Duke v Vanderbilt?

Steph7

10 20

Posted Apr 05, 2012 07:12

Hey Guys!

I got a scholarship to go to Vanderbilt but also got accepted into Duke last night for an LLM in International Law. I'm in bit of a Dilemma-they are both great schools but Duke is a T14 whereas Vanderbilt isn't. The other thing is that I'm not sure whether Vanderbilt has more weight to its name internationally compared to Duke.

Help!

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CGMX

15 29

Posted Mar 29, 2015 10:34

Hi Steph,

I'm on your exact situation now. Duke is now ranked at 8, while Vanderbilt is number 17.

Vanderbilt offered me a 25k scholarship and duke didn't throw a dime....

Can I know what you choose when you was at this situation? Any advice?

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CGMX

15 29

Posted Mar 30, 2015 01:50

Anyone, any advice??

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hillm

17 34

Posted Mar 30, 2015 03:32

Anyone, any advice??

I think it all comes down to what is more important for you the money or the US ranking

Both Universities are within the best in the USA and both have a great reputation. Honestly I would prefer Vanderbilt because of the scholarship and because the city is better. Also in my opinion mexican employers dont really care about the US ranking. If we were talking about harvard or standford maybe my opinion would be different but then again a degree from harvard wouldnt really make a difference since some mexican employers would see that with envy at least thats what I have heard from members o my family that have MIT and Harvard degrees

Good Luck in your decision!

<blockquote>Anyone, any advice??</blockquote>

I think it all comes down to what is more important for you the money or the US ranking

Both Universities are within the best in the USA and both have a great reputation. Honestly I would prefer Vanderbilt because of the scholarship and because the city is better. Also in my opinion mexican employers dont really care about the US ranking. If we were talking about harvard or standford maybe my opinion would be different but then again a degree from harvard wouldnt really make a difference since some mexican employers would see that with envy at least thats what I have heard from members o my family that have MIT and Harvard degrees

Good Luck in your decision!

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LS2015

9 18

Posted Mar 30, 2015 10:06

I have no experience or knowledge of Vanderbilt, so I cannot help you from that perspective. But as I already said in the Duke topic, I can only assure you as a former exchange student at Duke that the LL.M. program at Duke is fantastic! It is a school with a very "cosy" atmosphere as the number of international students is much smaller than other LL.M programs and the Duke staff and faculty give an enormous amount of attention to the international students in order to accomodate them in any way possible (may it be academically, professionally or personally). It is indeed so that Duke isn't located in a big city, but Durham is an up and coming city closeby and the whole campus experience makes you grow very close to your LLM class mates.

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CGMX

15 29

Posted Mar 30, 2015 17:30

Thank you both!

You have given me very good points of view from both sides of this coin....

I will let you know which was my decision and why, as soon as I reach one...

Best of luck in your admissions and decision process.

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sofiaM

34 58

Posted Mar 30, 2015 17:32

@LS2015

Do you need a car to get around in Durham or is public transfer easily accessible?

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LS2015

9 18

Posted Mar 30, 2015 18:24

@LS2015

Do you need a car to get around in Durham or is public transfer easily accessible?

My answer would be a combination of both: I never had a car and took a direct bus to the campus or to the store for groceries. To go out we often took taxi's together which was an affordable and safe option to avoid any drunk drivers ;-)

Many students do have a car though, which you can easily buy from former students (eg through facebook group) or lease through specific leasing plans targeted at students staying for the year. So whenever we would take a trip to for instance a mall (for shopping, the movies, groceries, ...) we would coordinate and there were always LLM friends who would offer a ride. Many LLM students stay in the same building (the Belmont) so coordination is very easy from that perspective. That's also what I meant earlier with the lack of a big city making you grow very close to your classmates. I never needed a big city to have a tremendous amount of fun.

For those who are really in doubt, I would suggest to ask the admission offices of those schools for contact details of current students to have a few skype calls. For my decision process I found the experiences of current students very helpful!

<blockquote>@LS2015

Do you need a car to get around in Durham or is public transfer easily accessible?
</blockquote>

My answer would be a combination of both: I never had a car and took a direct bus to the campus or to the store for groceries. To go out we often took taxi's together which was an affordable and safe option to avoid any drunk drivers ;-)

Many students do have a car though, which you can easily buy from former students (eg through facebook group) or lease through specific leasing plans targeted at students staying for the year. So whenever we would take a trip to for instance a mall (for shopping, the movies, groceries, ...) we would coordinate and there were always LLM friends who would offer a ride. Many LLM students stay in the same building (the Belmont) so coordination is very easy from that perspective. That's also what I meant earlier with the lack of a big city making you grow very close to your classmates. I never needed a big city to have a tremendous amount of fun.

For those who are really in doubt, I would suggest to ask the admission offices of those schools for contact details of current students to have a few skype calls. For my decision process I found the experiences of current students very helpful!

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JJG

1 1

Posted Apr 11, 2015 22:53

Hi Steph,

I'm on your exact situation now. Duke is now ranked at 8, while Vanderbilt is number 17.

Vanderbilt offered me a 25k scholarship and duke didn't throw a dime....

Can I know what you choose when you was at this situation? Any advice?

Hi guys, my husband and I were accepted by Vanderbilt, but we haven't heard about the scholarship yet. Did you receive both responses at the same time? I believe both are outstanding Universities, but in Brazil Duke is well known.

<blockquote>Hi Steph,

I'm on your exact situation now. Duke is now ranked at 8, while Vanderbilt is number 17.

Vanderbilt offered me a 25k scholarship and duke didn't throw a dime....

Can I know what you choose when you was at this situation? Any advice?</blockquote>

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