Northwestern or Duke?

Tinfoyl
Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:56:00 +0000

I got into Duke and Northwestern this year, and I really liked Duke, and it’s just as good in every single way as Northwestern (give or take some advantages/disadvantages here and there). Ignore world rankings and all that other hoopla because it’s meaningless. I guess it really comes down to what YOU want - I saw your post on the Duke thread, and the responses were obviously biased, so I’ll try to have my opinions serve as a middle-ground.

Duke has an incredible biomedical engineering program, and that is a huge factor in your decision. If you want a more traditional engineering approach, then Northwestern has the advantage there. I know it’s hard to decide where you are and where you want to be within the course of several months, but that biomedical engineering decision is crucial. And that bit about Duke engineers becoming bankers, lawyer, etc. - well that is simply a distortion of the truth. If you want to do biomedical, then the idea of getting an MBA or JD would be a bit odd. I know that many of Northwestern’s engineers move on to law and business - as many if not more than Duke what with Kellogg and all.

I don’t want to sell you but rather help you see more clearly. I don’t know your income situation so a few thousand dollars may not be that big a deal, but I can’t sugarcoat the weather debate because Chicago can get cold, very cold. Although I’m a WCAS future student, I went through the same ordeal. But when it came down to it, Northwestern was a better fit, academically and socially. Don’t go by rankings, go by feel. And if you are serious about biomedical engineering, then Duke may be the school for you. Yet, if you are lukewarm about this and would rather pursue engineering with the intent to venture into the fields of business or law, Northwestern may be the better fit. Regarding alumni connections, etc., etc., Northwestern and Duke are practically identical. Don’t let people try to force you to use any twisted logic or let them feed you lies. Just go with what fits! And this is from one class of 2014 student who had to decide between Duke and Northwestern to another!