<p>Kowloon - that's not a conclusion I can draw; the admissions officers at schools are juggling extremely complex and subjective situations; one can come up with some measures of selectivity (admission rate, matric rate, etc.) but all of those are based on different input conditions (not all the same people are applying to the same place) and different admissions offices (not every school is looking for the same person). There simply isn't a great answer for "what's harder" when comparing schools of similar characteristics...</p>
<p>Purely based on the numbers and, basically, making a complete guess based on those numbers - Yale's 9-ish percent acceptance rate is half of Duke's 19-ish percent rate so from that point of view, Yale's harder to get in to. I cannot imagine that the "international student with aid" differential is so great as to make Duke statistically less likely to get in to -- but again, it mostly depends on what the admissions officers are looking for and how you fit into a particular class at each institution.</p>
<p>I was accepted to both Yale and Duke and am a current freshman at Duke.</p>
<p>I was given a full ride scholarship with funding for summer service work (<a href="http://www.robertsonscholars.org)%5B/url%5D">www.robertsonscholars.org)</a>, which is what tipped the scales in favor of Duke for me. While Duke doesn't have the endowment of Yale, it does have the advantage of offering merit aid- I'd wager that about 40 students in every class attend on a full ride (there are no smaller scholarships- it's kind of all or nothing). If you're in need of aid, this is definitely something to look into. </p>
<p>I can also attest to the laid back environment of Duke. You'll find that the kids here are no less intelligent than those at Yale/Harvard/Princeton, but they're not at all forceful about it (for the most part). Also, whatever slight difference in prestige there may be between Duke and Yale is NOT going to matter in the long run for jobs or grad school. The fact is, we're talking about two prestigious, top-ten universities with top notch faculty and students. At that point questions of elite-ness are really just splitting hairs. </p>
<p>Anyway, feel free to contact me if you have any more questions about choosing between the two schools. I'm glad to help.</p>
<p>wow vegangirl and DukeEgr, I really appreciate your substancial amount of help you gave me make a very important decision in my life. Thanks everyone who helped!</p>
<p>^I second that. I just can't explain why I love Duke so much and how glad I am that I came here. Just about every other Devil I know feels the same way. That's the unique thing I've noticed about Duke. Students here have this great love for their school that no one can quite explain but that everyone has in common. There's school spirit at every college, but here it seems different. I don't think the feeling I'm describing is exactly "school spirit," because it's not just about the school. After all, Duke students certainly don't hesitate to criticize and reform how things work at this place. But no matter whether we're for or against a certain policy or aspect of the university, there's this huge energy and enthusiasm for the college experience in general that brings everyone here together. You really sense it when you spend time with people at Duke, but this article kind of sums it up:</p>
<p>I applied ED to duke last year and it's been the best decision of my life. I honestly don't know if i could have gotten in RD without the ED edge, since everyone here is so brilliant and smart.</p>
<p>I love Duke. And I know so many people who love it here. Yes, sometimes I have a love-hate relationship with Duke, but most of the time I love it. Here's the top few reasons:
1. Academics. The students here really focused with their schoolwork, but yet, they're not uber-competitive. I always feel like students are really competitive with themselves, and not with other people. Never have i hesitated asking someone in my chem 21 class to explain a problem to me, work on lab together, or study for tests together. for the most part, we help each other out, but we're very hard on ourselves... which i like.
2. as with the academics, we all pretty much support each other through hard times... haha during finals week my friends and i went on a junk food shopping spree (at whole foods, paradoxically) and had a mini-fest in the library and such.
3. weather. it was 80 degrees this week... it does get cold, but nothing compared to the northern schools
4. campus is beautiful. amazing. as pretty as the gothic part is, i am in love with the science buildings around the engineering quad
5. the social scene. there's almost always a party thurs/fri/sat nights. which involves a lot of alcohol. also, the frat parties are pretty non-exclusive, compared to other schools (ahem, UNC)</p>
<p>stuff about duke that i don't like
1. The academics are hard. HARD. The science classes are curved to a B-. You'll be happy if you're average, but then average is a b-, which is kind of disappointing. there is no grade inflation here. everyone is crazily smart too, which doesn't help the curve
2. rich white kids who think they're better than everyone else. again, this stereotype does exist at Duke. I've encountered some group sof people who are very "exclusive" in terms of who they hang out with and act like "they're better than everyone else" and who reek of money... but honestly, that's a very small percentage of Duke, and you really don't need to waste your time with superficial people like that. Otherwise, the student body, for the most part, is very accepting and chill</p>
<p>Duke is amazing in a nutshell. Sure, yale may get a better "wow" factor, but it's honestly the difference between a lexus or BMW.</p>
<p>I get it... again, thank you everyone for your feedback, and I just hope that I get in ED (Next year) and that social psychology and economics isn't too hard :p</p>