<p>Whilst I deposited at the University of Chicago, I also recently got off the waitlist at Duke and feel completely lost right now. I did a couple of searches on similar threads like this, but I would still like you guys to comment on a few things.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Even though I fell in love with so many different things about UChicago, its reputation as a super intense, somewhat suffocating intellectual environment is intimidating. I do indeed like learning things, although am worried that my GPA would be considerably lower at Chicago than at Duke. Is there really that big of a difference in rigor?</p></li>
<li><p>Campus look and feel are incredibly important to me and from what I have seen both seem to be pretty nice. The thing is I haven't had chance to visit either (I'm international), which is why I have experienced neither school firsthand. Could someone who has visited both, pls pls share their opinion? How do the two compare in terms of atmosphere and stuff?</p></li>
<li><p>I know professors at Chicago are second to none and for what I want to major in (Econ or math) it would definitely seem the obvious choice. Nevertheless, Duke is not too bad either and seems to have more of a preprofessional bent. At the undergraduate level, which of these two qualities is more valuable? </p></li>
<li><p>Could someone who has visited both or either comment on what the facilities are like. I know Chicago recently built new dorms (South) and both the Ratner Athletic Center and the Mansueto library extension look pretty cool. Are Duke's facilities as extensive?</p></li>
<li><p>Lastly, I have noticed that Duke is considered the more "prestigious" of the two within the CC community. Even though I am not particularly concerned myself, I am aware of the almost arbitrary arbitrary distinctions some companies make between colleges. How do the two compare in this respect? </p></li>
</ul>
<p>I am sorry I am posting yet another thread like this, but it is indeed soo difficult to make a decision like this. Any opinions are welcome.</p>
<p>I totally disagree that Duke is more prestigious than Uof C. Most people I know hold U of C grads in the highest esteem, higher that most ivys. The city of chicago is a major plus also.</p>
<p>“Buyer’s Remorse” is actually common among HS seniors/college freshmen. If you end up not liking your initial choice, you can always transfer after your freshman year. That’s what I did, and I have no regrets.</p>
<p>both excellent universities and more reputable than the bottom half of ivies. that said, you seem to have made the right choice with regards to your majors. chicago can easily be as preprofessional as you choose, most of the top investment bank CEO’s are uofc alums and the founder of mckinsey was a uofc professor.</p>
<p>^That’s absolutely false. Name one recent heavyweight in finance who graduated from UChicago undergrad…</p>
<p>The Duke list on the other hand is extensive. John Mack, Alan Schwartz, David Rubenstein, Steve Black, Bill Gross, Robert Steel, etc.</p>
<p>If the OP wants to attend graduate school, then Chicago is the clear choice. If he wants to get a job in finance after graduation, Duke is the clear choice.</p>
<p>For the total college experience, Duke is a better choice. For the intellectualism and pure academia, Chicago. It depends on what is most important to you.</p>
<p>“If the OP wants to attend graduate school, then Chicago is the clear choice. If he wants to get a job in finance after graduation, Duke is the clear choice.”</p>
<p>That’s another thing. Why doesn’t UChicago get as much attention from major financial institutions? Considering the strength of its economics program, I would expect Chicago grads to be as viable candidates as Cornell/Columbia people at least and yet I’m hearing people say that even Northwestern is getting better on-campus recruitment. WHY? I know there is a regional bias, but Stanford is on the other side of the country and there’s a slew of Stanford grads in NYC.</p>
<p>“For the total college experience, Duke is a better choice. For the intellectualism and pure academia, Chicago. It depends on what is most important to you.”</p>
<p>I get that. But its also about the extent of the opportunity cost. Would going to Chicago mean no social life or conversely would Duke mean no intellectual interaction outside of class? Of course not. That’s why I am trying to get a better idea of which has the bigger trade-off.</p>
<p>The University of Chicago’s Finance department is ranked #2 in America (Wharton is #1). Anybody who claims that Chicago is not effective at placing students in major financial institutions has no clue what he/she is talking about. The reason why Chicago does not place many students into major financial institutions is because not many Chicago students seek such jobs. At schools like Dartmouth, Duke and Penn, I can confidently estimate that 25%-35% of students apply for IBanking jobs. At Chicago, I would estimate 10%-20%. That does not mean that Chicago does not place its students well. In terms of placement rates, I am certain that Chicago does as well as any university other than Harvard, Princeton and Wharton. </p>
<p>As for famous Chicago alums who went on to great things in the financial sector, here are a few:</p>
<p>Andrew Alper
Roger Altman
Norman Bobins
Jon Corzine
Brady Dougan
Paul Idzik
Thomas Kalaris
Joe Mansueto
Philip Purcell
David Rockerfeller
John Rogers
David Rubenstein
Frits Seegers
Robert Steel
Roger Vasey
Ken West
Jon Winkelried</p>
<p>Andrew M. Alper (A.B. 1980) - youngest Goldman Sachs partner in company history
John P. Amboian (A.B. 1983) - President of Nuveen Investments
L. Gordon Crovitz (A.B. 1980) - Publisher of the Wall Street Journal
Brady Dougan (A.B. 1981) - CEO of Credit Suisse First Boston; youngest CEO on Wall Street (2004)
Joe Mansueto (A.B. 1978) - Chairman and CEO of Morningstar, Inc.
Thomas S. Ricketts (A.B. 1988) - CEO of Incapital LLC; Director of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation
Bret Stephens (A.B. 1995) - Writer, editorialist, and member of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board</p>
<p>In addition, at least 5 alumni of the College have won the Nobel Prize in Economics.</p>
<p>Alexandre not true. I talked to my brother about this when I was looking at schools and he said in his world Chicago isn’t on the radar in the way that schools like Dartmouth and Duke are.</p>
<p>My UofC son is in Greece right now and over the break a large number of kids were flown to NY for interviews. That strikes me as being on the radar.</p>
Alexandre, I think it is you who is misinformed here. Chicago students are just as pre-professional as students from Penn/Duke/Dartmouth but they are recruited extremely weakly by the banks in comparison to their peers because of a lack of a strong alumni base in finance, tough undergrad curriculum that leads to a lower GPA and the stereotype that Chicago students are antisocial and not fun to be around.</p>
<p>Duke and Dartmouth absolutely crush Chicago with regards to placement onto Wall Street. Michigan and Northwestern are far better too IMO.</p>
<p>
None of these individuals are particularly impressive besides Alper and it’s not like he’s the head of a division at GS or anything from what I know. Nuveen Investments? Morningstar? Incapital? It doesn’t reflect well on Chicago that these are its top undergrad alumni in the business world when it’s supposed to be a top 10 university.</p>
<p>Look at the business leaders that did their undergrads at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Penn, Duke and Columbia. Chicago is not even on the same level with any of these schools with regards to prominent undergrad alumni besides Caltech, which is an exception for an obvious reason.</p>
<p>There is much more to recruiting than department ranks. The truth is -finance firms don’t care about the strength of an econ department. Its about old school reputation and connections and Duke trumps Chicago in this area by a wide margin. </p>
<p>Chicago has more Nobel Prizes from its College than Duke has had in its history of undergraduates, graduate students, and professors. Oh, and guess how many Nobel Prize winners received their undergraduate degrees from Duke? 0. ZERO. Not even one. And you really think Duke is better than (or even comparable to) Chicago for undergraduate studies? Give me a break.</p>