<p>Why should I pick Duke over Princeton (objective answers please). I am interested in the sciences, either BME or ChemE. I have been accepted to, but have discounted for various reasons: UGA, Georgia Tech, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Naval Academy, West Point</p>
<p>After extensively reviewing both schools, I am looking for a good third party argument.</p>
<p>I will post the opposing argument on Princeton's page.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Well, if you’re interested in the sciences, I’d say Duke is equal to Princeton. But a good bunch of people choose Princeton for the Ivy League status and the prestige boost. </p>
<p>Another CCer named Anonymous93 got into Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, but waitlisted at Duke.
He would choose Duke over any of those colleges if he gets it, as he tells me ;] I’ll get him to talk to you.</p>
<p>lol Duke is equal to princeton? You must be kidding. Break it down by department for science, Duke isn’t probably listed in top 10. I believe princeton is up there in physics and chem. where are you at duke? bottom of the list?</p>
<p>What are you looking for outside of academics? While Princeon has more prestige, the opportunities for both student bodies are fairly equal.</p>
<p>Duke BME = 2, Princeton = not number in the top 10. On the other hand, Duke doesn’t have a ChemE program.</p>
<p>The differnce will largely be social experience.</p>
<p>Also, John117, glad you’re a Dukie but no need to be cocky. Many of the Ivies are great schools and there are many legitimate reasons a student may choose one over Duke. It’s not prestige all the time - in fact, many mistake Stanford, Duke, and MIT for Ivies.</p>
<p>^True, sorry. I didn’t mean to be cocky at all. My point was that it should be no surprise, nor should people go “gasp” when someone chooses Duke over HYP.</p>
<p>My suggestion to the OP is to coordinate a visit and get to know both places =]</p>
<p>I’m choosing Duke over Princeton (both offered me full ride), simply because of atmosphere and the fact that engineering there seems to be broad and all-inclusive (I’m not 100% sure on engineering).</p>
<p>As a Duke student, I really see no season why you should choose Duke over Princeton unless you…
<p>umm Duke’s BME is no doubt a lot better than princetons. it’s arguably the best in the US, so if you are going that route, then definitely duke. and i’ve heard amazing things about duke’s chemistry department, in that their professors are great and really care about teaching the undergraduates.</p>
<p>also, it really depends on you and whether or not you prefer sunny and warm weather over the cold, but to me princeton’s atmosphere isn’t comparable at all to duke’s. i personally hate being surrounded by gray skys and dead trees for the majority of the school year. duke is definitely hot during the summer, but it’s perfect comfortable weather during the schoolyear.</p>
<p>Hahaha, hi oneweektodecide - I would choose Duke over Princeton. Unfortunately, I was waitlisted by Duke.</p>
<p>Oh John, I’m a girl!! Hahaha.</p>
<p>Okay, the atmosphere at Princeton is competely different, I don’t know what kind of person you are, but you should definitely visit both. Princeton Preview this weekend or next weekend is a good idea where you can meet the other people who got in!! Anyway, from what I got, Duke students are probably not as much into prestige, though they are incredibly gifted. They’re more “fun” I feel like and the school spirit is amazing because of the sports. It’s also a highly respected school. Princeton also grade deflates, making it harder for you to get a high GPA. Also, in terms of education, Princeton is regarded as the best undergraduate education, but Duke’s BME is much better.</p>
<p>PM me if you want any other suggestions! I’ve spent a night at both schools.</p>
<p>I’m a junior at Duke right now, and I love it here and always have. That said, if you’d asked me this question six months ago, I’d have told you to go with Princeton because the two are fairly similar, with Princeton being ranked above Duke overall and probably over Duke in almost every department. The faculty at Princeton, as a whole, have probably won more awards than Duke’s faculty as a whole (yes, individual exceptions exist). Now, though, I’m giving you a different response. </p>
<p>I’m only slowly starting to realize this, but you may want to choose Duke over Princeton simply because Duke’s been around for a shorter period of time. Over the last three years I’ve been at Duke, several of my friends who go to Ivies have visited Duke, and for various reasons, they’ve been really amazed/surprised by Duke. Some are like “Wait, so if students don’t think there are enough eateries on campus, they can work together to create a new one?” Others were just amazed at how flexible our curriculum is compared to most of the Ivies (except Brown…). Some read The Chronicle and were surprised at how much students at Duke noticed negatives about life here and wanted to fix those downfalls and - most importantly - how supportive the administration is of those attempts. In a nutshell, what I’ve gotten from most of these friends is that their schools are so well-established and have been ranked highly for such a long time that the administration’s reluctant to “fix something that ain’t broke” whereas with Duke, we’ve been ranked highly for a short time (relatively). As a result, we’ve got an administration that’s more open to hearing students’ opinions and much more likely to actually do something about it. Overall, I’d say academically, Duke and Princeton aren’t <em>that</em> much different (what, like 8 spots on USNWR when there are thousands of schools in this country? A difference of maybe 5 spots in some departments when there are hundreds of schools ranked under both Duke and Princeton? You’re fooling yourself if you tell yourself those 5 or 8 spots are significant). They are different, however, in that Duke is less established than Princeton and, as a result, you’re probably (from what I’ve seen and heard from my own visits and my friends visiting Duke) going to have an easier time trying to make a difference. I’ve noticed that as students, we’re constantly being encouraged to speak up and speak out about things we don’t like, that Duke is <em>ours</em>, and to do something about it if we don’t like it. I really like that atmosphere, and it, in addition to the much-touted basketball and friendliness and great weather and whatnot, makes me really happy I’m a Dukie.</p>
<p>Senator Noodles, I couldn’t have said it any better! :)</p>
<p>Awesome post Senator Noodles! I’ve never heard anyone praise Duke from that angle before. I’m even more excited now :D</p>
<p>lol and yeah, Anon93 is a girl XD</p>
<p>Honestly, follow your gut. The differences are mostly “feel” differences: jock-y v smart-y (though as I am a smart-y type going to Duke, it’s not black and white), northeast v south, up-and-coming small city v established small city, etc.</p>
<p>Are you doing a ROTC program? I’m doing NROTC at Duke if you want to PM with any specific questions. </p>
<p>I think in your position I would pick Duke, but I have never visited Princeton (using my Harvard, UPenn, Georgetown, Columbia experiences + opinions of friends who have visited P). Princeton is more old money and Duke is more preppy/new money, so both will have a similar socio-economic feel (though Duke has slightly more African-Americans and Princeton has more Asians). Especially considering BME, I would go Duke. Duke and the Triangle will only continue to soar in the medical department. </p>
<p>Good luck! And congrats on your acceptances and appointments!</p>
<p>***oh and eventhough I’m going to Duke, I’m not some Duke crazed fanatic. I was (to the best of my ability) being objective.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the comments, they have all helped greatly. </p>
<p>^As for NROTC, yes, I have applied and been accepted (I just recently transfered #1 choice from MIT to Duke), so we may be seeing a lot of each other over the next four years if I go to Duke.</p>
<p>USNAGolden2014 - 
Hello best friend (we actually know each other). I’m still jealous that you’re going to Duke.</p>
<p>haha well then definitely oneweek I’m nervous about orientation, but otherwise I can’t wait for NROTC!</p>
<p>Anonymous93 (lol I just realized why it’s 93 XD)
I’m still amazed that you got into every Ivy League school. But yeah, I really hope that Duke comes to its senses and takes you off the WL. Have you sent a letter, update/new resume, and called the office? I would highly recommend the trio ^^
No matter what, you will succeed marvellously (lol I just realized that we have the same initials :D)</p>
<p>John117, regarding this recent comment by you:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Rankings of Graduate School Science Departments Recently Issued by USNWR</p>
<p>Biological Sciences
7. Princeton
13. Duke</p>
<p>Mathematics
2. Princeton
24. Duke</p>
<p>Physics
5. Princeton
30. Duke</p>
<p>Chemistry
16. Princeton
45. Duke</p>
<p>Computer Science
8. Princeton
27. Duke</p>
<p>Earth Sciences
9. Princeton
45. Duke</p>
<p>Regarding academics, I think we can all generally agree that Princeton has better academics than Duke, with an exception in BME. But we all knew that already, so other factors have to be taken in. </p>
<p>Senator Noodles bring up an incredibly good point, that I, as a student, never truly considered. Dukies love their school, but they can be equally critical about things they dislike and work actively to make changes. Anytime we are asked about Duke, within the school, it is normally in the context of “what can we make better?”. </p>
<p>Princeton has the academics and the prestige, but you’re still looking Duke. Consider what you like about Duke that’s making you think twice about going to Princeton. It’s ultimately going to be about where you think you’ll fit in better and which is a better fit. </p>
<p>I personally feel that just the social scene and casual vibe that you get from Duke, while still having pretty good academics, is one of my favorite things about it. If you are interested in our BME program and want to know a little more about engineering, feel free to send me a message. I’m actually CE, but BME is pretty common here and most of my friends are BME. I’d be happy to answer an questions about the engineering department that you might have.</p>
<p>Good luck in your choice!</p>
<p>Hey JohnAdams12, </p>
<p>THOSE ARE GRADUATE RANKINGS. </p>
<p>My biggest pet peeve regarding CC: when people equate graduate rankings with undergraduate rankings. Ugh.</p>
<p>eatsalot, let me see, this is what I posted:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>yes, the rankings I posted were graduate school rankings and they were clearly labeled in that manner.</p>
<p>now</p>
<p>would you be kind enough to provide us with rankings or even relative strengths, whereby Princeton and Duke are compared in the Sciences?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>^You’re acting like a joke. First of all, we’re talking about undergraduate school studies here. Grad school was NOT the point of ANY discussion here. I don’t understand why you’d even bring graduate school rankings here.
If any rankings, you should be looking at this:
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-ut-rank[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-ut-rank</a></p>
<p>Secondly, there are around 10000 colleges in America. A difference of 20 or 30 in rankings is insignificant. You’re not magically going to be a better engineer if you go to MIT than Yale contrary to popular belief.</p>
<p>Thirdly, making decisions on rankings is naive and foolish. Rankings are unbelievably biased and most rankings are based on peer evaluation and the number of nobel prizes faculty wins (how does that even correlate to teaching??).</p>