Columbia vs Duke [Undergraduate]

columbia

I'd think definitely Columbia

[double post]

Definitely Columbia. I think for IB, access to NYC is crucial. No expert but I'm sure Duke will place there but why risk a more certain thing when you could already be in NY?

Congrats for the offers as well.

do care about greek life? school spirit? great athletics? campus traditions? if you are serious about banking, you will inevitably end up in nyc at some point. why not try something new for a change?

Most people would say Columbia because of its location being in one of the largest finance centers, but I'd say Duke. Like gsduke mentioned, "you will inevitably end up in nyc at some point. why not try something new for a change?" I'd also add that you have a slightly better chance of differentiating yourself since everyone at Columbia wants to get into banking.

Columbia = better chances for breaking into ibanking (obviously b/c it's in NYC)

Duke = better "traditional" campus atmosphere (sports, school spirit, etc.)

front row at cameron indoor > watching the make-a-wish foundation play basketball

Both are good schools, but my vote would be for Columbia, since it will give you the ivy league pedigree and proximity to NYC.

no brainer duke. you will have fun, party, and probably have lots of hot chicks around. plus you will hone your bro skills which is vital for ibanking. at columbia you will be surrounded by commies and probably become one, plus you will live in new york city which is a s***hole. and really there's no prestige difference.

I would say Columbia, but the difference between them is very small. Columbia is traditionally rank 8, Duke is traditionally rank 9 or 10.

(HYPSM, Caltech, Penn > Columbia, so Columbia is 8)

"no brainer duke. you will have fun, party, and probably have lots of hot chicks around. plus you will hone your bro skills which is vital for ibanking. at columbia you will be surrounded by commies and probably become one, plus you will live in new york city which is a s***hole. and really there's no prestige difference."

bro life? NYC a s**thole? Yeah, ok...

Thanks for all the help guys. I just made my decision. :)

Columbia has the most toxic and unambitious student body in NYC.

^ That's your (twisted) opinion, sir. It doesn't change the fact that, in NYC-school wars, Columbia reigns supreme. Being ranked fourth on USNews, and having the second most selective admissions process after Harvard, helps too. :)

One thing to consider is that you may be giving up the Ivy network in favor of four years at a party school with sports. You may be completely comfortable with that, but trust me, there are hundreds of thousands of kids all across the nation in school and recently out of it right now who either never had that option or had it and chose against it who regret it.

Duke has an incredibly well balanced undergraduate class, and that's what makes it unique. Yes, there are a lot of premeds (most switch), lots of pre-law(most switch), prebanking(most switch), engineers, etc. Basically, everybody moves around a ton.

I've yet to see one credible argument for Columbia. Using NYC is farcical - all of the banks, etc, come to campus to do their first round of interviews anyway, and I can assure you that the Duke career fair has plenty of options. Also, the IVY league thing is getting old - lets not forget that cornell and brown are in the ivy league as well - and they are not even as close to as good as HYP.

Sun, high sense of school spirit (tailgate, k-ville), strong campus counsel (i just saw a 1000 person waterballoon fight on the main quad last weekend all funded via campus counsel), concerts on the quads (look up Duke LDOC on youtube), performances, the list goes on and on.

Does columbia even have a quad? With grass?

Rock a 3.8 or 3.9 at Duke, and you can have whatever you want. I know people at top 5 med schools, goldman IBD, MBB consulting, private equity, top 3 PhD programs in computer science, top 5 law schools, etc etc, seriously it's all there. And I was class of 2009, when recruiting was "shitty"

Thanks for the advice, peblnh8. Really appreciate it.

Yeah, Duke's an amazing school. I pursued it to match other financial aid offers for a reason. But I'm starting to feel I'm a better fit for Columbia.

Also, it didn't quite sound so good when a lot of Dukies I met at BDD said that they would have gone to Columbia had they gotten in. :/

I go to Wharton. The only schools I would consider transferring to are Harvard, Columbia and Stanford.

Congrats on getting both, hope you realize how fortunate a spot you're in to be making this decision. The reality of the situation is that either school is going to give you the opportunity to get into IB or S&T (as long as you work hard). I'd go with Columbia (Ivy Prestige, NYC proximity, etc), but you can't lose either way.

I think in all senses, the schools are pretty similar academically. Columbia has the core for 2 years, while Duke has normal general ed stuff. Both will have the same firms recruiting on campus, and those will take a similar percent of applicants at both schools.

I know the idea of maximizing future career growth is appealing, but we are not talking Miami vs Dartmouth here. College is 4 years, which, while not a lifetime, is still a decent length of time. What's more, it is your last opportunity to be have fun without any responsibilities.

I'd base my decision on whether you want to spend four years NYC or a college town.

I've gotta say this, didn't read through all the posts, so I may be repeating:

Go to the school you like more. Columbia may be in NYC and position you well for IB, but Duke is no joke. They may not have as big of a presence on the Street, but it's certainly big enough. If you like Duke more, you will probably perform better there. Go to the school you like the most and can do the best at. Either way you'll have strong chances at recruiting if you do well.

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Columbia

Two words.

Cameron Indoor.

I decided on my school after asking for detailed career-survey statistics from both schools.

To those who are reading this in the future: Duke does well in IB, but Columbia is just on another level.

Thanks for the responses everyone. I really appreciated all your help.

Columbia is definitely on another level in terms of recruiting. Duke is probably more fun and if you kick ass I'm sure you'd still get a job in banking... but if you already know you want to do banking than Columbia is the place to be.

if you cannot get into IBD/S&T from Duke you will not get in from Columbia. The only advantage of going to Columbia is NYC networking and ability to intern throughout term (and the pressure is on you to do that cuz most NYC kids will have).

I dont think I could give up a college experience for NYC networking, I enjoy life too much.

Duke for all the reasons stated above - you will enjoy your four years more, still have a great shot at banking, and NYC will still be there when you graduate.

Duke for MBB. It dominates Columbia by far in MBB. I would go Duke.

What kind of pleb would even think about going to a college without a lacrosse team? Ech.

Seriously though, they're basically even in terms of prestige/opportunity. Neither are absolute top tier (HYPS), so you should choose based on student life / financial aid / academics / etc. As someone who grew up in NY and now lives here, there's no way I'd want to spend my undergrad years in an absolute shit-tier neighborhood in Manhattan.

Why not go to wherever you'd be happiest. They are roughly equally prestigious.

seedyunderbelly is/was a notorious prestige whore. Take a wild guess what he chose and how long he stayed there until he moved to another more prestigious institution.

For investment banking Columbia is the clear no-brainier. Although Duke is a great program, it is a much stronger consulting and healthcare powerhouse while Columbia is strong Investment banking, Consulting and Pharma.

Ivy network > duke

Columbia is way way better than Duke in every aspect. All the Duke students here tell Duke is a better choice,

Columbia has a much better alumni presence on Wall Street. I mean obviously Harvard dominates, followed by Wharton, but banks of all levels are crawling with Columbia graduates. Living in Manhattan can provide for a really cool advantage (if you take it).