<p>$140,000.00 is the number referenced that your parents would have to pay for the difference. That amounts fo $7,000.00 a year for 20 years without adding interest. I know that finances are hard for kids to appreciate, bu thtat is a hard and fast number, that has to factor into any decision. If money is not a factor at all chose the place that is best suited for you. I am a professional and can honestly say that I had the opportunity of consulting with a Departmental head at Yale- and while the average kid going to college thinks its a life ending make it or break it for your entire future the top school of their choice does not accept them- the best of the best professors don't even see it that way. I practiced for a short time with a Harvard grad- you would have wondered who that person bribed to get in, and a lot of us who worked with that person had bets on how tey got in. As you get older you will find that what you do in life after school is far more determintive of your future that the school you attend. The fact that you are being sought after by top schools is far more predictive than the school you attend. Stanford is a great school- I have visited and the campus is really beautiful- but so is Duke. The proximity to San Fran is a real plus I grant you that. The Duke experience is different but no less rich. THe fact that you are asking seems to me that you may be looking for a reason to go to Stanford rather than Duke and if that is your hearts desire than maybe that is where you belong. If you get a Robertson then you also have to factor in money- which as harsh as it may seem is a large burden on a middle class family.</p>
<p>dpattzlover, I think it's because none (of very few) of us on this thread actually know what Stanford's really like. We know that Duke does have the full experience, and so we talk about that. Also, Stanford's athletics aren't as intense as Duke's (especially bball, with tenting and all). And I don't think the Stanford-Berkeley rivalry is as extreme as the Duke-UNC rivalry, which is legendary for anyone who follows college basketball. Take a look at ESPN's college men's bball home page at the moment for proof. Or where else are you going to get professors who cancel classes and reschedule exams because of the Duke-UNC game? That may be why Stanford doesn't seem to have as much of the "complete experience" as Duke does. Duke succeeds in converting the most anti-sports person (like me) into a die-hard fan while I don't think Stanford does that (based on a few friends who, pre-college, were like me and couldn't care less about sports but now, unlike me, still couldn't care less about sports. I don't know ANYONE at Duke who doesn't care about basketball). Stanford may have a lot of school spirit, but I don't think it's as much as Duke (which, I think, sometimes goes beyond extreme in its spirit).</p>
<p>EDIT: ok, so Pitt overthrowing UConn is more important at the moment on ESPN, but the Duke-UNC game WAS the main story for pretty much the entire day...</p>
<p>haha, okay. I was actually speaking of the two threads of this question (he asked this on the Stanford forum as well).....I was just getting that general consensus and wanted to discuss it further.</p>
<p>I would visit both schools and see which one you really like best. If it's a tie, I'd take the money.</p>
<p>The Robertson is very prestigious, so you are marked as "special" all through college. At Stanford, you are one of many and of course if you graduate at the top of your class that is great, but are you so sure you will?</p>
<p>Do you plan to go to graduate school? You may not know that yet, but if you do, where you go to graduate school will be much more important for getting a job than where you do undergraduate. Since you are just a high school senior, wouldn't it be nice to know that your parents may have some money left for graduate school if you need it? </p>
<p>Most of our parents have lost a lot of money in this recession and are not at an age where they will likely make it all back. That means it is less likely they can help us out later in life and may even be more likely we will be helping them. </p>
<p>I read in the New York Times that due to the economy, there are more applications for each spot at the State Univeristy of New York than at Harvard. </p>
<p>Stanford and Duke are both great schools. If you truly love Stanford more, of course go there. But otherwise, you may be really glad that your parents - or you - have that money in the future.</p>
<p>I agree with Catherine--visit both schools. A five or six hundred dollars may seem like a few hundred dollars you'd rather save up now, but it'd be worth it in deciding whether or not you want to pay tens of thousands of dollars a year later. Although I haven't visited either campus, I know that when I went on my college visits, there was one campus in particular that instantly clinched my love as soon as I stepped onto it. Robertson and Stanford are both incredibly prestigious, and it's hard for a bunch of people only in their late teens/early twenties to judge which one is "better." Perhaps neither Stanford nor Duke's campuses will excessively stick out to you, but in the case that they do, when the two programs are so close to each other in terms of caliber, I think it'd be worth it to wake up every morning at the campus you love.</p>
<p>thanks to you all - senator, catherine, and bfg, in particular- for providing useful perspectives. i do hope that I will have that choice to make - i.e., get Robertson. this year they have invited 90 with an estimated ~45 offers to be made. that's 1 in 2.</p>
<p>Its a little ridiculous that you guys are saying Duke students aren't intellectuals...I have had soooooooo many late night philosophy chats....and I'm a science major. I turned down Harvard and other top institutions and scholarships to come to Duke, and I'm really happy with my decision. I am intellectually stimulated at Duke more than I ever was at my high-performing high school. I mean, Duke is a top 10 school, so picking Duke over any ivy will have minimal effect on your job placement and you'll still have intellectually rigorous classes, make great friends, and have a lot of fun. And remember, if you combine the uni, rob, ab, bn, alumni, trinity, etc, you have a community of about 200 scholars to interact with. And...if you're interested in engineering...just note that we just had the National Grand Challenges Engineering Conference here at Duke and we got to hear the inventor of the palm pilot speak!!! Plus, we have the DiVE, a 3-D emersive environment. And we have the SmartHome-- a techie dorm that is environmentally friendly and includes a lot of cool student-designed gadgets. One last piece of advice: pick your school based on "fit", not on "bragging rights". And if you care about bragging rights: getting a full ride to a top-ten school is pretty exceptional too.</p>
<p>itsme123: I am in the exact same position as you, and I'm sure will meet you at finalists weekend in a few weeks. I got in early to Stanford, and am waiting on Princeton, Harvard, UVA and the Duke Robertson discussion. So thank you for asking this question! The posts were definitely interesting. If we are lucky enough to get Robertson offers, its going to be a tough call. I was ready to sign on the dotted line with Stanford until I became a Robertson finalist. Anyways, thanks everyone for the info!</p>
<p>seriously no school has the well-roundedness that duke has, not even stanford. Sure they have sports and a rivalry, but its no where near as intense as Duke's, i never thought about it before but basketball really has made a difference in my life at Duke, its definetly a big deal. The same goes for the social scene, it may not be considered as intellectual, but it definetly comes out in the class room.
Also, Duke has some excellent faculty as well. I think people are painting Duke as an academically inferior school. Duke has a well-known faculty, top programs in several areas; i would consider thinking about the majors you are considering and seeing which school is considered better in that particular area.
Be practical- if you have a full ride to a top 10 school in the country, it can't get much better. take it.</p>
<p>If you truly love Stanford more than Duke, then go there. But, don't go because you think it will help you out more later.</p>
<p>My father went to Yale , and the CEO of the corporation he works for went to Duke. Going to one school over another is not going to make or break your life. I am going to Duke (applied ED), and my father said when someone comes for an interview at the firm he works for, he would never choose someone from Harvard or Yale over someone from Duke. He would ask them all for interviews and of course see what they had done during their college years. Just "going" to a school doesn't help you - you have to stand out. </p>
<p>Also, my father -who hires a lot of people in his field-says personality plays a huge part. Depending on profession,a firm has to feel you are a good fit.He recently hired someone from U. Of Michigan over someone from Dartmouth in a heartbeat - said it wasn't a close call.</p>
<p>Exactly; I go back to my first post -- visit both campuses if you have the chance and see which feels better.....where you can see yourself being the best you can be.</p>