<p>I have a question. Which one is better? I don't exactly know what i want to major in, but I want to attend a school that has a variety of everything. I went to collegeboard and it seems that Vandy has more choices. However, Duke seems to be a better school. Is there something that I am missing? I might be majoring in Engineering or biology (to be a pharmacist).</p>
<p>I hear Duke has one of the top biomedical engineering programs in the country.</p>
<p>really? i didn't know that...thanks</p>
<p>Duke is better.</p>
<p>And yes its biomedical engineering program is one of the best -- rivaled by JHU at the undergraduate level</p>
<p>Duke has a thing called Program II where you can design your own major, which would be useful to double major with one of their listed majors, I'd think. If you're looking for engineering, if you don't like one of the four types they have offered, you probably won't want to be an engineer.</p>
<p>I don't think Duke will hinder your options. I originally felt the same way you did, and it hasnt for me so far.</p>
<p>One of the things that I really didn't like about vandy was that it is around 83% white. At Vandy theres a predominantly southern culture that is unavoidable, whereas Duke has a culture that is certainly prominent but not necessary. Duke is surprisingly diverse, at only 60% white, providing a well-rounded background and a multitude of perspectives. </p>
<p>Rankings certainly aren't the end-all when it comes to picking a college, but Duke's ranking in USNWR's annual college rankings has been significantly higher than that of Vandys for a long time. You could say these don't matter that much, but the reality is that recruiting businesses look heavily at these </p>
<p>USNews.com:</a> America's Best Colleges 2008: National Universities: Top Schools</p>
<p>Duke is considered to be more on par with the ivies, whereas Vandy is considered more on the level of Rice and Emory.</p>
<p>You can't go wrong either way, but for greater prestige and a more global view, I would choose Duke.</p>
<p>Duke has a lot of midatlantic kids so I don't thinks it would be very southern.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt has really good diversity and your numbers are outdated. In reality, Vandy attracts similar percentages of African Americans and Latinos. The main difference in diversity between the two schools is Duke has alot more Asians.</p>
<p>Also, being from the northeast I assure you Vanderbilt being "very southern" is complete nonsense. Vanderbilt, like Duke, has great geographic diversity.</p>
<p>I agree that Vandy is more stereotypically southern than Duke
Greek life is big at Vandy, not sure at Duke
Duke is more prestigious nationally, whereas Vandy is mainly prestigious in the South (someone's probly going to argue with me about this one)</p>
<p>JohnC, less than half of Vanderbilt students are from the south. Granted, Vanderbilt probably has more gorgeous southern belles walking around. But being from the Northeast I didn't have any trouble making lots of friends. </p>
<p>Vanderbilt has a larger Greek Scene, but it also attracts more socially balanced students (Molly Sims, Logan Browning, etc.)</p>
<p>I'm interning at a bulge bracket bank in NYC. If you are saying Vanderbilt is only prestigous in the south what are you basing this on? Lots of top consulting/ibanks recruit at Vanderbilt (w/people going back to Chicago, New York, Washington DC, etc.)</p>
<p>Companies that recruited on campus [Vanderbilt Career Center]:</p>
<p>Banking & Finance</p>
<pre><code>* Bank of America
* Barclays Capital
* Bear, Stearns & Co.
* Citigroup
* Credit Suisse First Boston
* Deutsche Bank
* Goldman Sachs
* Lehman Brothers
* Merrill Lynch
* SunTrust Bank
* Wachovia Securities
</code></pre>
<p>Consulting</p>
<pre><code>* Accenture
* Bain & Company
* Boston Consulting Group
* Deloitte Consulting
* IBM
* McKinsey & Company, Inc.
* PricewaterhouseCoopers
* Stockamp & Associates
* Towers Perrin
</code></pre>
<p>Goldman Sachs is all I need to see. Vandy is now a good school in my eyes. JKJK.</p>
<p>How much can you make at GS with an MBA from Harvard or Wharton?</p>
<p>TheOC, come on. Everyone knows Duke is a target and Vandy is a semi-target at best. </p>
<p>Congrats on your internship, but the number of positions coming from Duke will be far greater than those coming out of Vandy.</p>
<p>i agree vanderbilt is a prestigious university, no arguement there, and recognized by employers everywhere.
but Vanderbilt, from what i've heard, is like Harvard to people in the south. here in the north, drop the name Vanderbilt to an average guy off the street, and half the time you'll get blank stares</p>
<p>Actually Duke is the harvard and pride of the south.</p>
<p>Not really</p>
<p>Let's not get into the "harvard of the south" nickname. I think the reason that Duke doesn't have that name attached to it is because Duke may actually have a chance of academically competing with Harvard? Thus dubbing it "Harvard of the south" would completely undermine its reputation... am i way off?</p>
<p>Personally, I really like both schools. Yes, you'll get good job offers from either, but I'd say that Duke's name rings further across the country. It's not like Vandy isn't still a top college though. Apply to both! :-)</p>
<p>Jagged, I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels that way about the nickname.</p>
<p>I agree! Duke and Harvard aren't comparable schools. The atmosphere (student body/social scene/academics) here is totally different. In a good way!</p>
<p>I stand corrected. Vanderbilt is 67% Caucasian. However, this still is a significant amount in comparison with Duke's 56% Caucasian makeup. Overall, Duke is without a doubt more prestigious, but either school will provide excellent post-grad opportunities if you are able to rise to the top of your class. </p>
<p>I think the following is a telling ranking. Top feeder schools to the 5 best law, business and medical schools. Duke's ranked 6th, Vanderbilt's not on the list. This speaks volumes about prestige, and is where the difference between the two schools lies. </p>
<p>schnork, there isn't a major difference in the diversity between Vanderbilt and Duke aside from the fact Duke has alot more asians.</p>
<p>The Wall Street Journal link is extremely outdated and its methodology is flawed/questionable. There have been numerous threads on this.</p>
<p>The bottom line is recruiting and grad placement is great at both schools and applicants should pick the school that is the better social fit.</p>