<p><a href=“http://mup.asu.edu/research2011.pdf[/url]”>http://mup.asu.edu/research2011.pdf</a></p>
<p>Interesting report. Looks like Duke is 12th, not 2nd, in total research. Impressive showing nonetheless. Their biological sciences are very strong. Definitely “elite” by any reasonable measure.</p>
<p>Bio sci and medical research drive most of “total research” for many schools (80%-100%). For these schools, the numbers say very little about their non-bio/non-medical fields (e.g. engineering, math, computer sci, physical sciences, etc.)</p>
<p>Hey Man, thanks for you stats about duke which is very convicing. But hey, dont get personal, I appreciate all your help!</p>
<p>kevinchen1219,</p>
<p>Northwestern is actually the most diverse of the bunch. It got six undergrad schools, including music, education, communications, and journalism. They are all among the best of their kind. So on top of the liberal arts and engineering students, you’d get to meet a large number of aspiring educators, journalists, tv producers, and performing artists.</p>
<p>I would agree with Sam there. Honestly, just go with your gut here; you can’t go wrong between Duke/Northwestern and Middlebury. Vanderbilt is probably the least diverse.</p>
<p>Actually, Vanderbilt has an equal if not more URMs than the other schools. It is only “less diverse” in the sense there are fewer Asians (the other schools have Asians overrepresented, compared to the US population, to a larger degree).</p>
<p>Vanderbilt’s Diversity -
Hispanics of any race 7.8%
Asian or Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 7.8%
Black/African American 8.0%
Two or more races 5.6%
Total Minority 29.2%
International 5.8%</p>
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<p>Yep - besides having the largest student body, it’s the most diverse when it comes to the type of students - from the extremely artsy to the extremely technical and those in btwn.</p>
<p>Plus easy access to Chicago leads to doing more things and meeting all diff. kinds of people (for instance, when I was at school, I got to know a couple of blues musicians - one who toured with the Rolling Stones in Europe).</p>
<p>I love how beyphy digs up articles that are almost a decade old and then uses them to ‘fortify’ his ludicrous claim that Duke is not elite. Just fyi, the article is comparing Duke to Harvard, Yale and Princeton only. In the context of that article, those are the only schools that are considered to be truly elite. Please do us all a favor and give us a break from your relentless hogwash.</p>
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<p>It’s a bit of a stretch to call a six year old article ‘almost a decade old.’ Reputation changes very slowly. It’s isn’t likely that Duke’s done anything within those six years to largely change its reputation.</p>
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<p>I wrote none of the content that i posted. So i’m not sure exactly how it’s my ‘hogwash.’ Perhaps my point about Middlebury being an elite university was lacking in evidence. But, if memory serves, SWAMP (which Middlebury is a part of) is the LAC equivalent of HYPSM.</p>
<p>Overall, it just depends on broad you want to be in your usage of words. Is Duke among the best universities in the US? Yes. Would that make it elite? (Arguably) yes. Is Duke among the top 5 universities in the US? No. Would that make it non elite? (Arguably) yes.</p>
<p>Hard to remember the original post at this point 
, but if the OP is considering engineering at all then Middlebury is out of the running completely.</p>
<p>Agree. Duke is more “elite” than Middleburry, although both are good schools.</p>
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<p>OP’s first post says:</p>
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<p>Both are elite. One is an elite national research university, and the other is an elite national liberal arts college. If you prefer large universities, then Duke is probably your kind of elite (you’re much more likely to find your college’s sweatshirt at Macys). If you prefer small schools, then Midd is probably the sort of elite that you’re looking for (small, selective, and a hidden gem among those in the know).</p>
<p>^^Agreed. This is the typical big pond vs. small pond argument that never ends. If you’re at all happy with a particular boutique store, most likely it doesn’t matter how many people have heard of it.</p>
<p>No, it’s not. There really is no room for compromise here. It is utterly deceptive to imply that Williams, Amherst et. al. are held in the same regard as HYPSM. There is a world of difference between LACs and universities in terms of selectivity, prestige, research opportunities, and even employment prospects. No one in their right mind (exaggeration) would pick Amherst over Yale or Williams over Princeton. Universities like Duke and Penn win cross admit battles with the very best LACs.</p>
<p>Kenyanpride that’s simply not true. Some people don’t want to go to a large university; they know themselves well-enough to know that they thrive in the intimacy of a small college setting. </p>
<p>I imagine you’d say that no one in her right mind world turn down Stanford for Bryn Mawr College. And yet, one of my closest friends did just that. She graduated a couple of years ago, and says it was the right choice for her.</p>
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<p>Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Stanford
MIT
Caltech
Columbia
Cornell
Penn
Dartmouth
Brown
Hopkins
Chicago
et al. :D</p>
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You just listed all of Harvard, Northwestern, and Duke’s peers, why?</p>
<p>^^
I know that’s been the populr conception for some time, especially around CC circles, but there is data that suggests otherwise. Of the thirty colleges and universities that listed Duke on their IPEDS surveys only Brown, Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins are listed in the post above and none began with the initials HYPSSM:
[Who</a> Does Your College Think Its Peers Are? - Administration - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/peers-interactive-data/134262]Who”>Who Does Your College Think Its Peers Are?)</p>