Duke or Yale?

vegangirl
Thu, 13 Dec 2007 02:09:25 +0000

I was accepted to both Yale and Duke and am a current freshman at Duke.

I was given a full ride scholarship with funding for summer service work (www.robertsonscholars.org), which is what tipped the scales in favor of Duke for me. While Duke doesn’t have the endowment of Yale, it does have the advantage of offering merit aid- I’d wager that about 40 students in every class attend on a full ride (there are no smaller scholarships- it’s kind of all or nothing). If you’re in need of aid, this is definitely something to look into.

I can also attest to the laid back environment of Duke. You’ll find that the kids here are no less intelligent than those at Yale/Harvard/Princeton, but they’re not at all forceful about it (for the most part). Also, whatever slight difference in prestige there may be between Duke and Yale is NOT going to matter in the long run for jobs or grad school. The fact is, we’re talking about two prestigious, top-ten universities with top notch faculty and students. At that point questions of elite-ness are really just splitting hairs.

Anyway, feel free to contact me if you have any more questions about choosing between the two schools. I’m glad to help.