I appreciate that, but the questions you are asking are unlikely to solicit any real insights. Which of these schools have “better” classes or alumni networks? Questions like that are preliminary, overbroad, and unlikely to break a tie. Both Duke and Columbia have top faculty and well-placed graduates. If marginal differences could be identified through questions like that, they could hardly be dispositive.
So, the advice here is really to show your pre-work leading up to this ED choice by asking some informed and incisive questions. If you are at this point, you know some key differences. Probe them.
You know, for example, that these campuses are have very different settings and layouts. Duke is a sprawling campus of more than 8,000 acres with areas that are literally nature preserves. Columbia covers 36 acres in the middle of Morningside Heights, on the far reaches of the Upper West Side bordering Harlem. It’s compact.
Have you visited either place?
Regarding Columbia, you might also know that its signature academic feature is its extensive core curriculum. It’s a big deal and it takes up a lot of credit hours. It doesn’t teach you what to think, but it is Columbia’s approach to teaching students how to inquire and develop a worldview.
Duke, on the other hand, has some distribution requirements, which no one would confuse with Columbia’s pedagogical imprint.
So, as a self-described “independent” person with multiple areas of potential interest, what questions does this raise for you? Would you want your college putting such a strong stamp on your program of study? Might you be concerned that all those credit hours dedicated to “the Core” might limit your ability to develop a double major or a minor or two at Columbia? Maybe ask Columbia folks if this could be a challenge?
Socially, a lot of social life at Columbia will involve nights out in the city. That can get expensive. Duke, being much more contained and isolated within its metro area, tends to have a much more active on-campus social scene with a strong emphasis on Greek life and athletics. Columbia can’t get students to attend their games, Duke students have to participate in a lottery to get basketball tickets, and they get points in that system by attending other athletic events. Camping out overnight in tents in order to get a good seat at a big game is a Duke tradition.
But you are on the cusp of making an ED choice and you’ve done your research, right? Which place sounds more like you?
Are you paying attention to the news? If so, you know Columbia has seen a lot of unrest this year. Are you attracted to all the tumult and activism, or are you concerned about the trouble the campus has had in maintaining stability in its operations and administrative leadership? What questions does this provoke for you about Columbia? What might you want to know from people who have experienced this year at Columbia?
Is Duke as politically agitated? By all appearances, no. If you are a committed activist, is this where you would prefer to be? How about if you aren’t? Who and where are your people at Duke?
All colleges have opportunities to take on projects “outside of just academics,” so this doesn’t provide any real differentiation. Entrepreneurial? Just looking at Ivies, I might suggest Penn or Cornell before Columbia, but Columbia is in NYC, so I guess there is opportunity in the location.
Look, you do you. You have nothing to prove to us. But you might want to sharpen your focus to get at what the real differences are between these places. Good luck!