<p>When you get to level of selectivity that include Brown and Duke, we really get to splitting hairs; ultimately, one’s intended major and study preferences probably outweigh slight differences in selectivity. For my son, the open curriculum and his intended major of CS/applied math make Brown the perfect choice while Duke was not even on his radar. Another student with different needs may well have logically chosen Duke and ignored Brown. Of course students at both schools will receive a superior education, although I doubt that the exact number of billions in their respective endowments will have any bearing on the quality of education undergrads receive. </p>
<p>I’m all ears about Duke’s supposed “better job recruiting.” How would you define that? What is your evidence? If it relates largely to graduate students with professional degrees, then it’s probably not applicable to most undergrad job seekers.</p>