<p>What do you think on the national level, and international level.</p>
<p>If you’re concerned about prestige, you should go to Duke. Though you’ll probabaly get a better education and Amherst</p>
<p>Amherst has more prestige, but Duke has more name recognition.</p>
<p>I’d say both, prestige-wise, are roughly the same. However, if you want to get the “O___O OMG!!!” reaction from proportionally more people, Duke would be the better option. Especially on the international level–</p>
<p>For example, at my school, which is international, when I say I applied to Amherst I tend to get a resounding “Huh?” or “o.o? oh…” In contrast, one of my closest friends has a sister who goes to Duke many people tend to react somewhere along the lines of “OMG! Your sister goes to DUKE?!”</p>
<p>Ah, yes, but the people who really matter, grad school admissions counselors, and many top employers, know what Amherst is. Interestingly, when I informed our German relatives where D was going, they were quite impressed that she got into one of the top colleges in the US.</p>
<p>Top universities have more prestige and more name recognition internationally than top LACs because of the research, faculty, and reputations of their graduate and professional programs. Internationals generally come to the U.S. for grad school and thus are more aware of universities which offer programs of interest to them. There has been a healthy recent increase in internationals in the undergrad programs of both universities and LACs as these institutions and international students recognize the value of exposure to different perspectives and educational systems. For American universities and colleges, it also enables them to build a future global alumni base. Some of the schools with large endowments (both universities and top LACs) also are able to offer financial aid to internationals, and are able attract academic superstars to come there.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I would say that one goes to college to get an education first and foremost. Internationals that are savvy about the American educational system realize that LACs are an uniquely American phenomenon with virtually no other counterparts elsewhere in the world. I would say many international students are astonished at the possiblity an undergraduate can take small seminar-style classes and interact with their professors at a personal level. This would be impossible for undergraduates at their national universities in their home countries. I also think that the top LACs are gaining more exposure. I know that the Admissions staff from Amherst (and a number of other LACs) goes to Europe and Asia to promote the College to potential students there. Personally, I feel the tight-knit community of LACs will make the transition for internationals a smoother, and perhaps more varied one, as they necessarily have to interact with students from different backgrounds. This certainly can happen at universities; however, it also is possible that one might choose to interact primarily with other students from one’s home country (if there is enough representation) and belong to a community of expatriates.</p>
<p>on the international level, it’s definitely Duke. other than the academia, most people elsewhere in the world (even those ‘people who matter’) don’t really know where and what Amherst is.</p>
<p>amherst is prestigious in the workplace in the US and internationally</p>