Duke vs. Georgetown (for Political Science)

College Search & Selection
21

<p>

Really, do you have proof that the State Department prefers Georgetown grads to Ivy and Ivy-caliber school grads? As tk said, I think that there is just a lot of self-selection involved where Georgetown students tend to gravitate towards careers in the Foreign Service/State Department/Department of Defense/etc. etc.</p>

<p>

Again, where did you get this from? If you’re talking about doing internships doing actual semesters, then yes Georgetown would have the edge but I doubt this is very common unless a student’s course load isn’t particularly challenging. Over the summer, its very common for Duke Political Science majors to intern on The Hill or at a government agency in DC over the summer.</p>

<p>If you choose to double major in Public Policy at Duke for instance, which is very popular, you are actually required to do an internship one summer, usually after sophomore year and usually in Washington D.C. Duke has a very extensive internship database established to help students secure these opportunities.
[Career</a> Services - Sanford School of Public Policy - Internship Database](<a href=“http://www.sanford.duke.edu/career/undergraduate/database.php]Career”>http://www.sanford.duke.edu/career/undergraduate/database.php)</p>

<p>

Excellent, it just so happens that Duke has a top 10 English department as well at the graduate level while Georgetown’s English department isn’t even listed in the USNWR Graduate Rankings for Best English Programs.
[Best</a> English Programs | Top Humanities Schools | US News Best Graduate Schools](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/english-rankings]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/english-rankings)
Duke: #10
Georgetown: N/A</p>

<p>Duke and Georgetown are both great schools but when Duke is considered more prestigious, has a stronger student body and has significantly better departments/faculty in both of your prospective majors, English and Political Science, I’m not sure why you’re still even considering Georgetown. Most cross admits even between Duke and Georgetown SFS, which is GU’s most elite program, still pick Duke.</p>

22

<p>Funny, I could have sworn that ranking says “Graduate School.” Last I checked, the OP was asking about undergrad, and Georgetown has much more of a focus on undergrads than grads, as opposed to Duke’s focus on its graduate school students.</p>

<p>

From what are you getting that it is rare for Georgetown students to have internships during the semester, even with challenging courses?</p>

<p>

Please substantiate this, or I will have to assume it to be pulled out of nothing.</p>

23

<p>

Georgetown more charming than Duke? I think the vast majority of people would disagree.</p>

<p>[photo:</a> Duke University campus](<a href=“http://seehuhn.de/photos/DSC00026]photo:”>photo: Duke University campus)
<a href=“http://www.stateuniversity.com/assets/logo/image/3081/large/duke-university2sm.jpg[/url]”>http://www.stateuniversity.com/assets/logo/image/3081/large/duke-university2sm.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.omniaceducation.com/Portals/11164/images/duke.jpg[/url]”>http://www.omniaceducation.com/Portals/11164/images/duke.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://thedignifiedtraveler.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/duke-gardens-2.jpg[/url]”>http://thedignifiedtraveler.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/duke-gardens-2.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/18/e8/60/flowers-october.jpg[/url]”>http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/18/e8/60/flowers-october.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://rpmedia.ask.com/ts?u=/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Duke_Chapel_4_16_05.jpg/140px-Duke_Chapel_4_16_05.jpg[/url]”>http://rpmedia.ask.com/ts?u=/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Duke_Chapel_4_16_05.jpg/140px-Duke_Chapel_4_16_05.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

24

<p>

Sorry, but it’s regional. I’ve lived in the Southeast, where Duke was a big deal and Georgetown was just “a good school,” and I’ve lived in the Northeast, where Georgetown was a big deal, and Duke was just “a good school.” And it’s hard to match Georgetown’s international reputation, given the number of heads of state it produces.</p>

25

<p>I went to Duke and lived 4 blocks away from Georgetown and had a couple close friends go there, so I can tell you that they’re both great institutions and you can’t go wrong with your choice. I think the differences in academic reputation in political science are negligible and you should choose where you think you’d be happier. They definitely have different “feels” and that should be taken into account.</p>

<p>Just to note that Washington, DC is the second most popular city for Duke grads to go to (behind NYC), so there’s no shortage of alumni connections/opportunities, and Duke students get jobs/internships there in droves. So, I really don’t think Georgetown has any advantage at all getting their students into prestigious positions. Overall, I think the universities have more similarities than differences. Georgetown is very secular for being Jesuit, and Jews I knew who went there had no problem whatsoever. </p>

<p>Since I believe the academic differences aren’t that significant, here are two areas they differ:</p>

<p>1.) Cities/atmosphere - If I was living somewhere after graduating, no doubt in my mind I’d choose DC/Georgetown over Durham (and that’s what I did choose!). However, living somewhere with a job/income and going to school somewhere are two very different things. While I think having access to certain things are important (shops, bars, restaurants, libraries, movies, etc.), the vast majority of your time is spent on campus and the amenities/facilities on campus have more of a bearing on your experience than off campus ones. Georgetown does have its own separate campus, but certainly has a more urban feel. Duke, on the other hand, has a sprawling campus with green lawns and is much more spread out and not immersed in a city. So I’d visit and see which one I felt more at home at.</p>

<p>No doubt DC is more interesting city to explore and there’s a lot more to do, but as a college student, I was frankly (relatively) poor, so could only take advantage of so much. So, while the Mall is free, you can only go to the Washington Monument so many times. The stores, restaurants, bars, on M street are ridiculously expensive. I’d imagine going to Georgetown would cost more than Duke just from cost of living and definitely living off campus as an upperclassman (the rent is crazy around there). It seemed like most Georgetown students went to The Tombs to hang out and that was it basically. Unless you’re loaded, not going to be able to buy stuff from the Lacoste on M street that often. Also bars in DC are all 21, so unless you and your friends all have fakes, you can’t get in anyways (except The Tombs potentially…maybe that’s why it’s so popular). In Durham, all bars/clubs have no age limit, you just technically can’t order alcohol. While I realize going to bars/clubs isn’t the most important thing when deciding a college, my point is simply that while DC has a lot more to offer potentially with the vibrant and diverse city, you can’t even take full advantage of it when under 21, so you basically have parties on campus anyways. At Duke, you also have the on campus social events, but things go off campus more since everybody has access to them as well. And there are still more than enough malls/movie theaters, etc. in Durham. Also the Greek system at Duke is more prevalent, while at Georgetown they don’t have fraternities/sororities that are recognized by the university (although some still exist, but aren’t as central a part of the student body). Just seems like Gtown students more go off and do their own thing (with friends of course), while Duke students more congregate socially on campus (and then off…).</p>

<p>Some people really want to be in an urban center for their college experience - and that’s their choice and priority. In my mind, it’s really not a significant factor in the quality of life and actually takes away from the class unity when people go off and do their own individual things. But to each his own… Also, while Duke gets sometimes (I believe unfairly) stereotyped as full of rich, preppy types, Georgetown probably bests Duke in that regard (but maybe that was because I had an income and was able to go into the stores on M street and the Gtown students who could afford it were the ones that I’d see). I think you’d be fine at either though if you don’t fall under that category.</p>

<p>2.) Athletics / school spirit - here is where I saw a difference. Georgetown students certainly like their basketball, but it’s nowhere near the level of Duke. They basically care about 2-3 games a year and the NCAA tournament. The only games they sell out are against Duke and Syracuse (maybe UConn). Clearly, that’s better than Ivy League schools…I realize it’s in the Verizon Center so it’s a large stadium - again, not on campus. I went to one game (not as a student), and the atmosphere was not very good. While athletics may not be important to you, I felt that Duke students felt more pride in their university and connected to their fellow students because of basketball/athletics in general. At Georgetown, it certainly was a nice side event for a certain contingent of the population, but I don’t feel the same sense of pride/unity. Maybe that’s because I wasn’t a part of it, but that’s the feeling I got from my friends. Georgetown students seem happy and love their school, but Duke students really really feel a connection to the school.</p>

<p>Basically, I think it comes down to if you want to live in an urban area for your college experience, or want a campus-centric and perhaps more unified student body. I can see some people preferring Georgetown and others preferring Duke. I realize my above descriptions may be a bit biased, but those are my impressions. In the end, there’s no wrong choice. Good luck!</p>

<p>Edit: Also, I’d disagree with this statement:

They both are about 50/50 undergrads/grads and seem to have a fairly heavy focus on undergrads.  By the way, after seeing Duke's and Georgetown's science facilities, if I was interested in the sciences/research, Duke wins by a landslide.  Gtown really needs to invest more in those areas, in my mind, but I guess they have much more limited space and land is expensive.&lt;/p&gt;
26

<p>It’s kind of a tie on the crucifixes. Georgetown has a lot of crosses with Jesus on them. Duke crucifies lacrosse players based on flimsy evidence.</p>

27

<p>Yeah right Schmaltz - those kids were sooo innocent hiring strippers and buying alcohol for underage minors - and of course DATE RAPE was NEVER a problem in fraternities all across America. Whatever</p>

<p>Anyhow, Duke is the superior institution and offers the better overall quality of education if the money is the same I would opt for Duke, unless you can’t stand being in Durham/Chapel Hill for 4 years - then DC is a nice option to have.</p>

28

<p>“those kids were sooo innocent hiring strippers and buying alcohol for underage minors - and of course DATE RAPE was NEVER a problem in fraternities all across America.”</p>

<p>Apparently you learned nothing from that miscarriage of justice.</p>

29

<p>Go to the local Exploring College Options presentation near you where you can question the Duke and Georgetown reps (as well as the Harvard, Penn and Stanford people) for yourself.</p>

30

<p>Thank you all again for your input! :)</p>

<p>(Bluedog, your post was extremely helpful and insightful, so thank you!)</p>

31

<p>Duke>Georgetown in academics, prestige, campus, weather, and alumni network.</p>

32

<p>Except in the US Senate where Georgetown leads Duke six to one, Governor’s mansions where the count is four to nothing and current Heads of State where the count is five or six to nothing. Barack Obama’s butler went to Duke, while his Secretary of Defense went to Georgetown.</p>

<p>What the above shows is that a statement like par made is not nearly as unqualified and absolute as he makes it. </p>

<p>Georgetown has a US News selectivity rank (#12) which is above Duke and if it had more money in the bank would have an overall rank closer to Duke.</p>

33

<p>All of Georgetown’s alums who are current in Congress and Government got their PhDs or did special 1-year Masters programs at Georgetown with the exception of Pat Quinn, who went to undergrad there. We need to compare apples to apples here. The majority of Duke alums who work in the USFG did their undergrad there because Duke undergrad is considered more prestigious than Fuqua/Duke Law, which is in contrast to GU whose graduate programs are more esteemed than its undergraduate division with the exception of SFS.</p>

<p>By the way, Reggie Love is not Barack Obama’s butler, but rather his Special Aide. Jared Weinstein, the man who preceded Reggie in this role, is also a Duke alum. Bob Gates only got a graduate degree from Georgetown, so again its not a fair comparison since we are talking about undergraduate education here.</p>

34

<p>Not all of Georgetown’s alumns inthe Senate are graduates of its highly presitigious public policy program or the eminent law school. Dick Durbin, the majority Whip and leader of the group of six was 3 years behind future President Bill Ciinton in SFS (commpared to the driven from office in disgrace, Nixon, who “only” got his graduate degree at Duke, which I guess in your method of “proper scorekeeping” doesn’t count. I wouldn’t use a method that counts crooks either). Lisa Murkowski was in the class of 1980 and John Barrosso of Wyoming got his underegrad degree at GU before going to Georgetown Med. </p>

<p>Be careful about ever using the word all as it can make an individual look foolish.</p>

35

<p>raineytuesdays-please don’t let any of this “catty stuff” ( I only get suckered into it when it becomes just too outrageous and when truth starts to go by the board) divert you from what you need to do to make your decision. As I suggested before, go to an “Exploring College Options” presentation and ask whatever questions you need. Visit each campous if you can. You have two terrific options. Good Luck.</p>

36

<p>Duke and Georgetown are pretty close in quality, even though US News puts them quite a few spots apart (Duke is overrated in the US News rankings anyway–Duke is great, of course, and definitely top 15 or 20, but not top 10, as I can easily think of 10 schools that deserve a top 10 ranking over Duke). The students are of comparable caliber as well.</p>

<p>The campuses are both beautiful, but of course it completely depends on what your definition of campus beauty is (Georgetown has a much more red-brick/New England look). Also, if we’re going to mention that Georgetown has a Jesuit affiliation, why not mention that Duke has a Methodist affiliation?</p>

<p>To be honest, in this case, it should really come down to fit. Forget about the rankings, as they will both offer you a superb education for your interests. If you’re able to visit, you’ll know where you feel more at home.</p>

37

<p>^ Oh really? You can think of 10 schools that “deserve” to be ranked higher than Duke? Duke doesn’t “deserve” to be ranked in the top 10?</p>

<p>Excuse me if I seem skeptical or trust the objective, research-driven US News rankings done by experts in the field over the opinion of a random internet poster. Duke has never been ranked outside of the top 10. Ever.</p>

<p>OP: Sorry, I’m don’t know enough about Political Science to make a recommendation here I am just bothered by ignorant people.</p>

38

<p>Duke, is very prestigious and is known as the Southern Ivy. Duke deserves to actually be ranked higher than #9 imo (It has always and will always remain a Top 10 school). It is def way more prestigious than Georgtown lol.</p>

39

<p>

Please see my earlier post:</p>

<p>

</p>

40

<p>No where in the US, including DC, is Georgetown considered a better school than Duke. Georgetown is not a “big deal” in the Northeast; its the safe haven for students from the top prep schools like Choate/Deerfield/St. Paul’s/Groton/Exeter who get rejected from all the Ivies, Stanford, Northwestern, Duke and UChicago. Georgetown SFS might be the exception.</p>

<p>

You’re clearly delusional if you think this, especially when Duke’s student body is virtually identical in quality to Stanford’s.</p>

<p>Stanford 25th to 75th Percentile
ACT Composite: 31-34
SAT M: 690-790
SAT CR: 670-760
SAT W: 680-780
SOURCE: CDS 2010-11</p>

<p>Duke 25th to 75th Percentile
ACT Composite: 30-34
SAT M: 680-780
SAT CR: 660-750
SAT W: 660-760
SOURCE: CDS 2009-10</p>

<p>The latest CDS for Duke should show slightly higher scores in each section as well to match Stanford, which already has a CDS for the Class of 2014 available already.
What are the 10 schools that you think should be ranked above Duke? There’s almost no way USNWR can alter its methodology to place Duke out of the top 15. It’s too good of a school and excels in virtually every category.</p>

<p><a href=“commpared%20to%20the%20driven%20from%20office%20in%20disgrace,%20Nixon,%20who%20%22only%22%20got%20his%20graduate%20degree%20at%20Duke,%20which%20I%20guess%20in%20your%20method%20of%20%22proper%20scorekeeping%22%20doesn’t%20count.%20I%20wouldn’t%20use%20a%20method%20that%20counts%20crooks%20either”>quote=vienna man</a>.

[/quote]

I didn’t even mention Nixon since he went to Law School at Duke. In his defense, he opened up diplomatic relations with China, signed a non-agression pact with the Soviet Union, ended the Vietnam War, created the EPA and initiated the War on Drugs.</p>

<p>Bill Clinton, on the other hand, received fellatio from an unattractive Jewish intern in the Oval Office, ignored a horrific genocide in Rwanda, failed to properly target Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda when they were gaining strength and set the economy on a course for a decade of turmoil and recession.</p>

<p>Pick your poison folks.</p>