<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I've lost objectivity and I was wondering how Duke and Stanford compare in terms of prestige/ environment/ opportunities/ quality of life/ grad school admissions. From what I've gathered, they are kind of like peer institutions in the same way as are MIT and Caltech or Harvard and Princeton. What do you all think?</p>
<p>I know a Duke student who lives in CA. He often complains that even though Duke is an excellent school, people do not always associate the name with the quality. They more often think basketball or, more recently, rape. This is not the case in the South, where Duke is recognized as one of the premier institutions in the region. Stanford has signifigantly lower admit rates and is thus more selective, which probably contributes to the fact that Stanford is widely believed to be academically superior to Duke.</p>
<p>I'm in the same boat as you about Stanford--recently admitted--and I'm trying to decide between Stanford and Columbia. I happen to know a lot about Duke, though, so I'll let you know what I can.</p>
<p>There was a very recent thread about this. Basically, the difference isn't great enough that prestige should play a role. Pick on other factors. There are things that set each apart (housing, location, weather, etc.). </p>
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I know a Duke student who lives in CA. He often complains that even though Duke is an excellent school, people do not always associate the name with the quality.
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Yes, I would assume that Californians would know more about Stanford than Duke. 45% of Stanford's student body is from CA compared to Duke's 7%.
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Stanford has signifigantly lower admit rates and is thus more selective
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Nope, unless you mean to imply that the College of the Ozarks is as selective as Brown. After all, they both admit 13%.</p>
<p>Except that Brown has avg ACT of 29 vs College of the Ozarks at 22 and Brown has more students in the top 10% of their hs class (91%) than College of the Ozarks has in the top 50% of their hs class (87%).</p>
<p>Stanford is more prestigious and high-powered, but Duke may be the more "undergrad-focused" of the two. The only other edge I can think of for Duke is, believe it or not, Durham, a funked-up place with history and character. Palo Alto, a dull, sterile, expensive suburb is worse, IMO.</p>
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My point exactly. Admit rates don't necessarily correlate to selectivity.</p>
<p>GreenShirt Durham really isn't that nice of a city, most of it is very run down and a vast majority of it is considered pretty sketchy by most NCers... Duke is a great school but unfortunately recent events have truly lowered its rep and made some people doubt its quality. However, Stanford is also an amazing school. I know nothing about Palo Alto, but if you want a fun city to live in, Durham will definitely not be the most attractive, fun, or safe. I say you have a hard choice, I don't know which one I would pick either. Good luck!</p>
<p>"My point exactly. Admit rates don't necessarily correlate to selectivity."</p>
<p>I saw a scatter plot of some statistic or another (something to do with SAT scores and admit rate, I think), and there was this one that had a low SAT average and a low admit rate, as though looking for low-quality applicants (this isn't to say that SAT scores define one's quality as an applicant). So it seems that Ozarks is similar. hahaha</p>
<p>Karipac07, I know Durham. Lived there for four years. Sketchy in parts but I think it's more interesting and dynamic than Palo Alto. Durham may not be the most "fun" place, but it offers more opportunities for community involvement than some homogeneous, preppy suburb.</p>