<p>Which school would you rather go to and why?</p>
<p>Depending. Where are you from? I’m from California and I can tell you I would hands-down take Duke over USC. I don’t like to stereotype, but I can say that USC is commonly regarded as the most stuck-up school in the state, home to the “richest *****es” around (not to mention it’s practically in the ghetto). </p>
<p>If you do choose USC, you’ll be able to get a great job if you connect with a USC alumnus later on. However, other than USC graduates themselves, almost everyone favors a UCLA grad over USC…</p>
<p>Or a Duke grad :)</p>
<p>USC since I’m a college football fan and it actually offers my major.</p>
<p>Duke. This isn’t an actual contest. -.-</p>
<p>(If you’re trying to ■■■■■ Lesdiableus I guess…)</p>
<p>Duke. Better resources, better respected, better job placement.</p>
<p>In most cases, I would say Duke is a clear winner here. As UCB pointed out, if someone is a hardcore Engineer, USC is probably a better bet, unless we are talking about Biomedical Engineering. But for most other candidates, I would say Duke over USC.</p>
<p>Duke wins in every way. No contest. This is like UPenn vs UNC or Columbia vs NYU.
Even engineering.</p>
<p>I am talking about overall college experience. I know that Duke is one of the most respected schools. BTW I plan on majoring in mechanical engineering.</p>
<p>Well do you like college football or college basketball better? </p>
<p>Obviously, Duke is a better and more repected school but SC does have a pretty good engineering program.</p>
<p>Duke wins easily.</p>
<p>I would say both are excellent schools. USC is really rising quickly in terms of its quality of academics and its student body. I would still give the edge to Duke, but I still think both are peer universities. You can’t go wrong either way.</p>
<p>Duke and USC are NOT peer universities. </p>
<p>Yes, USC is rising fast, but a 14 rank difference is a huge gap. I’d be reluctant to even call Berkeley a “peer” university to any college over USNWR rank 14.</p>
<p>^^^agree with your point but to use USNWR rankings as evidence is ludicrous. No one who truly understands colleges gives any credibility to it. Its just a marketing ruse to sell more magazines. We live in a capitalist country, its always all about the money.</p>
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<p>14 points is not a “huge” gap in the scheme of things, except in the minds of people who are ignorant enough to take ratings as gospel and to believe there are appreciable differences at very finite levels. I would pick Duke over USC myself, but it’s ludicrous to suggest that they both aren’t good schools.</p>
<p>Football or basketball, what do you like more?</p>
<p>Sentiment, peer assessment says otherwise… ;)</p>
<p>Duke and USC are both excellent, with the edge going to Duke. This has nothing to do with the USNWR. It has to do with the quality of the universities. Duke has a stronger faculty, better resources and a stronger reputation, but USC is still a very top university. </p>
<p>This said, I am not sure I would recommend either school for Engineering majors. For students serious about Engineering but who still wish to attend a top university, I would recommend schools like Cal, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Michigan, MIT, Northwestern, Princeton, Rice and Stanford.</p>
<p>I find people who use USNWR as a justification for why x college is better than y college to not be very bright or intelligent. Seems not to be unique in their thoughts but follow the crowd. Since you are doing engineering, I would say it’s a toss up. Overall experience, Duke for sure. But then again, where do you want to be? East coast or West coast? Seems you should visit both and figure it out.</p>
<p>Duke has an excellent reputation in many fields of study and a larger endowment. USC does offer some unique majors or programs which Duke does not at this time. Majors which can be studied at USC and are fine options are: </p>
<p>Cinematic arts
Gerontology
Dentistry and dental hygiene
Achitecture
Accounting
Global business
Business administration
Majors in Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism
Industrial and informational systems
Chemical Engineering
Petroleum Engineering
Medicine
Computer Science/Games
All performance majors in music at a very high level
Music composition
Music industry
Studio/jazz guitar
Jazz Studies
Popular music studies
Theatre
Visual and performing arts studios
Geography
Occupational therapy
Physical therapy
Astronomy
Creative Writing
Kinesiology
Computer science/business administration joint major
Chicano/Latino studies
Global Health
Social Work</p>
<p>Incidentally, the new head of Duke’s school of engineering has been an engineering professor at …USC.</p>
<p>
Source? (Any list by a random poster is fine.) </p>
<p>The only PA assessments I found by USNWR have wide margins between Duke and USC, and rightfully so. USC is rather weak in the graduate arena and not nearly as internationally recognized.</p>