<p>Anecdotes appreciated :)</p>
<p>Additionally, how would you compare Duke's international prestige to Brown's international prestige?</p>
<p>If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that Duke is as well known as the so called middle ivies. I think that Duke commands more respect than Brown because of its professional schools. Many people around the world associate Duke with excellence in the realms of medical research and graduate education. Brown, a great university in its own right, cannot rely on its professional schools to strengthen its brand. However, it does have ivy league recognition (although most people within and beyond US borders think that Duke is an ivy as well).</p>
<p>Hmm, I’ve heard similar opinions relating Brown’s lack of graduate focus to Brown’s sometimes limited name recognition. Thanks for the feedback.</p>
<p>I’ll take a shot at this. One of my international friends from China told me that he recognizes Duke as very prestigious. (Not in relation to Brown, just in general. We didn’t talk about Brown.) He said that for international students, attending a school of Duke’s caliber is highly regarded. He also noted that he was admitted at Oxford and Cambridge, but he and his family recognized Duke as being a better choice. But obviously that’s one small circle’s opinion, not the whole international community.</p>
<p>I agree with kenyanpride about Duke’s prestige, especially when focused on graduate schools. The medical school here is extremely sought after and is considered one of the very best in the nation (I’m thinking top 5). Brown just doesn’t have that type of draw for grad students.</p>
<p>Finally, an anecdote. I’m from the U.S. and live very, very close to the University of Pennsylvania. Many people from my high school were concerned with going to Ivies, probably more so than most because I’m in the Northeast, where said Ivies are. You could say that most of my friends are well versed in school rankings and the Ivies and whatnot. However, a bunch of people have mistakenly classified Duke as being an Ivy. My friends, my friends’ parents, my parents’ friends… So many have said to me, “Wow, you go to an Ivy League school?” (Some of whom were educated at Ivies themselves). So I think this case of mistaken identity speaks to Duke’s character.</p>
<p>Oh, and I’ve met a lot of people who turned down Ivies to come to Duke, by the way. Two of them even turned down Harvard 
But I don’t think that you should decide which school you want to go to based on prestige. Once you get up into the top ten, all schools are going to give you a fantastic education, and all employers are going to be very impressed with your alma mater. Rather, I think you should decide based on which school you feel most comfortable at, and which one best serves your individual needs.</p>
<p>I personally have lived in China for 12 years, Canada for 6, and the US for 2. And I would say Duke beats Brown in prestige in all three countries (well, it could be debatable for the third one).</p>
<p>Reputation among International Recruiters
[Global</a> Companies Rank Universities - NYTimes.com](<a href=“Global Companies Rank Universities - NYTimes.com”>Global Companies Rank Universities - NYTimes.com)</p>
<p>Brown: #22
Duke: #26</p>
<p>Reputation Among International Chief Executives and Chairmen
[Education</a> - Image - NYTimes.com](<a href=“Education - Image - NYTimes.com”>Education - Image - NYTimes.com)</p>
<p>Duke: #13
Brown: #16</p>
<p>The fact that two separate Global Employment Rankings that employed different methodologies arrived at the conclusion that Duke and Brown are within 5 spots of each other should tell you that these schools are almost dead even prestige-wise.</p>
<p>I do believe that Duke has more “forward momentum” though. :)</p>
<p>@splashdown
Thanks for providing such an insightful reply!
I couldn’t agree more with your last paragraph. Ultimately, the universities are clearly of very similar caliber and personal fit will undoubtedly be the defining decider.</p>
<p>Well, from my own personal experience, I would say Duke is a more recognized name, but that is in the US, so it doesn’t really answer your question. I actually think because of its sports name recognition, more generic people know the name Duke. I can vouch for the fact that I have told many people after they asked where I attended college, “Brown” and they just stared at me blankly! 
Everyone knows HPYS (“S” of which is actually NOT an Ivy) and MIT, but not everyone knows Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, and Penn. (There’s Cornell, too, but I’m not sure how to categorize that one). My husband went to Penn and most people assume he means Penn State when he tells them! :D</p>
<p>So, apply to Duke!!!</p>
<p>Duke’s establishing its prestige in China with DKU, but not sure how it’s working out tho.</p>
<p>Brown’s really famous in Korea… but elsewhere not so much.</p>
<p>My best guess is that neither has great prestige abroad. Harvard, MIT, Wharton, Stanford, UC-Berkeley &, in some countries, Northwestern are well respected. NYU is widely recognized as is UCLA.</p>
<p>Well in my country many don’t know Duke… HYP MIT Caltech Stanford UCB UCLA Cornell are really well-known… When people ask me where I want to go, I answer Duke… They say, oh… Then I say, it’s even better than cornell, they say WOW!!!</p>
<p>Duke is very well known in south america and europe and is becoming increasingly well known in China and India.</p>