<p>I am having a hard time with choosing between Duke, Northwestern, Dartmouth and NYU. I actually kind of ruled NYU out, but still... I am an international student and planning to major in engineering and/or econ.</p>
<p>I know that Duke has an amazing biomedical engineering program and I really love Northwestern's industrial engineering- eco- kellog certificate program. </p>
<p>my family told me not to take money as a factor when I am choosing between universities. Though Dartmouth's financial aid is significantly better than others so I feel bad to pass this scholarship up (my parents can pay the full tuition but it means that they will not have that much money left for their retirement)</p>
<p>Though dartmouth's international ranking and reputation is not that good and i've heard that dartmouth's value has dropped significantly in the last few years. </p>
<p>Duke and Northwestern were two top choices for me, but I cannot even decide between them. I really love the fact that Northwestern has such a vibrant visual arts and music culture, and situated next to the Lake Michigan and 20m away from Chicago. On the other hand, I really love Duke's basketball culture too.</p>
<p>I never visited USA before, and I won't have a chance to visit so I don't really know id I would prefer to live in midwest or south. All I know is from the articles I read or movies I watched :D I wish I could visit these schools and see which one is feeling like a better 'fit' for me, but unfortunately I am unable to do that :( </p>
<p>Both Duke and Northwestern are excellent in Engineering but will also give you the option to enter the business world instead should you decide to go that route instead. Dartmouth is great too but there aren’t as many job opportunities specifically in Engineering since the program is not as well-established (not enough student interest in hardcore engineering) and Dartmouth’s location is somewhat remote. Dartmouth’s connections to Finance and Consuting are great though.</p>
<p>Northwestern is generally stronger than the other schools in engineering and economics. But if Dartmouth’s FA is significantly better, I would lean towards Dartmouth (or at least ask Duke and/or Northwestern to match it). Congrats with your acceptances!</p>
<p>Duke is stronger than Northwestern in BME and undoubtably stronger at the undergrad level in economics. Banks and consulting firms recruit Duke harder than they do Northwestern at the undergrad level. Kellogg Business School’s MBAs are incredible, but you won’t really have that experience as a undergrad. While I’d say Duke’s engineering program is better than Dartmouth’s too, how much is the difference in price between Dartmouth and Duke with aid/scholarships? </p>
<p>patriotsfan1 - Duke is stronger in BME, but Northwestern is stronger in industrial engineering, mechanical engineering and materials science. While Duke has an amazing BME program, consensus is that Northwestern has a slightly more comprehensive engineering program.</p>
<p>How do you know that Duke is “undoubtably” stronger in economics at the undergrad level? You seem to imply that Duke is recruited by consulting firms and banks “harder”, so it must have a better economics program at the undergrad level; I fail to see any logic behind that. Duke, for example, has a more established economics program than Dartmouth does. But Dartmouth does just as well, if not better, than Duke with Wall Street recruiting. Most people agree that UChicago has a stronger economics program than Duke does, but Duke probably has the edge in banking/Wall Street recruiting.</p>
<p>There’s no such thing as an undergrad econ ranking, but the best we can do is to look at rankings of graduate econ programs. And if you refer to this list, Northwestern performs particularly well:</p>
<p>Duke, NU and Dartmouth are more or less peers. It makes most sense to go with fit, finances and specific exit opportunity interests (if any) than “gut feelings” that one school has a better economics program at the undergrad level. </p>
<ol>
<li>While I agree that Duke’s BME is stronger, OP said he/she “love[s] Northwestern’'s industrial engineering”. Northwestern has a top-5 industrial engineering program in the country. BME seems irrelevant to the discussion.</li>
<li> There is no published ranking for undergraduate economics. If one goes by performance of College Fed Challenge, Duke is never a finalist while Northwestern is a 4-time national champion (tied with Harvard). At the graduate level, Northwestern is ranked higher and considered a powerhouse.</li>
<li>While I heard that Duke has the edge in ibanking, I have yet to see any evidence that consulting firms recruit Duke harder. Looking at the McKinsey recruiting website, it looks like they are not recruiting at Duke but they are recruiting at Northwestern for Class of 2014.<br></li>
<li>Kellogg actually offers two certificate programs to undergrads. The undergrads in those two programs not only take advanced-level courses but also have access to Kellogg recruiting resources. Though only few years ago with only 300+ alums, the program has placed graduates to Facebook, Google, McKinsey, Bains, Boston Consulting Group, BlackRock, and Goldman Sachs. It seems like one heck of a program.</li>
</ol>