This is really a tough and challenging question…Both of Duke and Stanford are quite good and enjoy comprarable prestige. Duke has a much smaller student group (one student v. three professors I think?) which means one may receive much more individualized attention. It seems Duke has more professors who work on China from social science angles while each has several various interested fields. In contrast Stanford seems to focus more on elite politics and state-to-state relations, or cultural aspects of commoners in the ancient. Anyway Harvard would be the best choice either in terms of brand or in terms of educational resources. Having not heard from Harvard doesn’t mean that you no longer have hopes to get in. So stick there and if Harvard doesn’t work, you can come back to consider how to decide between S and D. Duke might be a better option for you since it has more people teaching Chinese social science, more personal atmosphere and offers you funding (Stanford doesn’t has funding right?). Good luck!
