Off the waitlist at Duke - unsure what to do

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Duke. Many people confuse Penn with Penn State.

bone head comment

DP from Pennsylvania -- you'd be shocked at how true this is in the general public.

This is the most original and best advice ever!

Except, most people outside the east coast don't know Duke. It's an easy coast thing.

??? Educated people know Duke. This is not 1970.

Educated people know UPenn is a level above Duke. Upe n is iternationally known.

Maybe educated people from 1890? Today, Duke is world renowned and almost always a better choice v Penn (except for Wharton).

Duke literally has a 200 acre campus in China. Duke Kunshan University.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivy is Ivy. End of discussion.

Lol. Duke holds more weight than a lot of ivies. Duke and Penn are equals in terms of prestige and opportunities so the decision really comes to fit: urban vs isolated, sprawling vs large centric campus, warm vs medium weather, etc.

Parchment shows Duke vs ivy is overwhelmingly <30% for Duke and >70% for an ivy.

Haha Parchment? That's been debunked a million times, super innacurate. Do you really believe when given the choice between UCLA and Harvard, only 56% of people pick Harvard? Exactly. From what I've seen, Duke smokes the bottom three ivies (Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth) in cross-admits, is about even with Columbia and Penn, and loses to HYP.

[Anonymous]

Duke every day of the week unless your son really wants a more urban experience, or unless he was admitted to Wharton. Duke's reputation and name recognition is on another level. Tons of people have Duke as their first choice, whereas Penn is a place you go when it's the best school you got into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivy is Ivy. End of discussion.

Lol. Duke holds more weight than a lot of ivies. Duke and Penn are equals in terms of prestige and opportunities so the decision really comes to fit: urban vs isolated, sprawling vs large centric campus, warm vs medium weather, etc.

Parchment shows Duke vs ivy is overwhelmingly <30% for Duke and >70% for an ivy.

Haha Parchment? That's been debunked a million times, super innacurate. Do you really believe when given the choice between UCLA and Harvard, only 56% of people pick Harvard? Exactly. From what I've seen, Duke smokes the bottom three ivies (Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth) in cross-admits, is about even with Columbia and Penn, and loses to HYP.

UCLA vs Harvard - yes, for cost consideration. Harvard ain't worth $90,000/yr. - $360,000 total.

[Anonymous]

West Phily is an absolute armpit. The school basically founded Early Decision as everyone was passing on them. Unless it's Wharton, the school is meh and it's location is like one's butt after having Indian food. Truth bomb.

Durham isn't much better but the Duke campus is essentially Princeton recreated. Heaven on earth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is it on DCUM there are so many Duke or Penn threads? They are ranked similarly...and that's 1000% where the similarities end.

I just don't get it. I see few Duke or Vanderbilt threads, yet seems like those would be two schools that make more sense to choose between.

For the life of me, I can't imagine someone who really likes Duke liking Penn and vice versa...and I also can't imagine picking one school because it is ranked #6 vs #7.

Because they are similar in terms of perceived prestige, just like Vanderbilt is with Emory, Rice, and Washington U. The fact one is urban and the other more suburban (or smaller city) is not as relevant. They also attract a student body that is largely pre-professional and/or from the Mid-Atlantic.

Emory is not at the same level as those other three... Keep seeing this on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:West Phily is an absolute armpit. The school basically founded Early Decision as everyone was passing on them. Unless it's Wharton, the school is meh and it's location is like one's butt after having Indian food. Truth bomb.

Durham isn't much better but the Duke campus is essentially Princeton recreated. Heaven on earth.

Must be from a Penn reject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:West Phily is an absolute armpit. The school basically founded Early Decision as everyone was passing on them. Unless it's Wharton, the school is meh and it's location is like one's butt after having Indian food. Truth bomb.

Durham isn't much better but the Duke campus is essentially Princeton recreated. Heaven on earth.

Must be from a Penn reject.

Clearly…since you walk a block and you are at the start of downtown.

Also, the ED rant is weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Duke every day of the week unless your son really wants a more urban experience, or unless he was admitted to Wharton. Duke's reputation and name recognition is on another level. Tons of people have Duke as their first choice, whereas Penn is a place you go when it's the best school you got into.

Meaning I guess if the best place you got into is ranked higher than the second best place you got into (which would be Duke) if your decision is based on the rankings?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DS recently got off the waitlist at Duke and isn't sure what to do, currently committed to Penn. DS will visit Duke but anyone with experience at both schools? Studying math and statistics.

OMG, how is this a?

There is no comparison between the two. Penn all the way.

Because fit matters more than OMG IVY.

+1 My DC is getting ready to transfer out of a very highly ranked school for somewhere less prestigious because they just aren't happy there.

Mine turned down a more prestigious offer (I posted about it here) for a perfect fit, so posts like this set my teeth on edge.

How do you find a perfect fit with just a visit? You don't know who your roommate will be, who your friends will be. I think social factor is more important to environment. How do you determine fit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS recently got off the waitlist at Duke and isn't sure what to do, currently committed to Penn. DS will visit Duke but anyone with experience at both schools? Studying math and statistics.

OMG, how is this a?

There is no comparison between the two. Penn all the way.

Because fit matters more than OMG IVY.

+1 My DC is getting ready to transfer out of a very highly ranked school for somewhere less prestigious because they just aren't happy there.

Mine turned down a more prestigious offer (I posted about it here) for a perfect fit, so posts like this set my teeth on edge.

How do you find a perfect fit with just a visit? You don't know who your roommate will be, who your friends will be. I think social factor is more important to environment. How do you determine fit?

Who knows…I told my kid that the “perfect fit” school still leaves about 75% uncertainty, so you hope for the best.

I also think even if the 75% isn’t great, most kids find enough to like and are generally happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:West Phily is an absolute armpit. The school basically founded Early Decision as everyone was passing on them. Unless it's Wharton, the school is meh and it's location is like one's butt after having Indian food. Truth bomb.

Durham isn't much better but the Duke campus is essentially Princeton recreated. Heaven on earth.

When’s the last time you were in Philly? And while Wharton is excellent, both the College and the School of Engineering are very good.

[Anonymous]

For math and stats Duke probably gets the edge at undergrad level, but visiting is the most important to determine fit. Will your son be able to sit in on a class perhaps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:West Phily is an absolute armpit. The school basically founded Early Decision as everyone was passing on them. Unless it's Wharton, the school is meh and it's location is like one's butt after having Indian food. Truth bomb.

Durham isn't much better but the Duke campus is essentially Princeton recreated. Heaven on earth.

Must be from a Penn reject.

Clearly…since you walk a block and you are at the start of downtown.

Also, the ED rant is weird.

It's not really a block, but the neighborhood is much better than it was 20 years ago. Same could be said of Durham, but I'd never in a million choose it over Penn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:West Phily is an absolute armpit. The school basically founded Early Decision as everyone was passing on them. Unless it's Wharton, the school is meh and it's location is like one's butt after having Indian food. Truth bomb.

Durham isn't much better but the Duke campus is essentially Princeton recreated. Heaven on earth.

Must be from a Penn reject.

Clearly…since you walk a block and you are at the start of downtown.

Also, the ED rant is weird.

It's not really a block, but the neighborhood is much better than it was 20 years ago. Same could be said of Durham, but I'd never in a million choose it over Penn.

From Franklin field? Once you cross the river that’s technically downtown…it is a long block.