Duke vs. NC State for Computer Engineering

College Search & Selection
1

I’ve been accepted to both Duke and State, and by some miracle they both come out to be suprisingly comparable in terms of total cost thanks to financial aid, so as a computer eng. major this decision isn’t really clear cut. Obviously Duke has the greater cred, but it’s mostly for biomed, business, econ, etc. I don’t want to choose Duke for the sole reason that it looks better on paper. I’ve got a few basic pros and cons:

Duke
+Far and away the more prestigious institution
-Living on campus required for first 3 years
+Smaller class sizes
-Unfamiliar
-Pratt School of Engineering offers only 5 undergraduate degrees

NC State
+College of Engineering has greater reputation
+I’ve taken Calc III here, so I am already very familiar and comfortable w/ the campus and culture. I also live relatively close by
+Living on campus only required for first year (lowered costs)
-Larger class sizes

I’d love some help with this, I’m pretty stressed out by this whole situation. Feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts.

2

Duke engineering grads do darn well too. Basically, I don’t see a reason not to pick Duke if they cost the same.

And sure, NCSU Engineering may have a stronger reputation. In NC. I can assure you that outside of NC, Duke’s reputation and alumni network would do more for you.