<p>Hey everyone, I'm kinda stuck in this decision process.. I just got off the waitlist, so I still have a week to decide where I'm going.</p>
<p>I'm looking into opportunities at both schools--they are all amazing institutions, and I'm thankful that I have been accepted, but the reality is that I have to pick one over the other.</p>
<p>I recognize all other factors that might or might not play into the making of a college life, but the foremost factors I really weigh are academics, job placement, and alumni network (in terms of job placement I would think). Of course, it doesn't hurt having a top-notch athletic team and good weather, good food, good college town and so on, but these are secondary.</p>
<p>I'm think of going into finance (Investment banking, consulting, quant and so on) and probably going to major in Economics and Math (this is still tentative). So maybe Duke has a disadvantage on this one? Because it is not in the Ivy League? Not a recruit target? Because of the location in the south?</p>
<p>I would love to hear your opinions--let me know what you think and you would do! Thanks.</p>
<p>I had to make this decision as well. I chose Duke because when I visited Cornell, it just seemed too large, too cold, and since I am a huge sports fan, duke got the nod there as well.</p>
<p>So why Duke for IB? Does Duke do better in on-campus recruiting? Better reputation among the recruiters? Or Duke Alum network is stronger in finance&business? Can you explain?</p>
<p>I’m in the same situation you are! I had already sent my deposit to Cornell when I got accepted off of Duke’s waitlist. </p>
<p>I’ve thought about it extensively for the past week, and after visiting Duke today, I have to say that I think Duke outweighs Cornell in a lot of different lights. A week ago, I was completely in the middle between the two schools because I thought their pros and cons balanced out pretty evenly for me. But Duke is sort of amazing. When I went to Cornell, I almost had to convince myself that I’d love the environment - at Duke, I know I’ll love it.</p>
<p>I know a few recent Duke graduates, and they can all vouch for the fact that the lack of a Ivy League label does not make a difference when it comes to career potential and competition. Employers know that Duke is just as competitive, if not better, than Ivy League schools. When you make your decision, think about which school you’ll enjoy more and remember that Duke and Cornell are both excellent schools and that you can’t go wrong with either. Best of luck!</p>
<p>I got accepted to both, and if it means anything, I did not even consider Cornell for a minute. I mean they had a bunch of suicides in the past year (this is not indicative of anything, but it just gives me a negative vibe). Also, the weather of NC basically steered me away from the isolated cold of Cornell.</p>
<p>Thanks iceglacia for your post. I’m still looking, although I know Duke has reputation in the finance and banks know how able Duke undergraduates are, I can’t be sure yet because some banks do not recruit at Duke even though they do at Cornell (I think this is because of its Ivy title and admittedly for me, it’s hard to forgo an Ivy school).</p>
<p>Good that you had a chance to visit both schools. Sadly I’m going to have to base my decision solely on what others say about the schools. So if you wouldn’t mind telling me–what did you like at Duke and what did you not like at Cornell? How were they different?</p>
<p>All the top firms (Goldman, JP Morgan, Merill Lynch, Boston Consulting, McKinsey, etcetc) ALL recruit at Duke. Heavily. Which banks do you think recruit at Cornell that don’t recruit a Duke? Trust me, the “Ivy” label means nothing to employers, only to prestige-obsessed HS kids. :)</p>
<p>I had to make this same decision in April, and I’m also interested in ibanking or a related field, so here was my reasoning:</p>
<p>Duke
-Better weather- happier and healthier students
-Lower stress level- seemingly less work for the same amount of prestige
-Broader education- Trinity’s general requirements force you to study each of the liberal arts, before solely focusing on your field in grad school.
-Better GPA- I was in Engineering at Cornell, and the average GPA was a 2.7.
-Basketball games- SO much fun, brings everyone together, giving you the full college experience
-Individual attention- With a smaller student body, there’s a tighter community and more opportunities for closer relationships with professors. I felt that I had the chance to be near the top, while still being challenged at Duke.
-Easier to study abroad
-People LOVE and are absolutely obsessed with Duke. When I asked people at Cornell why I should go there, they told me it was an Ivy. At Duke, they raved about the people, weather, internship opportunities, classes, etc.
-Everyone has classes with everyone, while Cornell is split into schools that form their own individual communities.
-Southern people are warmer, in general
-Closer to home, easier travel
-Top Wall Street feeder school</p>
<p>Cornell
-Great engineering reputation
-Housing for sororities (that was big for me, it may not matter for you)
-Relative proximity (aka drivable) to NYC
-An Ivy (I got over this, though, obviously; Duke’s reputation is just as good if not better)
-Beautiful campus
-Cuter college town, in my opinion</p>
<p>Hey, so like you said yourself, you would only really go to Cornell for the reputation and the Ivy League name. I turned down ALL the Ivies for Duke, if that makes you feel any better. People do it and they’re happy with it. I have a lot of friends who are turning down Cornell for Duke. Honestly, Cornell probably has the worst reputation of the Ivies, but that’s not the point. If you’re going to a school because you love the name, then sure you’re going to be successful, but there’s no reason why you can’t go to Duke and be equally as successful. The school doesn’t make you who are you, it you who makes the school. Duke has amazing opportunities for its undergraduate students and they’re made accessible. Don’t do things because you like the name, unless that’s really the only thing you care about.</p>
<p>A friend told me that many people including HYP students consider only HYP as Ivy Schools. Conell is currently ranked 15th in the national academic rankings after Wash U. and J. Hopkins and has never been among top 10 at all in the last decade. Cornell is a still good school but it may not give name value as its name. Duke is not an Ivy but has been ranked between 3rd & 10th in the last decade. By name value only, I would choose Duke over Cornell, Brown, Columbia.</p>
<p>The below listed data might help. When admitted to both Cornell and Duke, most students choose Cornell, however only about 54% would choose Cornell while 46% choose Duke. Not a big difference though.</p>
<p>I chose Cornell over Duke but that was just my preferences (I’m not much of a “southern” guy even though I live in South Florida. Both schools are heavily recruited and are well respected (I mean even if Duke has a slight advantage, top firms wont automatically reject a Cornellian over a Dukie). In the end, its all about the gpa and more importantly your resume, internships, and whether or not you can do a solid interview. </p>
<p>Choose the place you like best. Otherwise, you will hate your entire college experience. For many it could be Duke. For others, its Cornell. Go where you see yourself</p>
<p>I am also considering I-Banking as a possibility, and I have a family friend who works on Wall Street. He went to Brown, but took a very unconventional route into IB. He told me that Duke beat Cornell hands down in being recruited for a variety of reasons. He also spoke that having the ivy league title means nothing in this regard, and that the large number of Duke alumni already in the industry helps Duke graduates get recruited.</p>
<p>From the way you are posting, you should go to Cornell because if you care enough about the Ivy name for it to be a big factor in your mind, then you don’t belong at Duke (even though Duke is better for IB recruiting and generally has a stronger reputation than Cornell for whatever reason). But, you know, if you want to go to an Ivy league school just to feel like you belong in the ranks of those who go to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale (which is really what gives the ivy label its power), go with Cornell so you don’t have regrets later on.</p>