<p>doglova and garetville – I can’t help on the academic aspects of the respective programs, but I can offer perspective on the differences in the overall college experience. There is a big difference in the typical student experience between UVa and JHU. Are you more interested/comfortable with a typical college campus in a college town or would you prefer a small school in a decidedly urban setting? Do you want big-time college sports? Are you more comfortable in a community of intellectuals? Or would you prefer to be with bright kids who are looking for a broad college experience?</p>
<p>Likewise there is a difference between a “Duke” experience and a UVa one. And it mostly has to do with the size differences in the two schools. You have noted the cost difference on a different thread. Duke has big time athletics, even its football team has been improving. But do you want to camp outside in the winter for basketball tickets? Charlottesville is a far superior town to Durham, tho Durham is closer to an airport for OOS students. Your child will find many NYers at both schools. The biggest downside to Duke, in my opinion is the cavalier way students are treated there. The horrible way the administrators and the faculty there handled the false rape accusations against their students a few years back totally soured me on Duke, and the worst offenders are still at the school. My experience with the student affairs folks at UVa and with President Sullivan convinces me that UVa is a much more student-centric place than Duke. At Duke, the focus is much more on Duke as a “brand,” than as a center for learning. Just my two-cents there, of course . . . .</p>