Duke v. Brown v. WashU

Hi everyone! Right now I’m stuck between Duke, Brown, and WashU and I wanted some feedback on the schools. I’m not positive what I’d like to do, but I know I’d like to go down the English/Marketing/Businesses/Media paths. I’m visiting WashU this weekend. I’ve toured Brown and Duke before, so I’m not sure if it’ll be worth it for me to go to the admit weekends. I’d love to, but I don’t really have the time or money to. Plus, I’m not sure that it’ll make my decision any easier.

DUKE
In my opinion, Duke is the overall better school, but I’m not sure it’s the best school for the track I want to go down. I love it’s programs (FOCUS, Bass Connections, etc.), and it has the best campus, but I’d love to be in a bigger city/closer to the Northeast. Being in the South, I feel like Duke probably has a more relaxed environment. Does anyone have an idea of what Duke students and classes are like?

BROWN
The campus is kind of small, but I love Providence. I’d love to take classes at RISD too. I don’t think it has as many programs as Duke, but it has the most number of majors I’m interested in. Does anyone have an idea of what Brown students and classes are like? In particular, how do y’all feel about the Open Curriculum? I feel like the Open Curriculum also creates a more relaxed environment, and I’d be free to try new things without fear.

WASHU
Out of these three WashU is probably my third choice. I love its schools (Business and Art and Arts and Sciences) the most, and while it doesn’t have the most majors I like, it has the best. St.Louis is pretty nice, but it’s kinda far from everything.

All comments are appreciated!

All three outstanding schools and generally peers academically. I guess you are committed to visiting WashU this weekend even though it’s likely your third choice. Personally, I’d choose between Duke and Brown based on you wanting to be in or closer to the Northeast. You also seem to fit best with Brown’s curriculum and relaxed atmosphere. Any chance you can take a quick trip to Providence. Hopefully the recent snow will be gone if you go. I also think Duke – or for that matter WashU – would be fine for your academic interests.

Not sure about classes, but Duke students are overall the preppy, athletic, Vineyard Vines/Lilly Pulitzer/boat shoes type. A generalization, probably, but isn’t that what this is all based on? (For what it’s worth, this was told to me by my Duke tour guide). I loved the campus and would say it’s the best of the three overall, yeah, but it doesn’t seem like you like it. Keep in mind that Duke does not offer business or marketing for undergrad, only economics. It may be more relaxed than say Princeton or Yale, but it is still a very challenging school and is no cakewalk.

I am surprised that you have visited both Duke and Brown and haven’t loved one/hated one. Everything I’ve heard about Brown suggests it’s on the opposite end of the spectrum as Duke. It seems like that is most where you want to be, so barring a spectacular visit as WashU this weekend, I’d choose that if I were you.

Thank you! I haven’t been to WashU in 12 years so I thought it’d be a good idea to go. Plus, the tickets were free and I booked them before I was accepted to Brown or Duke haha. I’d love to visit Providence! I planned on going to A Day on College Hill, but I would’ve only been there for the back half and I thought it probably wasn’t worth it (seeing as how I’ve been to campus before and I’m on a serious time/money crunch those days because I have a national team competition in DC the next day). (Oh sorry I forgot to mention I live in Alabama so it’s a long/costly trip for me). I know you can visit classes and eat lunch with a current student anytime, so I considered doing that after my competition, but it’s only for 2-2.5 hours so I wasn’t sure if that would be worth it either.

@novafan1225 I was actually more worried about preppy students for Brown haha. Probably the biggest drawback for me at Duke would be what I could major in (besides English). For Brown, I’m more worried about a smaller campus/student size and what the students are like, just because I have a better clue of what Duke students are like.

Edit: I think Duke has the best campus life by far. I think the Blue Devil community is really strong, and I really like how sports (basketball) connects the students. This probably shouldn’t even be a factor, but Duke men’s basketball is projected to have a great season next year.

Three great schools. WashU has the best campus in my opinion, and puts on a great visit experience. Some students are so impressed they commit on the spot. In my opinion, that is a mistake for a student with the options you have.

I think Brown and Duke have more to offer. Which is better depends on you. They are both impressive. As a Northerner, I prefer Brown, but Duke is great too. I think at that level it is like choosing chocolate or vanilla. There is no correct answer for everyone.

Thank you all for your comments!

@Much2learn I agree that Brown and Duke have more to offer. If my visit at WashU this weekend doesn’t make me completely fall in love with the school, I’ll probably knock it off the list.

I might as well put this out there too, how is Northwestern compared to these schools? I’ve never visited Northwestern, so I’m not sure what the students are like, but I’ve heard the campus is gorgeous.

I love Duke’s school spirit and can see how that’s a draw for you, almost all the schools I applied to were big rah-rah D1 flagships (of course, except the one I ended up attending, but no matter…) I probably would have applied ED for the alumni admissions boost if a.) I wasn’t so worried that I’d be the least cute girl there and b.) my mom didn’t heartbreakingly burst my bubble by reminding me I wanted to be a business major, and uh yeah, Duke doesn’t do undergraduate business.

To me, at the end of the 4 years, you will have 4 years of experiences and memories but a degree that will last you a lifetime. While you obviously want to have the best experience possible, I wouldn’t choose a school I knew didn’t offer majors I was interested in just for some basketball games. I happen to think “fit” is overrated though; at any of these schools, the national profile is so well-known that they all attract hugely diverse students and you’d find your niche at any of them. I guess that means my vote would be Brown?

OP, Northwestern got a solid English program like most top schools. For marketing/media, check out the integrated marketing certificate and film & media studies certificate programs. FYI, the marketing program (grad only) and film program are considered among the top in the nation. There’s no business undergrad degree program but there are many business-related courses offered through certificate programs or econ as well as management science department…

The only one of the elite universities and LACs that offers a business degree is Penn (Wharton), and yet these schools fill the vast majority of the most sought after business/finance related positions out of undergrad (IB and Strategic Consulting, etc.), fill the majority of the places at the top business schools, and provide an outstanding liberal arts education that will support whatever you choose to do with your life (most students end up changing direction while in college). The strongest of the three universities is Duke (and it is a feeder to the most sought after entry level jobs in business/finance). However, if you have a strong fit preference for Brown or Wash U, they are, in that order, viable alternatives.

^ I agree. Here is some data to support that claim.

NY Times survey of CEOs:

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2011/10/20/education/20iht-SReducEmploy20-graphic.html

Duke - 13th (globally)
Brown - 16th (")
WUSTL - Not in the top 50

Thank you for all of your responses! How beneficial do y’all think a visit to either campus will be if I’ve already been/toured both? I may or may not visit one at the end of April, but the reason I’m hesitant is because I’m not sure if a visit will make my decision any easier (since I’ve already been to both), and the travel expenses will probably be a lot.

If you’re choosing between Duke and Brown, I highly recommend a visit and believe that it’s worth the time and money. I guess the question is which one to visit if you can only do one. Maybe visit Brown and, if it doesn’t grab you, choose Duke or WashU.

@Sunny66 Thank you! I just returned from a visit to WashU, and it was actually very informative, so I’ll try to plan a visit to Brown at the end of the month. I think I’ll see how I like an event Brown is hosting in Atlanta.