So the majority of my decisions have come in and now I’m stuck with what I believe to be a three-way tie between Duke, Cornell, and Notre Dame. I plan on majoring in Finance—specifically (hopefully) Financial Mathematics. I was accepted to normal arts/science college at Duke, the Dyson School of Business at Cornell, and the Mendoza School of Business at UND (I live in NYC btw if that helps). I’m aware that I would be taking Econ at Duke, as opposed to be placed directly "in the field"as I would at the other two, but I would like to hear from the guru/fortune-telling/tarot card reading citizens of CC. I also understand that it is ultimately up to personal preference, but I want someone to convince me to lean either way. I don’t care how opinionated it is. I just want someone else’s two cents. Please and thank you. 
All great choices. I would spend some time looking up coursework (can be done online) for going the business route (at Dyson or Mendoza) as compared to being an econ. major (Duke) to see if one path is more appealing to you than the other.
Thanks 
- Cornell
- Duke
- ND
Why? BECAUSE I SAID SO
All three have great on-campus recruiting for finance.
I would give the edge to Cornell AEM and Duke Econ over Notre Dame.
I would definitely look into “fit”, and see which school feels best for you at this point (also, obviously look at cost of attendance).
I’d choose Cornell, ND, then Duke.
If you start off as an Econ major at Duke, lots can go wrong and you wind up less than a competitive student for MBA programs. A bird in the hand…if you choose the business programs at Cornell or ND, you can’t go wrong.
Cornell, Duke, ND.
I’d probably go Cornell, ND, (unless you are a big sports fan then maybe ND first). Duke because it seems you prefer a business curriculum undergrad.
These are all quite good. Assuming cost is similar at the three, I’d look into fit variables (some of which have already been mentioned), like:
- Academics -- majors, courses, curriculum/grad requirements, ease of entry and exit from a major, etc.
- Environment -- Durham vs. Ithaca vs. South Bend, weather, campus layout/beauty, etc.
- Social vibe -- do some reading and visit to gauge this. Party/Greek scene, sports scene, political scene, clubs, etc.
- Dorms/food -- Because you have to sleep and eat there for (at least) four school years...
It’s probably a good idea to visit if you are conflicted, to obtain that valuable “gut feeling”.
ND is enjoying high rankings in undergrad business education by some experts. USNWR still ranks Wharton as first and MIT tied with Berkeley as second, but ND consistently gets rave reviews.
Thanks guys
@GeorgeX whatchagonna do? Where is your heart in all this?
Wow, nice choices! I think those three campuses have a college experience in common - a traditional college life, where students’ social life focuses on campus activities. I went to such a college (not one of these), and it is something that makes that time very memorable in a way that city campuses can’t rival.
I have to laugh at @Happy1, who may not know that there are one or two sports fans at Duke.
I have two kids at ND. We visited both Cornell and Duke, and neither got an application from either kid. But I do see that those are great schools. K2 is in Mendoza, but a freshman. There have been great opportunities already on campus with a business club, and a paid job on campus that has had unbelievable opportunities. Cornell and Duke will likely have opportunities too. I do think a business school offers something in those opportunities that you might want to consider. There are a lot of connections to business schools in terms of internships and remote jobs that an econ major might not have.
So my advice is to have an admitted student visit if you can and see where you like the best. My kids turned down other good schools for ND because of the collaborative environment, excellent academics, fun friendly social atmosphere. K1 didn’t care about football when she arrived, but does go to the games, and that is so fun! Both kids are extremely happy with their choice at ND. They both ultimately chose ND because of their admitted student visits.
With that said, if you narrowed it down between Cornell and Duke, I would take Cornell. It does have a more difficult winter, but I think it has a better undergraduate experience than Duke. That is based on friends and family comparisons of mine that have attended those schools. So not a scientific poll, just an opinion. K2, who especially wanted to go to Duke until her visit, didn’t like the freshman dorm set up and location. Cornell is in a lovely area, and very safe.
@Ruby789 I meant the sports comment only as comparing Cornell to ND as my intention was to state my choices for the OP sequentially. Certainly the Ivy schools have fun sports (I went to Penn) but not at the level of ND. Duke came on my list after the comment about possibly swapping order due to sports – I didn’t mean for Duke to be included in the parenthetical comment. Apologies if I was unclear. FWIW as a mother and wife of ND alums, I am all too aware of the outcome of last season’s ND/Duke football game.
And to reiterate, the only reason I put Duke last is I had the sense the OP preferred a business undergrad – in an earlier post I suggested the OP take the time to check out the curriculum for a econ major and a b-school program to see if he/she had a preference – and I still think that would be a worthwhile use of his/her time…
@happy1, sorry, I did read that wrong. I didn’t mean to criticize. I was just kidding a little.
@Ruby789 No problem – still stinging from that football game!
I have spent my day combing through the depths of the Internet—Poets and Quants in particular, as well as WallStreetOasis—and it seems that Duke might be a good concoction of that “sugar, spice, everything nice”.
It’s in a good location that attracts on-campus recruiting solely because of its proximity to NYC, let alone the fact that the school itself is tippy-top-notch. Many people say that its environment isn’t as palpably tense and competitive as Cornell, though the name still garners respect when people see it on your resumé. This was where UND was weakest because—at least from what I have heard from random people on the internet—the name doesn’t quite jump off the page as much as its competitors. Many companies don’t even recruit there.
The Arts and Sciences school at Duke is also well-known for pumping out promising finance students into jobs and internships at the best companies. Furthermore, because it is still the Arts and Science school, if I, for whatever reason, decide that Finance/Econ isn’t my thing, switching majors is much more feasible. For UND and Cornell, I’m enrolled specifically in the School of Business, so making the transition would be much more difficult. Couple these factors with the fact that Duke seems to be incredibly well-represented in your typical NYC investment banks and Duke is slowly yet surely becoming more and more of a no-brainer. I’ll be able to solidify my decision once I visit all of the schools over Spring Break. Btw thank you to everyone who has responded thus far. Your contribution has been gratefully considered.
You guys are really making me dig deep as hell into Cornell. It’s so funny. College Confidential leans overwhelmingly to Cornell, while Wall Street Oasis leans overwhelmingly to Duke. I may never know why lol.
Cornell, ND, Duke. OK, I’m biased, my older daughter attended Cornell (CS with business minor), but I do think it’s the better school. I’ve had 3 visits to Duke with 2 daughters and it never came across well, maybe we just hit it on bad days.
@GeorgeX Just to clarify, switching between majors at Notre Dame is very easy since all students enter the FYS (First Year Studies) before separating into different schools sophomore year. Mendoza is the #1 business school for undergraduates according to Bloomberg.
While Duke is very prestigious, I believe the alumni network of Notre Dame is unparalleled. Additionally, the college experience at Notre Dame aside from academics is very enjoyable and an important consideration. Duke does have Greek life though.
I applied to both schools and would be in the same unsure position if I was you. Cornell is too cutthroat, competitive, and unenjoyable if you ask me.