I’m currently a senior who was accepted to both Duke and Berkeley as a member of the class of 2019. For Duke I was admitted as an economics major, and Berkeley as pre-business administration. If I end up at Berkeley, I would then apply to Haas after two years and focus on business management. What are your opinions on the two schools, and if you had to choose, which would you choose and why?
Would you be paying out of state tuition at Berkeley? What’s the cost difference per year between the two?
I would have in state tuition for Berkeley and some financial aide for Duke. However, cost aside, what do you think?
If cost is not a major concern, go for fit. Those are two peer institutions but they are completely different in terms of campus culture. You cannot go wrong academically or reputationally.
Yea I am very aware of that fact and you are absolutely right, I can’t go wrong. I just want others opinions on where and why they would go to either.
The selection will be personal and subjective, you need to visit and stay two days on campus each to find out your sweet spots.
Duke has great connections in the South, East Coast, and specifically, WS. If you want to work in NY, Duke will give you a much easier access to a lot of “big time” employers there.
Haas, on the other hand, is a solid Top 5 undergrad business program, and Berkeley, as a whole, will provide great connections in the West Coast. Haas grads do extremely well in terms of employment records, start ups (where a lot of them would pair themselves with guys from CS and engineering), VC or entrepreneurship – which seems to be a dominating culture at Haas, College of Engineering and CS dept. nowadays. I would also say that having a Haas business degree won’t limit you to West Coast jobs – plenty of Haas grads ended up elsewhere, such as, in the East Coast, WS, London, Asia and some parts of South America, Canada and Europe.
The main difference between these two great schools – nowadays – is that Duke will prepare you to get employed in banking and the financial world in NY, while Haas will open you to the possibilities of becoming an entrepreneur yourself or joining in start-ups, VC, aside from a career in banking/consultancy.
If you wanted to have a proven in-road to the tech industry, then I would seriously consider CAL.
I would add, and it is a bit mitigated given your interest in majoring in business, that speaking overall, CAL is a much stouter research University.
Do you have a size preference? Berkeley is huge with over 36,000 students, while Duke is in the midrange with just under 15,000.
Neither school is a LAC. I wouldn’t be too concerned about size in this case.
@collegeparentnew Not so sure about its reputation being better. CAL has a direct pipeline into Silicon Valley, has world class research–which rankings bear out, and a law school that is in the top 10. So, perhaps better known on the east coast…
“Also, in the real world Duke’s reputation is superior.”
In the, “real world” Berkeley is a top five school.
Class sizes may or may not differ. Some departments at Duke have noticeably smaller classes, but econ is definitely not one of them. Socially, however, the large size difference between the two makes a tremendous difference.
This. The two are so different that it really shouldn’t be hard to pick the one that’s right for you. I really can NOT imagine anyone liking the two equally.
@jthemanrocks:
Sincere CONGRATULATIONS! FYI, Duke does not actually admit anyone to a specific major; rather, you were admitted to Trinity College and you’ll certainly have the opportunity formally to declare an economics major during your sophomore year. This is because (contrary to what an earlier poster indicated) Trinity operates very much as an LAC does, and you’ll be required to take many core/distributions courses (generally during your first two years).
I won’t engage in the foolishness of unresolvable ranking debates; they are both outstanding universities, but they substantially differ (<6,500 undergraduates at Duke versus >27,000 at Berkeley is only one significant difference). I urge you to visit both institutions, to spend a few days living an undergraduate’s life (Blue Devil Days would be a fine way to do so), and only then to decide which culture better fits YOU.
Haas SOB is at the top of the Berkeley hill…well removed from the occasional protests on Sproul plaza. 
Duke isn’t immune either from “political mumbo jumbo”:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/duke-university-investigates-noose-hanging-campus-tree-n334091
Since cost is not a factor, I would suggest you visit both and see which one is a better fit. We have and did not like the size the Berkeley and the campus feel. That said, there are many that just love it – so, again, go with where you feel you fit in better.
I don’t get the comment on the law school… Duke’s law school is completely on par if not better ranking with Berkeley (both are in the top 10) and the job placement out of Duke Law nationally is amazing … it a huge thing in Duke’s favor. Berkeley grads do well too, but the implication that somehow Duke Law is inferior is bogus
I know kids in undergrad at Duke and they are going to top consulting firms & also where tech is concerned, all the big names recruit there as well, I don’t see any advantage of just being in Silicon Valley as a huge deal breaker either way.
Duke commands significant respect across the globe as does Berkeley – so, again, go with your gut on fit and enjoy your 4 years!
@mom1996 Hmmmn, no where did I say better, where did you pull that out from? Boalt is a smaller school, and highly prized–just as are Duke graduates.
From a research, I think most would be hard pressed to say Duke is on the same level and as robust in its subjects as CAL. I do disagree with regard to the comment on technology, as there is not just geographical proximity, but also much alignment with ancillary circles like VCs and PE, where they are prominently placed in Silicon Valley.
Several posters (including boolaHI and UCBChemEGrad) to this thread have indicated that Berkeley’s research surpasses Duke’s. I’m not too sure how relevant that is to an entering freshman, however, it is probably incorrect in any event.
BestColleges.com’s 2015 research budget appraisal (http://www.bestcolleges.com/features/colleges-with-highest-research-and-development-expenditures/) ranks Hopkins first ($1.233B), Duke fifth ($0.946B), and UC Berkeley twentieth ($0.730B).