<p>Hey, I am an International Student. I have been accepted (with my full need met) at Dartmouth and Duke. My first priority is having the best undergraduate engineering experience. But I am very confused about which one to chose. What is bugging me the most is that one is an "IVY" and the other has "the great Pratt School of Engineering". Please help me get sorted out. I would very much appreciate your honest opinions and comments.</p>
<p>Pleaseeeeeeeeeee…help me!!</p>
<p>duke all the way!!
Pratt is amazing :)</p>
<p>^Hey, thanx…Congrats on getting into Penn!!</p>
<p>Duke is better for what you want to do.</p>
<p>I agree: Duke is better for what you want to do. Both are top schools, then the field you will study is more important than the school name.</p>
<p>^Hey…thanx…but is Duke Engineering really that stronger compared to Dartmouth Engineering?? Could u please elaborate to me a bit…
Any other voices are very much welcomed as well…</p>
<p>If you are accepted as Duke Trinity College student, then going to Dartmouth makes sense. Duke engineering school is much hard to get in comparing Trinity College. Dartmouth is sort of LAC, not engineering type.</p>
<p>I’ve been accepted to both as well, and from what I’ve read, both of them aren’t really all that impressive in Engineering.</p>
<p>But, at Duke it seems that because the program is more well-established, students who are legitimately interested in pursuing a career in Engineering after college go there over Dartmouth. </p>
<p>Though both are equally prestigious, and equally well-known. This is an awesome choice that we get to make eh? :)</p>
<p>@Judy: I am accepted at the Pratt School of Engineering though…thnz again for the opinions
@iamanapp: Hey, dts gr8 to know abt u…and yah, I am having a really hard time choosing. From the part of the world that I am coming from (Bangladesh), rejecting an Ivy is something that my conscience is just not letting me do. Moreover, ASSURANCE that I will not be needing to increase my EFC in the subsequent years is one of the prime factors for my family. Do you think that Duke will not force me to increase my EFC as their tuitions and fees inflate in the subsequent years??
Btw, what do you wanna major in?? And what is gonna be your choice- Duke??</p>
<p>Thanks man!! and congrats on the double Ds (Dartmouth and Duke) lol</p>
<p>i can help you more if you can answer the following questions
- What engineering field do you wish to pursue?? ie Mechanical, Electrical, Material etc
- Whats your major goal in life?? For example I wish to become a wall street guy so Penn with its Ivy contacts, open curriculum and dual degree programs is perfect for me (btw I too am studying engineering). So do you want to work as an Engineer or as something else.
- Are you super duper rich?? (Ill explain more on this when you answer
)</p>
<p>^^Beware that Penn SEAS doesn’t have access to the recruiting that Wharton does (unless, of course, you’re in M&T). You might be better off at a school like Duke or Dartmouth, both of which are pretty widely considered to have superior recruiting to Penn CAS/SEAS. (Well, maybe not Duke, but definitely Dartmouth)</p>
<p>^Okay, here I go:
- I am more into Electrical + Computer engineering…and maybe into AI and robotics as I proceed into masters programs.
- Major Goal: umm…honestly speaking…I am not sure yet…bt I am sure that I do wanna work as an engineer… and launch my own robotics industry <em>may be</em> when the time is right…
- I am super-poor in fact. This is the prime reason I got waitlisted from so many of my coveted universities. My EFC is abt USD 5,000 only.</p>
<p>Hope this helps. I really appreciate your help…</p>
<p>WannabePrince,</p>
<p>I love Dartmouth but my feeling is that if you want to be an actual engineer, then probably Duke. Dartmouth engineers tend to go to graduate school, go to Wall Street, or do something else (like work at google) rather than traditional engineering. There’s one reason: Dartmouth gives a BA (or AB actually) in 4 years, but often you have to get a B.E (which takes 5 years) to work at top engineering firms. Duke will give you a B.S. in 4 years, which is good enough to get a job at a big engineering company. So if you want to go to Dartmouth be prepared that you might need to take a 5th year, and be aware of the financial implications of this.</p>
<p>I don’t know how good EE & Computer Science/Engineering at Duke, but Duke is on the very top on BioEngineering.</p>
<p>Duke is better for you.
The majors you have stated support Pratt. Pratt’s electrical program is amazing.
Since you don’t want to work in a business field the Ivy contacts will be immaterial for you. You just need quality education and Duke offers that better than Dartmouth.
Also you must note that Dartmouth is a posh school and is flooded with Millionaires and Billionaires. So you might have got an inferiority complex of sorts. This is major. Nothing sucks more than seeing that your room mate has a bentley. </p>
<p>Go for Duke bro!! But its your decision :)</p>
<p>Electrical is absolute **** at both Duke and Dartmouth. Go to MIT, CIT, Michigan, Berkeley for these programs. They will be substantially better feeders into the top engineering programs than Duke or Dartmouth. If you’re definitely going to graduate school, Duke/Dartmouth shouldn’t be an academic decision at all. You should go to the one you like more and then go to MIT for a masters or PhD. </p>
<p>As for slipper’s point, you can get a BE in 4 years if you focus. You won’t be able to take as many random “just-for-fun” classes as you might like though.</p>
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<p>This guy is an idiot. Over 50% of Dartmouth students are on financial aid, and the school certainly isn’t flooded with millionaires (and definitely not billionaires). </p>
<p>Are there some rich people here? Yes. Welcome to the world of high achievers.</p>
<p>Funny - Chelsearox is from Dubai a place where wealth is flaunted. I absolutely promise you that this is not an issue at Dartmouth, wealth is actually played down - the kid’s of teachers and hedge fund barons alike all drive the same cars and go to the same parties. Dartmouth’s social scene is pretty egalitarian in this way, much more than some other top schools.</p>
<p>In the US, computer science is often part of Arts & Sciences; some colleges offer computer science from both Engineering and Arts & Sciences.</p>
<p>Dartmouth’s computer science is quite decent; it is comparably ranked as Duke’s in:</p>
<p>[2010</a> Computer Sciences Rankings — PhDs.org Graduate School Guide](<a href=“http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/computer-science]2010”>http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/computer-science)</p>
<p>Computer science is also one of the few disciplines where Dartmouth has a bona-fide PhD program.</p>
<p>[Dartmouth</a> Computer Science | Graduate Programs](<a href=“http://cs.dartmouth.edu/site-content/site/graduate-programs.php]Dartmouth”>http://cs.dartmouth.edu/site-content/site/graduate-programs.php)</p>