Quad

Head-to-head

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Brown's yield is 6 pts higher than Duke's

    Yield rate
  2. 2

    Duke grads earn $4.3K more ten years out than Brown's ($97,800 vs. $93,487)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  3. 3

    Brown costs about $3.1K less per year on average than Duke ($55,485 vs. $58,582, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  4. 4

    Brown's grants cover 37% of its full price on average, vs. 33% at Duke

    Aid generosity
  5. 5

    Brown has 4 pts more first-gen students than Duke (17% vs. 13%)

    First-generation students
  6. 6

    Duke admits 4.7% vs. 5.4% at Brown

    Acceptance rate

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Who's hardest to get into

Duke admits 4.7%, Brown 5.4%; Brown's yield is higher, at 65%.

Acceptance rate
Brown5.4%
Duke4.7%
Quad's selectivity
  • BrownUltra selective
  • DukeUltra selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1400–1600
Brown
1510–1580
Duke
1510–1570
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • BrownSchool record and prep program required
  • DukeRigor and GPA very important

Who's on each campus

Brown is a bit larger than Duke (7,226 vs. 6,434 undergrads); both have the same Pell share, 14%.

Undergrads
Brown7.2K
Duke6.4K
Pell Grant share
Brown14%
Duke14%

Majors and faculty

Computer Science leads at Brown, and Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke; Duke has 5 students per faculty member to Brown's 6.

Students per faculty member
Brown6 to 1
Duke5 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • BrownComputer Science13%
  • DukeMulti-/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other15%

What each costs

Brown costs about $3.1K less a year than Duke on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Brown$55.5K
Duke$58.6K
Aid generosity
Brown37%
Duke33%

What each pays off

Duke's former students earn more, a median $97.8K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 90% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Brown$93.5K
Duke$97.8K
Graduation rate
Brown96%
Duke97%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got more selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • BrownGrowing+61%
  • DukeGrowing+64%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why