I am wondering, have many here applied to both schools? What are your comparisons? My S is a junior and toured both schools. Really loves both. He will apply ED next year to one of them. He vacillates. He will go with an econ major or some type of major that will lead to a business type preparation…I would appreciate any comments?
Thanks for sharing
If he visited and liked the social vibes, then you need to investigate the strengths of the academic programs and opps (and non-academic), he’d be interested in. I do believe that undergraduate economics at Duke is generally regarded as one of the best but things such as Peabody at Vanderbilt and its associated majors and tracks are also very well known to lead to successful attainment of a job or career in business. If he does econ. at Duke, it will be fairly intense (as in more intense than econ. majors at most other, even elite schools…the department has become a signature UG program there), and you’ll have to figure out if your son will appreciate that. I’m sure he can handle it, but is that what he actually wants in an academic program/department? Sometimes students who go to such schools claim they came because of the extra challenge and to be surrounded by bright peers, but in honesty, they realize that they actually would have preferred a more laid back academic program to have much more time to engage in other things at the university (and to preserve their ego some).
Any of these sorts of schools generally challenge quite a bit more than less selective schools, but for some programs, a school may even stand out from many peers and this can be very beneficial if you truly love the field or have a very strong interest in it, or it can be costly if one is, for example, primarily interested because it seems like the obvious path to their career aspirations. Like if I were pre-med, I would not choose biology at MIT as a default major for that aspiration unless I could also see myself possibly going to graduate school or industry for that field. Typically the “even more rigorous than peers” majors at elite schools are that way because they intend to train beyond a general level needed for pre-professionals and instead assume a good chunk are going to grad. school so tend to teach a higher level of theory and make more challenging assignments and exams (often key differences are seen in introductory and intermediate courses) than even those seen at supposedly comparable schools or even those higher ranked.
Either way, can’t really go wrong here. Just needs to figure out an academic preference while keeping in mind that his major or interests may change (again, meaning I would also think about other interests and figure out each schools opportunities and reputations in those areas)
Bernie, Very thoughtful. Thanks…Peabody is of interest if he goes the Vandy route. As a particularly informed person, would you know if admission to Peabody is more difficult than Economics major. When we toured Vandy, we met Peabody students, and it piqued my son’s interest. He has a 4.35 GPA thru first semester Junior year, and a 2250 Superscored SAT. He has been a Class President, volunteers, and works. Does he have a shot at ED?
Your real expert in terms of comparing the two schools is @Faline2. She has one Duke graduate S and one Vandy graduate S. Hopefully, she will chime in on this thread.
@Faline2, Are you around to comment, or retired from this forum?
@BigPapiofthree For business I feel like Duke would offer more opportunities. Have you heard of Triangle Research Park? A lot of companies and orgs recruit Duke students there.
They’re pretty similar academically although Duke has been more established so it might be better for business (right now). That said supposedly vandy is more work hard play hard whereas duke is more academically oriented. every top 20 probably thinks they’re that way though, so at least socially if you’re interested in greek life go vandy if you think you want a social life outside of greek life go duke
“work hard play hard”
So worn it is gag-worthy. What school does not promote itself this way?
MY hunch is Academically, they are close enough. I am not overly concerned with the outcome so much. Both have enough going for them, that Employers will know they are dealing with high achieving graduates. I am more questioning differences among type of kids, difference between Nashville and Raleigh/Durham? Are there subtle differences in admission possibilities? Thanks for the continued help…
@lostaccount way to ignore the rest of my post where I say every top 20 school probably thinks they’re like this! however this happens so much it is gagworthy
@bigpapiofthree I can’t comment on NC, but Nashville has a lot of music events so if they like concerts that’s a plus. The Titans/Preds are close and Vandy has a good baseball team. Duke has basketball so it depends on what sports your kids like. Nashville is a big city so there are a lot of bars if that’s what they’re interested in, but durham probably has that too. I might be missing something so if you want anything more specific let me know
Well suffer, I totally agree with you. The expression is gag-worthy! LOL I am agreeing with you. LOL.
Suffer,
MY S is a major music guy. Nashville beats Durham on that from for sure. Loves all sports, and I view that as a wash. Thanks for sharing…
You can ED both to maximize opportunities if he would be happy at either: ED Duke and ED 2 Vanderbilt if deferred or denied admission to Duke. That said if Vanderbilt is the clear first choice, ED 1 is thought to have a markedly higher acceptance rate than ED 2, which is said to be a smaller pool of applicants with an acceptance rate closer to RD.
The schools are as comparable as they are different. It really depends on what matters most to the individual (I would give that more weight than rankings and opinions as it is not one size fits all). Duke carries more prestige in the business community but Vanderbilt is no slouch. Some prefer the social/academic balance (and “happiest students”) at Vanderbilt to the more academic (and “prestigious”) Duke, or Nashville to Durham. I would make a list of what matters most and see which school you and your son give the edge to. Both have ample school spirit.
As far as GPA, it’s an important factor in context. An unweighted GPA and class rank provides a better context than just a weighted GPA. You can look at the 25-75th percentiles for each school to see where his scores are in that regard.
Vandy’s number one crossover school in terms of applications is Duke so many other students are in the same boat when deciding between these two world class universities. I think they attract the same type of student. Duke may have a slight edge if Wall Street is your goal. Check out Princeton Review to hear what current students say about their happiness, quality of life, availability of faculty, or how they feel about their schools administration. Vandy has an edge here. Nashville is probably one of the greatest locations in the US for young adults to spend 4 years. It’s probably fair to say Durham is not an advantage or selling point attracting students to Duke.
Vandy is on the rise and they definitely have the potential to be a school Wall Street firms recruit at. A lot of my friends have found internships at Merrill Lynch, BoA, JP Morgan, etc so if you do well @ Vandy you shouldn’t really be at a disadvantage when it comes to internship apps even vs kids from the top ivies. That said you might get less leway if your application is not as good
It’s not fair to say that about Durham at all actually. It’s one of America’s fastest growing mid-size cities and is a perfectly nice place to live. Also, every school claims to be on the rise. There is nothing remarkable about that.
To say that you’re likely to get the same internship opportunities at Vanderbilt and Harvard/Princeton is just not based in fact. Try to be objective. I’m not saying that it’s impossible for someone at Vanderbilt to secure a prestigious internship. It’s just likely to require more effort.
I think most of the replies in this thread are balanced. The are both top, competitive schools. You may have to work harder at one or the other depending on the opportunity, and it does depend on the opportunity you are seeking. Duke has a more national reach and some “prestigious” opps may come easier but they may not be what you’re looking for. Not everyone wants to be an investment banker in NY. Some of the things obsessed about in this forum should be way lower on the list than individual fit and goals. Interestingly, US News also posted an article about colleges that produced the most Fortune 500 CEOs, and it didn’t all correlate to their rankings. Go figure. Neither Duke nor Vanderbilt made the top of that list, but Texas A&M and UNC did. Life may be as holistic as the college admissions process. Where you went to undergrad is just one of the factors that may affect your “success” in life. A word to the wise, be careful how you define success.
Class of 2019:
Duke admit rates - 10% overall, 22% ED, 11% ED
32-35 ACT, 1430-1590 SAT
Vanderbilt admit rates - 11.7% overall, 22.5% ED, 9.5% RD
32-35 ACT, 1430-1590 SAT
It is not too often Durham is raised as a selling point for Duke. The Triangle maybe, but not Durham itself. 
Forgive the typos above. Posted from iPhone. 11% RD not ED and meant to say “They” are both top schools. You get the point.
@Suffer : Don’t use that argument as some lower ranked schools with business schools likely perform better than Vanderbilt in those arenas…however, that could be because more people are pursuing the business route so they appear more successful. And internship and jobs, often depends on whether you’re a target school which now-a-days has more to do with the past than present.