<p>My son has been accepted to Duke and Wash. U. in St. Louis. We've visited both and am wondering if anyone has thoughts about the merits of these 2 schools. (He would be in the arts and science school)</p>
<p>What’s his prospective major?</p>
<p>political science probably</p>
<p>Both have strong Political Science departments but Duke has the edge overall academically and reputation-wise. Both also have beautiful campuses and WashU might be a nicer location in St. Louis compared to Durham but St. Louis isn’t exactly a great city to be perfectly honest. Duke has a much stronger athletic tradition and a sense of school spirit than WashU, which tends to have a nerdier reputation.</p>
<p>If your son is looking to go to law school or get a PhD in Political Science, both Duke and WashU will be looked at equally by admissions officers. If your son is looking to go into business, then Duke has the clear edge as it is a target for the top investment banks and management consulting firms in the country.</p>
<p>Send me a PM if you have anymore questions.:)</p>
<p>thanks for your help. Those were my impressions as well.</p>
<p>Haha wow lesdiables thanks for the hate on STL</p>
<p>1st) Congrats, both schools are amazing and either would be awesome
2nd) As someone who lived for 18 years in the shadow of WUSTL and now goes to Duke I feel like I’ve got about as good of a student insight as is possible (other than a transfer from WUSTL to Duke I guess haha)</p>
<p>WashU:
Pros: Better location within its city (Clayton is by far the most awesome place to be in STL, the things to do nearby are hands down better than Durham’s offerings), strong pre-med & humanities programs (especially history, languages, & lit). Close-knit student body with very few in-staters (aka everyone fits in easily), GORGEOUS campus (I like it even more than Duke’s, but obviously I love Duke’s to death as well)
Cons: Not as well known outside of the midwest as Duke is, political connections won’t be as forthcoming as they would at Duke (since we’re 6 hours from DC), pol-sci at WUSTL is not as good as Duke’s, (subjective con here: social scene less active than Duke, Duke is more greek and has a stronger party scene in terms of diversity of options and opportunities, WashU parties tend to be the same people over and over whereas Duke’s parties change hosts on a daily basis)</p>
<p>Duke:
Pros: Well I chose it so it must be good right? 
haha, great campus, better freshmen experience (East Campus is all freshmen), better extracurricular opportunities (I’d say Duke is more “holistic experience” driven than WashU is, stronger pol sci, better engineering, pre-med marginally better imo but honestly too close of a difference to matter, close to the beach and the mountains (regrettably my home town is definitely not), southern yet liberal (aka if you want the southern aspects you will find them, but it is also isn’t a traditional, semi-racist environment like you find deeper in the south), strong athletic programs that build MUCH stronger school spirit than WashU. WashU just doesn’t have anything close to the pride we have (and like I said, I lived 5 minutes away for 18 years and I love it too, so I’m knocking it out of honesty not out of spite). Better weather by FAR (once again… 18 years of STL weather… not fun), one of the greatest rivalries in college sports with UNC, tenting & bonding with your best friends with time honored Duke traditions</p>
<p>Cons: Durham is not Clayton, lots of diversity breeds some self-segregation (could be the same at WUSTL though, I just never paid attention), strong sports scene dominates life (aka if you don’t like sports you won’t be excluded but you will miss out on a good deal of the duke experience), too much drinking for some (I don’t think it’s excessive at all and I never drank in HS, compared to state schools are parties are nothing)</p>
<p>I honestly don’t really have many cons for Duke, I keep trying to think of some but I’m at a loss.</p>
<p>Best of luck with your decision! I’d say Duke, but honestly it’s such a personal decision and both are SO great that you can’t go wrong! </p>
<p>If you want advice on either U/location I’m happy to help!</p>
<p>D</p>