Thanks for the catch, I just edited it.
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My first thought is you mentioned a particular SFS major you liked. Even if Duke does not have such a major you might ask questions about whether relevant classes and perhaps other programs are available at Duke.
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You might engage in the conversation by describing your own interests. Then it would seem natural to ask whether Duke’s department would make a good match for these interests.
Have you visited Duke?
In the end which campus do you like best?
Both will be great for history.
Duke has a French / Francophone studies where there will be history and more. Gtown has classes focused on French.
You seem to be enamored of the embassy - how will you utlize it?
It could be neither happens, one happens or both happens.
But I’d think you know which you prefer and not sure that a sales pitch from Duke should matter.
Where you feel most comfortable is what matters. You’ll find both with curriculum to challenge and educate you.
There are a few things that I have been wondering about.
Do you have any connection with France? What is the reason to want to be near the French embassy?
Given your CC name, plus this mention of the French embassy, plus a bit on your other thread, I wonder about considering a university in a bilingual French/English city. For example McGill comes to mind as a university to consider. The Province of Quebec is thinking about possibly adding a French language requirement for graduating from the English language universities in Quebec, but it does not look like this would be a problem for you. Another thing I wonder about is whether you would want to do a study abroad for a semester or for a year. I would expect that both Duke and Georgetown would for example have study abroad opportunities in France, but you might want to check this.
In your other thread I thought that I saw something about law school and possibly patent law. I happen to know a few patent lawyers. Most of the ones that I know have a bachelor’s degree in either some form of engineering or in computer science. However they deal with patents related to engineering and computer science, and I expect that any undergraduate degree is possible.
This does make me wonder about the total cost of a bachelor’s degree plus law school. You did say in the other thread that your parents can handle this, but that you intend to pay them back. You could be paying them back a LOT of money if you ignore costs when determining which universities to attend. Something like $400,000 for a bachelor’s plus maybe as much again (?) for a law degree seems quite possible.
I doubt that the difference between Duke versus Georgetown would make a significant difference in graduate school admissions. What you do while you are at either university will of course make a significant difference.
Your con’s for Georgetown do not seem compelling to me. The last two con’s for Duke seem more compelling, but I do not know whether they are true (no one in my family considered Duke, mostly due to us living way to the north of you).
And of course you do not need to apply ED anywhere.
I laughed when I saw this. In high school I was a Montreal Canadians fan, and I attended university in Boston (or actually across the river in Cambridge, MA) when the Bruins were doing well. I kept my mouth shut during the NHL playoffs.
And I think that this is exactly right.
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I believe I said this on my previous CC post, but depending on which college I go to will greatly change the course of my life, in my opinion. For example, if I go to Georgetown, I will do ROTC, pursue a military career, and perhaps become a history professor. If I go to Duke, I will stay with Law, and perhaps focus on joining the corporate law field. If I went to Georgia Tech, I would change my major to Aerospace Engineering, become a Patent lawyer, and hopefully work for a defense company. I understand that these plans are not cemented, and life will always change my direction. But, opportunities like the French Embassy may give me an opportunity to perhaps work for the French government, enter into a Dual Training program with a French Battalion in NATO when I do ROTC, things like that. It’s not a dealbreaker, but I would definitely do anything I can to intern at the Embassy.
Georgetown has several locations for students to study abroad in France, the one that comes to my mind immediately being Tours, but I believe Grenoble is also another location. I believe Duke has similar opportunities but I will need to check. I will 100% be participating in a SA program.
It could be more in fact. With an UG from Duke and a Grad degree in Law/Masters/PHD, it could reach up to 700-800k. I will be looking for scholarships and ways to reduce the costs, but as of now, thanks to my parents being able to save up more than enough money, costs are trivial in consideration between both universities. And both of them cost around the same as well, the difference being Duke is closer to where I live (In-State).
True! In fact, I’m not sure if I’d get into these universities either way, so maybe all of this worrying is for nothing and I just get rejected from both, lol.
Anyways, thanks for your lengthy response – I just figured out how to do quotes so hopefully this comment doesn’t end up looking ugly. (I’m new to CC, this is like my second post)
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Not on an official tour, but I’ve been to the campus. I have not been to Georgetown’s campus. I will most likely do tours of both sometime this summer – maybe mid June.
Correct. Both have some world-class staff which teach there. In particular, Georgetown has a Napoleonic Wars professor!!! I was very excited to learn that (The Napo Wars are my biggest area of study, so I kinda stalked both universities to see if any had French-specific History professors, and they do.)
That leads on to my next point – Duke only has 1-2 ‘French’ professors. One taught Medieval France, the other is focused on Modern studies but has classes which relate to Nationalism in Europe. The thing I LOVE about Georgetown’s History Department is their staff – Duke has NOTHING on them. Professor Cross teaches Modern France and the Napoleonic Wars, and I have been waiting to get in contact with her to talk about their program. I sound like a fangirl rn, lol
Here’s another very important factor about Georgetown: SFS. My dream major (which is imaginary since it doesn’t exist, technically) would be a French History Major. Very few schools in North America offer that. What makes Georgetown so special is the Walsh SFS. SFS has the major I want, but it doesn’t exist. Let me explain:
SFS offers an International History Major. This Major is identical to the College of Liberal Arts History Major (ie. The regular History Major) except for one big difference: you get to pick your classes to build a narrative…
Many students interpret that to fit their wants. For example, Prof. Leonard told me about an old student she had who created his own major: International History with a concentration in Post-Soviet Studies. He later worked for the Embassy of Kazakhstan. Another student constructed an International History major with a concentration in Arab studies. You get my point.
At SFS, I could construct my own major: International History with a concentration on Modern France. Or even more specifically, an International History with a concentration on the Napoleonic Wars and the origins of Nationalism. It’s a very niche major, but I would love every single day of my College experience. Something Duke can’t offer.
See my above post. Mostly working as an Intern, building connections with French government officials, maybe finding ways to get my Citizenship early so I can start working in France for Dassault Avionics.
I think at both universities I would feel comfortable. That’s why its so hard to decide. I think I’m leaning towards Georgetown, though, but I hate the way their EA program works.
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You clearly prefer Gtown.
Admissions is a process. Once you are on campus, that process is not relevant.
You clearly should not ED Duke. It’s not your top choice.
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agree with the above. your undergrad name will not in anyway determine your income. you determine that. college is what you make of it. my dad went to a california cc, then a low ranked state school and makes much more than his peers that went to Harvard and what not. he worked hard.
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It is clear from reading your posts that Georgetown is your true preference. You may not be quite ready to embrace that yet and you have time to keep weighing your options. As you consider Duke, even for RD, look at their Program 2 option. It allows students to propose and customize a program of study, which in your case could include the French History Major. Program I and Program II Requirements | Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Also, don’t ignore looking into potential differences in core curriculum requirements between these two schools (or others you are considering). I do not know about Georgetown, but my son is currently at Duke. Trinity has a pretty extensive set of core distribution requirements that students must take. While there is considerable flexibility, this is a reality that students attending Duke must navigate these courses in addition to classes in their major(s) or minor(s). Not all schools (Amherst, for example) have a core requirement. This may or may not be important to you, but I sometimes think students overlook how these course requirements impact their plans. For example, a pre-med student at Duke would have a hard time double-majoring AND meeting their pre-med requirements AND the core requirements. I know you are not a pre-med student, but I am just pointing this out as an area to consider when you compare schools.
It is also worth noting that Duke students are required to take the equivalent of a foreign language to the 300 hundred level, in recognition of the need for graduating students to have language skills. NOTE: The core requirements are undergoing a big change effective for cohort of applicants this fall. It is worth understanding this is in more detail so you know what you would be getting into. Arts & Sciences Council passes new Trinity curriculum, the first major change since 2000 - The Chronicle
I can tell you that Duke has been an incredible school for my son so far (he’s a rising sophomore). He was an ED applicant and knew that Duke absolutely was his first choice, wanting to combine history with a science major.
Bonne chance!
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