<p>If you didn’t know this happens at EVERY college. These happen at Harvard, at Stanford, at Columbia, at Duke, at Caltech, EVERYWHERE!!!</p>
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<p>Have you ever considered that a good portion of the applicants know that they don’t have a good chance. Also notice that the middle 50% of the students have relatively the same qualifications. Their SAT/ACT isn’t that much better.</p>
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<p>Lets think about that question here. You get a BME degree from Duke and you get one from Columbia, Duke’s program is much more rigorous and more respected by employers.
Also you have to know that I was talking to the OP about how his Duke degree in which he would get through hard work and good grades (like he got good grades and good EC in high school) would be better than his friends Columbia degree in which the friend won’t have high as stats as shown by his lower grades and lower SAT. So yes I am saying that the Duke degree that the OP gets will be better than his friend’s Columbia degree.</p>
<p>1) Yes, this kid is my friend. He has been one of my closer friends for the four years. In fact, we sat next to each other in most classes, hang out most weeks/weekends, and studied together.</p>
<p>2) Yes, I did read his college application. I actually helped him write his essays. One of the parts of the Columbia app where it asks what books one has read, he used books that I read and books that my Cornell friend read (HE DIDNT READ THEM!!!).</p>
<p>3) I know exactly my app vs his app because I READ BOTH AND HELPED MAKE BOTH!!! Mine was stronger in literally every regard except his legacy and minority status. My standards were high (2240 vs 2000) and SAT IIs were WAY (760 average vs 590 average). My rank is high (2 vs 8-10 somewhere … we only rank top 2 then everything after is not ranked) He is significantly richer then I am (he got a brand new car on his 16th bday!!!). He has been blessed in far more ways then anyone ik.</p>
<p>He is my friend, and I am happy for him, but at the same time it is bull that he got in. Everyone knows it. He knows it and is worried about how he is going to do at Columbia because he sees the people who got in. It is just really really really frustrating to work hard for four years to see someone not as deserving achieve all of the respect and prestige you had hoped and worked for.</p>
<p>sometimes college application is just a crapshoot. you might get in, you might not. a big portion of your chance depends on your luck. it’s sad to see someone who got into Duke bickering about his “closer friend” this way and scrutinizing all the details about the guy that he deemed not worthy of going to an Ivy.</p>
<p>okay basically, when you compare schools like this, you’re splitting hairs. yeah it bugs me when people think that ivies, simply because they are ivies, are leagues above me. it ESPECIALLY bugs me when i get the “…why didn’t you choose the ivy?!” and it annoys me when i have to explain my decision and how duke is a de-facto ivy, academically speaking ('cause sports-wise… well, that’s a different story :D)</p>
<p>but at the end of the day, i don’t care and you shouldn’t either… 'cause it doesn’t matter. </p>
<p>what you DO with the education you receive is what matters.</p>
<p>andycollege…it is time to “let this go.” Yeah we all have stories of people who manipulated things or who got over or got by re college admissions, college rank etc here and there. My son’s HS best friend was “mad” when my son applied to Duke because even though my son was the lesser candidate with his stats on paper (only slightly)…he was competition. My son let that immature territorial attitude from his friend slide, and wasn’t sure he wanted to go to Duke in the first place but son wrote very unique essays about what he would do if admitted to Duke, and in the end, his best friend was waitlisted and son got in. This was awkward news and didn’t arrive with an explanation. Best friend graduated with top honors from another wonderful college and has met the woman of his dreams there, and received every honor he could have acheived…my son ended up doing much of what he predicted at age 17 that he would take on at Duke if admitted. He expected to be waitlisted. life is full of surprising twists.
life has a way of working things out, including shaking out merit vs privilege</p>
<p>Perhaps where you reside Columbia has more zing…in your circles…however this sort of thing is regional and of no value whatsoever. Duke is a feeder to top grad schools in the nation…that is if you can do the work at Duke and give it 100%.
In many major cities in the USA and certainly in many major New South cities, Duke has tremendous cache. Duke has wonderful national recognition in so many corners of the USA and very good alum networking. Not only that-- but Duke alum tend to have tons of school spirit and to enjoy coming back as well as being active in Duke Alum clubs throughout the USA. The number one Duke alum club I believe is in NYC, then Boston, San Francisco and Atlanta–read this in a Duke mag. Please understand that Duke is hugely national and international and has a youthful and enterprising spirit as an institution. It is not really a southern student body…it is a southern location.
Students come from far away to Duke, so you will see how many of them have true courage and vision when you get there.<br>
Although my son is hugely into the arts, he also loves excellent sports, and he will always as an alum have teams to follow and root for which is a dimension missing in so many other wonderful colleges. He admires so many of his Division one athlete friends and classmates and roots for them all. So many are brilliant and hard working people with fantastic work ethics. And the Duke arts scene…he has seen so many world class artists on the Duke campus for a song…people who play NYC and London regularly.</p>
<p>No one is suggesting that this young man should have fudged his application. But your task now is to wish him the best. Columbia says he can do the work, and their stats bear out their ability to make these decisions…they have a high graduation rate. When he gets to Columbia, he will take measure of his tasks his work and his peers and he will have new challenges to face. </p>
<p>Consider your new life as a Duke future alum as a huge blessing…get ready for sunshine and tons of things to do 24/7, and classmates of wonderful and varied talents.</p>
<p>just one highlight of a day in the life of a Duke freshman</p>
<p>My son’s face was in the crowd photo that was front page the next day around the sports world, jaw dropped.</p>
<p>Andy, my son wanted to go to Dartmouth…
yes, you are not the only INGRATE
he never thought he would be admitted to Duke so he didn’t attach to it emotionally until he visited it the second time in April…he felt very lukewarm towards Duke</p>
<p>The minute we left him there on Wonderful East Campus he never ever looked back and he was delivered from the cold and the isolation of New England’s gloomy winters.</p>
<p>East Campus means Bonding for the class of 2013 even though you will all go somewhat your own ways as you find your way on West Campus and into your majors and semesters abroad.</p>
<p>You can make Duke a research institution for a few semesters or a liberal arts institution like Amherst depending on your choices. Son is still tight with all his FOCUS Friends…fratty and independent alike. Semester abroad his faculty was the same that teaches Stanford students abroad. INCREDIBLE faculty connected to Duke all over the planet. </p>
<p>New York City will still be there when you are 23…and it has a great Duke Club.</p>
<p>wake up and consider this to be an Act of God…always be True to your School…give your heart to your alma mater and it will be a lifetime foundation for you</p>
<p>Faline2 has made some great points. I would recommend that you apply for Focus. If the deadline has passed then apply for one of the pre orientation programs - Waves, etc. </p>
<p>When my D starts talking about somebody’s else’s good fortune I always tell her to concentrate on herself and not worry about other people. You can’t do anything about the situation. Faline2 is right - let it go.</p>
<p>Not everyone loves East - my D absolutely hated East Campus and could not wait to be on West. But you need to take charge of your experience. Think of it like sailing a boat - you can steer your boat or you can just let the sails luff in the wind. Be pro active - take charge of that boat and steer it where you want to go. You are the only one in charge of where you go. Don’t give other people power over you.</p>
<p>Lol at whoever said Duke is ranked above Columbia in almost every field. Columbia ranks higher for practically every major except for maybe a handfull. Duke is a great school, but there’s no reason to be self conscious about its reputation.</p>
<p>^ about six months ago i was torn between columbia and duke. aside from being tied academically: columbia has NYC / duke has sports (not to mention a real campus).</p>
<p>I decided on duke because:</p>
<p>1) Columbia’s name recognition and prestige is heavily dependent on its location, which isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing. the city means you have internships, research and jobs at the tip of your fingers. duke’s reputation (in my opinion) reflects all columbia has - except ON campus and in an intimate setting. to put it short and simple, duke has everything columbia has, academically speaking (if not more, as some would argue), without the need of a big city. to me, that said a lot about what the university has been able to do with its resources and funds. more importantly, it meant a real college campus + the rigor of an ivy + the opportunities one would find at a university in a big city. </p>
<p>2) SPORTS. SPORTS. SPORTS. cameron crazies anyone? duke’s academia + sports = heaven. what more could one ask for? college with ivy rigor/academia + the school spirit of a state school or LAC (which almost EVERY other top 10 / top 20 school lack) was the right choice for me. </p>
<p>duke’s reputation is considered equivalent to columbia in almost all facets of education. the NYC tag does impress though, i’ll have to admit (as long as the resume reps fancy internships and/or jobs, at least).</p>
<p>EDIT: forgot to answer the OP directly, although I think I summed up my opinions ^ there. duke’s prestige and recognition is definitely up there with the ivy’s. but, to echo what someone else mentioned earlier, international recognition (overall name) means little when you interview for a job or career placement. if duke excels in whatever you major in (which it probably does, since it rocks in everything) and decide to pursue, chances are your employer will duke for that particular major / skills set. they’ve been doing this for decades; they know where the brightest come from!</p>
<p>I decided on Columbia over Duke (and many others) because:</p>
<p>1) Prestige: Columbia has greater prestige and name recognition internationally, and not just because it is an ivy. It counts numerous influential alumni including the current President of the USA, current Governor of New York, current and former Attorney General of the US, US Supreme Court Justice, Warren Buffet and countless CEOS (Citigroup) and numerous rock-star faculty members with countless nobels. The former UN head, Kofi Annan, will be teaching a seminar in the fall. Cmon, this stuff isnt happening in Durham. Just yesterday, Columbia was mentioned in the confirmation hearings [Graham</a> To Sotomayor: Absent “Complete Meltdown” You’ll Be Confirmed (VIDEO)](<a href=“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost”>Graham To Sotomayor: Absent "Complete Meltdown" You'll Be Confirmed (VIDEO) | HuffPost Latest News)
2) Campus: Despite being in the greatest city on Earth, Columbia has a beautiful and contained campus. Idyllic some say (Columbia also has an East Campus that rocks!)
3) Sports!: Columbia has retained its title as Ivy golf champs and won the ivy for baseball recently. IMHO, Dukes academic rep is unfortunately eclipsed by its b-ball reputation.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but I really don’t think Ivy League Sports should be any reason to chose a school over another. Like if it was between Yale and Harvard, I would not go to Yale because they have a better football tradition. And to be honest, I didn’t chose Duke because of its basketball team, though it was a nice feature. And golf? Really? You care about 1) golf and 2) winning the Ivy League? I’m not going to go nuts and insult, but unless you are on the team that should not be a factor in my opinion. My friend going to Columbia is mad that they don’t have a unifying team or nationally competitive sport like Duke basketball.</p>
<p>And I’m sorry to be insulting, but people have just been saying really nice things trying to stop the bitter feelings I have towards my friend, then you come in here with that post.</p>
<p>What were you trying to accomplish other then pi$$ing some people off?</p>
<p>I don’t think he was trying to make anyone upset. He was just stating his opinions, which just happen to support Columbia. If you were only looking for people to reassure you about how good duke is, then what is the point of this thread if not to invite other opinions, even if they don’t agree with your own?</p>
<p>I am not criticizing him for having an opinion, but why go out of your way to make an account (which this person obviously did b-c it was their first post) just to write something that long winded about a school that we were not debating over whether it was better or not. We are talking about Duke and its international name recognition and how great it is, not putting down Columbia or its name recognition or campus life. That’s all I’m saying. I think Columbia is a great school thus the reason I am questioning my own school’s ability to compare. I just think we should keep this talk about DUKE not Columbia.</p>
<p>My high school English teacher went to Columbia…and hated every minute of it. There’s no community feel (similar to NYU) because it’s in NYC and everyone just goes off and does their own thing.
It doesn’t have more prestige than Duke.
Sotomayor actually came to Duke and gave a lengthy presentation to the law school, in which she proved how inept she is as a judge. Absolutely ridiculous: [YouTube</a> - Judge Sonia Sotomayor: Court is Where Policy is Made](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfC99LrrM2Q]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfC99LrrM2Q) Wow.</p>
<p>and I’m thoroughly confused by your final point (mostly because it’s completely incoherent). You chose Columbia because it has good sports teams…but Duke’s world-class sports teams (not just basketball) are too much for you? Haha. Got it.</p>
<p>Anyway, I hope you enjoy your time there (unlike my English teacher, who graduated and fled to Stanford for grad school as fast as she could lol).</p>
<p>You’re from the south, so in your circles, it might not, but this is relative. </p>
<p>If you dislike Sotomayor so much, you shouldn’t advertise that she came down to talk to Duke Law students. </p>
<p>She used to teach at NYU Law. NYU is wildly popular, and everyone has heard of it…now, that doesn’t make NYU better than Duke, does it? No. But if you’re talking about NYU Law, then it’s a completely different story. </p>
<p>In Latin America, the only schools that I heard people talking about besides HYP and Stanford were Columbia, UC Berkeley and La Universidad de Chicago. I have lived in Chile, Peru and Brazil and found this to be a pattern. Schools like Penn and Duke were largely unknown by the general public.</p>
<p>In Chile, The University of Chicago is seen right up there with Harvard, it might have to do with the fact that “the Chicago Boys” were Chilean. Anyway, Duke is a good school, stop bickering, it makes Duke students look insecure about their world-standing.</p>
<p>Ok I know this is off topic a bit but I just had a quick question. I read somewhere that Duke has a club in New York (like only for Alumni). I was wondering if anyone knows anything about this. I know that Yale has one and so does Princeton and Penn, but the only thing I found about Duke was it being affiliated with the Cornell Club. Does anyone know anything about this? Is there a Duke Club or an alumni club (refered to as Gentlemen’s club online but not THAT type of club) that isn’t just like a regular alumni group?</p>
<p>(I am asking this b-c I want to work on Wall Street so it would be nice…)</p>
<p>this whole thread is kind of stupid, the top schools are all about the same in quality. How successful you are out of these top places is almost entirely due to individual variance (how hard you work and pursue opportunities) than it is the school you go to.</p>
<p>that said, in the rankings for the schools that send the most graduates to the top 5 professional schools in medicine, law, and business, Duke has been 6th for a long time behind the usual suspects - harvard, yale, princeton, stanford, and MIT. But always ahead of the lower tier ivys such as penn, columbia, brown, cornell, dartmouth. Could be useful because all this talk of prestige is abstract - this is how we see the prestige actually put to work.</p>
<p>I chose duke over harvard, princeton, and penn because I personally fit in better - the people here actually have social skills, more down-to-earth, gorgeous campus (duke and stanford must be the prettiest places in the country).</p>
<p>oh plus duke was way more diverse than the ivies, especially the lower-tier ones, which tend to have a greater majority of white people. With the most recent numbers from this year, Duke minorities are 45-50 percent of the student body (Asian 25+%, Black 10%ish, Hispanic 10%ish plus other ethnic groups).</p>
