*LAST MINUTE!!!* Duke or Vanderbilt!

College Search & Selection
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Hi, I’m currently making what feels like the biggest decision of my life so far. I have been trying to choose between Duke and Vanderbilt (Chancellor’s Scholar) after UPenn failed me with their financial aid :frowning: Anyways, I see pros and cons and so much similarity between Duke and Vandy that it makes it hard to decide.
Not that prestige matters in my decision, but Duke is ranked 9th and Vandy 15th on USNews Best US Univ. I want to make sure that, as a pre-med, I will not struggle with getting into med school (Duke placement is 85%, Vandy 70ish?) I also have a newfound interest in econ, so I want a school that can offer me flexibility in finding what I want to do while also providing me with a work-life balance.
Most of the content that I have seen of Vanderbilt, doesn’t depict its buildings and interiors as the nicest spaces, and for some reason I find natural light, cool study spaces, and good food to be really important to me, so Duke is winning in that regard, but only bc I’ve seen more of that stuff, so if anyone knows more about Vandy renovations and/or how nice the interiors are lmk haha. (Duke dorms vs. Vandy dorms? Duke libraries vs. Vandy libraries?)
I am not the type of person that works and works with no life outside of it. I want an exciting college experience with exploration, nightlife, and camaraderie. I also feel like I’ll prefer the big city life of Nashville as opposed to Durham. I don’t want to feel like I have explored everything worth visiting by the end of my four years, so I think Vandy has the edge on life outside the classroom… possibly… bc I am OBSESSED with the seemingly strong school spirit at Duke when it comes to all things Duke, especially Duke Basketball. Vanderbilt doesn’t seem to have that same spirit which is a con to me, but maybe the city will make up for it.
Also, I have not had the opportunity to visit either campus due to Rona, but if anybody has let me know if the one you visited, whether its Duke and/or Vandy, has the better feel/layout.
And how is Durham or Nashville? I want to make sure I feel safe and comfortable as I, a black male, have lived in a fairly progressive suburb of Philly my whole life. I know that both Vanderbilt/Nashville is less diverse than Duke/Durham. When it comes to Vanderbilt being less racially and geographically diverse than Duke, I hope that the social climate isn’t limiting for me. Since both schools have a heavy-ish Greek presence, I want to know which school will allow independents to still have an integrated, fun time.
*omitting financials for now bc I want to hear responses that are not based on money

Extra: Last, but not least, what is the most interesting class on either schools’ class catalog!

1 Like
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Hi! Congrats on your offers! I can’t address many of your concerns but the one that stood out to me the most was the question of pre-med. Maybe go to the pre-med threads and see what they say about which is better. From what I’ve gleaned premed at top schools is all the more challenging because the students there are that much better at being students. That means getting the grades you need for med school entrance could be that much harder to get, depending on the school. Med school is Grades plus MCAT mostly. I’d ask what people there know about premed at both schools.

One general piece of advice I give my kids is to treat the first semester of college as if you’re taking an additional invisible class. That class is called “getting used to college.” To plan your schedule, I advise them to sign up for 5 classes with the intention of dropping one class. Be sure to assess your profs before signing up for the five classes. So in the end, after dropped class, you would have four classes plus the invisible class of “getting used to college.” This will help you achieve the grades you need. Since you’re premed I would add one more idea here and that is to sign up for the one premed class you need and the rest all “easy” classes. Most colleges have some sort of writing seminar… and then take two “easy” classes. Going to college is a big step up for everyone in terms of studying. It’s a shock for everyone. A students get Cs suddenly in math when in HS they didn’t need to study at all. This is what I’m hoping to prepare you for. Plus! There’s the distraction of the games, the social life, and the cool town you’re in. Best of luck to you!

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Thank you so much! Your advice is super helpful, and I will definitely keep that in mind as I choose my first sem classes. I’ve heard that both schools have comparatively collaborative pre-med students when put up against other elite caliber colleges, but from what I’ve seen Duke has more pre-med resources. Thanks again!

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Both are good and comparable colleges but you seem very excited about attending Duke. Unless Vandy is offering enough money to make the decision easier, go with your heart. There isn’t enough difference between the two to take heavy debt. Both colleges can take you to medical schools if you work hard so no worries there. You should go to college which makes you happy and enthusiastic about your undergrad experience.

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Med school placement has to be similar. Ignore the published stats as you have no way of knowing what’s in the denominator (off shore schools?), or denominator (we only count who we give a strong rec to).

Both have top 20 med schools so there should be no reason why one would have more resources than the other. And no, Duke doesn’t have more premed courses, as those are all lower division courses. Now if you wanted to major in Bio-Engineering, I’d choose Duke.

Vandy has a beautiful campus and its buildings are very nice inside, as are the dorms. Duke has the gorgeous gothic, but Frosh Dorms are away from campus (and not air-conditioned).

Socially, Vandy is probably more heavier greek and in the SEC, plenty of spirit. Nashville beats Durham.

If you can’t visit, choose your obsession (and hope Coach K does not retire any time soon), or the cheapest one.

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Duke and Vandy are complete peers for pre-med- there is no meaningful difference.
=> Note that the ‘med school acceptance rate’ stats are meaningless across most colleges & universities, b/c colleges handle things so differently. For example, how much emphasis is put on ‘weeding out’, and at what stage? How does the college use advising to discourage students who they think what be successful from applying?

Equally, natural light, cool study spaces and good food are found at both schools.
9th & 15th on USNWR is not a meaningful difference. Ability to change focus is equally easy.

But all of this stuff- plus dorms, basketball, city - they are ALL secondary to the one thing that you don’t want to talk about: money. Especially for a prospective med student! Which one will leave you with less total debt? that is your first, last, best choice.

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Between the two, the distinguishing factor seems to be the Chancellor’s Scholar designation at Vanderbilt University which should enhance your resume.

Also, consider which school you would prefer if you changed your major.

Nashville beats out Durham based on your criteria.

Both are heavily Greek (frats & sororities).

P.S. Both have about 6,700 undergraduates & both are about 50%/50% Male/Female.

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Vanderbilt seems very diverse whenever I’ve been on campus (about 4-5 times in the last year) and the students are happy and friendly. There is a collaborative atmosphere and they are building a number of new dorms (one opening this summer). The residential college area for freshman (Commons) is wonderful and is a great way to get used to college life (in addition to a great program for freshman that breaks them into groups that are not dorm specific and they meet for the whole year). Nashville is very fun and there are so many places to hear live music.

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I have no real knowledge of either, with the exception of just walking around the Duke campus for an hour or two one day. It is drop dead gorgeous. But, if you’re looking for the perks of city life, I think Nashville would far outweigh Durham.

But the real reason for my post is to suggest that you get on google maps and just “walk” the streets around the campuses. We are just getting into the college search and I’ve done this a lot to get a feel of the neighborhood surrounding schools. I think the virtual tours are great, but they obviously just show you what they want to show you.

Good luck and congratulations-- two GREAT choices!!

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Since you’re from the Philly area, my hunch is that you would be more comfortable at Duke. The school is loaded with students from New Jersey and New York (Long Island).

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I visited both campuses last summer. The Duke tour was possibly the best tour we had of all the colleges we visited (tied with USC in LA). However, in the end, Duke felt isolated to me. Durham was sort of a let down and you can’t walk there from Duke. Vanderbilt was an OK tour- went to pre-VU. The tour was a little long, and the tour guide wasn’t that into the tour either. I asked the tour guide why she picked Vanderbilt and she couldn’t really tell me why. To me it immediately felt like Vanderbilt wasn’t her 1st choice. My overall impression was that the whole campus needed a “pick me up.” It just seemed a little “tired.” They were doing lots of renovation projects when we were there, so hopefully it’s better now. Nashville was nice and a quick uber ride to fun areas. But again- Nashville didn’t seem as walkable as other cities like Chicago, SF, New York, and Boston. It seems like Nashville was a bunch of little neighborhoods that ended up merging together. Seems like Duke would be better for you.

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This info is outdated by several years. All of the East Campus dorms have air conditioning now, though most of the older ones have window units or floor units for the time being since Duke can close and renovate only a couple of dorms at a time.

To clarify the “away from campus” statement for OP who hasn’t visited, Duke technically has only one contiguous campus, but traditionally Duke’s campus has been divided into three parts:
[ul][li]West Campus (sophomore-senior dorms, most academic classrooms, the Chapel, K-ville, etc.)[/li]
[li]East Campus (freshman dorms, the arts library, the music building)[/li]
[li]Central Campus (formerly apartments for juniors/seniors, now being demolished)[/ul][/li]Several important buildings are between East and West Campus, including the art museum, the center for Jewish life, and the gorgeous new arts center (opened 2018), so many students travel regularly between campuses even as upperclassmen.

The freshman dorms are about a 30 minute walk or ~10 min bus ride from most of the academic classrooms on West Campus. East and West campus have their own gyms, dining facilities, libraries, etc., though students can use the facilities on either campus. East Campus is a completely dry campus, whereas West Campus is a wet campus (Duke would rather have students drink safely on campus than drink and drive).

@drivesuccess I really like Durham and enjoy visiting when I can, although I’ll admit it’s undoubtedly more appealing to grad students and young professionals than college students. In any case, keep in mind that Duke students are not limited to Durham. Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Raleigh, etc. are all easily accessible and offer more than enough to keep you busy for four years.

For what it’s worth, I was an extremely liberal, queer kid from a poor family and found some great friends at Duke and loved my four years there. It’s gotten more progressive over the years and is a VERY different place from the Duke of 20 years ago.

I was an independent at Duke and never felt any pressure or desire to join Greek life. If you do decide to consider rushing, note that not all frats are the same. I spent one year living down the hall from a frat that left the quad littered with solo cups and trash every weekend, while another year I lived downstairs from a frat that spent way more time playing video games, grilling, and playing frisbee and threw only one or two parties the whole year.

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Hi there! I wonder which one you ended up choosing and what it’s been like for you so far. I hope you’re doing well and happy with your choice!