<p>I was wondering how well known Duke is outside of the US, particularly in Asia, considering that even people on the west coast aren't really familiar with the name.
This isn't a deciding factor in enrollment or anything like that - I'm going to be visiting relatives in China this summer, and with cousins heading off to college, it's a pretty sure bet they'll be asking me where I'm going to college as well. Of course Duke doesn't have the name recognition of Harvard or Oxford, but can I assume they've at least heard of it?</p>
<p>in Asia for sure, names like U Chicago, Cornell, or Berkeley (just to name a few) would be a lot more familiar than Duke... but of course, the ppl that matter (profs or recruiters) know that Duke is an excellence institution.</p>
<p>I don't think Duke has the name recognition of many Ivies...I got into Cornell and my grandparents freaked out. I matriculated at Duke and they were like, "What? A British landlord? What happened to Cornell?" After explaining how I wanted to major in BME and how Duke has an excellent program while Cornell doesn't even have BME has a stand-alone major, they were convinced, though.</p>
<p>Funny--where I am from the opposite is true. People hear Duke and flip out while Cornell, though well respected, is not considered in such high esteem. Goes to show you that prestige is a really fuzzy thing to try to quantify. As for its international prestige, Duke is definitely well respected by those in the know internationally (as is evident from its great success in all the world rankings) but still has some catch-up to do to approach the level of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. It is definitely working towards that though with its increasing focus on programs in Asia such as the Duke-NUS medical school in Singapore. Duke is also well respected in Europe. At St. John's school in England, one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the UK, for example, there is a special fellowship called the Colet fellowship that is offered to recent college graduates from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and Duke only. Duke has been the source of four of the last five fellowships and three Duke students were awarded the fellowship this year:
Colet</a> Fellowship - St Paul's School</p>
<p>Duke's ranked in the top 15 internationally by the London Times Higher Education Supplement, which is the only international ranking that includes evaluation of undergrads</p>
<p>Being ranked top 15 internationally gives you some solid rep...plus the fact that Duke alumni are becoming CEO's of international companies and so on, means that its rep is international.</p>
<p>Plus, Duke can get you a good job at a good company, which is internationally known - so even if no one outside the US knows about Duke, you are just one step of the way lol.</p>