#Rice vs. Duke vs. Northwestern vs JHU

40 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

dire barn
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Intended major: ECE / MechE
Similarities: All strong engineering programs with undergraduate startup incubators and national recruiting presence
Costs:

Rice and northwestern ~(haven't gotten the aid package yet but full aid probably)
Duke: (full coverage + small refund)
JHU: full ride not considering cause small cohort size

assume price is the same

Rice
Pros:

  • is arguably the strongest undergraduate startup incubator of the three
  • NASA JSC proximity gives meaningful aerospace, robotics, and automotive internship access
  • Tight-knit community and strong undergraduate focus

Cons:

  • Weaker aerospace, defense, robotics, and automotive pipeline relative to Duke
  • Smaller ECE cohort limits alumni density and co-founder pool

Duke
Pros:

  • Strong aerospace, defense, robotics, and automotive placement pipeline
  • Largest ECE cohort, compounding alumni networks and co-founder access over time
  • Duke I&E offers non-dilutive funding, pitch competitions, mentorship, and a Silicon Valley program
  • Brother went there he is graduating this may

Cons:

  • Startup support skews general rather than hardware-specific
  • Durham has a smaller, less mature startup ecosystem

Northwestern
Pros:

  • The Garage is a well-regarded incubator with real funding and strong alumni mentorship
  • Strong national brand recognition

Cons:

  • Smallest ECE cohort, severely limiting alumni density and co-founder pool
  • Weakest aerospace, defense, robotics, and automotive pipeline of the three
  • Quarter system too fast paced

Tiebreaking considerations:

Startup support
Job placement: What does aerospace, defense, robotics, and automotive recruiting actually look like at each school beyond what's publicly listed?
Practical robotics work: Which school offers the most hands-on undergraduate robotics projects and research opportunities?
Cohort size: How does cohort size practically affect startup founding and job placement

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Schools: Rice vs. Duke vs. Northwestern vs JHU

dire barn
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Rice vs. Duke vs. Northwestern vs JHU

paper spade
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i see a preference for duke in those pros and cons

fleet finch
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to my knowledge northwestern's robotics program is pretty strong because they have a larger commitment to it through their crb

dire barn
dire barn
paper spade
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u cant go wrong here i would go duke

willow bramble
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Duke

dire barn
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i see the only other option im considering is northwestern now besides duke

dire barn
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im still confused between duke and northwestern because the co op system at nu is p good from what i hear and the garage startup system

dire barn
dire barn
merry helm
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Duke

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Brown

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Lazy

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Dog

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Brown

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I think Duke is better acc to your prod and cons

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Brown

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Don’t go jhu

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It’s not that good