Harvard vs. Duke vs. Stanford

[Calif]

I'm in a fortunate situation deciding between these three schools. I'm from northern California, went to undergrad at a UC, but definitely wouldn't mind getting away for four years. Assuming all finances equal, where would you guys pick from these three?

I have narrowed it down to these three based on my interview experiences... I really could see myself being happy at each.

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[Siverhideo1985]

Congrats dude!! Excellent hard choice to have to make. Sorry, I am of no use in this choice since I am targeting a different set of schools, but you did very very well for yourself.

Best of luck whereever you go.

 

[BNSN]

Forget Duke. It is an incredible place, but Stanford and Harvard are on different levels.

I would go Stanford for the location and beauty, but hell, you can't go wrong with the all mighty H. Either way, you will be going to two of the best schools in the world, and Stanford and Harvard are not any different in prestige or quality.

Congratulations on your acceptances!

 

[zpiff]

I'm a bit biased since I'll most likely go to Harvard but you should definitely try to make it out for second look!

 

[dr drummer]

Can't go wrong with any of your choices... I definitely can empathize with your dilemma. My only advice is that don't let distance from your home/comfort zone be a huge factor. Med school will be so busy that there won't be too much time for all that anyways. Unless you will be happier closer to home (which would lead to better performance), go with what school itself makes you happier.

My vote goes to Harvard (biased) with Duke a close second.

 

[guestdoc]

Wow...! Good luck with that choice! I don't think you can go wrong. For me, unless you want to stay in Cali, go for Harvard.

Congrats!

 

[redlight]

as long as you don't pick stanford or duke, you should be making a decent choice.



seriously, flip a [fair] coin twice. Heads/Heads = duke, tails/tails = stanford, Heads/tails = harvard.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

Duke. What other med school are you going to find Coach K?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

If you are into research...I vote Duke. That 3 year curriculum gives a lot of leeway. If weather is a bigger deal, then go stanford (I think the lesser of the 3 schools though...just my opinion. ) If you dont care about weather or that extra year off, go Harvard

 

[PandaBrewMaster]

Duke. What other med school are you going to find Coach K?

Probably the strongest reason to not go to Duke. Ever. Ever ever.

HMS!

 

[nevercold]

Forget Duke. It is an incredible place, but Stanford and Harvard are on different level......and Stanford and Harvard are not any different in prestige or quality.

Are you serious? If you're gonna try to stratify these three based on quality, you really only have a few metrics to use:

US News and World Report Rankings: Harvard #1, Duke #6, Stanford #8
Residency Director scores of programs: Harvard 4.7 (tie#1), Duke 4.6 (tie#3), Stanford 4.6(tie#3)

Those are pretty meaningless differences between all three.

The questions are:
(1) did you find yourself fitting in at any of the places more than another?
(2) do you want to live in a certain area or explore a certain part of the country?
(3) are there particulars like cost of living, weather, or proximity to something/someone that factor in?

 

[loomis]

congrats on the great decision! i think that all three would be great for research.....i think the advantages of duke would be an earlier clinical start, for harvard: amazing access to four of the top hospitals in the world with their own unique training style, and for stanford, the flexible curriculum, generous aid and elective time. the bay area is gorgeous but if you've been there a long time, a change of scenery might be in order

oh and i got a PM about where "most" stanford med students considered when deciding between med schools (i'm a stanford alum and worked the admissions committee for three years; two as a student interviewer and my last actually on the committee). at least up till 07', i saw the yield data that stanford compiled for "cross-admits". from a percentage wise standpoint, there are only two schools that our cross-admits reliably choose over stanford....harvard (70% choose harvard) and UCSF (58% chose ucsf over stanford in 07'). surprsingly (at least to me) based on the consortium data, nearly 84% of cross-admits choose stanford over duke.....although this might be biased because we have more people from the west coast vs the south so perhaps location played a big role here.


good luck with your choice and congrats again!!!

Are you serious? If you're gonna try to stratify these three based on quality, you really only have a few metrics to use:

US News and World Report Rankings: Harvard #1, Duke #6, Stanford #8
Residency Director scores of programs: Harvard 4.7 (tie#1), Duke 4.6 (tie#3), Stanford 4.6(tie#3)

Those are pretty meaningless differences between all three.

The questions are:
(1) did you find yourself fitting in at any of the places more than another?
(2) do you want to live in a certain area or explore a certain part of the country?
(3) are there particulars like cost of living, weather, or proximity to something/someone that factor in?

 

[howard100]

My cousin just finished MD at Harvard and really liked it. Both schools will give you great residency opportunities. He didn't like the cold all to much (from FL originally) so take the into consideration (as others have said above). BTW he also did the MBA dual program and that is working out quite well.

 

[Cellar Door]

If you have a chance to attend Harvard, you must take it.

 

[nevercold]

If you have a chance to attend Harvard, you must take it.

Because....?

 

[What up doc]

Because....?

the name follows you for life.

 

[MrBurns10]

I think all 3 schools have their advantages.

Harvard- the biggest name in medicine, access to some of the best hospitals in the country/world, boston is a cool city

Duke- the curriculum, great name (though Harvard arguably has the bigger name), great weather, super cheap housing, school spirit/undergrad athletics

Stanford- great name, great weather, cali location, school spirit/undergrad athletics

You can't go wrong with any of them. Here is a thread I started with info about Duke: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=604761

Let me know if you have any questions about it, and best of luck with this awesome decision.