Michigan vs. Duke

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>My college search/notification is basically over as of today and these are the two schools I am basically gonna decide between. Obviously, this is a biased board but I want to hear(ESPECIALLY from Alexandre) how these two schools compare with each other with regards to academics/social life/sports/job opportunities/etc. etc. post graduation. An important note to consider in all likelihood is the fact that I intend to pursue the field of business after I graduate from college and would like to get into some investment banking/hedge funds/consulting right out of college. Again, I have a general idea of the pros and cons of both Duke and Michigan but it would be nice to hear some other thoughts.:)</p>

<p>P.S.: I just got rejected from Ross Pre-admit today.:(</p>

2

<p>Duke sucks.</p>

<p>That is all.</p>

3

<p>Throw out the prestige - both have very similar peer assessments and one won't open doors that the other will.</p>

<p>They are very different schools. One is a small private school of 6500 in North Carolina with nearly 70% of the population involved in Greek Life. The other is a school of 25K in Michigan with 63% of the students off-campus. The student-faculty ratio at Duke is 8-1, whereas Michigan is 15-1.</p>

<p>Finances should be a concern. Duke is very expensive. If you don't qualify for aid, and Michigan gave a scholarship, consider them.</p>

4

<p>UMich: 18k, in-state
Duke: 45k? (ish?)</p>

<p>Do the math. It's not worth the extra 27k per year your going to be paying. Duke may be stronger then Mich in academics, but there are almost no schools I'd pay an extra 27k per year to go to over Mich. And it just so happens that Duke isn't one of those :/</p>

<p>It's not worth the money to go to Duke imo, even if you can afford it.</p>

5

<p>if you're a michigan resident, you should go to umich.
if not, duke hands down.</p>

6

<p>Come to Duke if you are willing to pay. The experience is amazing!</p>

7

<p>In terms of reputation and graduate school/professional placement, those two schools are pretty even. When it comes to professional placement, particularly with major IBanks and MCs, both camopses are considered "strategic". However, in the case of Michigan, most of those recruiters focus on Ross since it is an organized entity. Since Duke does not have such an organized program, recruiters are more random. So, if you are confident you can get into Ross, I'd say go for Michigan, otherwise, it is a much tougher decision, but I would probably give the edge to Duke, unless you really like Ann Arbor/Michigan and dislike Durham/Duke (that was the case with me when I picked Michigan over Duke).</p>

<p>I would definitely recommend you vist both campuses/towns and decide based on fit. Those are two very different schools.</p>

8

<p>Both are target schools for ibanking.</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
with nearly 70% of the population involved in Greek Life

[/quote]

15% of males join fraternities, compared to Michigan's 13%. 22% of females join sororities, compared to Michigan's 16%. Contrary to popular belief, there is a great deal more at Duke than the Greek scene, like the Springternational festival from which I just came. :)</p>

<p><a href="http://www.aas.duke.edu/quickfacts.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.aas.duke.edu/quickfacts.html&lt;/a>
<a href="http://sitemaker.umich.edu/obpinfo/files/umaa_cds2006.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://sitemaker.umich.edu/obpinfo/files/umaa_cds2006.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

10

<p>Lol yeah I don't know where this "Greek-dominated social life" stereotype comes from. The majority of my friends at Duke AREN'T in sororities or fraternities.</p>

11

<p>From US News premium information:
Duke (69%):
Fraternity members: 27%
Sorority members: 42%<br>
Michigan (29%):
Fraternity members: 13%
Sorority members: 16% </p>

<p>From CollegeBoard website:
Duke (71%):
* Percent of men who join fraternities: 29%
* Percent of women who join sororities: 42%
Michigan (31%):
* Percent of men who join fraternities: 16%
* Percent of women who join sororities: 15%</p>

12

<p>A2Wolves, the numbers don't add up. Both Duke and Michigan are 50% female and 50% male. If 27% of Duke men belong to frats and 42% of Duke females belong to sororities, that would mean that 35% (not 71%) of Duke students belong to the Greek system. At Michigan, it would be roughly 15%, which is indeed less than Duke, but not to the same extent as Collegeboard or USNews seem to think.</p>

13

<p>I think I am beginning to fall in love with Duke and don't even know why I am still considering Michigan because the two don't even seem to be on the same level. Must be because Ann Arbor is a much better college town than Durham.;)</p>

<p>Here's why Duke rocks:</p>

<ol>
<li>warm wather(compared to freezing cold winters in Ann Arbor)</li>
<li>top-ten university: #8 to be exact(UMich is like fringe top 25)</li>
<li>small student body so excellent advising/class scheduling and personalized attention from counselors(all of these factors are lacking at UMich last time I checked)</li>
<li>very intelligent/accomplished student body(Michigan varies largely in this area as some of the kids who manage to get in from in-state early in the admissions cycle with like 25's on ACT's are terribly unqualified and unworthy IMHO)</li>
<li>GORGEOUS CAMPUS!!!:)(as compared to a barely modest one at Michigan)</li>
<li>location out-of-state(Michigan would put me just a half hour ride from my house and family which would reduce my autonomy and hence my college experience)</li>
</ol>

<p>I could go on and on about why Duke would be a better choice than Michigan for me. Even with regards to athletics/social life/school spirit, Duke and Michigan are dead tied in my opinion.:) The Big House is definitely electrifying during home football games but in what other school besides Duke do students CAMP OUT IN TENTS outside in the winter for days with blue face and body paint in order to acquire home basketball game tickets?;) Also, I am much more of a basketball guy than a football guy.</p>

<p>

Ummm Alexandre, recruiters at Duke are so "random" in fact that SOMEHOW representatives at Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Barclays Capital, Deloitte Consulting. Deutsche Bank, etc. etc. RECRUIT DIRECTLY ON CAMPUS EVERY YEAR. Keep in mind that I wasn't accepted to Ross Preadmit and I'm pretty sure the top-notch IBanks/firms I listed above don't do that kind of recruiting at Michigan for mere LSA Econ majors.</p>

<p>Here's a complete list of Career Fair 2006 Registered Organizations at Duke:</p>

<p><a href="http://career.studentaffairs.duke.edu/undergrad/find_job/career_programs/career_fair/cforgs.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://career.studentaffairs.duke.edu/undergrad/find_job/career_programs/career_fair/cforgs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Also, financing a Duke education will NOT be a problem for my parents.</p>

<p>I just wanted to throw my current opinion out there but do you guys have any other thoughts/suggestions/advice?</p>

14

<p>If you can afford it, go to Duke.</p>

15

<p>Uh actually, LSA Econ majors are recruited by MANY reputable firms. Since you took the time to look up Duke's recruitment opportunities, why don't you take a look at Michigan's?</p>

16

<p>EAD, when I said recruiters are "random" at Duke, I did not mean to say that they recruit less than they do at Michigan. Far from it. Duke attracts exclusive recruiters as much as Michigan. But at Michigan, those recruiters focus on Ross because it is there. At Duke, there is no such entity for the recruiters to focus on, so they approach Duke more randomly. </p>

<p>"I'm pretty sure the top-notch IBanks/firms I listed above don't do that kind of recruiting at Michigan for mere LSA Econ majors."</p>

<p>You are wrong on this account. I was an Econ Major myself and I had offers from Goldman Sachs, Lazard and Lehman Brothers before graduation. Most exclusive firms recruit LSA students directly and separately from Ross students. In fact, some recruiters, like Goldman Sachs and McKinsey, actually conduct the bulk of their undergraduate recruitment activity at LSA rather than Ross. However, Ross students are recruited more effectively then LSA students (and Duke students for that matter) because the B-school is designed to optimize recruiter/student interaction. Let us face it, employers would rather go to one designated building on campus where they a small but very interested and qualified group of students who are well organized and assisted by a very highly specialized career center. That's why B-Schools placement rates are so impressive.</p>

<p>At any rate, career fairs aren't very telling. Recruiters do not usually interview students or give out offers during those fairs. Companies generally attend fairs to solidify their image on campus. And even if those career fairs were effective placement tools for campus recruitment, Michigan has several career fairs and the list of attending companies is very impressive:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Eengincf/stucor.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~engincf/stucor.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>For some reason, LSA does not list the companies that come to their career fair, but roughly 100 or so comapnies generally attend, including the likes of Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and McKinsey.</p>

<p>Of course, Ross has very impressive placement stats that need no elaboration. </p>

<p>And although Duke is prettier than Michigan architecturaly, I actually prefer Michigan's campus. I don't know, something about gothic architecture in North Carolina doesn't ring true! Hehe!!!</p>

<p>When it comes to athletics, I agree with you, Duke is as good as Michigan. It just depends what you like. For Football and Hockey fans, you can't beat Michigan, but for Basketball lovers, Duke is equally as formidable.</p>

<p>Anyway, if you love Duke, go for it. Duke is an awesome university with a great atmosphere and when you are done, your Duke degree will open any door you could possibly wish to walk through.</p>

17

<p>I think, I can share my opinion, based on my personal experience. Trust me, I liked both these universities and am not biased towards either!</p>

<p>Duke:
- Smaller student body
- Compact campus and indeed beautiful
- Scope for higher interaction with the faculty</p>

<h2>- Higher reputation - more when you go outside the USA</h2>

<p>Michigan:
- Lively and cheerful student body
- Great College town - in fact during winter AA looks beautiful
- Own initiative is vital for interaction with the faculty
- Within the USA, the reputation matches with the top private universities </p>

<p>From what I have seen in the Wall Street, Michigan is considered as a better business school vis-a-vis Duke. If one asks me a single most factor in favor of Michigan, then it would be the 'Career Services'. While answernig the same question about Duke, I would say 'The Campus'. </p>

<p>I have purposely avoided the topic of 'Quality of the Admitted Students'. It depends on your profile as your peer group is likely to be a reflection of yours!</p>

18

<p>Rintu, in terms of international reputation, it depends on the region of the World. In Europe, Michigan tends to have a better (albeit marginally so) reputation than Duke. I am not sure about Asia, but I know Michigan has a very good reputation in Korea and Japan. That's because most international undergraduate students generally wish to major in Engineering or Business and Michigan has a better college of Engineering and Duke does not offer business to undergrads. </p>

<p>Keep in mind that I am referring to reputation according to the intellectual and corporate elite, not to the reputation according to high school kids who, like the kids in the US, are pretty limited to what the USNWR has to say.</p>

19

<p>Alexandre. I tend to agree with your observation.</p>

<p>I have a query, though it is different from the title. Between Michigan and Virginia, which one would you recommend, if the comparison is between Ross and Mcintire. I need your valued opinion.</p>

20

<p>I would say they are equals...go for fit as those two universities have significantly different atmospheres and campus cultures. Both are awesome.</p>