Duke, hopkins, columbia???

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey Guys & Gals, </p>

<p>So after being devastated by a Stanford rejection, I have come to terms with the reality that I must go to college elsewhere... And I am very blessed to have these (as well as other choices). At this point, I have absolutely no idea where to go...</p>

<p>So, I would appreciate your input? Likes, dislikes about Duke, Hopkins, Columbia? Where would you go and why? Thank you so much, and my condolences to all my fellow Stanford rejects/rejects in general!</p>

<p>Sincerely,
Project Stanford</p>

<p>P.S: My major -as of yet- is undecided, but most likely engineering based!</p>

2

<p>All three are wonderful. I have no idea about engineering programs. I’d choose Columbia (Ivy League, NYC, spectacular pizza, etc).</p>

3

<p>I would chose Columbia because NYC is better than Durham. I would eliminate JHS.</p>

4

<p>Since you are really passionate about Stanford-I’d choose the most Stanford-like school of the three. I’ve been told that that is Duke, though I have never been to Duke so you should get more opinions.</p>

5

<p>Morsmordre, do you think it would be beneficial to take a year off to sing opera (my profession through highschool, and recently a reignited passion), and then reapply to Stanford?</p>

<p>Thanks Guys - PLEASE KEEP POSTING! I desperately need help on this one!</p>

6

<p>Out of those three, I would DEFINITELY support Columbia. Not only the whole ivy-factor, but it is a great city with tremendous opportunities. I’m sure you won’t regret it.</p>

7

<p>Duke has the most school spirit of the three
Columbia has the most prestige of the three
Hopkins has the hardest academic workload of the three.</p>

<p>Duke is in a kinda rundown city.
Hopkins is in an ok city with access to DC
Columbia is in a not so great part of a great city.</p>

<p>Duke sports is very big and all division I.
Hopkins sports are ok, but they are phenomenal at Lacrosse and are famous for it.
Columbia pretty much sucks at sports in general.</p>

<p>Duke is more of a preppy meets fratboy feel overall, with your little niches here and there.
Hopkins is more of a pre-professional feel.
Columbia is more of a liberal artsy feel.</p>

<p>Duke focuses more, out of the three, on undergraduate studies, though not by much, as it is still a major research university.
Hopkins is second here.
Columbia has many graduate students and undergrads on its main campus, meaning undergrads often take a backseat, though not all the time.</p>

<p>Engineering at Hopkins and Duke is roughly on par. Both have areas where they excel over the other.
Columbia Engineering is ok, but is getting better with time.</p>

<p>Duke has some required courses, but otherwise, is not very rigorous on a core curriculum.
Hopkins has no core curriculum, but does have distribution requirements.
Columbia has a pretty rigorous core curriculum which may or may not hinder a student looking to do more than one major.</p>

<p>All three give you great access to research opportunities.</p>

<p>All three are great for job recruitment in engineering, though Columbia engineering may lag behind Duke and JH by a bit here.</p>

<p>Duke has the largest campus of the three. very expansive with gardens throughout.
Hopkins has the second largest campus, which is nicely sized and spacious, but not too large. Several quads.
Columbia has a rather small patch of grass in Morningside Heights, but rather, owns a lot of buildings. Think one-two quads and just a lot of concrete.</p>

<p>hope that helps.</p>

8

<p>The logic of going to the most Stanford-esque seems reasonable, and that would far and away be Duke.</p>

<p>But Columbia is the most prestigious of the three, no question there</p>

9

<p>I disagree with Stanford being like Duke. The culture at Stanford is much more laid back and there is a lot more political, social, cultural, environmental consciousness at Stanford than at Duke. School spirit-wise, maybe, but Stanford folks aren’t nearly as rabid as Duke BBall folks.</p>

<p>As for the choice, uh…Columbia is not a bad consolation prize haha.</p>

<p>This is a no brainer for me, Columbia.</p>

10

<p>Columbia+ NYC, the greatest city in the world, so much to do! and both the campus and the city are gorgeous. Beware though, with so much to do in such a pricey city, your tuition may not be all you need to worry about paying for.</p>

11

<p>All three are great schools and prestigious, so you can leave prestige out of the equation. It comes down to a question of fit–which only you can determine. I suggest you visit all three–and choose the one which feels right for you. All three are great, but they are different.</p>

<p>I am pretty familiar with all three and, if it were me, I’d choose Hopkins over the other two because I like it’s atmosphere and culture better. But that’s me—and you could well have a totally different viewpoint. I like New York for a few days at a time, but have no desire to live there. Columbia’s campus is too small and urban for my tastes. Hopkins and Duke both have beautiful, park-like campuses although Duke’s is much more spread out (Hopkins has some beautiful gardens but nothing comes close to the Duke gardens). I could go on and on comparing the three but the point is that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, the only important thing is how you feel about them. Spend some time at each and the answer will probably be obvious to you.</p>

12

<p>ProjectStanford, I do not think it is a good idea, infact it is a horrible one-you are not assured Duke, Hopkins or Columbia if you do so. I was like you about a certain school in NJ, but luckily for me they don’t accept transfers, thus I didn’t spend my freshman year thinking about transferring. If I were you, at the worst case, I would attend one of these schools planning to transfer to Stanford. But chances are, you won’t care to do so anymore.</p>

13

<p>

I second this. As much as people quibble over differences in these schools, most people end up very happy regardless of which college they choose. </p>

<p>I also agree that Duke is the one that most closely resembles Stanford, followed by Hopkins. Columbia and Stanford do not share many similarities. </p>

<p>nooob, have you ever visited London? ;)</p>

14

<p>Having been to both Duke and Stanford. Outside of the “bubble” environment the students are completely different and the campuses have a completely different feel to them.</p>

15

<p>If Stanford-esque is what you want, Duke should be your top choice. go there. You won’t regret it.</p>

16

<p>Most like Stanford, great school, much more diverse and interesting than out-of-date stereotype. If you really want to be in an urban school, then Columbia is the obvious choice. If you want a great campus and an experience like Stanford than Duke is much closer…And it’s full of Californians these days – many, I guess, people who didn’t get into Stanford…</p>

17

<p>Thanks guys, this is helping tremendously! Morsmordre, I completely agree with you, and will not pursue that ridiculous idea of mine. </p>

<p>As for future posts, if you could preface your explanations by listing the school you would choose, at the top, I would appreciate it! Thank you so much, and please continue to help me!</p>

18

<p>OP: If I recall correctly you were at school in Manhattan. How did you get to Honolulu? </p>

<p>And didn’t you work over the summer at Columbia?</p>

<p>Unless I am mistaken I remember from the Stanford thread you were interested in sociology or some such – now you are interested in engineering.</p>

<p>It appears you have traveled a long distance on multiple dimensions.</p>

<p>Finally, how can a chorus of well-meaning individuals who don’t know you help you make a choice. Only you know your objective function – and only you know what weights you assign to different criteria. Everything here is background music. So, lay out your reasoning and your preferences as clearly as possible. We may be better at asking questions than providing answers.</p>

<p>After all, some smart enough to get into these schools knows why you applied to each of them in the first place – and knows instictively their individual preference among them.</p>