Duke or Brown? Engineering and history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivy is Ivy

Maybe this logic works against some schools but it's literally Duke. It's more prestigious than half the ivies. Brown is great too but if anything Duke is the choice unless there's a compelling reason for Brown.

Not really. It's arguably more prestigious than three of the Ivies (Brown, Cornell, and Dartmouth) but certainly less prestigious than the other five.

[Anonymous]

I think your daughter will end up at Duke. You said she would've picked Duke anyways had she gotten in initially, but it might take some time to digest that she got in through an unexpected avenue (since waitlist is very difficult to be accepted from). She'll do well wherever she goes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neither school known for engineering. Decide on other factors.

Not true. Brown is not know for engineering. Duke is at #22 and Brown at #63 for engineering according to usnews.

Hey folks! Here's the guy who thinks USN has some kind of special formula! And guess what? Those are the rankings for the graduate schools so they are largely irrelevant, even if it is a 10% delta between the 400 schools that offer engineering! And both are ABET certified!

Great content here on DCUM! Really helpful to the OPs.


/op the answer is where the best fit is assuming both have similar cost.

Do you understand how engineering schools work? The quality of the graduate school reflects the quality of the undergraduate school within the same university.

If that were true, and personally I believe it is, schools like Berkeley and Michigan are woefully under ranked at USNWR. Then again in world wide rankings, both are properly ranked.

The overall ranking takes into consideration of all programs within the university. Berkeley and Michigan might be stronger than many universities in engineering, but weaker in other areas. OP's child is interested in engineering, and that's the focus here.

Bad example. The overall academic discipline rankings of Michigan, an even more so Berkeley, show incredible departmental potency across the broad spectrum of academia. There are very, very few universities that are as strong across the board as these two. Unless you’re going to a truly world class Engineering program, which neither Duke or Brown possess, then it’s best to go for fit.

[Anonymous]

For people outside the SE who care about academics not basketball, Duke is not more prestigious than any Ivy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivy is Ivy

Maybe this logic works against some schools but it's literally Duke. It's more prestigious than half the ivies. Brown is great too but if anything Duke is the choice unless there's a compelling reason for Brown.

Not really. It's arguably more prestigious than three of the Ivies (Brown, Cornell, and Dartmouth) but certainly less prestigious than the other five.

Outside of business Duke is more prestigious than UPenn for undergrad. Columbia might not be more prestigious than Duke and Penn for undergrad anymore especially as they were caught lying about the numbers they publish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivy is Ivy

Maybe this logic works against some schools but it's literally Duke. It's more prestigious than half the ivies. Brown is great too but if anything Duke is the choice unless there's a compelling reason for Brown.

Not really. It's arguably more prestigious than three of the Ivies (Brown, Cornell, and Dartmouth) but certainly less prestigious than the other five.

Cornell is more prestigious in Engineering than Duke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For people outside the SE who care about academics not basketball, Duke is not more prestigious than any Ivy

Disagree completely. Duke's academics are better than Cornell, Dartmouth, and Brown for sure. On par with Penn and Columbia. Since Yale has dropped the ball on STEM you could throw in Yale too. Harvard and Princeton are still a class above academically.

[Anonymous]

Here are your top 25 PA Scores from last year at USNWR:


1. Princeton 4.8
2. Columbia 4.7
Harvard 4.9
MIT 4.9
5. Yale 4.8
6. Stanford 4.9
U Chicago 4.6
8. UPenn 4.6
Caltech 4.6
9. Duke 4.5
John's Hopkins 4.7
Northwestern 4.4
13. Dartmouth 4.4
14. Brown 4.5
Vanderbilt 4.3
WashU 4.2
17. Cornell 4.6
Rice 4.1
19. Notre Dame 4.2
20. UCLA 4.4
21. Emory 4.2
22. UC Berkeley 4.7
23. Georgetown 4.2
U Michigan 4.5
25. Carnegie Mellon 4.3
UVA 4.3

[Anonymous]

Brown is equal to Duke. Below Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, and Cornell, and Penn.

[Anonymous]

Classic DCUM, talking about prestige when OP literally said they're not considering prestige in their decision. To quote: "We know Duke is more prestigious but that’s not what we’re trying to decide from - we’re going for fit and undergraduate opportunities." Get a grip people and actually try being helpful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Classic DCUM, talking about prestige when OP literally said they're not considering prestige in their decision. To quote: "We know Duke is more prestigious but that’s not what we’re trying to decide from - we’re going for fit and undergraduate opportunities." Get a grip people and actually try being helpful!

Getting a grip would be to first admit that Duke is not more prestigious than Brown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here are your top 25 PA Scores from last year at USNWR:


1. Princeton 4.8
2. Columbia 4.7
Harvard 4.9
MIT 4.9
5. Yale 4.8
6. Stanford 4.9
U Chicago 4.6
8. UPenn 4.6
Caltech 4.6
9. Duke 4.5
John's Hopkins 4.7
Northwestern 4.4
13. Dartmouth 4.4
14. Brown 4.5
Vanderbilt 4.3
WashU 4.2
17. Cornell 4.6
Rice 4.1
19. Notre Dame 4.2
20. UCLA 4.4
21. Emory 4.2
22. UC Berkeley 4.7
23. Georgetown 4.2
U Michigan 4.5
25. Carnegie Mellon 4.3
UVA 4.3

You realize the peer assessment is literally the dumbest thing and a major reason US News is a crap ranking? They send this peer assessment to random administrators at each school annually to give their perception of other schools. Most schools don't bother and never send a response. Otherwise, it's not academics actually inputting their opinions, but just people who work at the school who are hired to fill in paperwork and surveys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are your top 25 PA Scores from last year at USNWR:


1. Princeton 4.8
2. Columbia 4.7
Harvard 4.9
MIT 4.9
5. Yale 4.8
6. Stanford 4.9
U Chicago 4.6
8. UPenn 4.6
Caltech 4.6
9. Duke 4.5
John's Hopkins 4.7
Northwestern 4.4
13. Dartmouth 4.4
14. Brown 4.5
Vanderbilt 4.3
WashU 4.2
17. Cornell 4.6
Rice 4.1
19. Notre Dame 4.2
20. UCLA 4.4
21. Emory 4.2
22. UC Berkeley 4.7
23. Georgetown 4.2
U Michigan 4.5
25. Carnegie Mellon 4.3
UVA 4.3

You realize the peer assessment is literally the dumbest thing and a major reason US News is a crap ranking? They send this peer assessment to random administrators at each school annually to give their perception of other schools. Most schools don't bother and never send a response. Otherwise, it's not academics actually inputting their opinions, but just people who work at the school who are hired to fill in paperwork and surveys.

Of course the experts here at DCUM know better about academic strengths than the actual schools themselves. Right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Classic DCUM, talking about prestige when OP literally said they're not considering prestige in their decision. To quote: "We know Duke is more prestigious but that’s not what we’re trying to decide from - we’re going for fit and undergraduate opportunities." Get a grip people and actually try being helpful!

Getting a grip would be to first admit that Duke is not more prestigious than Brown.

+1 Duke is an academically inferior version of Boston College - not prestigious and full of rich kids who have no real academic chops. No one outside of North Carolina or people who have no life outside of college basketball have heard of Duke, and it's for ivy rejects and people who couldn't get into a proper top school in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are your top 25 PA Scores from last year at USNWR:


1. Princeton 4.8
2. Columbia 4.7
Harvard 4.9
MIT 4.9
5. Yale 4.8
6. Stanford 4.9
U Chicago 4.6
8. UPenn 4.6
Caltech 4.6
9. Duke 4.5
John's Hopkins 4.7
Northwestern 4.4
13. Dartmouth 4.4
14. Brown 4.5
Vanderbilt 4.3
WashU 4.2
17. Cornell 4.6
Rice 4.1
19. Notre Dame 4.2
20. UCLA 4.4
21. Emory 4.2
22. UC Berkeley 4.7
23. Georgetown 4.2
U Michigan 4.5
25. Carnegie Mellon 4.3
UVA 4.3

You realize the peer assessment is literally the dumbest thing and a major reason US News is a crap ranking? They send this peer assessment to random administrators at each school annually to give their perception of other schools. Most schools don't bother and never send a response. Otherwise, it's not academics actually inputting their opinions, but just people who work at the school who are hired to fill in paperwork and surveys.

Of course the experts here at DCUM know better about academic strengths than the actual schools themselves. Right?

No one is saying that, but it's a fair observation to think that administrators whose jobs are to deal with bureaucratic paperwork just to keep schools running aren't the best people to know the details of which schools have more academic strength relative to others. Most of these administrators are local hires who clock in for their 9-5 to do work that doesn't involve knowledge of the impact and teachings at other universities around the country.