Would not do Penn for econ or business outside of Wharton. Why spend 4 years as a second class citizen.

Anonymous wrote:These r my son top choices, did RD. Any suggestions on ROI and outcomes for education at these universities. Economics and public policy majors interest. We will be full pay. Thank you

A friend, who is a professor at Penn Econ told me that Duke Econ undergrad education is better compared to other similar schools (for example, Penn and Northwestern) because it is better structured and Duke has a lot more resources allocated to undergraduate education.

My kid picked Penn over Duke in RD. They have met a couple of classmates at Penn who had the same choice. Various interests/majors, including SEAS, Econ, PolySci.
Both are excellent; both place well and are on top recruiting lists as targets. The ivy brand gives the slight intellectual-vibe edge to Penn, as it attracts a higher % of academically intense kids who do not care about having college sports culture on campus. Penn kids intensely support the Philadelphia sports teams though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's strange that there are often two or three threads every application season asking specifically about "Penn or Duke".

Never Duke or Vandy or Penn or Columbia...but Penn or Duke.

Not quite top tier and popular with finance bros. Not complicated.

So the top tier contains 5 schools, basically?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's strange that there are often two or three threads every application season asking specifically about "Penn or Duke".

Never Duke or Vandy or Penn or Columbia...but Penn or Duke.

Not quite top tier and popular with finance bros. Not complicated.

Vandy and Georgetown are popular with finance bros...so is Dartmouth (and many kids at all the Ivies end up going into finance).

Anonymous wrote:I think it's strange that there are often two or three threads every application season asking specifically about "Penn or Duke".

Never Duke or Vandy or Penn or Columbia...but Penn or Duke.

Not quite top tier and popular with finance bros. Not complicated.

I think it's strange that there are often two or three threads every application season asking specifically about "Penn or Duke".

Never Duke or Vandy or Penn or Columbia...but Penn or Duke.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke athletics is really just basketball. Nice campus but it’s small and not a whole lot to do. Many of the clubs listed are no longer active so it has been tough to meet people

Won their division in football this year

I think they mean from student attendance/interest. The stadium is often 40% empty and the most student attendance at any game was 4,000 students...and it averages much less than that.

Anonymous wrote:Duke athletics is really just basketball. Nice campus but it’s small and not a whole lot to do. Many of the clubs listed are no longer active so it has been tough to meet people

Won their division in football this year

Anonymous wrote:Duke is not as liberal and certainly never was.

Maybe it wasn't...but it is now. They surveyed the class of 2028 and over 50% of the respondents identified as liberal, 35% as moderate...and way in last place 15% as conservative.

my elder one is graduating this year from duke and has had a phenomenal time, he already recruited through internships into a dream job. younger one has gotten into Penn and looking forward. We paid huge amount for duke but its the best investment we could have made. There is the contrary thought that a good child excels anywhere but the ecosystem around you really has a profound impact, we are very happy with the choices we made and continue to make.But each to their own and wishing the OP very best and that you have the choices of both as u want

For Nursing, UPenn is a great option

Anonymous wrote:My DC is at Duke and really likes it. Lots of options for things to do even if you don't join a fraternity or a sorority. Campus is beautiful. Not much to do in Durham- just one club that kids go to sometimes. Might not be right for a kid that loves living in a city but it is a great school!

I'd disagree with your comment about things to do in Durham, especially with access to a car. From East Campus you can walk to downtown where you have the farmers market, Carolina Theater, DPAC, The Fruit, 21c with its rotating art gallery, American Tobacco, and a bunch of bars/restaurants. You can also find a lot of free/relatively affordable (under $10/$15) things to do throughout Durham whether its line dancing, concerts, events in Downtown, etc. There is the Robertson bus that runs between campus and UNC multiple times a day if you want to explore Chapel Hill. If you have a car, you can go to Eno State park, Raleigh, Southpoint Mall, etc. It's clearly not akin to living in the heart of NYC, PHL...but saying there is not much to do is an exaggeration.

My DC is at Duke and really likes it. Lots of options for things to do even if you don't join a fraternity or a sorority. Campus is beautiful. Not much to do in Durham- just one club that kids go to sometimes. Might not be right for a kid that loves living in a city but it is a great school!

Anonymous wrote:No one cares about Michigan. Average large state school with poor location and sinking football program. Place for kids who can’t get in a top 25 school. lol about Penn. Nothing in common with Duke very different families attracted to Duke with no interest in a school
Like Penn.

IF you come from a top or very strong private, Michigan takes a few kids early because it was their dream school and they applied EA and/or now ED and then a bunch of kids from the middle of the class or even below who didn't get better options. Michigan will call the high school counselor and scoop up the waitlist stragglers every year.
Penn and even more-so Duke are next to impossible options for the very top kids only. I don't say this as a parent at either. My kid was a Michigan waitlist admit and didn't have near the grades for either of these schools.