Comparison between Duke, Northwestern, Cornell and some LACs

College Search & Lists
1

<p>Hi, I am an international student from China and I would like to hear your advice on Duke, Northwestern and Cornell.</p>

<p>My interest of study is psychology, economics, linguistics and languages(maybe not major in foreign language, but I do take it seriously because I love learning languages). They are somewhat related and I understand that I might change my mind during college about what to major. But for now, I am trying to finalize my ED option.</p>

<p>Weather is not that important but descriptions on that will be helpful since I really have no idea of the climates in the states. I did spend my junior year in MN as an exchange student though.</p>

<p>I lean to Duke more for now, but that’s just because the score on students review is really good. I know that basketball is a HUGE thing at Duke, will that let people underscore the academic ability of Duke? I like how Duke put “study hard, play hard” as their pride, and that is one thing that I always hope to pursue, but I don’t want so much parties and drinking that people will look down on me if I study a lot.</p>

<p>Northwestern sounds good too with a great location near to Chicago. I saw on students review that Northwestern is more pre-professional, and some said the competition between students are too fierce.</p>

<p>I don’t know much about Cornell; it just sounds too big for undergrad, and it is kind of in the middle of nowhere.</p>

<p>I am considering LACs too such as Pomona, Wellesley, Middlebury, Bowdoin. I am not sure about girls’ college because I never had such experience and I don’t know whether people feel biased about girls’ college. I do know the locations of the three are pretty different.</p>

<p>In all, I will appreciate any pros and cons for any of the schools, I especially want to know the drawbacks.</p>

<p>P.S. what is the difference between economics and business school? Sorry I don’t know much about this. Thank you!</p>

2

<p>All the schools you mention are excellent. Of the 3 universities, I’d lean toward Northwestern because it has very strong programs in both economics and linguistics, and because of its proximity to Chicago (since that seems to appeal to you). I don’t think Northwestern is more “pre-professional” than Duke or Cornell. All three have strong pre-professional programs (especially Cornell, which has strong programs in specialties such as hotel management, agriculture, and architecture). All 3 would tend to attract many strongly career-oriented students with very practical interests. </p>

<p>If you are familiar with Minnesota winters, you know about what to expect from the Chicago area. Maybe not quite so bitterly cold, but cold enough. Cornell also gets cold winters. The climate at Duke would be much more mild.</p>

<p>If you are interested in Northwestern, and in economics and linguistics, you also should check out the University of Chicago. Chicago has one of the most famous economics departments in the world. It also has one of the oldest (and best) linguistics departments in the United States. However, the setting, atmosphere and undergraduate program at Chicago is a little different from Duke, Northwestern or Cornell. </p>

<p>You ask about economics v. business. Economics is a social science. Business school teaches the application of economics theory, and of other disciplines including management and marketing.</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your suggestions! Well, what will be some potential jobs for an economics major?</p>

<p>Yeah I have thought about U of Chicago but unfortunately, they admit very few mainland Chinese students each year; since ED has a higher admission rate, I don’t want to waste my chance on a school that is almost impossible. </p>

<p>But I also heard that Duke’s study atmosphere is really serious, maybe because of the four term schedule that people spend a lot of time on studying? While I know that college is for academics mainly, I am afraid that I will have too much pressure. Though we Chinese study a lot lol, so maybe it won’t be an issue, but I really don’t know…</p>

<p>And I feel that Duke students are more… friendly? I don’t know just some thoughts after looking at students’ comments.</p>

4

<p>I’ve been to Duke, and I totally got the same vibes as you! Intense academics, intense social life, and really nice people - at least that was my impression. I am from MN, and I can tell you the weather at Cornell and Northwestern is going to be very similar to what you experience when you were here. Duke is going to have milder winters definitely. And a agree with above that you may be interested in U Chicago. It has a reputation for being a school for people who are very serious about learning! </p>

<p>Economics majors go into a wide variety of careers, as do people studying any social science. It is not uncommon for econ majors to wind up with careers in any kind of business or financial role obviously, but also government, international politics, consulting, law, etc.</p>

5

<p>In American colleges and universities, the approach to economics (and other liberal arts majors) is not to train you in job-specific skills. You would be learning how economic systems work. The objective is to develop knowledge, not practical applications. You would pick up career-specific skills and experience through internships and other work assignments, or in post-graduate training (for example in business school).</p>

<p>At Chicago, international students comprise about 10% of the undergraduate student body (a percentage that has been growing in recent years.) Internationals comprise about 15% of the total student body including graduate and professional schools.
([The</a> University of Chicago Magazine](<a href=“http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0701/features/translation.shtml]The”>The University of Chicago Magazine)).</p>

<p>By comparison, internationals account for about 6% of Northwestern undergraduates, about 7% of Duke undergraduates, and about 10% of Cornell undergraduates. My source for this information is the most recent Common Data Set document I could find for these 3 schools. </p>

<p>Of course, the enrolled percentages may or may not reflect the percentages in the applicant pools. At Chicago, internationals comprise about 15% of undergraduate applicants. I don’t know about applicants at the other 3. In general, Chicago has been slightly less selective than Duke, Northwestern, or Cornell, although in the past few years it has been getting more competitive.
(<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/687793-selectivity-ranking-national-us-lacs-combined-usnews-method.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/687793-selectivity-ranking-national-us-lacs-combined-usnews-method.html&lt;/a&gt;).</p>

<p>Getting into any of these schools will be a challenge, so you may want to think soon about some less selective alternatives.</p>

6

<p>“Getting into any of these schools will be a challenge, so you may want to think soon about some less selective alternatives.” If you don’t require financial aid, getting into these schools should be as easy/easier for you compared to for citizens/permanent residents. If you do require financial aid, being an international student from China places you into the lottery pool with other applicants requiring financial aid from China, in which case, the strategy would be to apply to as many schools as you can and hope that you get into some before comparing them. So don’t ignore UChicago simply because they admit few from your country, it depends mostly on whether you need financial aid given that you are a qualified applicant.</p>

7

<p>One singular aspect of a Cornell education is the depth and breadth of courses you can take. There are literally over 4,000 courses offered, enabling a student to pursue just about any interest. Add a gorgeous campus in a quintessential college town, and you have a great place to live and learn for 4 years.</p>

8

<p>Thank you for your reply. Well, I won’t apply for FA for those top schools and I will apply to some with FA if I am going to RD round. I have just seen so many amazing students that didn’t get accepted by UChicago. There was one last year got to Warton but rejected by UChicago.</p>

9

<p>Cornell sounds too big for me with relatively high student-staff ratio and class size. But it also has many great departments that are top in the nation. So that is why I am debating.</p>

10

<p>Sorry I meant Northwestern has 4 term schedule in the previous posts.</p>

11

<p>How about the psychology department? That is my top major choice.
And which schools tend to have more students that go on to top grad schools? I am sure that I will at least go to grad school.
And what about job opportunities and alumini network?</p>

12

<p>Northwestern may seem intense because it operates on the quarter-system. In addition to the College of Arts and Sciences, it also offers 5 other undergraduate schools (Communication, Education, Engineering, Journalism and Music). As a result, NU students tend to have diverse career paths (e.g., business, education, entertainment, engineering, journalism, etc.). The student body is also more laid-back (with the exception of economics, not everyone is competing for the same careers).</p>

13

<p>

I should add this to my list of misconceptions. People don’t get in by slacking off, and they don’t stay in by slacking off. You’ll find people in the library Sunday through Thursday afternoon, and though they take Thursday through Saturday nights off, they’re back in the library early on Sunday. The main library is open 24 hours a day for a reason, and people take advantage of that.</p>

<p>If it helps, most graduates I know did amazingly well after graduation. Among my fellow classics majors, there’s someone at Brown for a PhD, someone headed to Harvard for a PhD after a stint at Oxford as a Beinecke scholar, someone at Stanford Law, someone at Yale Law, etc. </p>

<p>The mix of academics and fun is a reason many people choose Duke. The academics are very good, people pretty much get to where they want to go after graduation, and they have fun while getting there. </p>

<p>

I would also consider Williams and Amherst, which have the most generous financial aid for international students of any LACs. Possibly Swarthmore as well. Amherst might be of particular interest to you, as it’s in a consortium with U Mass, which is exceptionally strong in linguistics (i.e. stronger than any others on this thread) and is pretty good in psychology as well. If Ithaca seems remote to you, though, then neither Williams nor Amherst may be ideal.</p>