Talk about the hard sell!
If the NU boosters want to talk about how their school is ranked higher for economics, I think it’s only fair to point out that Duke is ranked higher overall on virtually every major ranking and is widely regarded as being more prestigious. Also, it isn’t as though any of these universities aren’t building new facilities or hiring new faculty. In fact, two standing Duke faculty members have been awarded Nobel Prizes in the last four years. Not many schools can match that. NU certainly can’t. NU has 16 American Rhodes scholars to Duke’s 44. It has never been ranked in the top 10 by US News (Duke has been ranked outside the top 10 only once since the ranking’s inception). I wouldn’t have brought any of this up because I don’t want this to turn into a flame war or whatever. I’m just setting the record straight. Duke is more selective and arguably more prestigious.
Of course NU is a great school and is probably marginally stronger for econ at the graduate level but Duke is stronger in political science and arguably stronger overall (specially at the undergraduate level).
You’re really getting ahead of yourself though! Focus on being admitted first.