<p>I have applied ED to Wharton and plan to apply to Yale but i am more curious about the schools that i have a better shot at getting in to...</p>
<p>I've applied to Michigan (already accepted), Georgetown and Duke and really have no idea which one i favor. I have visited them all and could see myself being happy at all three. However, i'd like some input on which school has the best reputation in terms of education. I would be studying either business/econ or engineering with goals of entering a top tier MBA program (Wharton, Harvard, etc...). A slight (possible tie breaker but not much more) advantage for Michigan would be that it is about 7k cheaper a year and is closer to home (Ohio). Any of your thoughts or questions would be great. Thanks.</p>
<p>Maybe some of the smaller schools near the border do that, but Ohio residents don't get in-state tuition at Michigan. I'm guessing OP got some kind of merit scholarship. Maybe you're thinking of Wisconsin and Minnesota?</p>
<p>Coolbrezze, no, Ohio residents do not get in-state tuition. also thanks for the answer but whats your reasoning?</p>
<p>Dilksy, no, i didn't get a scholarship its just that Michigan is cheaper than the other two (40k vs. 47-50k).</p>
<p>I guess i'll refine my question a little:
If a graduate business admissions department sees 3 students with identical stats from Duke, Georgetown, and Michigan which student looks the best?
Thanks.</p>
<p>"If a graduate business admissions department sees 3 students with identical stats from Duke, Georgetown, and Michigan which student looks the best?"</p>
<p>None will actually look better than the other. It all depends on your overall college gpa. As far as grad-school placement and academic reputation are concerned, the three of them are roughly similar.</p>
<p>so would it be surprising for someone to turn down duke for michigan? i know michigan is really good but i've always thought that duke or georgetown were bigger names than U of M.</p>
<p>Well, Duke doesn't have an undergrad business program (though econ obviously would be top-notch there) and Georgetown lacks engineering. So Michigan would give you more flexibility in terms of allowing you to switch between different majors should you find one of the courses of study mentioned is not for you. Though if you intend to eventually get a MBA, I would argue that an undergrad business degree is redundant.</p>
<p>personally i would say Duke>Michigan>GTown. GTown is a popular school for its location and sports teams, but in honesty its academics don't live up to its reputation. Michigan's academic programs are stronger imo, and it has the advantages of being cheaper and closer to home. duke's academics are a notch above the other two(and arguably on par with Ivies like penn, columbia, and brown), and i believe that it would be worth the extra money to attend. if you care about USNews, duke is tied for 8th with Penn, Columbia, and Chicago.</p>
<p>Those are three heavy hitters. You cannot go wrong either way. Reputationally, all three have excellent name recognition. Graduate school admissions and recruiters will respect those three schools equally. All three universities send a great deal of their alums to HBS and Wharton MBA. </p>
<p>Price does not seem to be an issue either. Yes, Michigan would cost roughly $20,000 less over 4 years, but that's out of $200k! </p>
<p>You should go for fit. And since you are interested in getting an MBA from an elite program, I think you should drop Business and go for either Engineering and Economics for your undergraduate major. If that's the case, I would say Duke or Michigan over Georgetown, primarily because Georgetown does not have a school of Engineering.</p>
<p>Don't get ahead of yourself though. Duke and Georgetown are very difficult schools to get into. Duke had the highest percentage increase in ED applications from last year out of all the top schools. So if the same trend holds to be true for RD, then Duke's overall acceptance rate will hover around 16-17%. Georgetown is perhaps an even more selective school because of its name recognition.</p>
<p>If you do get into all three, I think you should go to Duke because it has the historical reputation/prestige of Georgetown and overall academic strength of Michigan. You would get the best of both worlds. As far as how these schools are viewed by IB/MC/PE firms, I would say Duke>Michigan>Georgetown. You will need to get some work experience before you get that MBA. Duke and UMich Ross offer a tremendous advantage with regards to alumni connections/name recognition in the field of business.</p>
<p>As to reputation, they all are about equal.</p>
<p>There are several key elements here:</p>
<p>First is grades. Grades are king for both grad school and professional schools. If you can get better grades from one school, you should go there. </p>
<p>Second is course offerings, which will depend on your major. If you are interested in enginneering, Georgetown wouldn't be the right school for you. You really need to evaluate each school's programs.</p>
<p>Third is cost: assuming several schools have equally strong programs, I would pick the lowest cost school to you, taking scholarships into account. Someone said that 20K out of 200K isn't meaningful,but that is wrong! 20K can provide a downpayment on a house! Cost is very, very important especially if you have to incur a lot of debt.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great responses. From all of this i am leaning away from Georgetown and towards Michigan. However i have some more specific questions:</p>
<p>Michigan Engineering vs. Duke Engineering</p>
<p>Michigan Economics vs. Duke Economics</p>
<p>Finally, would majoring in something like Nuclear Engineering (#1 in the country at Michigan) be impressive to a prestigious MBA program? or would they rather see a less specific type of engineering (like mechanical)? or would it be the best to stay relevant to business and major in economics? I know people are going to say "major in what interests u" but honestly they all do and i think i can do well in each. Thanks again for all the help, i value any of your opinions and insight.</p>
<p>Michigan Engineering is ranked higher than Duke while Michigan and Duke economics are definitely among the top 15 in the nation.</p>
<p>"Finally, would majoring in something like Nuclear Engineering (#1 in the country at Michigan) be impressive to a prestigious MBA program? or would they rather see a less specific type of engineering (like mechanical)? or would it be the best to stay relevant to business and major in economics?"</p>
<p>Top MBA programs admit applicants from various academic backgrounds. So again, it's your grades, GMAT score, recs, exp, etc that matter most.</p>
<p>I would not worry too much about department rankings at the undergraduate level. Engineering at Michigan is a notch above Duke. For Economics, both have strong offerings. I would really recommend you go for fit. And as Taxguy wisely corrected me, $20,000 is nothing to sneeze at. Furthermore, if you are Duke and Georgetown material, there is a chance you could get a healthy merit scholarship from Michigan, making it even more financially appealing. </p>
<p>Wait and see. but you are really in a great position. Knowing that you got into an elite university like Michigan before Christmas is huge weight off your chest.</p>
<p>Thanks everybody. I think i really like Michigan and just needed to know it was up there with Georgetown and Duke to accept it. I never thought of it as a top notch school until i started researching it. That being said i will still apply to Georgetown since i have already been interviewed. However i might take the opportunity to apply to some more reach schools now that i don't have to apply to many of my matches/safeties. In addition to Penn and Yale, Harvard and Cornell might get some mail from me...</p>
<p>Alexandre, its a HUGE weight off me. haha possibly burj dubai huge.</p>
<p>If Economics and Engineering are subjects you are interested in, check out Cornell, MIT, Northwestern, Princeton and Stanford. Cornell and Northwestern are good peer schools to Duke, Georgetown and Michigan, but like Michigan, they are a notch above Duke in Engineering. MIT, Princeton and Stanford are top 5 universities with top Engineering and Economics departments.</p>
<p>PS: It is 6:40 AM in Dubai. I am sitting at in front of my television, watching the morning news and responding to CC messages. I look out of my window and what do I see? Burj Dubai!</p>
<p>I was impressed by your location (always have wanted to go there) but u have a view too! so awesome... </p>
<p>Thanks for the other suggestions they are right on target for me. I have actually visited all of them except Cornell. MIT was too weird/hardcore for me. Princeton was so nice it kinda freaked me out. Northwestern was at one time my dream school but i decided i like Michigan better. Stanford, well, cant go wrong with that but it would be another super reach (not that i've got bad stats). Cornell i seriously need to check out. My next door neighbor goes there and i'll give him a call.</p>
<p>But back to more serious matters... Is it as shiny and huge as it is in the pictures!!! I envy you.</p>