<p>Hi. So i'm new at posting, but I have some questions regarding Duke in comparison with other tier schools like Cornell and Dartmouth. I've posted this in all three forums as well. I'm sorry for writing so much, I'm just not so familiar with Duke.
My biggest questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How happy are the students at Duke as opposed to Dartmouth/Cornell? How does the weather make happy days for college students? </p></li>
<li><p>Does one school typically get a "leg-up" with prestige and recognition? (I also know that all schools are top-notch, I was just wondering if one school in particular is outstanding in an area or placement)</p></li>
<li><p>What do students typically do in their spare time at these schools? Am I correct in assuming that sports are dominant at Duke while greek life is dominant at Dartmouth and Cornell? </p></li>
<li><p>What is the campus vibe at these schools? How cutthroat and diverse is Duke? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Basically, how is the nightlife/campus vibe/social activity at Duke in comparison to Dartmouth/Cornell? I'm looking for a college that is not only strong academically, but has a strong atmosphere with strong community bonds and excitement and energy that buzzes around campus. I like the "buzz" and daily activity that can seen throughout the campus. One reason I'm not applying to Penn is because their activity revolves around Philly and it lacked a community and exciting vibe.</p>
<p>I can try to answer some of your questions as a first year student.</p>
<p>1) Duke students are generally pretty happy but everyone can seem really perfect in comparison to you so sometimes that can get depressing (as I would imagine at other schools). The balance of the school however, seems to have people up in high spirits (athletics, academics, social scene). Duke and Dartmouth are probably equal in this regard while Cornell is known to be more depressing.</p>
<p>2) Duke probably beats out both in prestige and definitely in most placement areas. Duke was ranked #6 I believe in the feeder rankings to top law, medical, and business schools, above the other 2. Of course some areas are better at one like engineering at Cornell (except for BME since BME at Duke is #2 in the country), or similar like wall street placement (similar at duke and dartmouth).</p>
<p>3) Duke has a pretty nice balance in that sports are dominant, but so is Greek life. What separates Duke may be that the social scene does not revolve around Greek life (there are SLGs which act like “houses” which many people opt for) and then of course there is shooters the local “club” that everyone goes to on wednesday and saturday night.
Dartmouth greek life is the end all be all from what ive heard while cornell greek life is similar to duke’s.</p>
<p>4) The vibe I have gotten at duke is that everyone is really excited to be here. Everyone is always wearing duke apparel unlike at some schools. Duke so far has also been extremely collaborative. I have never noticed people not wanting to study together or help someone else out because the class is curved. Cornell is known to be more cutthroat while I am unsure of Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Duke is definitely very community oriented and you feel it. The big difference I have noticed between Duke and other schools is the balance. The only other school that really has it all (Academics, social scene, and athletics) is Stanford. </p>
<p>It might also help knowing what field you want to go into/major in to give you a more accurate description of the school for you.</p>
<p>1). No way of knowing. Duke students generally have a reputation of being happy and well adjusted. Great weather helps! </p>
<p>2). Domestically, I’d give Duke the edge overall (tied with Dartmouth in some business circles). Internationally (primarily in Asia), Cornell would have to get the edge although that might change as Duke comes of age as a global research university. </p>
<p>3). I wouldn’t say that most Duke students spend a lot of their free time watching sports. That’s too much of a generalization.</p>
<p>4). Duke hasn’t been cutthroat in my experience. It is a very intellectually, geographically, politically and ethnically diverse campus. </p>
Focus on which college would make YOU the happiest. Colleges don’t shoot out rays of happiness that automatically make the students there happy. Any of the three can make a student deliriously happy or absolutely miserable, depending on his/her preferences. </p>
<p>
Duke is probably the best known nationally due to its athletic reputation, but among those “in the know,” all three are known and respected. There is NO difference in prestige. </p>
<p>
No. What a bizarre stereotype.</p>
<p>These are incredibly diverse schools with tons of bright, well-rounded students interested in pretty much anything and everything you can imagine. Students are involved in community service, dance, theatre, comedy and improv, school newspaper, religious organizations, orchestras and bands, diversity groups, outdoors clubs…the list goes on. Duke boasts over 400 student organizations, and Cornell has over 1000!</p>
<ol>
<li> The Princeton Review looks at student surveys from current students and ranks the top 378 universities in several areas. If you limit your search to top 20 nation U’s
Happiest students, the students say…
1. Vanderbilt
6. Rice
14. Yale
#18. Wash SL
Duke, Dartmouth & Cornell not ranked.</li>
</ol>
<p>Best “quality of life”, the students say…</p>
<h1>2. Rice (score 99)</h1>
<h1>8. Dartmouth (score 99)</h1>
<h1>10. Vanderbilt (score 98)</h1>
<h1>11. Wash SL (score 98)</h1>
<h1>18. Stanford (score 97)</h1>
<p>Cornell score 93, not ranked in top 20
Duke score 75, not ranked </p>
<p>Students love their college, the students say…</p>
<h1>5. Vanderbilt</h1>
<h1>9. Rice</h1>
<h1>10. Wash SL</h1>
<h1>14. Stanford</h1>
<p>Duke, Dartmouth and Cornell not ranked
Edge to Dartmouth in these areas.</p>
<ol>
<li> Prestige and recognition is a draw. All are elite U’s.</li>
<li> They follow their interests. Where do you want to live for the next 4 years?<br></li>
<li> All have good academic vibes. Again it depends on each student. Duke has more of the D1 sports vibe that creates spirit and a positive energy on campus. It also creates a positive buzz in the work place for alumni. The “energy buzz” factor goes to Duke. </li>
<li> The nightlife/social/community involvement stuff are again up to the individual.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>Oh, give the guy a break. His pom poms aren’t getting much of a workout during Vandy football games this year, and everyone needs some exercise. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Happiness depends on the individual. Just because more people are happy at one place, doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to be happy there. For example, I’d probably be “happier” at Duke since I can’t stand the cold, but other people might find more contentment in Dartmouth’s beautiful rural campus/skiing opportunities.</p></li>
<li><p>None is more prestigious than the other two. This should not be a factor in your decision.</p></li>
<li><p>Dartmouth is the most Greek of the three, whereas Duke and Cornell are roughly equal. But Duke, I guess, does have the sports thing going on for it.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You’ve got to love bud123’s egregious Vanderbilt boosterism. Next thing you know he’ll say that Vanderbilt is better than Princeton because it’s ranked higher on Washington Monthly’s ridiculous list. </p>
<p>As far as the OP’s question is concerned, another thing that could potentially merit consideration is that Dartmouth definitely seems to be on the decline. Application numbers have fallen and the school has plummeted on several international rankings. Negative press coverage also appears to be at an all time high and research universities appear to be becoming far more popular than liberal arts colleges (at least among talented high school students). </p>
<p>Interestingly enough, Cornell has never quite held its own at the undergraduate level. It consistently loses cross admit battles to every other Ivy Plus university and has developed a bit of a reputation for being an outlier amidst its elite peers. It also isn’t particularly well endowed (specially considering its size) and is the least selective Ivy Plus school. </p>
<p>To begin, @Barbiegil127975, all three universities are outstanding and – for essentially all undergraduates – they will provide superb academic and non-academic opportunities that will likely enhance your life greatly, truly forever. I could elaborate in this vein forever, but you surely understand. While one could look at U S New’s latest assessment (or many others . . . and I place little confidence in any single evaluation and in any single year), which places Duke ahead of both Dartmouth and Cornell, the differences are minute and will be inapplicable to virtually all undergraduates.</p>
<p>What is not insignificant, however, is YOUR potential “cultural fit” with these three excellent institutions. To illustrate:
Duke is located in a small, increasingly wonderful city, but both Dartmouth and Cornell are far “in the woods.”
Cornell is comparatively huge, Duke is a smaller university (~6500 undergraduates), while Dartmouth (despite some excellent graduate and professional schools) really is an “Ivy LAC.”
The social scenes at all three universities have some similarities and some possibly important differences, as does the “spirit” evident on the three campuses.</p>
<p>The foregoing list is obviously abbreviated; my goal is simply to highlight that major “cultural fit” difference exist between these three first-tier universities. Clearly, that drives a vital question: where would YOUR individual “fit” be best? Only you can answer this key question, and I respectfully suggest that may well be a more-critical decision parameter than endlessly attempting to distinguish these schools based strictly on academics, prestige, etc.</p>