Thanks all for the comments. It gives me a lot to think about. I think the drop in prestige is only significant for the most coveted roles in things like say finance and consulting after doing some more research. But even in that case, the companies I have seen students on my current campus intern for all also recruit at Duke (with the exception of few quant finance companies which I was never even interested in). Otherwise, I find that Duke has a much more significant number of alums working in tech and corporate roles with Econ or Stats degrees. Duke’s certificates and courses are what really drew me to the school – innovation & entrepreneurship, finance, info sci, even decision science. Unfortunately, my ivy does not offer such broad offerings in terms of academics. While I understand the argument that major and courses do not equate directly to post grad work, I find it beneficial to balance out a liberal arts curriculum with at least some more practical education. At the end of the day, yes, Duke is not exactly a trade school either. However, the classes within these pre-designed tracks are of high interest to me (and actually to many students at my university yet the administration does not seem to want to accomodate such interests by adding similar courses). Additionally, during interviews for opportunities this summer, I found it rather difficult to sell myself in terms of my own experience/ knowledge gained from coursework or clubs at my university. I ended up relying on my ties to my home state and prior experiences in high school to secure my role. I think it is a great school for some people, but for those wanting to enter industry directly with many options for work, it leaves a lot to be desired. In terms of school spirit, I think it correlates somewhat to alumni responsiveness too. My university has some school spirit (perhaps one of the better ones in the ivy) but I find it hard to get alums on the phone or even seniors to respond. Anecdotally, I know people who have secured jobs out of Duke because of their alumni network. At the end of the day, I have seen how my university advertises its breadth of offerings and interdisciplinary nature. Yet, its lack of caterings in terms of pre-professional support naturally funnels graduates down to the few paths of consulting finance or post-graduate studies since those don’t require a direct linear path or strictly defined skillsets. While I’m not certain what my career will personally look like, it is a bit unnerving to know that options are quite limited and that some employers do not even bother looking at my school because of its non pre-professional nature. Duke just seems like a well-rounded option for transfer but I just want to make sure that my worries and reasons for leaving are warranted.
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