<p>^ I agree with the comments about the rankings, and (to provide balance against the Cornell people dominating the thread!) I feel that Duke is a more laid back vibe than most of the Ivy league schools, but that does not mean that everyone here is a bum spending daddy’s money while he chugs beers and plays lacrosse!</p>
<p>Personally, I am going to Duke because I feel that it has a strong academic base, and a diversity of other social activities. </p>
<p>If you can’t decide, go visit Duke and Cornell and pick the one that fits YOU the best.</p>
<p>On a side note: I feel that there are way too many threads popping up involving Duke’s premed program!</p>
<p>Duke may be more laid back, but given that it recruits from virtually the same exact applicant pool as every other school, I doubt it.</p>
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<p>Personally, Cornell has a stronger academic base and a more diverse array of social activities. Can Duke offer world-class programs in architecture, human development, labor relations, international development, evolutionary biology, or materials science? Can Duke offer one of the most vibrant co-op systems in the country, a bustling collegetown steps from campus with plenty of great restaurants and funky shops, or some of the most noted student traditions in the country (Slope Day, Dragon Day, Clocktower Pumpkin, Cornell Chimes, etc.)?</p>
<p>I don’t know. Perhaps I’m just biased, but I’ve come across a lot of people in my day who don’t have the best things to day about Duke. One of my friends at Cornell had parents who taught at Duke and she could never stop talking about how much more laid back Cornell students were relative to Duke. Another one of my friends, a quiet intellectual type who writes for an Opera magazine, only hangs out with Cornellians in NYC because she finds us so much more fun and free-spirited.</p>
<p>Besides for offering a higher ranking is US News (which is meaningless) and a professional basketball team, I’m not really certain what Duke offers that Cornell doesn’t. Perhaps merit aid for some.</p>
<p>c’mon now, it offers plenty. probably.
For one thing, it provides much greater access and exposure to the South, and southern people.</p>
<p>And barbecue. North Carolina barbecue may rank lower than Memphis. Kansas City,and Texas (source: my private ranking) but it still beats the heck out of NY barbecue.</p>
<p>On the other hand they don’t have hot truck half-suis, so maybe call that a draw.</p>
<p>And you are in much greater proximity to the greatest college basketball coach of our generation. Roy Williams.</p>
<p>But seriously, I’m guessing Duke has lots going for it, for those receptive to what its got. People just need to visit and make their decisions as they see fit. Hopefully they will base these decisions on accurate distinctions, and not erroneous ones, is all.</p>
<p>Dinosaur BBQ is about 45 minutes away. Rated best in the country by a Good Morning America poll. I’m not sure how much I trust their polls, but I can trust to receive heavenly BBQ each time I visit.</p>
<p>so you’re sayiing they’re different. then I have to go. To where, syracuse? rochester?
My concern is I’m unlikely to get there before these people have to submit their matriculation decisions. So they may have to resort to fantasy about how hard they imagine each place is going to be,and how they feel they are going to cruise into a top 5 law school without doing any work. Instead of relying on the cold hard facts from me about the BBQ.</p>
<p>would you say that cornell engineering > duke CAS? i was accepted to cornell’s operations research and industrial engineering major and duke’s statistical science. even though the subjects are similar, the engineering v. CAS i’m sure would make a difference?</p>
<p>IMO, if you want a true liberal arts education go to a liberal arts college.
Cornell’s engineering college will provide for a good number of electives outside the college, but not as many as an actual liberal arts program will have. And as a student in engineering you will have to take a lot of courses that you would not have to take as a liberal arts major, and these may not interest you so much.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you do not care to fulfill a language requirement, do not want to take liberal arts college distribution requirements, and like the curriculum it seems like you can arrange through the engineering college. go there. It’s certainly a good department.</p>
<p>It’s all about what you want out of an education. My d’s wanted a liberal arts education. On the other hand, D1s best friend in HS, outstanding student, had his fill of liberal arts subjects in HS, knew what he wanted and it was science, he went to MIT. The main distinctions may lie not so much with the major courses, but with everything else.</p>
<p>There are a couple other options possible as well, such as starting in engineering and then switching colleges once you better define your interests, should another college be a better fit at that time. I think statistics is a field that spans several different colleges at Cornell, and they each have their own angle to it.As you go on in your studies you may develop a preference for one approach.</p>
<p>And then there’s the social fit, where would you rather be, classes aside.</p>