<p>Any thoughts? Pros and cons? I got into both.</p>
<p>I actually live in NC which means Duke is like 27 minutes away and Stanford is 27 hours away. I'm leaning towards Stanford at the moment, but I just want to see if anyone else wanted to contribute their two cents.</p>
<p>By the way, I'm probably majoring in Biology, and I may do a minor/major in Political Science or Economics.</p>
<p>I would go to Stanford. See another part of the country and explore something different.</p>
<p>I’m assuming money isn’t an issue, therefore you should go with Stanford. It is better than Duke in almost everything except maybe social life.</p>
<p>Stanford is much better than Duke for Social Life too, or so I’m told. Duke has a nice campus, but the collegetown atmosphere is just not there.</p>
<p>At Stanford, you have a beautiful campus + a nice area in Palos Alto with nearby cities like San Fran for enjoyment. The weather is nicer, and the people are probably more laid back. + the academics at Stanford are better overall.</p>
<p>Stanford is the winner here…unless you want to stay within home-dinner distance from mommy.</p>
<p>Definitely go to Stanford. Expand your horizons.</p>
<p>Hmm… I like the idea of trying a new place, especially after living in North Carolina for 18 years.</p>
<p>Academic-wise or curriculum-wise would there be a big difference in the two? I don’t expect there to be but just wondering.</p>
<p>Stanford is better academically for sure. I can’t imagine anyone saying otherwise.</p>
<p>Stanford is ranked significantly higher in the three fields you mentioned though the difference is probably much smaller at the undergrad level.</p>
<p>I would definetly go to Stanford, as sam lee mentioned it has been ranked higher in ever category.</p>
<p>I disagree with all of the these posters and think you should give Duke a more serious look. Some of them have no idea what they are talking about. Duke’s campus is arguably more beautiful than Stanford’s campus and the weather is much nicer in Durham than Palo Alto. Palo Alto is an extremely expensive area for college students while Durham and nearby Chapel Hill are more geared towards college students.</p>
<p>Duke is perhaps more undergraduate focused than Stanford and the academic differences aren’t as large as the previous posters have suggested. At the undergrad level, differences in academics at the top schools are almost negligible.</p>
<p>I’ve been to Stanford several times to visit friends and the social scene is a lot smaller than at Duke. I really feel that Duke provides a better overall college experience.</p>
<p>In the end, Stanford has slightly more academic prestige but if you want to work on the East Coast, Duke and Stanford are absolute equals.</p>
<p>I would actually suggest you go to Duke so you can be closer to your family. It’s SUCH A CONVENIENCE to have your parents close by to get you groceries and in case of an emergency.</p>
<p>Go visit both and decide.</p>
<p>
you’re so Blue-deviled biased, you can’t even grant Stanford this? Wow.</p>
<p>^Uh, are you out of your mind? San Francisco doesn’t have a warmer climate than North Carolina. It’s not even that close.</p>
<p>Actually Palo Alto and San Francisco have different weather. It seems to me you never live in the bay area or you wouldn’t confuse this. </p>
<p>
That seems like a popular but twisted logic frequently used on CC: a research U isn’t ranked as high because it’s more undergrad focus.</p>
<p>if hot, humid summers and ice storms in winter are your idea of good weather…OK.</p>
<p>^^ warm is different from being drenched in heavy torrential Atlantic Ocean rain and humid weather.</p>
<p>Seriously, I was down at Duke for a week and I felt like I couuld slice the muggy air with a knife.</p>
<p>San Francisco? ■■■■■</p>
<p>The only POSSIBLE reason i could find for this poster not picking Stanford over Duke would be if he/she had a strong dislike for Glorified Taco-Bell inspired architecture.</p>
<p>^ And the borderline-creepy Stepford-esque feel to the town…</p>
<p>RE post #10: “In the end, Stanford has slightly more academic prestige but if you want to work on the East Coast, Duke and Stanford are absolute equals.”</p>
<p>Even on the East Coast, Stanford is considered much more prestigious than Duke. This is certainly the case in NYC. As a matter of fact, according to a Gallup Poll about university prestige, Stanford was rated more prestigious than Duke in the SOUTH. Really, there is not a corner of the world in which Stanford does not beat Duke, prestige-wise.</p>
<p>@ ring<em>of</em>fire:</p>
<p>Stop embarassing yourself by trying to compare your second-rate alma mater with Stanford, ok? I almost feel sorry for you.</p>