<p>Hi,
so I got waitlisted from Duke. and they called me today that they can give me an OFFER!!
i should be excited, but i don't know. i'm now in UC Berkeley. being here for my freshman year was not a great but not that bad experience. and i have a job and get familiar with the campus now. so i'm hesitating if i should transfer... </p>
<p>okay, so my concerns about duke are that it's not near a big city. so is it hard to find internship? and is the econ major good there? or it's better in berkeley?
if i stay in berkeley, i'll apply for the business school and double major in math, i think</p>
<p>should i go? i got a week to think about it... pls gimme some advice. thx (:</p>
<p>I’m in a similar situation… I"m currently deciding whether to stay at Rice or transfer to Duke. Ultimately, I’m going to make a decision based on where I feel I will be happiest- both in terms of general academics, specific major, and social life.</p>
<p>Both Berkeley and Duke Econ are strong… I wouldn’t make a decision based on department rankings because they are not important for undergraduate studies. If you feel Duke offers you an economics speciality, internships, or a social atmosphere that you will be happier with than at Berkeley, then I would recommend going to Duke. If you are content with you academic and social life at Berkeley, then I would recommend staying put. Don’t just go to Duke because it is more prestigious.</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision! It is possible I might see you at Duke next year :)</p>
<p>Duke is definitely not more prestigious than Berkeley. And the econ department of Berkeley is certainly stronger and more respected than the econ dept of Duke. </p>
<p>I don’t see why you’re still interested in attending Duke when you’re already attending one of the best academic institutions in the whole universe. It’s like a Harvard guy trying to transfer to Princeton. Unless your reason is personal, I won’t advise you to transfer to Duke. Duke is not Harvard. And even Harvard isn’t significantly more prestigious than Berkeley.</p>
<p>^As an undergrad, I beg to differ. As a Californian Duke student, I have a good amount of experience with both schools. OP, if you’d like feel free to PM me. Choosing to Duke over Cal was one heck of an easy decision for me.</p>
<p>eatsalot, choosing Duke over Berkeley was your personal decision. It does not make Duke econ superior to Berkeley econ, let alone Haas, however.</p>
<p>According to USNWR, Duke enrolled 14 transfers last year. Not many. Fewer than Yale, Stanford and virtually any other school that reported a number. By contrast, UC Berkeley enrolled 2012 transfers. </p>
<p>OP-Duke is plenty more prestigious than UC Berkeley in many circles. Probably not in Asia if that’s where you’re headed, but probably almost everywhere else.</p>
<p>@UCBChemE: Duke accepted 50 out of 700+ transfer applicants this year (about 7-8 % acceptance rate).</p>
<p>@ RML: In my neck of the woods (Ohio), Duke is more prestigious than Berkeley. Maybe Berkeley is more prestigious than Duke in Cali, but elsewhere, especially in the Midwest, South, and East Coast, Duke is going to be more prestigious than Berkeley. Nevertheless, they both are among the top universities in the country… so the prestige difference is a moot point.</p>
Ah, but transfers quite often ARE personal. A university can be absolutely awesome, but that doesn’t do you much good if you’re miserable. There are quite a few elite schools I avoided at all costs due to certain factors that would’ve made me deeply uncomfortable (too cold/gray, for one). </p>
<p>I generally advise against transferring unless someone is legitimately unhappy, and that can be difficult to judge, since students often don’t find their niches until sophomore year or so. </p>
<p>I would focus on determining exactly what it is about Berkeley you didn’t like and then see if Duke fares better in those things. It does you no good to transfer to Duke if the same things would annoy you there.</p>
<p>I never said Berkeley is more prestigious than Duke. I only said Duke is not more prestigious than Berkeley. NOT AT ALL. Maybe in the South Duke is more prestigious than Berkeley. But as a whole, I don’t believe that Duke is more prestigious than Berkeley. In fact, in many surveys related to prestige that are available, Berkeley ranks higher than Duke. </p>
<p>@Lirazel: It depends on how you define ■■■■■. lol
But certainly, Duke is not more prestigious than Berkeley as a whole. Almost every academic department at Berkeley is rated number 1 or 2 or 3 or 5. We can’t say the same for Duke. Berkeley’s econ dept is world class and rated a solid top 10 in the world. The department has produced Nobel awardees. It can attract the best economics students and scholars around the world. We can’t say the same for Duke.
Berkeley’s professional schools are all in the top 10. Berkeley law is more prestigious than Duke Law. Berkeley’s business program (MBA) is more prestigious than Duke’s MBA and so on. We can’t say the same for Duke.
Berkeley has produced many more billionaires than Duke has.
Berkeley has many more patents and inventions that the world enjoys today.
Berkeley has many more alumni that are highly influential in business, banking, and government and law than Duke has.<br>
Berkeley has produced world leaders, and has educated monarchs, “royal blood” people. We can’t say the same for Duke. </p>
<p>Maybe Duke offers a more convenient college environment than Berkeley. I don’t know. But to make college convenience as a basis for prestige is downright wrong. To be honest with you, the only academic institutions that are commonly accepted to be more prestigious than Berkeley - as a whole - are Harvard and Oxford. Duke is neither Harvard nor Oxford. So to claim that Duke is more prestigious than Berkeley is ignorant claim motivated by ignorance.</p>
<p>With due all respect, I think this is a very irresponsible statement. </p>
<p>Berkeley is more regarded than Duke in almost every country in the world. I doubt it if Duke would have a much more respected name than Berkeley in Italy, France, Russia, and UK or in any country is Europe. In addition to that, Berkeley is more prestigious amongst the “who’s who” in America, the top scholars, the university presidents and even the American Government.</p>
<p>i’m from China. i’m an international student. so either one is far from my home. i want to go to new york after graduation.
and in terms of sports, YES. i love it. is sports a big part of duke’s campus life?
I’m studying in Berkeley. I finished my freshman year here. no, i have never been to duke…i kinda wanna fly there this weekend, but the flight ticket is kind of expensive.</p>
<p>Athletic life is big at Duke (especially for basketball), but it’s not like UC Berkeley is chopped liver (some Ivy college) in this realm. I don’t think that there is that big of an uptick for Duke over UCB in this category. </p>
<p>As for NYC, you will certainly find a lot of Duke grads there and there is a very strong alumni network throughout Wall Street. For NYC, Duke is going to be materially stronger than UCB. However, it’s not like UCB is unknown there and, while most of UCB’s Wall Street placement will be for California offices, you will find some UCB grads scattered about Manhattan. </p>
<p>As for China, UCB is much more quickly recognized and appreciated. This says good things about UC Berkeley, but I think it also reflects a lack of knowledge on the part of the Chinese about Duke. The same could be said about a great many American colleges that I would consider as superior UNDERGRADUATE destinations. Still, given the large weight assigned by Chinese to prestige and the Berkeley name, UCB might be the better choice.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for everyone’s suggestions.
I’ve made my decision that I’m going to Duke for my next 3-year college life.
I think i’ll enjoy it. (:</p>