Duke vs Cornell vs Notre Dame

kencc83
Tue, 25 Apr 2017 23:43:20 +0000

@ambitionsquared: You asked why I prefer Cornell over Duke. First, I think all 3 of these are phenomenal schools, and I think Duke may be just a bit harder to get into than Cornell or ND. However, I prefer Cornell, and I personally picked it over Duke (being accepted to both) many years ago mainly because I thought the students were friendlier, and more diverse (Agriculture, Human Ecology, Architecture, etc). Based on recent campus visits, I still feel that way. Also, I think Ithaca is a great college town, and Cornell is one of the most beautiful campuses I’ve visited. Granted, the weather there is awful in the winter, and it is in the middle of nowhere, so those are the downsides.

I haven’t visited ND, but the alumni network is strong based on friends of mine who are ND grads, so I have a positive impression of the school but no direct experience there. Now, I’ve had 3 recent visits to Duke with my 2 daughters, and on each visit the admissions info sessions seemed a bit too arrogant, and the students on campus seemed harder to engage, and less helpful to visitors than most other schools. I also don’t like the more remote freshman dorms and bus situation. Now, I might have just hit the campus on bad days, that happens.

Cornell has always sent off positive vibes when I’ve been there, and the students there seem easy to engage and generally very friendly. My older daughter just graduated from Cornell Engineering CS (tough program), and while it is a competitive environment, I didn’t hear any stories of “cutthroat”. In fact, she had a great social life there.

Now, all three schools are phenomenal, and I think the OP can’t go wrong with any of these choices.

Ken