<p>Congratulations for the acceptances. Although I respect the many "obviously take the money and go to Duke" comments, let me offer a different perspective.</p>
<p>College will be among the best 4 years of your life. You'll grow into an adult, learn amazing things, meet lifelong friends, perhaps meet the person you'll end up marrying, significantly affect the future course of your life, etc. From that viewpoint, I think the argument that "the experiences at S and D will be indistinguishable" is far too simplistic. There <em>are</em> important differences between the schools (not to say that either is inherently "better"), and I think you should weigh those differences.</p>
<p>S and D are both amazing schools, and I do think they're similar in some respects. At the risk of sounding elitist, I think the typical Stanford student may be qualitatively closer to the "typical Duke Robertson Scholar" than the "typical Duke student."</p>
<p>Disclosure: I attended Stanford fairly recently, and honestly wouldn't have traded my experiences there for <em>any</em> amount of money (I'm sure you'll find Duke alums who feel the same way). IMO $140K is completely trivial when looking at the "big picture."</p>
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There <em>are</em> important differences between the schools (not to say that either is inherently "better"), and I think you should weigh those differences.
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Perhaps it would be helpful for the OP if someone listed the specific benefits of choosing Stanford over the Robertson. </p>
<p>Several posters have vaguely mentioned that the schools are different, but only one poster really mentioned anything specific.</p>
<p>As for qualitative similarities, are you implying that 40% of Robertsons are from California? :)</p>
<p>I maintain that it is completely ridiculous to have someone make a MAJOR decision like this based on money when paying for college is not even going to be a big issue.</p>
<p>Like I'm in the running for a full ride at USC, am I going to pass up Yale for it? No. And USC is actually comparable (and possibly better) for what I want to do. And it's not even for frivolous reasons; it's simply because I know that I wouldn't be as happy in socal as I would be in New Haven.</p>
<p>Can you apply for any scholarships outside of colleges (because I think you would have a really good chance of getting some!)? For example, I am applying for a scholarship that, if awarded, is full-tuition anywhere I choose to go.</p>
<p>apply to all scholarships u can, so if u do get robertsons, and want to go to stanford, u at least have money that almost equalize the cost.</p>
<p>Overall id say stanford> duke+ robertson, but considering u want to do engineering and stanfords engineering is sick, but cali is on the downfall so u might wanna stay at duke but i dunno its hard decision</p>
<p>I mentioned this on the Duke thread as well, but I'll say it here now. </p>
<p>I've noticed that a lot of people are saying that Duke has the "overall experience", but when talking about Stanford they just say it has great academics. </p>
<p>Yes, Stanford does have great academics, but doesn't it have the "overall experience" as well? Duke is ranked #7 in men's basketball currently, well, Stanford women are ranked #2 (ownage ;)). Duke has a huge rivalry with UNC, Stanford has a huge rivalry with Berkeley. Duke students have fun, well, I have heard Stanford students do as well. Stanford would probably "beat" Duke in terms of diversity (and resources available for those students). </p>
<p>I guess I am just trying to understand why people fail to mention the "overall experience" at Stanford and, furthermore, what this experience really entails.</p>
<p>you can't compare duke and stanford in terms of academics- they are equal.... when it comes down to top universities, you will get an almost identical education at many of them. Sure some have different focuses and what not, but they will all prepare you to succeed (as will many many many other non top universities). And the best way to start succeeding earlier, is to graduate without debt, or minimal debt. If you only had to take 5K a year in debt for stanford, I would say go for it. But when its $140K v. none? Seriously...do you have any idea how long that debt will take to pay off? Its just not worth that much money to get the few extra benefits stanford offers.</p>
<p>^ true. but we are not wealthy by any means. i don't want my family stuck with debt (second mortgage to pay), if i can avoid justifiably. this will mean Duke with Robertson. I hope I will have that option, i..e., get Robertson. My concern is still that engineerign at S is much better than at D.</p>
<p>Can someone tell what you know about BME at D - wrong board may be, but I want to compare programs if that will give me some objective guideline to choose.</p>
<p>It sounds to me like you want to go to Stanford, but you'd feel like you're letting down your parents by making them pony up $100k+ when it they could've been not paying a dime.</p>
<p>They've already told you they're take on the issue, and it sounds to me like they'd support your decision either way. All you can do is take them at their word and make the decision that's best for you.</p>
<p>I disagree with the people who think this is all one big cost-benefit analysis, who say you need to think whether Stanford is X amount of dollars better than Duke. You need to do what will make you happy. If that's saving your parents some dough and still getting to go to a great school, and assuming you get the scholarship, go Duke. If that's going to the school you really want, and that school is Stanford, welcome to the farm.</p>
<p>In the end, you have to make the decision you want, be bold enough to tell everybody around you it's what you want, and be comfortable enough with the decision to not look back and second guess it once you've made it. </p>
<p>Somebody once said something that really resonated with me, I'm not sure its entirely relevant, but maybe it will be of use nonetheless:</p>
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Undergrad degrees are a load of horse****; College is nothing but a finishing school for the upper-middle class. You should only be there to maximize your future earning potential. Anything you actually want to learn and understand, you'll need to pick up on your own.
<p>Ah, I hope that's not true. I just don't understand why people in the US don't want to learn, it seems like they just go through the motions to make (more) money.</p>
<p>Stanford has 89 faculty members selected into the Natioanl Academy of Engineering, while Duke only has 3 NAE members in its faculty. In engineering, Duke is no comparison to Stanford.</p>
<p>I am actually in the same situation as itsme123, so thank you to everyone for your posts. I was accepted early to Stanford, and am now waiting on Duke Robertson decisions and a few other admissions decisions (Princeton, Harvard, UVA). My only hesitation with Stanford was that I couldn't get a feel for that "overall college experience" there. I wasn't sure if Stanford kids really do have fun, in the same way that kids at Duke and UVA are known for having a great time. I visited Stanford last month and had a blast, but would love to know anyones thoughts on the non-financial, non-academic comparison between Duke and Stanford, in case I am lucky enough to be offered a Robertson. Thanks!</p>
<p>The obvious difference is that fraternities and sororities are at the center of much social life at Duke and not so much at Stanford. Duke also has more preppie types than Stanford, and they have more of an effect on the overall spirit. Notwithstanding that Stanford has excellent sports teams, sports (especially basketball) are a much, much bigger deal at Duke.</p>