Yale vs AB Duke Scholarship?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
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<p>Hello all!</p>

<p>I recently found out that I was an AB Duke Scholar finalist. While of course I don't know that I will ultimately receive the scholarship after interviews, I was just wondering whether it is worth taking such an amazing offer over the likes of Yale? (I've also posted nearly the same thing on the Duke forum)</p>

<p>To make it clear, my parents can afford Yale with the estimate I got from the FA, although I know my parents could still benefit greatly if I took a possible full ride offer from Duke since Yale was still somewhere above 22K a year.</p>

<p>What are your thoughts? I will visit Duke for the Finalist weekend, but I have already visited Yale for the YES-W (STEM weekend for likely admits), and it was truly amazing. Actually, I was nearly sold on Yale until I got the full ride offer from Duke University.</p>

<p>I know AB Duke covers all expenses, but asides from full rides, what are the other benefits it offers? Is it as prestigious as say Yale? Are the summer opportunities at AB Duke (such as the 6 week Oxford Program) worth it over attending Yale (or other Ivys?). I am asking this because colleges like Yale also offer great study abroad programs just as AB Duke does as well.</p>

<p>Ultimately I know that I have to weigh the benefits and disads on my own, but I would also love to hear from what you guys have to say!</p>

<p>I wish everyone all the best!</p>

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>terminatorp </p>

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<p>For 22K, duke sounds pretty good. At this level, who cares about prestige? Sure, Yale and the other top ivies might have a bit more layman prestige than Duke, but any employer will consider it akin to HYPSM, especially if you do well! Don’t pass up on the money because of whatever prestige yale might offer; if you do choose yale, make sure that your decision’s based on fit.</p>

<p>Yale '18 member. </p>

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<p>Over the years, I have known students who have turned down Yale, Harvard, and Stanford for Duke, as they were awarded the Roberston Scholarship, which comes with a free-ride. If that happens to you, I would recommend going to Duke – and I say this with a kid at Yale! With the money your parents save every year, they could buy you a car, send you on spring break trip, finance your summer jaunt to Europe, save for graduate school, or just just not spend the money, and live their life with a little less stress, as they won’t have pay Yale $88K over 4 years. When you graduate, Duke will open just as many doors as Yale!</p>

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<p>@terminatorp, I mean nothing disrespectful when I say it’s a no-brainer. Duke is an exceptional school, and unless $88k is insignificant to your family, I would go there rather than Yale. As Gibby says, no doors will be closed to you that would have been opened by Yale. If the money is of no consequence, well, that’s another discussion. </p>

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<p>Wow!! full ride to Duke…You need not think about this Duke is great. Afterall on world university ranking Yale is 11th and Duke is 17th (no great difference), I will commend you choose Duke, its worth it.</p>

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<p>^Don’t bank on the word rankings haha; a few years ago, Yale was 3, and now it’s 11. They change every year. Don’t mind them.</p>

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<p>Congratulations, a wonderful, albeit difficult decision!</p>

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</p>

<p>Y will fund summer abroad programs with FA at the same level that you had during the school year, but unless you are on full FA, you won’t receive a fully paid summer abroad program like the Duke Oxford program. Y also has grants for research abroad, I’m not sure how competitive they are compared to the AB Duke research fellowships.</p>

<p>From reading the AB Duke website, it looks like there are some academic perks beyond the financial aspects of the scholarship. D1 attended fr year at UMichigan as a Shipman scholar when it was full tuition, R&B for OOS students. At the interview weekend they touted all of the additional benefits, many of which did not materialize, so she ended up transferring to Y as a soph. Part of the reason she went with Michigan was that she was pretty sure she wanted to attend med school after UG and was concerned about finances. As a fr, privates offered us minimal FA, but in 2008 Y and others started their new FA policies for middle income families, making it an affordable option (although still more expensive than Michigan). So, what you plan to do after UG may also be a factor in your decision.</p>

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<p>^sure, agreed. Point is that they’re both fantastic schools that will open many doors. Take the money!!</p>

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<p>Congrats! Another vote for Duke. The AB Duke scholarship stamps you as the cream of the cream and will help you in ways being just an ordinary Yale/Ivy admit will not. </p>

<p>In addition to the obvious monetary considerations, however, Duke will give you a better four years of college experience. Don’t discount the value of that. The kids are every bit as smart as Yale, the education every bit as challenging but the weather, campus and sports add dimensions that Yale cannot match. </p>

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<p>@Parnassus700, I also voted for Duke, but I find the phrase “just an ordinary Yale/Ivy admit” to be a bit comical and overreaching – how many ordinary kids get into either school? Fwiw, had my son been admitted to Duke and Yale (he didn’t apply to Duke, so this is hypothetical), he would have chosen Yale. That said, the financial difference to OP is not trivial, and Duke is a fine fine school. </p>

<p>Yale’s deficits re weather, campus, or sports might not matter or might be 180 degrees different to your preferences (DS is a hockey fan, if he’s into any sports). </p>

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<p>All other things being equal, Yale’s a bit better than Duke. But all things are not equal if you have the AB Duke scholarship. One of my daughter’s classmates had this decision to make, and went to Duke.</p>

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<p>In case anyone is wondering, I recently did indeed commit to Duke University as an AB Scholar :slight_smile: After much thought, I have decided that this is the best fit for me. I turned down offers from Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Upenn, Cornell, Brown, and Rice w/top merit scholarship.</p>

<p>I would like to make it very clear though, that it’s not ONLY the full ride which makes the AB Scholars program so compelling. It’s the fact that it’s actually a program which is a background support for you throughout your 4 years at Duke. Your fellow scholars of older and younger years are part of a sort of “family” which you will continuously be in touch with. Attending finalist week helped me “feel” this atmosphere, and I totally loved it!</p>

<p>I made my decision to commit to Duke after visiting all my top schools, which was Yale (I went to YES-W), Columbia (Science Research Fellow’s weekend), and Stanford. All of these schools gave me likely letters, and paid for my travel to visit their campuses, so this was as “personal” as these schools could get. I loved Stanford’s and Yale’s campuses (didn’t like Columbia’s city-centered campus), but attending the admit weekends showed me the different environment I’d get at Duke.</p>

<p>Duke’s campus is filled with brilliant students pretty much at the same caliber at Stanford or Yale, but the Scholars program helps you intermingle with the best of the best, and ultimately, have a small, close community to mix with. You can have all this while being a part of the larger and amazing Duke community.</p>

<p>Going more specifically into Duke’s AB Scholars program benefits, I feel that WHATEVER you want to do, you CAN do it. Money isn’t an issue at all. They give you $5,000 to use over your undergraduate career, but many people I’ve heard have went over than money without any problems, just by requesting more funding. As an AB at Duke, the advisors make it VERY clear that money is available, all you need is an idea or a plan.</p>

<p>Ultimately, after weighing all the benefits of the program , I feel that the AB Scholars program is very compelling, and MANY have turned HYP, and other schools down for it. Last year’s low yield rate was merely an anomaly (I saw a thread on CC that alleged that the program was losing it’s appeal due to it), as past yield rate have been quite high. This year so far (there’s still about 2 days until May 1st, so this may increase) there has been 16 AB Scholars who have accepted the AB Duke including myself, out of I think 23 offers. Pretty much all of the AB Scholars have turned down top Ivy league schools to take the scholarship. I know a few of the AB’s got REALLY good financial aid from the Ivy schools they got accepted to as well but still chose the AB, showing that they accepted also based on the program’s benefits, not only financial. Past AB Scholars have almost always gone to top grad schools, like Harvard, MIT, or Yale, so you get the best of both worlds!</p>

<p>Sorry for this long post, but I wrote this so anyone in the future who might have any questions could use this as a resource perhaps! I remember when I got the AB Scholar finalist notification and was searching for more info, I was slightly frustrated at the lack of followup from people asking about the scholarship on the CC forums :wink: If anyone has any questions concerning the AB Scholars, or why I made my decision, please feel free to message me!</p>

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<p>I think the AB Duke scholarship is pretty much winning the ultimate college lottery - and I say this with children at Duke and Yale, and with great respect for both schools.</p>

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<p>@terminatorp Can you please post your stats? I’m applying for Duke and am wondering if I have a chance at getting into the AB Scholar’s Program. Any follow up on how you’ve felt about the program since you’ve been there would be great.</p>

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<p>@physwhiz I remember reading this thread a while back. terminatorp posted his or her stats a couple of times—if you search the posts, you’ll find them.</p>

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<p>As a Yale graduate and the mother of a Yale freshman, I say go to Duke. It is a great school with kids of the same caliber as any of the other top tier schools. Use the $88,000 your parents are saving for grad school or as a down payment on a house later on. Congratulations on having such a great choice.</p>