WashU vs. Duke?

I’m a high school senior from nc who wants to apply early to either Duke or WashU. I had pretty much made up my mind to apply to WashU ED, but my entire family really thinks Duke would be better because they think I’ll want to come home often and I won’t be able to do that if I go to WashU. I’m from an extremely close-knit family, so their opinions matter a lot to me. Now I’m at a complete crossroads with what to do. Can somebody give me advice? How often do you actually go home in college? Differences in WashU and Duke? etc. please please help me thank you

Have you visited either campus?

My nephew is at Wash U and he flies home several times a year. His home is further away than NC. My son lives 45 minutes away from home by public transit and he doesn’t come home as often. Proximity to home really doesn’t matter - unless your family wouldn’t be able to afford the plane tickets home. But the cost in plane tickets is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of attendance.

Im am just a Junior, so do not take this as a sanctum for your issue, but I have heard from many kids at my school who now study at a university just a city away how much they miss their parents. They enjoy coming home when their sick of the food, when they get annoyed of their room mates, anything. However, if you WANT the full college experience you might want to go with the university that best fits your major. It does not have to be hundreds of miles away to be made your own.

However, I think the best choice for an early decision acceptance would be the one that is most affordable, unless money isn’t an issue (in that case, DUKE!!!)
:slight_smile: Hope this helps

Both are excellent academically. Duke has a prestige edge, but Washington U is gaining fame with each year that it places in the top 20 of the US News ranking.

I think you should choose based on academic/social/environmental fit and affordability (run the NPC).

And if you’re considering ED, i think you should visit them.

Some random thoughts to help you:

  • Duke has a big sports edge, if you plan on going to games and being a fan.
  • Washington U is known for really nice dorm rooms and food.
  • Washington U is, of course, an urban school. Durham is… suburban? (i’ve never been there). I will not comment on Durham’s culture. St. Louis has pro sports, the Arch, very good pizza and barbecue, and is generally a pretty decent, old, proud city.
  • Both campuses are beautiful. Duke’s campus is much, much larger: Duke comprises about 8500 acres, ~7000 of which is a forest. So there’s about 1500 acres of “regular campus”. Washington U covers just 169 acres. There are pros and cons to both sizes, of course…
  • Washington U is among the least socioeconomically diverse of the elite private universities: they spend an awful lot on the campus and on the students (like that great food and the nice forms…) but have a relatively small per-capita endowment. To support the budget, they have been need-aware for admissions. They are working to remedy this, but for now, there appears to be less SES diversity at Wash U than there is at Duke.
  • In 2015-16, Wash U’s ED acceptance rate was 37.23%, while Duke’s was 26.8%. The students these schools admit are about equally strong based on class rank by decile, GPA and test scores. Duke receives more apps relative to open spots, accounting for their lower admit % (ED, RD and overall).

Both are great. Choose based on fit, cost and gut feeling (from visits), and you can’t go wrong.

dfin2013, yes I have visited both campuses (Duke multiple times). I love them both–I liked WashU’s better (St. Louis trumps Durham any day), but they’re both great.

My main thing right now is that I would have picked WashU (that’s my gut through and through), but don’t want my parents to be secretly angry with me for picking the “wrong” one. Oh how I wish WashU & St. Louis was in NC!!!


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they think I’ll want to come home often

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Is that what you think too? Listen to your family by all means, but in the end, you really should base your decision on where YOU want to spend 4 years of your life.

Since the OP is from NC, he/she will likely have greater chance at WashU vs Duke based on geographic diversity alone.

These schools are very closely matched and are in fact competing for the same students. If you have been to either campus you will find students at both schools that were accepted to both Duke and Wash U but ultimately choose one over the other. There are a couple of things I would like to correct based on responses from other posters - WashU is not an urban campus - it is very much a suburban campus in Clayton MO, separated from the city of St. Louis by a 1200 acre park (Forest Park). Secondly, the poster that commented that you might be at a geographical disadvantage at Duke being from NC is wrong - it’s exactly the opposite. Duke struggles to find people from NC because it’s a private institution and the top students in state want to go to UNC for 1/4 of the cost. UNC Honors (Excel Carolina) really does offer an amazing experience for top students. So being from NC and wanting to go to Duke offers a distinct advantage. That being said, in my eyes it comes down to a couple things. Wash U holds an advantage in campus, facilities, academic help, nice students, internship opportunities and food. Duke holds the advantage in name recognition, school spirit, athletics and location. You can’t go wrong with either. From a personal perspective, if you are this late in the game and you still are considering going away, you should go away. Many kids say they want to go away but by the time they get to be seniors realize that they want to be home. Like I said from the onset, these are very very similar schools academically. You could always transfer if you want to be closer to home after your freshman year…but I don’t think you’ll want to :slight_smile: