Duke and Virginia, which is a better academic institution?

Duke, but Virginia is better. Does that make sense?

Just ask Edgar Allan Poe.

 

The average person has heard of Duke, so it has better name recognition and thus will serve you better in life.

 

Both are really good schools. Duke has name recognition but the difference between the two is a lot smaller than what most people think. UVA is probably one of the best public institutions in the country and if price is an issue (especially if you're paying in state tuition), I'd just stick with UVA.

I haven't been to Raleigh and Duke but Charlottesville is awesome and the campus is very nice. A really good friend of mine goes to UVA and really likes it there.

Also, if you're referring to Grad School, Duke is absolute garbage. They're only known for their undergrad and nothing else.

 

geeimsobored said it pretty well.

UVA is one of the most beautiful campuses I've ever been to and is in one of the most beautiful States. Charlottesville is awesome. They are both elite undergrad schools...close enough that I'd use criteria other than academics to decide which one to go to.

Also, I'm not a big fan of going to huge college towns, which that whole research triangle is, but that's just me.

 

If you're a lacrosse player, then DEFINITELY Duke...

 

Yeah, so speaking of Duke and UVA...

I'm either goin to VCU (playin Duke in first round of NCAA Tourney) or UVA next year for college!

 

Duke by a mile if you want to go to med/law/b-schools. I went to Duke and then went on to a top professional school program with a less than stellar GPA. If I were from any other school (other than a handful of truly elite schools), I would've been stuck in a middle-of-the-road program.

 

To answer your question, I was accepted at both Duke and UVA law school and went to UVA. I am posting from Durham at the moment as my daughter is visiting the Duke undergraduate school, and the Dean of Minority Admissions at Duke is a friend of mine.

Now that I have established my bona fides, your questions are remarkably uninformed for someone who has an opportunity to go to either school. It makes a big difference whether you are talking about undergrad or graduate school. Which school has more "prestige" is not so important as what is a better fit for you. And the academic differences are small compared to the cultural/lifestyle differences. Sorry to be so blunt, but you need to read up and ask better questions.

 

Please provide empirical evidence that Duke law school is better than UVA law school "by a mile." I won't hold my breath.

 

you sure about that? UVA is a top 10 law school, not sure if Duke is.

upon further review, UVa is tied for 8th with 2 others while duke is right behind at 11th. so "by a mile" is just a touch off base... UT at 16 is a surprise. i knew they had a very good program but wouldn't have guessed top 20.

 

Beat me to it.

 

I think he meant Duke is a better undergrad school to go to if you want to get into law schools afterwards.

Which I believe is true. Duke has MUCH more undergrad prestige than UVA mostly because it is more selective.

Avg SAT score to get into UVA is mid 1300, avg SAT score to get into DUKE is mid 1400 pushing 1500.

 

Really? USNEWS ranks Duke ahead of UVA in med and only two spots ahead in Business while UVA is ahead in law. Hardly Duke by a mile. Bottom line is both are good schools.

I went to UVA for grad school. The campus is beautiful. The proximity to hiking in the Shenandoahs and to museums in DC are a big bonus. Charlottesville is a great town (though it's probably grown a lot since I was there.)

A UVA degree has a tremendous amount of pull in the DC area and mine opened up some doors. (I suspect this is because it's really hard for Northern VA kids to get accepted to UVA.) So, if you're thinking about the DC area, UVA is it for you.

Also, think about this... would you want to go to a private school started by a tobacco tycoon or a premier public university started by Thomas Jefferson?

 

How 'bout William & Mary, the school Jefferson went to? Incidentally, the Duke family didn't found the University, they just made a huge enough donation that it was renamed after them. (I've heard U of H wanted to do the same thing after the Cullens made one of their numerous donations.) They also founded Duke Energy, for whatever the heck that's worth.

 

I would say William & Mary and UVA are the most beautiful US schools I've seen. Harvard is nice, but the students nauseate me. But Rice students nauseate me, too. So, don't listen to me.

 

Believe it or not, being able to order Domino's Pizza at 3 a.m. delivered to your door from your student dining account (Duke didn't have a meal plan; we had a debit plan) played a huge role in my decision making.

And it's worth repeating, since folks seem to trouble understanding, that the undergrad program happens to be one of the best stepping stones to professional schools, if that's what you have in mind. Well-rounded education? Probably not so much.

 

I went to W&M! Absolute powerhouse academically. Campus life and student population in general suck though. Anyone going there better not want the "typical" college experience. UVA is a whole other world in that regard.

Evan