Northwestern or Duke?? Please help!!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
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<p>So... after the process of narrowing down choices, I have come to this tough decision--Northwestern V.S. Duke. I am an international applicant from China, and after my research, here is what I got.</p>

<p>In fact, my sources of information are 1) Internet (especially discussion forum like CC) 2) My friends in US who have actually visited both schools. I am not sure whether these information is correct or not... So I would be really appreciated if you can point out any incorrect info or provide any new information:) Any suggestions or advice are greatly appreciated!</p>

<p>So here is what I got:
I have found out that NU matches my future career plan: strong in Engineering and Economics/Finance—in particular, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science BS+MS five year program, and top-notch programs in Economics and Finance. Also, the various programs are really attractive—MMSS, ISP, etc. Other than that, I was impressed by the “one university policy” in NU—virtually, any undergraduate can choose to enroll in any course from other schools. I can fully explore my intellectual interest in NU: I want to enroll in classes about journalism in the Medill School of Journalism, finance and business management in Kellogg School of Management, and explore my music potential in renowned Bienen School of Music. Although it is a pre-professional institution, I can choose to receive well-rounded education in NU, or so I believe. (The Trimester system also enables that:)) Finally, the internship opportunity is great in the big city of Chicago.
It appear to me that all aspect related to academic is better in NUÂ… Yet, I heard that the students are little bit nerdy there, and there appears to be less of a unified sense of school spirit. </p>

<p>However, I heard that Duke is better in the aspects that NU is not--more reputation in US (really?) as well as in globe, the close-knit community (some people say that Duke alumni are really influential in Wall Street, like those of Columbia, Harvard, Dartmouth, and Penn), the school spirit, the typical college experience. However, I learn like that the reputation Duke stems largely from its medical-related program, and its starring NCAA team in sports—which may imply that I feel the academics aspect there is more somehow weak, in comparison with that of NU. I learnt that student in Duke is more laid-back, and therefore is not that in to the study, and not that "intellectual type". Is that correct? Is academic (other than medical-related program, especially the field that I am interested in, ECE, CS, ECON, and liberal-arts education) in not that strong? How do you think the internship opportunity will be like in Duke? (Some said that Durham is an extremely terrible place to look for internship, but the others say that strong connections between Dukies will lead to better internship opportunities…?)</p>

<p>Sorry it is getting a bit too long, and some of the questions really get into detailÂ… But again, any of your help will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you for sharing the information with me!</p>

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<p>So much to say on this one…but, a quick and easy one is this: Local internships, Chicago vs. Durham…I mean, really? Chicago is one of the great cities in the world and Durham is…Durham?</p>

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<p>Northwestern for sure. I have never heard of Duke alumni being more influential on WALL STREET - maybe in hospitals and on the NBA though. </p>

<p>And as mtldad pointed out - Chicago is WAY better than Durham in terms of location.</p>

<p>Northwestern is also more suited to your interests in terms of engineering and econ/finance. Much better opportunities for internships and job placements coming out of Northwestern than Duke. That’s not to say Duke is not a good school, but I think Northwestern edges it out by a small margin in almost every respect now.</p>

<p>By the way, I’d consider the nerdy/intellectual atmosphere at Northwestern a pro, not a con. And there is most definitely a lot of school spirit at Northwestern - not to mention all the different types of academic programs you mentioned.</p>

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<p>I love nerds (I’m an engineer), but D is in the Theatre program at NU, and while her friends are obviously very intelligent I can assure you they are NOT even remotely nerdy. We also sat in Second City one night where the house was 2/3 NU sorority girls, and while they were impressive on so many levels they were also distinctly NOT nerdy. ;-D</p>

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<p>Other than going to a basketball game at Cameron (one of the coolest sports experiences that we’ve ever had)…I would definitely choose Northwestern over Duke</p>

<p>—brand recognition: very, very similar
—econ/finance: NU
—Campus beauty: Duke gets the reputation on this, but I’ve been to both campuses twice and I never got what was so beautiful about Duke. Northwestern’s campus is beautiful, however, some of the '70’s style architecture is not exactly the prettiest
—Internship opps: C’mon, no contest…NU
—People: Northwestern definitely attracts a more eclectic group of people…both schools have very smart, purposeful people, but we found Northwestern to have a more interesting cross-section
—Chicago/Durham: LOL
—Evanston/Duke area: Evanston is a suburban center that offers everything within walking distance…can’t speak to surronding Duke area
—School spirit: Duke basketball is Duke basketball…but, our impression of NU spirit is that it has definitely stepped up its game
—Dorms: Personally, I hate Duke’s East Campus for freshman…hate that kids have to take a 7-minute bus ride to get to school everyday…otherwise, Northwestern has renovated many dorms that are now much, much nicer than what we saw in '07 (when we thought the dorms were awful).
—Weather: Chicago is cold in the winter…and when that wind blows off the lakeshore, whoa!
—Education: C’mon, you’re going to get a great education at either school</p>

<p>So, there are some points that we’ve seen as parents that have visited both schools</p>

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<p>Steven</p>

<p>Re reputation – Both are top-tier schools. The folks in Durham might argue that Duke has a better reputation but the folks in Evanston would strongly disagree. Any difference in overall reputation either way is minimal.</p>

<p>However, you come out on this, I would say that you should go to the school that has the program that interests you the most. At the end of the day, you’re in a no-lose situation, you’ll get an excellent education at either school.</p>

<p>mtldad – Duke’s eastern campus/bus ride. I’m LOLing – this was one of the main reasons my D (currently at NU) decided not to apply to Duke.</p>

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<p>@zephyr15: I know Dukies will all say, it’s no big deal…everyone’s together, etc…I’m not the one going there and so on…but, I hated the whole idea! My S is close to his decision and it’s looking like Northwestern over WashU/St L (where his brother was class of '11 and loved it!)…we’ll be thrilled either way, but we think that, just as his brother belonged at WashU just a little bit more (he had the same decision to make), this kid belongs at NU just a little bit more…</p>

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<p>You’ll find excellent academic opportunities at either school. NU seems to be a little more aggressive with its quarter schedule, but I’m led to understand that Duke’s curriculum is also top-notch, but Duke’s regular semester schedule seems like it would offer a little more time to fall behind and catch up without being left in the dust. Also, NU’s academics seemed a little more flexible; I hear that it’s quite easy to switch between majors and schools without too much trouble; switching between Duke’s arts and sciences and the engineering department seemed a little more involved. </p>

<p>Duke’s weather is -way- better than that at Northwestern, there’s no doubt about that. Its campus is a lot bigger and more country-esque, but it also seems really big when you’re trying to get to class after you’ve overslept by an hour (if you actually decide to go to class). </p>

<p>Duke’s relatively unified gothic architecture can be viewed as more aesthetically pleasing than NU’s hodgepodge style (not less appealing, but certainly more eclectic). </p>

<p>NU does seem a little nerdier than Duke, but I don’t think that it’s enough to seriously affect the balance one way or the other. NU also seemed a touch more diverse, where Duke was a little more stereotypically southern preppy. </p>

<p>They both seemed to have the same emphasis on global activity, up to and including study abroad and so on. </p>

<p>NU will give you academic credit for internships during the school year, and Chicago is quite close. I don’t know what the opportunities are for a Duke student.</p>

<p>The student bodies seem to have a similar amount of drive and motivation–which isn’t to say that they’re all motivated, of course. If you want to surround yourself with that type of student, you can definitely find them at either one. Duke has better athletics, I won’t dispute that, and that’s definitely a contributor to spirit. Still, Wildcat pride still seems to be around, just not as all-consuming as the Blue Devil insanity enjoyed out east.</p>

<p>re: Durham v. Chicago… Durham isn’t that bad… but it’s no Evanston. Durham would give a broader view of the world, I suppose. The neighborhoods surrounding NU are pretty affluent, from what I’ve seen, and Durham neighborhoods right by campus can be a bit rougher. There’re always a ton of opportunities in Chicago, but it takes a little bit to get into the city, so a lot of people don’t seem to head out there. If you want to, you can get into Chicago every weekend (they say), but it isn’t a priority for everyone.</p>

<p>Now, full disclosure: I’m attending NU, and was waitlisted at Duke. I don’t doubt that either one would give you an awesome experience, but at this point, it’s really a matter of personal preference. I’d suggest that NU and Duke are in a dead heat, reputation-wise, with one or the other taking the lead, depending on where you go and who you talk to. If they even bother to rank one above the other.</p>

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<p>@mtldad – My D hated that about Duke too. She felt exactly the same way about Michigan for exactly the same reason.</p>

<p>I had a thought here – when we read about the difficulty of choosing between schools like NU, Wash U, Duke, Cornell, Penn, etc. – isn’t it exactly like College Admissions. The student will get an excellent education at any of these, but can only choose one. It’s sort of like NU which has 100 applications with essentially equal stats, but can only admit 25 of them.</p>

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<p>I’m having this same problem. Northwestern has already sent me their financial aid and I’m waiting on Duke. My dad’s wanted me to go to Duke since I knew what college was. He’s a basketball fan. Duke is close to home (I’m from South Carolina), has a good reputation, and I know some people there already. However, they don’t really have what I want to do. I applied and was accepted to Northwestern’s School of Communications, which I applied to in order to pursue a career in Television (Screenwriting/Advertising/Production) or publishing. It’s what I truly want to do. The closest thing Duke has is an English major with a domestic study “abroad” in New York that can earn one an internship at a publishing house. </p>

<p>What’s stopping me from saying yes to Northwestern? I haven’t visited. And I’m afraid I might not like the campus or the feel (even though, from what people have been describing, it sounds like my kind of place). I was going to try and call up there and see if there’s a way the financial aid office can pay for a visit (they did it for Wildcat Days for eligible students). It’s just…I don’t know. Any suggestions?</p>

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<p>My advice </p>

<p>First – I am assuming that there is not a significant difference in cost (i.e., this is not a factor).</p>

<p>The primary reason to go to College is to get an education. We can talk all we want about climate, and social life, and all this other stuff, but it’s about education.</p>

<p>Your choice is between NU and Duke.</p>

<p>NU’s communications school is one of the best in the US, if not THE Best. It is a strength of NU. Duke doesn’t offer what you want to study – you can kind of get there, but not really. I would not recommend that you go to a school that doesn’t really offer what you want to study.</p>

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<p>Just wanted to comment on the school spirit/sports at NU. While Duke is in the ACC a great conference, Northwestern is in the Big 10, seen by many has the best and strongest conference in the nation. Sure Duke has a good basketball team and a good lacrosse team but have you ever heard of duke being competitive in any other sport? do they even have a football team? Northwestern has a competitive football team, that makes a bowl game yearly, and consistently draws body painted fans cheering on the team. Northwestern’s basketball team is competitive in the big 10 (toughest conference in nation) and gets better each year, with the number one shooter in the conference this past year. The basketball team always has large numbers of fans supporting the team through the many close games with nationally ranked teams. NU has the number 1 ranked girls lacrosse team in the nation that consistently draws a large crowds of students to tailgates and the games. Northwestern also has other good sports team such as swimming and wrestling to name a few. Northwestern has just has much purple pride as Duke does spirit and that is overshadowed by Duke’s “Great” Basketball team that lost in the 1st round of the NCAA tournament this year. Northwestern has sports, if not better, just as good as and more well rounded than Dukes, with just has much school spirit.
Go U. NU</p>

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<p>Aside from the strength of the program, if this is what you want to do, going to NU would be the better choice simply for connections via the “purple mafia.”</p>

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<p>You’ve got to be kidding me when you say that NU’s athletics prowess is anywhere close to Duke’s jaybierdo. </p>

<p>

Yep Women’s Soccer, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Lacrosse, Men’s Tennis, Women’s Tennis, Men’s Golf, Women’s Field Hockey, Fencing, and Women’s Golf. All of these teams were or will be in the hunt for ACC Conference and National Honors this year.</p>

<p>Our Men’s Baseball and Men’s Football teams are our weak point but Duke is pretty strong all around athletically. We can’t say the same for Northwestern which are annually billed as “The Laughable Losers” of the Big 10.</p>

<p>THE DIRECTOR’S CUP STANDINGS
<a href=“http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nacda/sports/directorscup/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/apr19dI.pdf[/url]”>http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nacda/sports/directorscup/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/apr19dI.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
Duke: #13
Northwestern: #60</p>

<p>It’s not even close. Duke is one of the nation’s top Athletics schools while NU is not; its as simple as that.</p>

<p>

Actually, Duke has a better football program than Northwestern historically.</p>

<p>[Northwestern</a> Wildcats football - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwestern_football]Northwestern”>Northwestern Wildcats football - Wikipedia)
[Duke</a> Blue Devils football - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_football]Duke”>Duke Blue Devils football - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>Winning Percentage
Duke: 49.1%
NU: 44.2%</p>

<p>Conference Titles
Duke: 17
Northwestern: 8</p>

<p>Remember when Duke beat Northwestern in the Fall of 2007 when they last played? I wouldn’t be touting NU’s success on the gridiron if I were you.</p>

<p>

Yeah, I would like some of what you’re smoking please. Duke’s worst season of basketball in modern history is still better than NU’s best season in college ball since Northwestern has never made the NCAA tournament. How does it feel like to be the only Division I athletic program to earn this shameful honor?</p>

<p>[10</a> Colleges with the Most School Pride | Online Universities](<a href=“http://www.onlineuniversities.com/rankings/10-colleges-with-the-most-school-pride/]10”>http://www.onlineuniversities.com/rankings/10-colleges-with-the-most-school-pride/)</p>

<p>I see Michigan, Ohio State, Duke, UNC, Penn State, and UNC but where is Northwestern? No school can match Duke with regards to the perfect combination of academics, athletics, school spirit, social life, and weather.</p>

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Those 7 minute bus rides from East Campus to West Campus were among my fondest moments at Duke-they gave a chance for me to just sit and introspect about life without any distractions but weren’t long enough to really annoy me. It also gives students a chance to talk to their friends and classmates in the morning briefly before classes begin. It was perfect.</p>

<p>Don’t let NU partisans fool you about the proximity of Chicago-you are likely to never leave the NU campus if its anything like Duke with regards to its vibrancy. There will be too many a capella performances, improv shows, musical acts, sing a longs, guest speakers, and frat parties for you to attend where you’d ever never really need to seek external stimulation of any kind.</p>

<p>

Check this out: [About</a> | Overview](<a href=“http://cds.aas.duke.edu/about/index.html]About”>http://cds.aas.duke.edu/about/index.html)</p>

<p>One of my closest friends is attending graduate school in Film at USC which he says the Documentary Certificate at Duke really prepared him for. The Public Policy School also has some media-related classes that you can take.</p>

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<p>I’m so glad you spent an hour putting together that amazing post about Duke. Along with changing my views about Duke and their athletics it changed my life. Thank you so much for the worship of your alma mater.</p>

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<p>I was kidding northwestern sports today are on par with Dukes.</p>

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<p>We’re not the only D1 team never to have made the tournament</p>

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<p>My son, a happy freshman at NU chose NU for many reasons. But the following two might help you decide:
(1)it was located in a big city where, after graduation, he should be able to pursue Ph.D at another awesome, more graduate-focused school (U of Chicago), or get a job and settle down long-term. He would rather not relocate after college and establish new relationships all over again at a new place. He had done quite enuf of that. This was a good piece of advice from his GC- “go to a place where you might want to live for a lo~ng time, preferably a big city” My son also appreciates that Chicago has direct flight to his homecountry, Korea.</p>

<p>(2)He is prolly not able to do his summer activity in the States since his permanent home is Korea. Since you are an international student, you may experience the same. He was worried that he will get to do nothing substantial at home during summer. But then, at all of Korea’s very top univs, he found professors with NU doctorate degree! Upon reaching for support, within a few days, my son got three friendly summer R.A. offers from the NU connections. Duke graduates were very very rare, in comparison. Perhaps you should research what it is like in your home country.</p>

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</p>

<p>As usual, you know little of what you speak.</p>

<p>Let’s see…</p>

<p>NU’s men’s soccer won the B1G last season and has gone farther in the NCAA tournament than Duke men’s soccer recently.</p>

<p>Women’s Lax - dominant program of the past decade.</p>

<p>Women’s tennis - won the B1G something like 11 times in a row and won the national indoor championships a couple of years ago.</p>

<p>Wrestling - top 10-12 program and rising.</p>

<p>Softball - made it to the Championship finals a few years ago.</p>

<p>Women’s fencing - perennial top program </p>

<p>Men’s golf - one of the top programs in the B1G w/ Duke Donald as an alum w/ new faces liike David Lipsky having success as a pro.</p>

<p>Women’s volleyball - more often than not makes the NCAAs</p>

<p>Men’s swimming - one of the better programs in the B1G having sent a couple of swimmers to the last Olympics.</p>

<p>And ff the 3 schools - Northwestern, Stanford and Duke - only NU has made the postseason in the revenue sports for each of the past 4 seasons.</p>

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<p>Uhm, you do know that Duke has 7 more varsity sports than NU - which helps in the Director’s cup standings since schools get to choose the sports they want to submit (that’s why Stanford, w/ a whopping 36 varsity sports always tops the rankings).</p>

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</p>

<p>Let’s talk about FB history that’s not from ages ago.</p>

<p>In the past 2 decades NU has won {b]3 B1G** championships in FB while Duke has spent most of those in the cellar of the ACC.</p>

<p>Furthermore, Duke’s having a little better winning % should be embarrassing considering that NU’s administration had gutted athletics during the 1970s-80s.</p>

<p>Meanwhile Duke admin let’s in BB players w/ 18 ACT scores and one-third of the FB team only needs to meet the **NCAA minimum standards<a href=“and%20the%20FB%20team%20still%20can’t%20achieve%20a%20winning%20record”>/b</a>.</p>

<p>And the ACC hasn’t exactly been a powerhouse FB conference, even w/ the addition of UMiami and VTech.</p>

<p>Before the addition of FSU, ACC FB was a joke.</p>

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<p>Men’s Golf
[NCAA</a> Division I Men’s Golf Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/golf-men/d1]NCAA”>Coaches' Poll)
Duke: #15
Northwestern: N/R</p>

<p>Men’s Lacrosse
[NCAA</a> Division I Men’s Lacrosse Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/lacrosse-men/d1]NCAA”>http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/lacrosse-men/d1)
Duke: #7
Northwestern: N/R</p>

<p>Women’s Soccer
[NCAA</a> Division I Women’s Soccer Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/soccer-women/d1]NCAA”>http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/soccer-women/d1)
Duke: #2 (ACC Champs and National Runners Up to Stanford)
Northwestern: N/R</p>

<p>Women’s Golf
[NCAA</a> Division I Women’s Golf Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/golf-women/d1]NCAA”>http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/golf-women/d1)
Duke: #9 (ACC Champs)
Northwestern: N/R</p>

<p>Men’s Soccer
[NCAA</a> Division I Men’s Soccer Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/soccer-men/d1]NCAA”>http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/soccer-men/d1)
Duke: somewhere between #30 and #35
Northwestern: #22</p>

<p>Men’s Baseball
[NCAA</a> Division I Baseball Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/baseball/d1]NCAA”>http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/baseball/d1)
Duke: #101
Northwestern: #242</p>

<p>Men’s Tennis
[NCAA</a> Division I Men’s Tennis Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/tennis-men/d1]NCAA”>ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings sponsored by Tennis-Point - ITA #WeAreCollegeTennis)
Duke: #8
Northwestern: N/R</p>

<p>Women’s Tennis
[NCAA</a> Division I Women’s Tennis Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/tennis-women/d1]NCAA”>ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings sponsored by Tennis-Point - ITA #WeAreCollegeTennis)
Duke: #2
Northwestern: #12</p>

<p>Women’s Lacrosse
[NCAA</a> Division I Women’s Lacrosse Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/lacrosse-women/d1]NCAA”>http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/lacrosse-women/d1)
Duke: #6
Northwestern: #1</p>

<p>Men’s Wrestling
[NCAA</a> Division I Wrestling Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/wrestling/d1]NCAA”>http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/wrestling/d1)
Duke: N/R
Northwestern: #18</p>

<p>Men’s Basketball
[NCAA</a> Division I Men’s Basketball Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1]NCAA”>http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1)
Duke: #8
Northwestern: N/R</p>

<p>Women’s Basketball
[NCAA</a> Division I Women’s Basketball Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-women/d1]NCAA”>http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-women/d1)
Duke: #6
Northwestern: N/R</p>

<p>Women’s Field Hockey
[NCAA</a> Division I Field Hockey Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/fieldhockey/d1]NCAA”>http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/fieldhockey/d1)
Duke: #6
Northwestern: N/R</p>

<p>Fencing
[NCAA</a> Division I Fencing Rankings - NCAA.com](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/fencing/d1]NCAA”>http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/fencing/d1)
Duke: #8
Northwestern: N/R</p>

<p>These are all the Men’s and Women’s sports that either Duke, Northwestern, or both schools are ranked in. Duke holds a 11-3 advantage overall and is a much better athletic program.</p>

<p>There’s no way The Director’s Cup can create a methodology that would put Duke and NU on equal footing since Duke is so far ahead.</p>