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The kicker, in my opinion, is just overall prestige of the school, and I view Duke as the school that is more prestigious.
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<p>then why didn't you just come out and say that before, rather than trying to pretend like you have some idea of what you're talking about?</p>
<p>I've been accepted to NU, Georgetown College, and Notre Dame, so needless to say, it's going to be a tough decision. I feel like NU has the best academics of the three, though, so that will definitely influence my decision. As of now, I can't say where I will be matriculating.</p>
<p>Because I do know what I'm talking about. I've been accepted to both schools, and I'm not just gonna base one of the most important decisions of my life on bs. If you want compare schools, then feel free to pull out rankings. There's a reason why NU is perennially NOT in the top-10 in USNWR and Duke is. I mean, NU's a great school, but a ton of their focus goes toward grad schools. And, it's not even the best school in the metropolitan Chicago area...</p>
<p>In my opinion, there are only a handful of schools that are across the board more prestigious than Northwestern University--Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, CalTech & MIT. Additionally, the Wharton School of Business at Penn and Georgetown's School of Foreign Service. But Northwestern is expensive and it is not the right school for everyone.</p>
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If you want compare [sic] schools, then feel free to pull out rankings.
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<p>And feel free to continue to try to be a snob while knowing nothing about what any of these schools are like beyond their numbered rankings.</p>
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There's a reason why NU is perennially NOT in the top-10 in USNWR and Duke is
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<p>Oh no, only #14? #'s 1-10 must be sooo much better in every single way!</p>
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Why would you choose NU over Cornell? How about Vandy or Notre Dame?
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<p>I'd definitely choose NU over ND and Vandy for nearly every field. For Cornell, it would really depend on what you want to study, I suppose. If you want to major in an agriculture-related field, then you obviously would not be looking at NU. Same for hotel school. On the other hand, if you wanted to do music or journalism, NU is a much better choice. Otherwise, I think it depends on the atmosphere you want. I'd put NU Econ and Cornell AEM at around the same level. Same goes for engineering and the sciences. Although, NU Econ is probably stronger than Cornell Econ.</p>
<p>i'm taking nyu stern over northwestern..</p>
<p>"There's a reason why NU is perennially NOT in the top-10 in USNWR and Duke is. I mean, NU's a great school, but a ton of their focus goes toward grad schools."</p>
<p>That's not true at all, IMO. They have the resources to do both. As does Duke, of course.</p>
<p>And it's sort of the height of silliness to suggest that #10 is like some magic cutoff. They are all so strong academically at this level, it's like arguing over the Ritz-Carlton versus the Four Seasons. You can only shoehorn 10 schools into the top 10. </p>
<p>Unless financial aid drives a decision, or unless a student is looking at a specific program in which one of these 2 excels (e.g., journalism, theater, or music), this decision is purely personal preference and fit. Not on which is better.</p>
<p>Where do you live, CNI? That may influence your feelings on prestige.</p>
<p>I go to boarding school in the south. It probably does slightly affect my ideas of prestige, as Duke is extremely overhyped at my school. However, I have lived all over the east coast, in Canada, in Asia, and i would still argue that Duke has more prestige. The prestige isn't tremendously great, but still, any little would probably matter in schools as similar as these two.</p>
<p>I don't get where Duke's prestige comes from in Asia, where I came from. It's not that great in science/engineering graduate ranking which is what many Asians read. They like to read business school ranking too. At least Northwestern has Kellogg. But whatever. I agree that Duke is a slightly more prestigious college within the US on average.</p>
<p>turning down nu for brown =( </p>
<p>i loved northwestern but i applied early to brown, got deferred, and now got in so i HAVE to go</p>
<p>oh my god, prestige is so ridiculously unimportant. who cares about rankings!?? theyre numbers on a piece of paper. well i'm thinking usc over northwestern but i haven't visited nu yet</p>
<p>I turned down Duke for NU two years ago. Academic and social scene I think they are very similar. Both schools attracted similar type of students. But Chicago>Durham and it's definitely very convenient when you start an internship. You won't go wrong either way with these two fine schools.</p>
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i loved northwestern but i applied early to brown, got deferred, and now got in so i HAVE to go
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<p>Why do you have to go? The decision isn't binding if you got deferred</p>
<p>I think s/he just feels compelled because it was originally his/her first choice. Same thing happened to me.</p>
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And, it's not even the best school in the metropolitan Chicago area...
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<p>not this ranking year but it varies. in 2006 we were. the year before that we were.</p>
<p>the reason chicago passed us last year is because they met with usnews execs and changed the way they reported data. there was an article about it in the trib if you care to search.</p>
<p>and chicago is really a pre-phd school, anyway. northwestern and chicago's focuses are very different.</p>
<p>I'm turning down Northwestern for vandy.</p>
<p>I love both schools, but I was lucky enough to get a merit scholarship from Vandy. </p>
<p>As far as the NU/Duke prestige argument goes, I live in the midwest and people here still seem to consider Duke more prestigious.</p>
<p>Why should I choose Northwestern over Cornell? I'm a prospective econ major, maybe history and philosophy too.</p>