I am very happy to have been accepted to both schools regular decision. However, I am now faced with the tough task of deciding between the two schools. I want to pursue either engineering (not sure what kind) or pre-med. I know that both schools have great pre-med programs, while engineering is slightly better at Northwestern. The only problem with Duke is that I was not accepted into its engineering school, instead I was accepted into the college of arts and sciences. I know that I can eventually transfer into the engineering school after one year, but is it really worth it? Also the social scene is not really important to me in either school.
So I guess my questions are:
- What school is better for a premed?
- What school is better for an engineering student?
- Are they both equally recognized?
- For someone that is between engineering and premed what school is the better option?
- If you were making this choice, what school would you choose?
Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance.
Don’t even worry about switching in. You can take Engineering courses as an A&S student starting from first semester at Duke.
I think if you’re DEFINITELY doing engineering, then go for Northwestern. They have more engineering disciplines from which to choose. Unless you’re definitely leaning towards BME/ECE/ME, which all are very solid at Duke, then it’s more of a wash. You can’t do Industrial Engineering at Duke, for instance.
Premed at Duke is better than Northwestern. The semester system alleviates a lot of premed stress because of lower frequency of midterms etc.
Duke weather >>> NU weather.
Both are fine schools. Duke has more national recognition. For med school go to the school where you can get a higher GPA. FOr engineering I think Duke tips the scale.
Winds coming off of Lake Michigan into Evanston can be bone chilling in the winter time.
Best to go to the school where you feel the right “fit.” Neither are considered top engineering schools, but they are both good educators of professionals. Chicago and Durham have a very different vibe.
Here are some posts I made in the past. Note that Northwestern is in Evanston, not Chicago (yes, I realize it’s close, but so is Raleigh to Durham). Being in Evanston is very different than being in Lincoln Park in Chicago. I would say that they both have very strong engineering programs and it is easy to transfer to Pratt later (in fact, you can take engineering courses at Duke even if you’re not technically enrolled in Pratt yet!).
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/14261610/#Comment_14261610
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/17208897/#Comment_17208897
@ConcertoinD, Duke and NU may not have top 10 engineering schools but the engineering offerings at both schools are absolutely top notch. OP, don’t be a slave to rankings. Departmental rankings are not particularly relevant at the undergraduate level. Use them but don’t obsess over them.
If graduate school is a potential concern, by all means go to the more highly ranked school. Letters of recommendations from renowned professors (and there are more of them at higher-ranked schools) will be important for PhD admissions.