I was accepted at both UC Berkeley and Duke. I am interested in eventually going into biotechnology but on the finance/administrative end of it. I plan on studying economics, computer science, and biology.
Duke:
At Duke I would be able to attend on a full ride- 100% of tuition covered
Good economics school but no business program for undergrads
Not a great location- Durham
Berkeley:
One of the best undergrad business programs
Close proximity to Silicon Valley- hub of all biotech and genetal tech companies so job opportunities would be great
Good location
Recieved very little financial aid
Limited global opporunities because its a uc school
though I would say: despite them being peer schools, if I’d gotten into Duke I would have chosen to go there over Berkeley despite having in-state tuition for Cal, so if you have a similar preference don’t immediately dismiss that. visit both and see which one you like better if money isn’t really an issue. but tbh I can’t really see why you’d want big classes and a super stressful environment over Duke. Unless you really hate Greek life or something (but then again Cal has that too…). yeah. go to duke lol
Berkeley based on the majors… Berkeley is simply stronger in the majors you indicated.
global opportunities? I don’t thinks so… Berkeley is one of the top universities in the world and consistently ranks above Duke, Princeton and Yale in this category. Berkeley has a strong brand outside the US… stronger than Duke imo.
Full ride at Duke is tempting though:) tough choice… good luck
US News Duke 9 UCB 21
USA Today Duke 4 UCB 52
Forbes Duke 8 UCB 29
WSJ Duke 5 UCB 40
Best Coll. Duke 7 UCB not in top 25
I suspect the rankings you refer to are major specific? Not taking anything away from UCB but based on the broader national rankings Duke has a substantial advantage which will translate beyond the narrow scope of the majors I assume you to be referencing.
For better or worse employers read the rankings I have listed.
Congrats on your great accomplishments! Both schools are great and you can’t go wrong with either one.
Both schools are well-recognized schools nationally and globally, however I do agree with sbballer that Berkeley’s brand may be stronger outside the US. Maybe because people outside the US tend to refer to Global university rankings more than National ranking. Just to show a comparison between national and global rankings, here is an example:
US News National University Rankings (Duke#9, Berkeley#21)
US News Global University Rankings (Berkeley#4, Duke#21)
How about nationally? Here are some interesting articles about the national university rankings of which Google, one of today’s most popular companies, hire the most.
Google is located in California and Berkeley is a bigger school than Duke is, however, note that a school like Carnegie Mellon, which is in the East coast and has less students than Duke, is listed in above.
Duke gave you a full ride, which is so great, and it makes more sense to choose Duke over Berkeley in your situation in my opinion. However, if money isn’t an important factor for you to make a choice, I would strongly suggest that you visit the both schools and feel each school’s vibe (a fit). Employees don’t hire based on national university ranking info like Nocreativity1 stated… They see what you studied and how well prepared you are to take a position. Good luck!
Berkeley’s international brand is strong but that reputation is really due to the excellence of its graduate schools. Most discerning foreigners know that schools like Princeton, Duke, Brown, Chicago etc. are significantly more prestigious than Berkeley at the undergraduate level.
It’s also worth noting that the average Duke alum earns over $20,000 more than the average Berkeley alum at age 34. So you’d be spending much less money and (likely) earning significantly more.
“Most discerning foreigners know that schools like Princeton, Duke, Brown, Chicago etc. are significantly more prestigious than Berkeley at the undergraduate level.”
Most discerning foreigners know that a school like Princeton is slightly more prestigious than Berkeley at the undergraduate level.
Most discerning foreigners would reference the 5 major surveys and note that Duke is in the top 5 twice and top 10 on all 5 surveys. They would also note that UCB doesn’t finish in the top 20 in any of the surveys with the Wall Street Journal ranking them at 40 and USA Today at 52.
As a footnote Duke finished one notch ahead of Princeton in that same WSJ survey.
Great thing about discerning foreigners is that the read.
Duke, for sure! The Raleigh area is a growing tech hub. You can find opportunities there in your areas of interest, and getting a full ride makes this an excellent bargain.
Bottom line, they are both excellent schools, but one of those excellent schools is 100% tuition covered. (Not a fan of the term full ride unless it includes tuition, housing and stipend - that is a full ride imo.) This seems to be a full tuition offer, which is obviously still fantastic.
US News World Report World rankings Berkeley 4 Princeton 9, Yale10, Duke 21
World University Rankings Higher Times Berkeley 10, Yale 12 Duke 18
Shanghai World rankings Berkeley 5, Princeton 6, Yale 11, Duke 26
Berkeley is a world class institution and it’s brand is stronger internationally than Duke. Berkeley gets hosed on the US News national college rankings because the rankings choose criteria that favor private schools but on criteria that measures research and innovation prowess UC Berkeley is hard to beat.
^ Same rankings that have Dartmouth and Brown 50 spots below BU. Not apples to apples.
These rankings have no bearing on the quality of undergraduate instruction. Would anybody seriously pick Maryland over Dartmouth if there wasn’t a financial reason to do so? They should based on the ARWU rankings (Maryland is >100 spots higher than Dartmouth).
ARWU would also recommend picking Iowa over Georgetown and UC Davis over Brown. To call that absurd would be an understatement.
same could be said for putting Berkeley at number 21 in USNWR below georgetown, notre dame or duke above caltech?? that’s absurd.
point being Berkeley ranks very high in global rankings and has a better international reputation than duke since the poster mentioned global opportunities.