Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:42     Subject: Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

eh? we're middle-aged gen Xers who are deeply biased based on where our kids got in (we love those schools!) or rejected our kids (down with these schools, they suck forever!).

so what current or objective insights do we really have to contribute to this thread??

Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:36     Subject: Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Rice & Duke

Because of grade inflation?



because of premed and prelaw advising

Do you seriously think Penn and Northwestern do not have top notch premed / prelaw advising?


their match rates are not as high
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:34     Subject: Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Rice & Duke

Because of grade inflation?



because of premed and prelaw advising

Do you seriously think Penn and Northwestern do not have top notch premed / prelaw advising?
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:30     Subject: Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

Anonymous wrote:Who cares? There all good, as OP knows. Is this a humble flex celebrating the awesome admissions results of your kid?


Probably not considering the date of the post. More likely about formulating a list for the next admissions cycle.
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:28     Subject: Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Rice & Duke

Because of grade inflation?



because of premed and prelaw advising
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:27     Subject: Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

Who cares? There all good, as OP knows. Is this a humble flex celebrating the awesome admissions results of your kid?
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:27     Subject: Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

Anonymous wrote:Rice & Duke

Because of grade inflation?
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:22     Subject: Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

Rice & Duke
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:21     Subject: Re:Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

we just went through this deciding . Duke has the least grade deflation-except for Rice, it has the best pre med and pre law advising and highest law/med school entrance
NU had the best vibe and location
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:17     Subject: Re:Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

They are all such great schools that I would not likely be looking at any differences in academics/outcomes, but rather it would be a question of fit. My kid would choose Duke. Others would fit better elsewhere.
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:14     Subject: Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

Anonymous wrote:Or you could just look at the various rankings (USNews, Times World Rankings, QSI, WSJ, etc.), further broken out by rankings of particular programs of interest, and get a much better answer than what you will get from this post.


So many BTDT posters on this site tell everyone not to obsess over rankings, then this PP doubled down on looking at ALL the rankings.
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:12     Subject: Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

Chicago
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:11     Subject: Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

Or you could just look at the various rankings (USNews, Times World Rankings, QSI, WSJ, etc.), further broken out by rankings of particular programs of interest, and get a much better answer than what you will get from this post.
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:08     Subject: Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

Northwestern
Anonymous
Post 05/04/2026 13:05     Subject: Which of these do YOU think has best undergrad academics and campus culture: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Rice

Caveat: please put rankings and prestige aside, so forget about Ivy label for this thread. Just which do YOU think seems best based on personal experience, your research, colleagues you work with, anecdotal grad school and career outcomes, etc.