social life etc.). I think that it is very possible to complete a BS at Dartmouth without taking that extra year (it might take 1 extra quarter)
Hello Everyone! Thank you all immensely for taking the time to respond. I just wanted to let you know that I ended up choosing Duke after much deliberation and every single comment here helped me greatly in making the decision. Thank you again!