Duke or Dartmouth for Undergraduate Engineering

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<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>

2

<p>I don’t believe Dartmouth has a particularly strong engineering program. Duke might be your best bet.</p>

3

<p>Duke is stronger in that field.</p>

4

<p>I think Duke is a clear choice for engineering. To even get an engineering degree from Dartmouth (a Bachelor of Engineering), you have to complete an AB degree first and then apply during your time at Dartmouth. Thus, it most often takes 5 years to complete the program and you aren’t guaranteed admission. You can get an AB in engineering at Dartmouth, but I wouldn’t suggest it unless you’re 100% sure you don’t want to go into engineering as a profession, but simply want to study it. It’s also not as impressive on a resume even if you do decide you want to go into something like finance. There aren’t even departments within the Thayer School, just faculty advisors. Having said that, I think people often unnecessarily overweight the strength of a particular college/department/program when making their decision and the overall university strength is more important. In this case, however, Dartmouth lacks the course offerings of Duke and it would take most likely another year to get your degree, and I see Dartmouth and Duke overall as basically equal, so I’d take Duke’s more established engineering school.</p>

<p>[B.E&lt;/a&gt;. Admissions](<a href=“Dartmouth Engineering | Apply”>http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/admissions/undergraduate/be/)</p>

5

<p>here is a pretty solid rankings list for undergraduate engineering Duke is tied for 22nd and Dartmouth is in the high 40s [Best</a> Undergraduate Engineering University Ranking | U.S. College Rankings](<a href=“http://www.uscollegeranking.org/engineering/best-undergraduate-engineering-university-ranking-where-doctorate-is-highest-degree.html]Best”>http://www.uscollegeranking.org/engineering/best-undergraduate-engineering-university-ranking-where-doctorate-is-highest-degree.html)</p>

6

<p>Thanks everyone! So I guess Duke is it…:)</p>

7

<p>Bump…I am down again…
…umm…just a few more things:

  1. At Duke, is it quite difficult to access or link with the professors (not TAs)?
  2. At Duke, are most of the freshman classes taken by TAs?
  3. For internship placements, job placements, recommendation letters, how good is Duke compared to Dartmouth?
  4. Are the strength of Duke’s alumni network and activeness of campus recruitments, career fairs, comparable to those of Dartmouth’s?</p>

<p>Help…</p>

8

<p>@every1, esp bluedog: </p>

<p><a href=“Duke students taking questions - Duke University - College Confidential Forums”>Duke students taking questions - Duke University - College Confidential Forums;

<p>HELP!!</p>

9

<p>@WannabePrince</p>

<p>I responded to you in a PM (well, two PMs since my message was too long!).</p>