<p>Also, Devil, something that I think is unfortunate is that your basing a college on a bunch of numbers, how this one ranks and how this one places. The fact of the matter is that a lot of ppl go to all these "highfluent schools" (if that is a word) and end up at lesser known grad schools b/c they underperformed or performed badly on the MCATS, GMATS, GRES</p>
<p>Admittedly, I think more like the international community than the US News committee because the international community regards academic rigor as a positive. Most top international universities are much more rigorous than grade-inflated US schools like Harvard, Stanford, or Duke. When I was picking schools I wanted the school that would challenge me the most. Consequently, I did not shy away from schools like Cornell or Berkeley.</p>
<p>But from being on Cornell's board all of these months, I can see that most US kids do not think the same. Thus, it is not surprising that a US-based ranking system like US News would punish schools for being rigorous (gee, if you give out 60% A's and make sure all your students are happy and graduate with honors, you must be a #1 school!)</p>
<p>Norcalguy, the argument here is prestige, is it not? So, stick to the argument. I def. agree that Cornell Roxorz in engineering. NEXT TOPIC.</p>
<p>Dog, now you are actually becoming insulting. HOW THE HELL DOES GIVING OUT MERIT AWARDS WARRANT A WEAKNESS. Does upenn not give out scholarships to attract applicants? My friend is a Ben Franklin scholar who gets special treatment. Is cornell better than penn too?</p>
<p>For the poster of this message topic, I would just like to say if you are going into engineering, unless you are absolutely 100 percent Biomedical engineering is your thing, it would be a mistake to go to Duke. Cornell's engineering blows them out like hands down no matter what Devil or the Dukies say. That is a fact. Their engineering program is so tiny compared to Cornell's and only offers like 4 areas of concentration to my knowledge.</p>
<p>norcalguy, once again you are ill advised. THERE is absolutely NO grade inflation at Duke. Period. I went to some classes there and the bell curve seems to be in full swing there. No one will hold your hand here. It's just that Duke offers free tutors for all. Just because kids dont commit suicide over there grades here (wink wink) does not mean the grades are inflated.</p>
<p>Dog, for once we agree. GO TO CORNEL FOR ENGINEERING. However, got to Duke for anything else.</p>
<p>Edit: Norcalguy, did you just say you wanted a challenge, so you prefer Berkeley? AHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA</p>
<p>Obviously, you have never been in a Stanford orgo class.</p>
<p>Devil, I am not trying to sound insulting at all. However, you have to remember, a lot of ppl on this board are pro-one school b/c they attend that school and they want their respective props, can you blame them? That is certaintly the case for you, as you commited to Duke and you wouldn't want to put down Duke for a school that you turned down for example. I for one haven't decided and am much more open minded, I think.</p>
<p>I agree. However, I got into Cornell, Emory, Dartmouth, and Duke. I got waitlisted at penn and rice (priority). However, I dont think I am afraid to admit that HYPSM are better than Duke. But Cornell, <em>Peter Griffin voice</em> come on!</p>
<p>1) Now you're just confusing me DMC. If it's about prestige, then 90% of the world regards Cornell as more prestigous Duke. Yes, a portion of that is based on grad school rankings but like I said, if we're arguing about prestige (justified or not), Cornell is widely regarded as more prestigous.</p>
<p>2) On the topic of grade inflation, here is the average GPA of Duke university from a study conducted by Duke University ironically:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gradeinflation.com/duke.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.gradeinflation.com/duke.html</a></p>
<p>Close to 3.4.</p>
<p>Cornell's average GPA for freshman is 3.0. I have no reason to believe it would be any different overall. Therefore, a difference of 0.4 is quite significant.</p>
<p>Again, Cornell's suicide rate is slightly below the national average. I think your joke about the suicide rate only diminishes your credibility.</p>
<p>And have you ever attended a Berkeley engineering class?</p>
<p>Actually Professor Hines at Cornell (most of you people who'll take gen chem at Cornell will have her) used to teach at Stanford. She got fed up with teaching to half empty classes.</p>
<p>So, just because kids do better at Duke means there is grade inflation? WOW</p>
<p>LOL the suicide thing was a joke. Relax. However, I know at duke kids will be working until 4 am quite frequently.</p>
<p>Norcal, who is we? Who are these people who think Cornell is more prestigious than Duke? Where can I find them?</p>
<p>Your professor Hines comment has no relevance here. Orgo is not a popluar class in general. I still cannot believe you said Berkeley is more challenging than Stanford. wow</p>
<p>RU KIDDING, I do not even go to Berkeley. However, I can say that Berkeley is a lot A LOT more challenging. The competition is fierce, and there is massive grade deflation there.</p>
<p>Since this thread has long lost its educational value, I will make this my last post.</p>
<p>The jobs of top universities is to separate the extremely intelligent/hardworking from the simply smart/hardworking from the smart but a slacker. They are not here to make sure everyone "does well." The average GPA at Harvard used to be a C-. As you will note from grade inflation.com, Duke's average GPA used to be a lot lower too. By your logic, Duke and Harvard used to totally suck! Duke's average GPA was only 2.79 in the 1960's, it must've been trash back then. </p>
<p>Sarcasm aside, I don't see the point of giving out 50% A's. It only compresses the curve and makes it much more difficult to distinguish the "great" from the "good."</p>
<p>Dude, you've made some idiotic comments on this thread, but the Berkeley/Stanford one has to take the cake.</p>
<p>So? Stanford students by principle are more gifted. Is that not why it's STANFORD? LOL I went to Ucal and I saw a lot of idiots there. It's a state school, so the body is more eclectic. THERE ARE MANY CLASSES AT STANFORD THAT WILL EAT YOU ALIVE, TRUST ME.</p>
<p>I gotta go sleep now. We'll continue the battle around 3 pm tomorrow...be there.</p>
<p>LOL im jk But in all seriousness, it just ****es me off that an intelligent person like u, norcal, could say that Cornell is more prestigious than Duke to 90% of the pop. NONSENSE.</p>
<p>Ah, norcal, now you just insulted me again. I will make one final comment before I go. U said prestige is based on grad school quality....let's just stop there.</p>
<p>professor hines teaches gen chem, not orgo. the fact that cornell has a part of itself in qatar and mars lends itself to being more prestigious internationally. </p>
<p>if you say duke grades on a strict bell curve, then the gpa at duke cannot be 3.4, as that is above a B+! grade inflation in terms of other dukies...if everyone does the same, then everyone would be getting C's, not A's as that would be average. therefore, grade inflation is just that...ppl doing as well as everyone are getting high Bs and As.</p>
<p>while working until 4am is commendable, it doesn't mean anything. if anything, there are 2 colleges at cornell known to never sleep...people walking passed Rand Hall can attest to the vagrant signs that always say something similar to "you can sleep when you are dead" signifying their lack of sleep...</p>
<p>I think the sign that says "architorture" in the window says it all.</p>
<p>One of my roommates from last year was an architect and I saw him maybe around 3 nights a week. The other times he simply slept in the studio. So far, he is the only person I have met that a) was able to sleep 24 hours straight without being in a coma and b) was able to sleep through a Donlon fire drill.</p>
<p>Alright guys, I don't think there's any point in arguing which school is more prestigious. Obviously, both schools are top notch. Cornell has one of the top engineering programs in the world and Duke has one of world's best medical centers. Overall, the educational qualities of both schools are about the same. Cornell is known for its grade deflation and Duke is probably on the opposite spectrum. No matter what, you can't go wrong by choosing one over the other.</p>
<p>LOL I guess I wont be sleeping tonight. It was my mistake to make this comment here. Obviously a certain level of bias would accompany this board and I apologize for inciting it. However, the original argument was which school was more prestigious. Bell curves, difficulty, and orgo classes are irrelevant here. A person made the bold remark that 90% of the professional world thinks cornell is more prestigious. Is that comment not a tad idiotic? harvard and yale seem to think so.</p>