Hey guys,
Stanford and Duke- both schools ranked in every possibe way in every possible thing from amazing D1 athletics to amazing undergrads to amazing research facilities and top notch grad schools.
I look at these two schools and I would love to go to either one because of what I call this FULL package and truly having the oppotunity to be part of a school that is BEST in everything.
In your opinion, what do you think is a better school and why?
<p>Why would you really want to go to a school thats 'good' in everything? You can't participate in everything, you know...</p>
<p>But anyways since you asked which 1 is better, I would have to say Stanford is a bit more renowned in the world than duke. Besides that, they both are top notch schools that are amazing in their own prespectives.</p>
<p>Good call. Stanford is more prestigious than Duke...for now. :) Stanford is as prestigious as HYPMCaltech. Duke/Penn/Columbia/Dartmouth and a few others are just shy of being in this realm but they are improving rapidly. Both schools have an awesome sports ambience and the people seem very nice at both schools. I advise you to visit Stanford because the place is truly breathtaking. It is also in a much safer area.</p>
<p>I would knock caltech down one level and bump columbia up ;P</p>
<p>how is duke not as prestigious as stanford..? just curious in terms of what both schools offer and have offerred in their histories...?</p>
<p>Well, Stanford is just outstanding in practically everything. Duke has a few programs that are just not up to par with Stanford in terms of faculty and resources. For example...engineering. However, when you attend these schools and take classes, you will not notice the difference. Who can? In terms of grad placement, Duke and Stanford have better placement than almost every single ivy league school/top school.. I will exclude HYP/Williams/Amherst, but Stanford even has better placement into a few law schools than some of these too. It is quite miraculous. Duke has around a 98% law school admit rate as well. If you are doing medicine, I would personally advise Duke just because of that hospital on campus and some of the teachers there are truly AMAZING. However, Stanford is just as good in med too. Palo Alto is just so gorgeous too. San Francisco is quite close and I hear that you can bike to class without any hassles.</p>
<p>I would say Stanford is much more prestigious than Duke. I would say Stanford is the best school in the world as it is good at everything (not top 10 programs, but either the top program or in the top 3). Stanford liberal arts are probably a little better than Duke liberal arts. However, Duke sciences and engineering is not that strong, while Stanford is either #1 or in the top 3. Stanford is in the heart of Silicon Valley and many of the companies there were started by Stanford alums (Google, Cisco, HP to name a few).</p>
<p>Stanford is good at all sports (from basketball and football to tennis). Duke is really only good at basketball.</p>
<p>Stanford is on the same level as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale in liberal arts. Stanford is on the same level in science and engineering as MIT, Caltech. Stanford is on the same level in sports as Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State Football, etc. Stanford Business is on the same level as Harvard Business and Wharton Business. Stanford Law is on the level of Harvard Law and Yale Law. Stanford Medical is as good as Harvard Medical. The Stanford name is as well known as Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and MIT. Also, Stanford has very nice weather I heard. Essentially Stanford is the best in everything, while other schools are just the best in certain things.</p>
<p>Duke is more on the level of Cornell, UPenn, Virginia (my school), Columbia, etc. Stanford was my first choice when I was applying, but I was rejected. Even though I was rejected, I still think it is the best school period.</p>
<p>"Stanford is good at all sports (from basketball and football to tennis). Duke is really only good at basketball."
This cannot be farther from the truth. Duke has an excellent golf team, lacrosse team, etc. The only rotten egg is football.</p>
<p>"Also, Stanford has very nice weather I heard. Essentially Stanford is the best in everything, while other schools are just the best in certain things."
Are you kidding? Who told you this?</p>
<p>"Duke is more on the level of Cornell, UPenn, Virginia (my school), Columbia, etc. "
Virginia? If we are talking undergrad, then....no. Just...no. Let us not even group Virginia in Columbia's league for rationality's sake. As I said, Stanford is better academically than Duke, but not by as much as your are saying.</p>
<p>wow, you should DO stanford especially from that excessive praise.</p>
<p>Devil May Cry, Duke is a great school - one of the top schools in the nation. But it is in no way comparable to Stanford in my opinion. US News rankings are not the only way to measure the quality of a school. I think most people would agree that Stanford is much better recognized than Duke.</p>
<p>Stanford athletics has been #1 in the Director's Cup since 1994-1995.</p>
<p>For those of you who don't know, the Director's Cup is given to the college / university with the best overall athletics program. Duke is not even ranked in the top 5.</p>
<p>My statement about Stanford being the best in everything, while other schools are just the best in certain things was not directed at only Duke. My previous paragraph explains why this is the case.</p>
<p>Again, Duke is a great school - and it may be a better fit for someone than Stanford. But an objective comparison reveals that Stanford is much better in my opinion.</p>
<p>Stanford is considered better than Duke in most respects, but I don't see that the difference is large enough to be concerned about. Personally, I don't see the point in going across the country for Stanford undergrad when perfectly good schools like Duke are much closer on the east coast. Many east coasters presumably feel the same way-half of Stanford's student body is from CA.</p>
<p>"I would knock caltech down one level and bump columbia up ;P"</p>
<p>iwantfood, I hope that smiley face meant that you were joking.</p>
<p>Also, let me put the disclaimer that this is my opinion. I always thought Stanford was the best school in the world - even after being rejected. In my previous posts, I listed the reasons why I think Stanford is so good. But as with all colleges, the "best" school for you might not be the best school overall.</p>
<p>You can't really go wrong with either Duke or Stanford.</p>
<p>True. Duke is not quite on the same level as Stanford. But they are in the same league IMO. TO go to Duke over Stanford would not be completely insane and idiotic. lol Although I would go to Stanford over probably every top tier school, I must admit that there are schools on Stanford's level (HYPMCaltech).</p>
<p>About Virginia not being in the same league as Duke, I would have to disagree. As an out of state student, I had the choice of Virginia or Duke. Even though it has been a while since I was a student, I respected Virginia academics as much as Duke academics. I picked Virginia over Duke due to financial aid. I don't really want to state the reasons why I think Duke and Virginia are equal academically again, but please see the Virginia thread if you are interested.</p>
<p>I think I saw that thread a while back. I do not want to divulge into why I think you are completely wrong, because it is futile to try to change the opinion of another.</p>
<p>The caliber of students at UVA is lower than the caliber of those at Duke. For that alone it gets bumped down a notch. </p>
<p>As for the original question, Stanford is more prestigious than Duke. Stanford's in the HYPSM tier, while Duke is in the one right below it. The difference isn't big enough to be a huge issue. Go for the school you feel is the better fit.</p>
<p>BTW Virginia, Stanford is not "the best" in everything. Take off the cardinal-colored glasses for a second, geez. In a comparable range to the best, sure, but not "the best" in every field by any means.</p>
<p>listen...prestige wise, STANFORD rocks Duke internationally and nationally. Stop beating an old idea around the bushes again. Prestige wise, STANFORD is more prestigious than 99.999 percent of all universities. Duke is incredibly prestigious, but wait another 20-30 years, maybe it will be Stanford's nemesis like Harvard and Yale.</p>
<p>I say wait another 5-10 years. Duke has NEVER been out of the top 10. Usnews is faulty in some areas, but that is a fact. It has an almost incredible grad placement and it is growing more and more. Plus, our President is the Dean from Yale! At my time at Duke, he made a speech about how Duke was going to reach never-before-seen heights and levels. I love that guy. :) 20 years? Pssh. In 10 years the acronym is going to be HYPSMDCDC.</p>
<p>HYPSM...DukeColumbiaDartmouthCaltech?</p>