Duke [Full Scholarship] vs MIT [$77k/year]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. The force in the anti-Duke contingent is strong (or weak, depending on your perspective). The total hatred of a school is odd and scary.

One can make a compelling argument for either school. A totally one-sided argument in favor of either option shows a complete lack of intellect and critical thinking skills.

But that is the world today. Everything is black and white. No nuance. The dumbing down of America.

I'm guessing most of those with the strongest opinions didn't go to a school remotely similar to either Duke or MIT. Yet they are self-proclaimed experts.

I went to one of the schools but could make a good argument for either. This is not top tier school vs. SE Idaho Community College. It is two great schools.

I'm sorry the OP is being subjected to this stupidity. Congratulations to their child and best of luck to them with this choice.

Just what do you have against SE Idaho Community College ?

[Anonymous]

Congrats on your kid having two amazing options. I have to vote for taking the full ride to Duke no matter what major you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Duke easy decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are rich, MIT.

If not, Duke with $300K.

$300K will grow to $2 millions in 20 years invested in S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

A better way to look at it is that if you take 300k and put it in something like the S&P for the next 40 years yor child can do whatever they want with their life and can still retire at 62 with about $10,000,000 adjusted for inflation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does he want to major in? That should be deciding factor.

I'm OP. He wants Computer Science. MIT's legendary CS program is really, really hard to turn down. But Duke is free...

CS might be the only major I’d be willing to send my kid to MIT for in your situation. Duke is a great school, but for CSMIT is top 3 in the world.

[Anonymous]

DUKE.

Put the money in retirement fund and kid will retire in 20 years.

[Anonymous]

MIT if he actually loves CS.

[Anonymous]

MIT is only turned down by 15%. The majority go to Caltech, Princeton, Stanford or Harvard.

Nobody turns MIT down for Duke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MIT is only turned down by 15%. The majority go to Caltech, Princeton, Stanford or Harvard.

Nobody turns MIT down for Duke.

Wanna bet?

[Anonymous]

Go with the full ride. I can't imagine this even being a choice.

Take the money you'd save, and save it. Let it grow and you can all laugh about it when you retire that much earlier.

I wouldn't want the absolute grind of MIT for my kid. There's a reason for the high suicide/depression rate. And I wouldn't fool around with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does he want to major in? That should be deciding factor.

I'm OP. He wants Computer Science. MIT's legendary CS program is really, really hard to turn down. But Duke is free...

CS might be the only major I’d be willing to send my kid to MIT for in your situation. Duke is a great school, but for CSMIT is top 3 in the world.

+1 I wouldn’t hesitate, presuming we could afford it

[Anonymous]

I would choose Duke full pay over MIT full pay so Duke with a scholarship is a no brainer. But that depends on your personality. Duke would be a much happier college experience for me or my kids than MIT. They will still do great coming out of Duke and in the meantime had a better college experience.

Yes, college is a huge investment but it isn't just about ROI in terms of jobs. It is also about the ROI in terms of a lifetime of happiness and four great years.

For many people, MIT might be the happier place and that is awesome for them. But not me and many others. Different strokes for different folks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MIT is only turned down by 15%. The majority go to Caltech, Princeton, Stanford or Harvard.

Nobody turns MIT down for Duke.

Wanna bet?

Sure do. Last year, only 133 MIT students who were admitted chose not to attend. There were none that turned MIT down for Duke.

[Anonymous]

Well whether you go to Duke or MIT to CS, the bulk of your childs future will consist of just sitting in front of a screen and probably not talking to anyone. Maybe MIT will impart some marginal increase in lifetime wealth generation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well whether you go to Duke or MIT to CS, the bulk of your childs future will consist of just sitting in front of a screen and probably not talking to anyone. Maybe MIT will impart some marginal increase in lifetime wealth generation?

Cooper Flagg says hold my Gatorade.