Duke vs. Brown

[Anonymous]

Both great schools. Go for what feels best to DC who will have the opportunity to shine and lay down the foundation for a great career in either place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Resurrecting this thread because decision is still out there. DC has visited both. But here's something I didn't ask because I wanted broader insight to start:

Does being an athlete (recruited) change the calculus in this decision? There are also 2-3 other schools in play (some with offers and some not), but these are the top choices (and offers are there).

DC has the stats to get in without athletics, although it would then be more of a lottery. But GPA and test scores are solidly in the middle of the current student profile. Honestly liked both very much, which is interesting because they do have different vibes, but both vibes are, in their opinion, great. If we had visited in January, I suspect this decision would be being made based on weather.

Duke for an athlete. You buried the lede.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Resurrecting this thread because decision is still out there. DC has visited both. But here's something I didn't ask because I wanted broader insight to start:

Does being an athlete (recruited) change the calculus in this decision? There are also 2-3 other schools in play (some with offers and some not), but these are the top choices (and offers are there).

DC has the stats to get in without athletics, although it would then be more of a lottery. But GPA and test scores are solidly in the middle of the current student profile. Honestly liked both very much, which is interesting because they do have different vibes, but both vibes are, in their opinion, great. If we had visited in January, I suspect this decision would be being made based on weather.

Duke for an athlete. You buried the lede.

You have to be very good to be a recruited athlete at Duke. You would absolutely know whether you were in the game prior to your senior year. By the way, although the IVY League is not Power 5, you have to be good to be recruited there, too. But for many sports Duke goes after the tops in the nation. If you do get recruited, I view the AD as extremely competent and most of us alums think that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Resurrecting this thread because decision is still out there. DC has visited both. But here's something I didn't ask because I wanted broader insight to start:

Does being an athlete (recruited) change the calculus in this decision? There are also 2-3 other schools in play (some with offers and some not), but these are the top choices (and offers are there).

DC has the stats to get in without athletics, although it would then be more of a lottery. But GPA and test scores are solidly in the middle of the current student profile. Honestly liked both very much, which is interesting because they do have different vibes, but both vibes are, in their opinion, great. If we had visited in January, I suspect this decision would be being made based on weather.

Duke for an athlete. You buried the lede.

You have to be very good to be a recruited athlete at Duke. You would absolutely know whether you were in the game prior to your senior year. By the way, although the IVY League is not Power 5, you have to be good to be recruited there, too. But for many sports Duke goes after the tops in the nation. If you do get recruited, I view the AD as extremely competent and most of us alums think that way.

OP here. Understood. Offers are there, this is a high school junior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Resurrecting this thread because decision is still out there. DC has visited both. But here's something I didn't ask because I wanted broader insight to start:

Does being an athlete (recruited) change the calculus in this decision? There are also 2-3 other schools in play (some with offers and some not), but these are the top choices (and offers are there).

DC has the stats to get in without athletics, although it would then be more of a lottery. But GPA and test scores are solidly in the middle of the current student profile. Honestly liked both very much, which is interesting because they do have different vibes, but both vibes are, in their opinion, great. If we had visited in January, I suspect this decision would be being made based on weather.

Duke for an athlete. You buried the lede.

You have to be very good to be a recruited athlete at Duke. You would absolutely know whether you were in the game prior to your senior year. By the way, although the IVY League is not Power 5, you have to be good to be recruited there, too. But for many sports Duke goes after the tops in the nation. If you do get recruited, I view the AD as extremely competent and most of us alums think that way.

OP here. Understood. Offers are there, this is a high school junior.

Duke takes care of its athletes. Premed at Duke is phenomenal because the hospital is right on campus and the science research opportunities are right on campus, with professors who welcome students into their labs. Do not underestimate the convenience factor for an athlete: On campus opportunities for premeds really helps with time management as an athlete and a non-athlete.
Depending on the sport, many pre-med athletes at Duke take a slightly lower load during the sports semester and take premed courses at Duke taught by same profs in the summer, to focus and get the As. I have a non-athlete, non-premed Dukie and they love the intellectual vibe and work-hard play hard environment with small seminar style classes. It is more social than Brown but is not a "party" school like some state schools. The endowment resources per student are insane; an athlete there will already have more resources than the nons.

[Anonymous]

Also, Durham is known as the "City of Medicine." Opportunities everywhere!

I am sure Brown is a fantastic experience as well. You can't go wrong. Congratulations on these wonderful choices!

[Anonymous]

Athletes at both. Duke does take care of its athletes very well. Every resource they need is provided. Brown does not so the same—it is how the Ivys roll. In some respects, it seems AD goes out of their way to penalize athletes. Again, it is how Ivys roll. Having written this, the education is just fantastic at Brown and the undergrad professors actually teach and may are rock stars. I would also add that in my kids’ opinion, Brown is more social/kids have more fun and Providence is a better college town than Durham. My Duke kid went to Franklin Street to have fun….nuff said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well they are extremely different. Huge public vs small private for starters. Brown has an open curriculum that means things are both much more flexible but also the student is much more responsible for designing their own academic experience, which can be challenging for some who are used or do better with a more prescribed process.

? What?

This kind of obvious error by the original PP means nobody gives a hoot about Duke. It's not well known outside the DMV area. It's a fallback for U of NC, Chapel Hill rejects who really don't want to pay Duke's exorbitant tuition. It's another USC, U of Southern California, fall back to those who can't get into UCLA.