I’ve been accepted in both Duke and USC. I am a tennis player and I have a 80% scholarship in both places, so money is not a problem in my decision. I plan studying International Business or economics ( or something related). I don’t really know what to decide? Your opinions can help me a lot!
Why either one?
What made you want to apply?
I got and scholarship offer from both universities. Well more than those two universities, but I really like Duke and USC. They are a very diferent schools but both are amazing so idk which one try. I will start on January 2019.
Los Angeles strikes me as a love -it-or-hate-it sort of city. If you like that sort of place, USC is right in the middle of it. Plus, the weather is good for outdoor tennis 12 months per yr. And Duke doesn’t have undergrad business.
Yes but It has one of the best undergraduate economics bachelor in the world right?
Have you visited? In this case, with both schools having such great reputations, the opportunity to get an in-person feel for the campus and its surroundings could be very valuable.
I am visiting them in two weeks
I will give you my 2 cents as an alum of one but have visited friends at Duke. USC has a great campus that just got better with the addition of the billion dollar village. Just incredible. The school spirit is infectious and the Trojan family is huge for networking. LA weather and the area have way more to do than the location of Duke (my opinion). USC always has something going on the weekends in both Fall and Spring semesters. I did not sense the same vibrancy at Duke on several of my visits (basketball game weekends were the exception that seemed more like USC). I got the sense that Duke students are super focused on academics and maybe the workload or competitive spirit kept everyone in the library. Academically, USC has an outstanding reputation but Duke is better ranked.
But I say so what, as these rankings are typically beauty contests and many good articles have been written about how these rankings and criteria change at whim. Plus most freshmen change their major many times. USC has much more academically to choose from which I also think its a plus.
College is so much more than just academics - its where you will grow tremendously, make best friends and possibly live the best times of your life. My final thoughts are that while I attended an IVY for grad school, it was a USC alum who hired me! I loved my time at USC. Visit both and go with your gut on where you feel the better fit.
Agreed. I attended Duke for undergrad and UCLA for grad school and now lecture at USC. I have very strong opinions about all three, but suffice it to say that UCLA and USC are much more similar to each other than either is to Duke, and it’s highly unlikely Duke and USC will appeal equally to the same person after visiting.
The typical career path is to work for a few years after graduation and then go for a MBA. Both Duke and USC are good preparation for that. You may want to think about where in the US (or abroad) you’d like to work after graduation. Many USC grads prefer to stay in California, whereas NYC and DC are popular destinations among Duke grads.
congrats on getting into both, as others have said, the campuses are pretty different that should be enough to determine where you think you fit best. USC is going to be more diverse for one. Do you have an athletic scholarship to play tennis at either of these colleges? USC, like many pac-12 have superb tennis programs.
@theloniusmonk OP says she has 80% scholarship at both, that’s definitely a tennis scholarship. FYI, athletic scholarships are usually awarded as a percentage other than football and basketball which would be 100% at USC and Duke.
Ok, yeah then, if tennis is going to be a big part of the experience, I’d recommend USC.
Just my 2 cents. I think you will work harder at Duke . Academics there are more rigorous than USC in my opinion. Also I think Duke probably has a better reputation for straight up Investment Banking kind of jobs and USC for more Entrepreneurial type work. Both great schools so Congrats!
I believe the assumption it is a tennis scholarship is incorrect for so many reasons.
It’s late August. Duke and USC aren’t accepting students or scholorships for class of 2023 yet. Also it is still premature that he has been awarded anything formally. It’s for tennis and hopefully to have him sign a letter of intent.
Any other conclusion is incorrect for many reasons.
The OP said they will be starting in January 2019, only 4.5 months away. Not uncommon for athletes and if that’s when they’d be starting, it seems reasonable that scholarships would be offered now since they aren’t going through the normal acceptance cycle.
scholarships for recruited athletes may be being offered now for those signing a letter of intent for the 2019-2020 school year, not for those starting in the the Spring of 2019.
No newcomer male is getting offered an 80% tennis scholarship at USC or Duke unless they are coming in at #1, and they wouldn’t be posting on here. Even then, no tennis player is given a figure before a visit. And this poster hasn’t visited yet. Girls tennis is fully funded so they would know more what they are getting, but still offer is made AFTER visit, not before. Team has a say and vote in a new player decision like this. The only way this is a student with a potential tennis scholarship is if it is a female. And they really shouldn’t be counting on anything until they get an NLOI.
@privatebanker I am starting in January 2019. I could not get in Stanford because they just let start the students in august. But other universities like USC, duke, uc berkeley, or others, let you start in January as a freshman.
Pd: how is the student-life, social-life and greek life in Duke, compared with USC?
If you take apart de social life, weather, city, and all this extra things. Just academically, duke is much more prestigious than USC?
Not “much” more prestigious. It’s like a Bentley vs. a Mercedes…both have enough prestige to turn heads and get you where you want to go.
There is no law that you have to go to the absolutely most prestigious college you can get into. I have a kid who graduated from a school similar to Duke & is now at a grad school at a good school with less prestige. Kid had more fun at the lesser school in the first week than at the elite school in a year. You don’t want to go to a bad school, but a solid-but-not-great school can often get you where you want to go and still be a heck of a lot more fun.