<p>I'm shooting for med school, so which school do you think is better in terms of academic value and prestige?</p>
<p>Duke seems to rank above Columbia and reknowned for its focus on medicine, but Columbia's an Ivy. Plus, I live practically next door to Columbia (NYC) whereas Duke is 600 miles away.</p>
<p>Disregarding the financial aid component, what are the pros and cons of each?</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>COLUMBIA '11!
DUKE '11!
YAY!</p>
<p>Nice job on Columbia and Duke!
Forget about the "Ivy" status.. Columbia and Duke are near equal in prestige. </p>
<p>They are both very good schools for medicine..and your career prospects won't turn sour from either being a Blue Devil or a Lion.</p>
<p>The difference comes down to environment.</p>
<p>Would you rather go to a college that is extremely campus-oriented or a college where NYC is your "campus"?</p>
<p>Also if you are big on school spirit.. Duke!</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>To the OP> Were you considering majoring in biomedical for undergrad? If so you should be going to Duke above Columbia. Duke's placement into medical school is also excellent. Any please Ivy doesn't mean much. Go 500 miles away from NYC and people begin naming Stanford as an Ivy instead of Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth etc. And among academics and recruiters Duke is on par with Columbia.</p>