Duke or Stanford +10k

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>After I was certain that I would go to Duke, Stanford increased my FA package to the point that it now costs me about 10k more going to Stanford than going to Duke. Personally I don't think there's much of a difference between the two schools academically, and I prefer Duke with the all its study abroad and summer programs, especially the latter (I received need-based aid so I would pretty much get a full ride to all Duke's summer programs too, which I don't think I can do at Stanford). But, after all is said and done, it's still Stanford.</p>

<p>While my family can afford to pay 10k more, it's still a huge burden for us (I'm an international student), and while my parents seem very happy and want me to go to Stanford, I just don't want them to sacrifice this much for me. I'm pretty torn at the moment, so any advice about the options, (which can include social life, cost-benefit analysis, school brand, etc.) would be much appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Sounds like Duke.</p>

3

<p>And then a transfer to Swarthmore.</p>

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<p>There are advantages to Stanford over Duke, like more renowned professors, more research opportunities with those profs, top programs, awesome weather, great area to live in (IMO Bay Area >>> Durham/Raleigh/CH), better sports (yes, Stanford beats Duke by a huge margin in all-around sports excellence)</p>

<p>But none of that really matters here, because 1) you like Duke more, 2) Stanford is more expensive, and 3) only your parents want you to go to Stanford. So it seems like this is more a matter of you convincing your parents that Duke is where you want to go. It seems you want us to convince you that you’re wrong, but I assume you’ve visited Duke; sometimes the “feel” you get for a place can’t be wrong. Have you visited Stanford?</p>

5

<p>Both NorCal and North Carolina have great weather so that really isn’t a factor. Whether Stanford has more renowned professors than Duke depends on what you’re studying and its tough to envision that whatever differences that do exist with regards to faculty strength across the board between the two schools are relevant at the undergraduate level. The same logic applies to research opportunities.</p>

<p>I don’t think Stanford Football unites the student body nearly in the same way that Duke Basketball unites the Duke student body and Football/Basketball are the only two sports that will affect your collegiate experience in a meaningful manner so the edge goes to Duke.</p>

<p>As far as name brand goes, the edge goes to Stanford there but Duke is more than good enough on that end. I would say save $40 k and go to Duke.</p>

6

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<p>That’s not true. Durham is much more humid and experiences a lot of rain. Stanford is east of the Santa Cruz mountains, which create a rain shadow, so it gets 15 inches of rain as a result, vs. Durham, which gets nearly 50. Measurable rainfall on 57 days in Palo Alto vs. over 110 days in Durham. Also, while the temperatures look similar at first glance, they aren’t: the humidity in Durham makes the heat index much higher.</p>

<p>And Durham gets 4 inches of snow on average. Palo Alto gets none.</p>

<p>[Durham</a>, North Carolina - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“Durham, North Carolina - Wikipedia”>Durham, North Carolina - Wikipedia)
[Palo</a> Alto, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“Palo Alto, California - Wikipedia”>Palo Alto, California - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>Really, I’ve never never heard anyone say that another place has weather that matches Stanford’s. Not even other Bay Area schools (which don’t have the shield of the Santa Cruz mountains). I spent a summer in North Carolina and was so, so, so glad to get away from the humidity.</p>

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<p>In what disciplines does Duke have more renowned professors? (Every program Duke ranks high in, Stanford’s ranked either ahead of it or equal to it. Except for religion.)</p>

<p>Honestly, there are only two schools in the nation that have a faculty of the caliber of Stanford: Harvard and Berkeley. </p>

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<p>Maybe it’s tough to you, but not to others. When you have top faculty in every discipline like Stanford, you have the safety of knowing that if you want to switch to another department, or do interdisciplinary work with another department, you will invariably find a top program with world-renowned faculty.</p>

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<p>I don’t think you can say that until you have attended both. ;)</p>

<p>But either way, it doesn’t matter–because that’s such an inconsequential measure, because you’re looking at just football, and the differences are negligible, not something to choose schools based on. Plus Stanford’s sports teams blow Duke’s out the water.</p>

<p>(By the way, it’s hard to suggest that Stanford’s student body aren’t as spirited about their football team. This past year, when we went to the Orange Bowl, not only did tons of students fly out there, but Stanford’s professors agreed that it was okay to miss class to do so.)</p>

<p>I stand by my original recommendation to go to Duke since the OP likes Duke, but let’s not pretend that Duke and Stanford are similar in the ways you seem to think they are.</p>

7

<p>You’ve alreadychosen Duke.</p>

<p>End thread.</p>

8

<p>The opportunities at Stanford are numerous.</p>

<p>You might want to check out Bing Overseas Studies…
[Bing</a> Overseas Studies Stanford University](<a href=“http://bosp.stanford.edu/]Bing”>http://bosp.stanford.edu/)</p>

<p>and Undergraduate Academic Life…
[Undergraduate</a> Academic Life | Undergraduate Academic Life](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/undergrad/cgi-bin/drupal_ual/]Undergraduate”>Undergrad)</p>

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<p>Go to Duke and save the money.</p>

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<p>Thank you all. I think I’ve made my decision.</p>

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<p>Duke. I bet you decided that way too. </p>

<p>Anyways don’t tell your parents, make them think you’re going to pick Stanford, then reconsider on the premise that if you attend Duke, they will give you $1000 the first year to give you time to get situated at university before finding a job. They will gladly agree, seeing as you just saved them 40K, if not more because Palo Alto is more expensive than Durham. It’s a win-win situation.</p>

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<p>^^good one, Zenkoan! Sounds like a plan.</p>

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<p>Cat, definately an interesting choice but should not be that difficult. These two schools are worlds (and a whole country) apart. You are in a great position regarding finances as 10K delta for an education of this caliber should be totally manageable. Unless you have a real burning desire to live on the east coast or attend a school in the USA’s South, I don’t see why you would throw away an opportunity to attend Stanford.</p>

<p>BTW, Zen is funny… Swarthmore. LOL</p>

14

<p>SunDiego, so you think a Stanford education is worth 40k more than a Duke education?</p>

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<p>^ I think it is too if you can pay for it… but not if you like Duke a lot more.</p>

16

<p>I agree with phantasmagoric. I don’t think that is a very significant cost differential over four years, so you should decide on other factors.</p>

17

<p>A way to finance the difference is through summer internships. Stanford is very lucky to have companies come in to recruit all the time. A summer internship in programming and other tech areas pays quite well. Much more than the difference discussed here.</p>