<p>gah im having SUCH a hard time deciding! Ive wanted to go to stanford my whole life.. but then i get into Duke and all of a sudden im lost, all those years of being so certain down the drain. anyone have any insight?! thanks!</p>
<p>Both great schools. I went to Duke, my siblings went to Stanford. They are similar in a lot of ways. I'd say the biggest difference is the east coast/ west coast thing, so consider location/vibe both for college and after. My experience is that most Stanford grads stay west, and most Duke grades stay on the east coast although you can find grads from both throughout the country. And of course, you major would be a big factor. Good luck!</p>
<p>Just think about all those things you imagined yourself doing at Stanford, try to talk to as many people both places and see how they've experienced those at their respective schools, and go from there. If you've really had Stanford on your mind and in your heart for this long a time - my personal rec. would be to go that direction unless there is some show-stopper (which...I can't picture at present)</p>
<p>Both of schools are great, and I think that's why you are having a difficulty in choosing. You may want to consider the distance. How close are you to Stanford vs Duke? Some people say that distance doesn't matter, but as a parent I think it does. Energy cost is going up, flights are getting more expensive and difficult (cancel flights). My daughter was going to out to west cost, but luck would have it she is at a school 4 hours from home. She got sick recently and was able to come home for a few days to recoup. I felt a lot better about sending her back to school knowing I could drive up to see her if she should get worse. Then there are various school activities/performances that we could easily get up to see. Our daughter did not take distance into consideration when she was applying to schools, but now she is very happy to be a driving distance away.</p>
<p>i would love to be in your position.. ;___; that is my DREAM lol.</p>
<p>anyway, as others have said, consider location and major primarily. those are the two things that set the schools apart. other than that, both schools are amazing and similar in other aspects. but no matter what you choose, you can't really go wrong - they are both GREAT, great schools.</p>
<p>Have you visited? Will you have the oportunity to do so if you have not? That's what did it for our son. He had some very nice options, and Duke had not been his life-long dream school. He just "knew" that Duke was for him after he visited overnight. I could tell, too, just by the way he stood, that he was comfortable there. It's working out well.</p>
<p>Best to you.</p>
<p>I do agree that the schools are really similar...I've heard Stanford called "Duke of the West" and Duke called "Stanford of the East" before. I think in the end it comes down to personal preference more than anything objective, such as having x good department or y grad school acceptance %, because both schools excel is just about everything. The social climate will be more important for your college experience than anything else. I stayed with my friend at Stanford for a couple of days over spring break, and it's pretty laid back there (then again, it was the week before finals) whereas Duke is more fratty.</p>
<p>Stanford is called "Harvard of the West".</p>
<p>haha, well, vanderbilt is called the harvard of the south...</p>
<p>^and that's a bad thing?</p>
<p>i'm in the same position as you (stanford vs. duke)
well, i'm leaning more toward stanford because of their great engineering program.
when deciding, you should consider location, campus (which do you prefer), proximity to family (perhaps you want to escape them?), major, and other factors that i can't come up with right now!
good luck deciding</p>
<p>^ um. Duke's BME is much better than Stanford's. </p>
<p>duke's BME is amazing, but stanford's overall engineering program is, i think, better.
i don't want to go into BME, probably electrical or mechanical.
but for those wanting to go into BME, i would recommend duke over stanford.</p>
<p>As in all things, I am not willing to give USNWR the last word on how good a place actually is for any given student ;) </p>
<p>Ooh Snap - those are a little dated, too; not sure if they've changed too much.</p>
<p>I'm sorry. Although I am in full support of Duke, I'm also bitter that Stanford rejected me :( Not cool at all.</p>
<p>LOL - think of it as Stanford trying to help you make your decision ;)</p>
<p>I'm in the exact same situation. Duke or Stanford for me.</p>
<p>I would go to Duke. I am a bit biased since my bro is Duke alum and my younger sis is gonna be freshmen at Duke. But, as a huge sports fan, Duke can't get much better. Duke's atmosphere is very knit tight and social, and its social atmosphere is embraced by big sports and school spirit. Although Stanford can claim to have good sports programs, its social atmosphere and school spirit aren't nearly as good or fun as Duke's. Visit both schools and see which ones u like better.</p>
<p>Palo Alto is very over-priced and not a convenient place to be for college kids. Both are great schools though. Definitely visit to make your decision.</p>
<p>@OohSnap - sorry about Stanford! Duke is awesome though.</p>
<p>Well, just visit both schools. You can't really go on what we're telling you; it's best to check out both schools in person. Perhaps make a pro/con chart for both schools haha idk.</p>