<p>I was fortunate enough to receive admission to Yale as well as Duke's Robertson Scholarship(full tuition, room, board, laptop, guaranteed summer funding,...). </p>
<p>While the Duke Scholarship is noted for providing a top 10 education for free, my Yale financial aid came with a family contribution of only 14k. I've been told that its possible to parlay with Yale's financial aid office and I'm hoping that that could even drop the contribution to sub-10k.</p>
<p>Overall I think that the Robertspn is easy to pick over a full-price Yale tuition that would bring with it 240k of debt, but with it costing closer to 40k for four years it seems like either option can be justified.</p>
<p>I'm having trouble picking between the two as I've always wanted to attend Yale, whereas I didn't even hear about the Robertson until I was selected as a semi-finalist. Though, on the other hand, a free education from duke is hard to turn down as well.</p>
<p>I'm interested in studying Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy, amongst other things. In my eyes, the big difference is in cost as Yale's easily available summer funding parallels the Robertson's guaranteed funding and both Yale and the Robertson provide excellent networking opportunities.</p>
<p>Yale would be my dd pick if Political science is your major. Yale has a great major… ethics politics philosophy and you have always dreamed of yale.
The problem with the Duke Robertson as little as I know about it, I think you take some of your courses at Duke and some at UNC? is if you have to take some of your political science courses at UNC then you will be extremely upset when you see the political science building at UNC. Trashed and complete mess. Can’t be a very good major at UNC. If your just in to get A’s so you can go to Yale or Harvard Law then it may be a different story.
Also as far as Durham goes it is not great. New Haven is better and well i think you have to visit both and see for yourself. good luck in your decision.</p>
<p>I am not convinced that “Yale’s easily available summer funding parallels the Robertson’s guaranteed funding.” International summer experiences are quite easily obtained at Yale but you may find yourself needing to scramble for funding for summer research or internships in New Haven or elsewhere in the US, esp. as an underclassman. There is something to be said for guaranteed personal attention and having the way paved for you, which is what Robertson seems to provide. [Robertson</a> Scholars: Coaching and Mentoring](<a href=“http://www.robertsonscholars.org/index.php?type=static&source=14]Robertson”>http://www.robertsonscholars.org/index.php?type=static&source=14)</p>
<p>Have you visited both campuses? Durham has sketchy parts but Duke’s campus is beautiful, and Chapel Hill is the quintessential college town. As for political science at UNC, I believe that it is the school’s third biggest major, so I would not dismiss this program based on one description of a building.</p>
<p>Getting the perks of the Robinson Program, a “free” Duke degree, and graduating with no debt would certain leave you well positioned (educationally and financially) for grad school anywhere, in my opinion. But Yale is a wonderful place. I think these would be significantly different experiences, both providing great opportunities. As someone who has lived in the NC “Triangle” area but has a student at Yale, I think you cannot go wrong whatever you choose. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>Thanks for bringing this up, bookmobile. My DS is in exactly the same position as OP and I am very interested . Those “International summer experiences” - how are they funded?
My understanding is that the ones provided by Robertson are 100% funded.
What about study abroad while at Yale - what is the cost?</p>
<p>I’m just going to relate D1s experience, others may have different stories.</p>
<p>She wrote a study plan for a research project in one of her courses, then she applied and received a Yale Research Fellowship for Juniors which paid for her travel and research expenses to conduct the study abroad. She stayed in one of the Bulldogs abroad apartments and we received FA for the summer at the same percentage as we were receiving for the prior school year.</p>
<p>It’s been a few years now, but as I recall, it was mostly paid for, but there were some expenses and some additional fees that fell between the cracks of what FA and the fellowship paid (which may have been avoidable if she had included them in her original grant proposal). </p>
<p>I really have no idea how competitive these fellowships are. The FA is pretty straightforward and can be applied to any Y Summer programs.</p>
<p>I agree that the Robertson comes with perks that should be considered when making your decision. I know there have been Robertson scholars here in the past, and as I recall, eadad’s S was a Robertson at UNC-CH, but I’m not positive…</p>
<p>Thanks Entomom!
So basically for study abroad you had to pay the same as for a semester at Yale, correct?
Who pays for air travel? Is it included in the price and calculated according to family income?</p>
<p>Robertson comes with tons of little perks that I am trying to understand and compare against what other colleges are offering. At this time my DS is comparing both Yale and Duke as full rides and trying to make a decision based on those extras that both programs offer and trying to see which will be most beneficial to him.
While it is a huge joy to have those choices, it is also heartbreaking…</p>
<p>Here’s the ISA website, see the link on the right to Calculate your ISA (there is also a link to grants & fellowships):</p>
<p>[International</a> Summer Award | Funding | Center for International and Professional Experience | Yale College](<a href=“Yale College”>Yale College)</p>
<p>I’m not sure how travel works for regular abroad programs, IIRC D1s was a budgeted item that was covered under the fellowship.</p>
<p>My son will be doing a project at Yale over the summer, and applied several different places (I don’t know the details) before he received funding. While the funding he received will cover his costs, he will not be able to cover the amount of money expected by the financial aid office for his summer contribution. It appears that Yale summer aboard programs work differently from a FA point of view.</p>
<p>I think that it probably gets easier to find and fund research over the years as a student gains more advanced class standing and gets more immersed in his or her major. I’m sure there are many underclass go-getters who have little trouble finding summer funding, but it was a little stressful for my son. He is happy with the outcome though.</p>
Travel is included as a part of the estimated cost when calculating aid for a standard summer abroad program. They estimate by using JFK/LGA as a starting point to the destination but there is a cap on the $$ available for summer which varies each year. If the student is eligible for aid they do prorate an additional amount for the summer weeks you are unavailable to work. For my son, I believe they calculated 75% (6 weeks out of a possible 8 weeks of summer earnings potential). That being said, there is a hard cap on the total amount (I believe it is $10K) of the two combined regardless if you are eligible for 100% of aid or not.</p>
<p>For current students, they can get an estimate on the percentage of aid they are eligible for at the following link:</p>
<p>[ISA</a> Eligibility | International Summer Award | Funding | Center for International and Professional Experience | Yale College](<a href=“Yale College”>Yale College)</p>
<p>I’ve talked to Yale and will be requesting an official review, as there were some other factors that were also overlooked in their estimates. So no final word yet.</p>
<p>From what I’m understanding from people’s experiences, in terms of international abroad summer experiences, there is funding, though it will likely not cover ALL costs and can be difficult (or at least annoying) to apply for. </p>
<p>I’m currently visiting Yale (BDD) and love the campus, though I must admit that the weather isn’t nearly as wonderful as Dukes. In terms of new haven vs Durham, when I first drove up, I stayed in what must’ve been the very “hood” part of the city; however, upon arriving to campus I’ve enjoyed it and like how everything seems to be within walking distance (whereas duke often requires buses). </p>
<p>I also wanted to ask about career prospects/counseling in that the Robertson provides very close counseling services. Does Yale provide ample counseling or do the 1900+ students per class leave you without close advising.</p>
<p>Overall, no one has really mentioned education in comparing duke and Yale. I’m assuming this is because most agree that both being top 10 schools, they’re fairly equitable? Going off this, do employers recognize the Robertson? (As I am interested in entering consulting followed by graduate school, both of which can be competitive.)</p>
<p>The Robertson is a big deal. I don’t know if “employers” recognize it, but I’m sure the main management consulting firms do.</p>
<p>To my mind, Yale has a definite educational advantage over Duke, but that is only “on average”. Lots of individual students don’t take full advantage of what makes Yale one of the great universities of the world, and of course no individual student personally can take advantage of more than a few shreds of that. A student at Duke who is aggressive and proactive about getting the most out of Duke, and who is happy and engaged there, will get as good or better an education than three-quarters of the students at Yale. I think the Robertson can help in that regard, too, of course. I also think Yale attracts and fosters a more intellectual student body – but an individual student may or may not see that as an advantage, and anyone at Duke who wants intellectual friends and peers can surely find them.</p>
<p>Straight up, Yale offers a lot of advantages, but that’s not nearly as clear when you toss the Robertson into the mix.</p>
<p>Have you spoken to the Yale Financial Aid Office? Yale only offers need based aid, which the Robertson Scholarship is NOT! Therefore, I doubt they will match it. My advice: go to Duke and with the money you save over the course of four years, by yourself a brand new car! Congratulations!</p>
<p>I could not agree more with Gibby. There is going to be hardly any difference in the quality of education between the two. I know for a fact that the Robertson is highly valued by the likes of McKinsey and BCG. Both Yale and Duke will land you any job that you want (meaning your chance of getting into a specific career or grad school will not at all be impacted negatively by going to Duke), and by the end of the four years, you are going to be a quarter of a million dollars richer. You just can’t beat that.</p>
<p>I am sure I will be strongly disagreed with, but this is how I truly feel about things based on my own child’s experience . . . just honestly conveying what has happened with my own child . . . </p>
<p>Not sure how to say this . . . but I would DEFINITELY take The Robertson scholarship. My child turned down a full scholarship at Wake for Yale, and now I very much regret that decision . . . I know that others may disagree, BUT, all I can do is go by my own child’s experience . . . Yale is for rich kids, simply said . . . I have felt like my child has been alone at Yale . . . fending for herself while other “entitled” Yalies are given preferential treatment simply because of who their parents are . . . </p>
<p>I reached out to some people at Yale and they basically brushed me off . . . She has received NO personal/professional help at Yale . . . </p>
<p>Wish she could go back and take the Wake full scholarship . . . just telling the truth . . . </p>
<p>Take the Robertson . . . unless you are rich . . . trust me . . .</p>
<p>Thanks for contributing your child’s experience, I think it’s important to hear many points of view when making this kind of decision. I’m sorry to hear about your child’s experience at Y, I know how much kids look forward to college. And I’m particularly disappointed as I see from your posting history that your child was interested in English & CW, which my D1 also studied and enjoyed. I hope they are finding some positives in the writing program and are able to progress in that aspect of their college life.</p>
<p>In the case of the OP, I’m not sure there is as much difference between Duke and Y as there is between Wake and Y as far as SES of the students.</p>
<p>I do think it’s a valid point that students receiving these big scholarships like the Robertson should consider that when they come to Y, they will be one among many fr. That’s not to say they don’t have many opportunities available to them, but they will need to be more proactive in seeking them out. A student is likely to get less personal attention than they would have gotten as a top scholarship recipient at another school.</p>
<p>Thanks for your post. I sincerely appreciate you for being respectful of my opinion; I also agree with everything that you said. I am very happy that your daughter had a good experience in the English program at Yale. My child (although interested in English before attending Yale), decided not to major in English, but I think my child would agree with your child that the English program at Yale is excellent.</p>
<p>I really hesitated before writing my post, but I wanted to be honest and to share with the individual trying to choose between the Robertson scholarship and Yale, that I personally feel it would be in their best interest to take the Robertson . . .</p>
<p>It’s not that my child has not enjoyed being at Yale; it’s just that turning down a full scholarship from ANY college is definitely a huge decision . . . </p>
<p>Finally, I must be honest when I say that I am not sure my child at Yale would agree with what I wrote concerning Yale . . . I am writing this totally from a parent’s perspective, and that point should definitely be noted . . . </p>
<p>I am definitely not here to bash Yale . . . It is obviously an outstanding college . . . but so is Duke – and many, many others . . . I love this forum because it allows everyone to see opinions from lots of different people . . . </p>
<p>I am just here to be honest . . . and hopefully my honesty will help others . . . </p>
<p>best wishes to all who are making these decisions . . .</p>
<p>Jumping in late…
I would encourage my student to take the Duke full ride…
Well respected U, great opportunities. </p>
<p>While our student enjoys Yale, it is pricey and need based aid doesn’t always come out like the COA calculator.</p>
<p>Having said that, it is in part because As a scholar-athlete and STEM major, our student doesn’t nearly have the time for all of the other great opportunities that the liberal arts majors have …masters teas are during sport practice. Scheduling for STEM is tougher than all of the myriad of offerings for other disciplines.
So it is from a financial and scheduling perspective…</p>
<p>otoh my K1 couldn’t be happier. I just wish there were 36 hrs in a day </p>
<p>So…if you loved DUKE, take the Robertson.
A friend of our k1 got into MIT and UVA (Jefferson)…and she took the UVA Jefferson</p>