<p>Stanford is lights years ahead of Duke in terms of international prestigue. I agree, they are both very similar: academic powerhouses with excellent athletics and spirited student bodies. But in terms of name-recognition alone, I believe, based on my own personal experiences, that Stanford is superior.</p>
<p>Ah, it is irrelevent anyway. Harvard Law will not reject a Duke student for a Stanford one just because he went to Stanford. Besides, Dukehas better law school placement into Harvard/Yale law. My friend Stan is going to Stanford and he says it's awesome though. GO STANFORD!!!!</p>
<p>Go DUKE TOO!</p>
<p>Duke and Stanford are both great, Stanfords definetely more well known in the world since it has such a neat science and engineering program</p>
<p>well said.</p>
<p>Duke is an excellent school. However, it's simply riduculous to claim that Duke has "first-tier" prestige or name recognition - internationally or even anywhere outside the Southern USA (at least for non-basketball fans). A few factors:</p>
<p>(1) Duke's US News ranking is elevated way beyond the reality of its name recognition ... that is primarily a function of bizarre ranking criteria. Any academic ranking methodology (NRC, etc) will confirm this, and there are a number of these that show Duke around #20 nationally ... and perhaps #50 internationally. Respectable, but closer to Georgetown than Columbia.</p>
<p>(2) As an example, there was not a single Nobel prize winner on Duke's entire faculty until this past year, when Peter Agre moved there from Johns Hopkins (incidentally his role at Duke will <em>not</em> be to run a scientific lab). Schools such as Johns Hopkins, Cornell, etc have had large numbers ... often without being significantly older institutions.</p>
<p>(3) In terms of students, there are a handful of truly world-class ones at Duke. It's these few students who are responsible for their Putnam team, Marshall scholars, etc. But the majority of these top-tier students are lured to Duke (away from first-tier schools such as Harvard, MIT Stanford) by aggressive marketing involving full scholarships. Aside from these top students, Duke's student body overlaps most closely with the likes of Cornell, Penn, Wake Forest, and Emory (i.e. a step below the "top" places).</p>
<p>That is the current reality, and anybody who claims otherwise is deluded or has a serious inferiority complex.</p>
<p>Having said that: as an institution, Duke has a major advantage over places like Cornell and Penn. Duke is on the way "up," rather than stagnating (or dropping down). It doesn't have the same institutional baggage (i.e. is newer) compared to other places. It's located in a vibrant and growing area of the country (despite some people's negative stereotypes about the South) with many opportunities for academic-industry collaboration. Many Dukies don't take themselves overly seriously (although a few on this board constantly promote Duke's "prestige" like children).</p>
<p>Therefore it's fair to assume that its prestige will rise over time. Assuming that this occurs, it may take several generations.</p>
<p>I agree with most of the above post. However, to put Cornell and Penn in the same group as Emory and Wake Forest is simply ridiculous. I think anyone would agree with me on that level. Cornell and Penn may be a "step" below the top of the top, however, Emory is a couple of levels below, and Wake Forest, um, its a few if not many steps below.</p>
<p>Are you serious, facquerio? Duke is not #20. I am not promoting its prestige like a child, but I have not seen a single ranking where its prestige or grad placement was below 10. Duke has no prestige outside of the South? Then why is it the best feeder school into Yale/Harvard law after HYP? Moreover, why does it have one of the BEST BME programs out there. Richard Nixon went to Duke and he turned out alright. lol</p>
<p>But seriously, it is YOU who are delusional to even suggest: 1. Upenn is lower than top tier 2. Duke is only renowned in the south 3. Only basketball enthusiasts know us</p>
<p>Devil, prestige does not equal academic strength. people on this board seem to confuse the two very often. no one is refuting duke's academics nor its grad school placement. everyone knows duke is an excellent school, one of the best in the nation. but it still needs time to build its prestige.</p>
<p>I agree with that. But how prestigious are we talking here?</p>
<p>I though Duke and Upenn are about equal. I love Penn so I might be biased though</p>
<p>Edit: Wait wait...by first tier, do you mean HYPMS? If so, then of course it is not at that level yet. lol But it definitely goes toe to toe with Columbia.</p>
<p>Duke's prestige is not equal to Stanford's prestige--nationally or internationally. I would argue, however, that Duke and Stanford are quite equal in terms of academic prowess. As shrek2004 said, prestige and academic strength are 2 separate entities. Duke has achieved a reasonable amount of prestige in a fairly short time, nationally. Industries know of Duke's accomplishments and capabilities. THAT is what we should be most concerned about as Duke students, rather than what are friend's perceive Duke as. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, the perception of prestige among the average American citizen is not equal to Stanford. Internationally, Duke is fairly unknown. Rightfully so, considering it is practically an infant. However, it is taking steps that will give it international recognition in the years to come. If you look at the Duke Med School News, you will notice that a collaborative deal was recently established with an Asian nation. Duke Med School will be assisting the nation with establishing a suitable medical program I believe. Simple actions such as these are critical to establishing an international name.</p>
<p>We should not delude ourselves; for doing so, only displays an inferiority complex. We know Duke is awesome. We know we can go toe-to-toe with the best. We know that people who matter know of Duke. That is all we need to know. Duke will, hopefully, make us into successful captains of industry who can reinforce and develop Duke's prestige.</p>
<p>Yeah, academics Dukei s definetely top notch, but prestigewise who knows how it is</p>
<p>all i know is that when I say Duke, people think 'wow, impressive' or 'thats awesome'. </p>
<p>so its reputation, atleast here in Eastern PA, is cool.</p>
<p>plus it has a sweet bball team</p>
<p>thethoughtprocess: Same. People should not feel that Duke has no prestige. It does. Maybe not up to Stanford, but it has national prestige. I cannot tell you how many times I have been looked at in awe. </p>
<p>Fore example, my friend in California was so happy for me when I got in. He was amazed that "I had gained admissions to one of the best schools in the nation". He wants to go to Duke next year. Yes, a Californian knows about Duke. Duke's reputation extends beyond the scope of the South. </p>
<p>What can we say though? We live in an ultra-competitive nation that often equates respect with prestige. I suppose it is that need for gratification--that need to know that others find you worthy of respect. We are all guilty of it at least once. I just fear that this nation is being consumed by "prestige whores"; I just fear that we are losing sight of what really matters.</p>
<p>"Yeah, academics Dukei s definetely top notch, but prestigewise who knows how it is</p>
<p>all i know is that when I say Duke, people think 'wow, impressive' or 'thats awesome'"</p>
<p>I agree, this is exactly the same reaction I got in southern CA when I told people where I was going</p>
<p>emory...in the middle of the `hood? umm, have you even BEEN there?</p>
<p>Emory is gorgeous. I looked at the brochure! Hahahaha</p>
<p>I visited Emory on my college tour and it's not in the hood at all. In fact, it's in an affluent and historic neighborhood in Atlanta. Nothing on this discussion board should be taken very seriously if people are allowed to post such spurious comments.</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Can someone tell me what hypms stands for?</p>
<p>harvard, yale, princeton, MIT, and stanford. Yeah, I had no clue what people were talking about when I was starting out on this site... I searched google for the acronym and couldn't find anything! Must be a CC original</p>
<p>people are lazy. lol Most on this board even say "s" for son and "d" for daughter. Ahhhhhhhhhh! Give me a break, please. lol</p>
<p>imho penn is better than duke</p>