jbonee

sorry for the title.
I have enrolled for UofM and submitted the deposit, however I was admitted to duke off their waitlist on Wednesday. Which, do you guys think, would be better to attend? I plan on majoring in engineering, probably biomedical. Any opinions would be GREATLY appreciated, I am very stressed. a few responses would calm the nerves.

thanks!

Narcissa

lmao what? i say go to duke unless UofM is giving u money

Beejay

Duke if money isn't an issue.

bearcats

for engineering, michigan ftw, since you say probably biomedical, that means you are not sure what engineering you might end up doing, michigan engineering is a lot better across the board...for anything else other than business, go to duke

jbonee

Thanks everyone are there any other opinions? All help is greatly appreciated. Opinions from u of m students are very valuable in this decision making process. Please. Anybody else?

keefer

it depends on what you want to do after college. If you want to do consulting, Duke is better for recruiting in that area. For engineering jobs, I'd say Michigan is better, I know BME at Duke is very good, but in any other engineering, Michigan wins, job prospects are unbeatable.

Personally, as a Michigan alumnus, I would save my money and goto Michigan.

Alexandre

There is nothing that Duke can offer than Michigan doesn't, including management consulting jobs. Don't buy into the CC lies. Take it from a guy who actually worked for IBanks and MCs. No school on Earth is more respected than Michigan save a handful (quite literaly), and Duke isn't one of them. Academically and reputationally, Michigan and Duke are peers, regardless of what anybody on these forums tries to tell you.

This said, Duke is an awesome university and should be considered seriously. I recommend you go for fit. Duke has a larger Greek scene, has more of a play-hard/work-hard attitude, a less intellectual/more preprofessional atmosphere and is more conservative. Also, Michigan has a more midwestern culture whereas Duke has more of a Southern culture, although both have a significant Northeastern quality. Obviously, at Michigan, Football is God and at Duke, Basketball is just as divine.

You really cannot go wrong, just go for fit.

jbonee

thanks! As of now I am leaning toward duke because of its atmosphere. Any other opinions?

rjkofnovi

You know what jbonee, you should probably go to Duke. It's obvious that is the place for you. I have no idea what you mean by atmosphere, that is very vague, but if that's what you like about Duke go there. Duke is a very good school. But honestly, it's not as good as Michigan in engineering. Recruiters know that as well. Its biomedical engineering program is very highly ranked. Virtually every other department in Ann Arbor is rated higher. There is also a good chance you will change your mind about your area of concentration. Keep that in your thoughts as well. I can't tell you how many people ended up majoring in something else then what they originally intended, but i can assure you that the vast majority have.

Alexandre

But novi, the OP is interested in BME, and Duke rocks at BME.

jbonee, if you prefer Duke's atmopshere, go for it. Fit is the single most important ingredient to a great college experience.

rjkofnovi

That is true Alexandre. But the jbonee stated that he planned on a career in engineering, probably biomedical. Probably implies that it might or might not happen. All I am stating is that if he/she isn't sure about what engineering major they want to pursue, Michigan engineering is the better all around school.

evil_asian_dictator

To the OP, the quality of the undergraduate engineering education and the job prospects you will get from both Duke Engineering and Michigan Engineering are roughly similar. It's true that the Michigan engineering faculty is probably overall stronger, UMich Engineering offers more breadth in terms of majors and the school generates more research than Duke at the graduate level. However, these factors shold matter very little in your decision-making process as much as overall prestige and fit(like Alexandre said).

Think about it this way. Cornell is much better in all engineering disciplines than Harvard. However, I would venture to guess that the vast, vast majority of engineer cross-admits between the two schools would still choose Harvard because there's a very good chance they will change their minds about their career plans. If they do this, the Harvard name carries more weight in nearly every other professional circle and they will have access to the unmatchable academic resources that Harvard has to offer.

rjkofnovi

EAD. Duke is NOT Harvard. Cornell is NOT Harvard. Michigan is NOT Harvard. Duke, Cornell, and yes Michigan are PEERS. Whether you accept that or not is your opinion.

goblue10nis

go where you feel most comfortable, but if you can't make up your mind, COME TO DUKE!!! awesome BME and school (U of M is tight too though, you can't go wrong...they are both pretty different however)

evil_asian_dictator

Cornell and Michigan are not peer schools with Duke and if you believe that they are, then that is your opinion. Cornell and Michigan are probably comparable in academic strength/reputation but Duke is a notch or two notches above both these schools with regards to selectivity, strength of student body, academic resources available to students, average job placement, undergraduate focus, etc. When it comes to BME, there is no comparison at all between Michigan and Duke. If the OP was interested in a major like Chemical Engineering that is not offered at Duke, then it would make sense for him to strongly consider Michigan. You can't tell the OP to consider going to Michigan because of the strength and breadth of the school's overall engineering program if he/she is considering BME, an area of study that Duke is clearly better in.