<p>From my area in Wisconsin, I find that we get far more kids into the Browns, Cornells, and Penns than Duke. It may be coincidence but I think Duke is equivalent to a mid-level ivy in terms of prestige and selectivity.</p>
<p>I know one girl from my school who got into Duke early, and she was not at the top of the class & didn't have any hooks what-so-ever. I think Duke fits her, but I would've been very surprised if she'd gotten into Penn or Brown early, because around here, those two are definitely more difficult to get into than Duke. I would have to agree with Cornell, though--if only because of the sheer size of Cornell, it's probably easier to get into than Duke is.</p>
<p>this is kind of random, but did you know that james duke actually offered a ton of money to princeton if it would change its name to duke....but then princeton refused, so he gave the money to a school we all now know as duke university....so duke really is the princeton of the south, if you want more than peoples opinions to back you up on its prestige!</p>
<p>heres the story if youre interested...
<a href="http://www.lib.duke.edu/archives/history/myths.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.lib.duke.edu/archives/history/myths.html</a></p>
<p>didn't they have the same architect? (princeton and duke)</p>
<p>How about Duke on the west coast?</p>
<p>Here in California, people still know the Duke name...but it's clearly below the Ivies in terms of prestige. </p>
<p>From my school, only a few people apply and only one has gone in the recent years, while people flock in groups to UPenn and the other ivies. But in general, Southern schools (Duke, Vanderbilt, Rice) get blocked out here because people are focusing mainly on the UC's or the Northeastern schools.</p>
<p>Princeton24601: that article never actually said that J.B. Duke offered Princeton money for naming rights, it just said that that what somewhat of an urban legend. In fact the author clearly leaned toward rejecting that story as myth. </p>
<p>Twinkletoes23: I don't think Duke and Princeton had the same architect. Princeton was built in the mid-1700s and Duke's West Campus during the 1920s, the large time gap precludes the possibility of them having the same architect. On the other hand, I have heard the Duke University Archivist say that J.B. Duke greatly admired Princeton's architecture and wished Duke to adopt a similar style for their structures. He originally planned to import stone from Princeton for the buildings, but due to the cost, eventually settled on stone from a nearby quarry that is similar to the Princeton variety. I believe Duke might still own that quarry today.</p>
<p>I think the article states CLEARLY that the Princeton/Duke story is a myth. Look at the URL!</p>
<p>And while Princeton and Duke didn't have the same architect there wasn't the large time gap SBR mentions. Princeton is way older than Duke but its faux gothic architecture isn't. The buildings at Princeton that James Duke admired were built while he was living in New Jersey--or shortly before. (Similarly, Yale's gothic look came relatively late in its history. Around the turn of the last century.)</p>
<p>SBR, I'm not sure whether or not Duke owns the quarry, but I know they still use the same local stone.</p>
<p>uh...when people say "Duke is below the Ivies in prestige" it should translate into "Duke is below HYP" in prestige. This is based on the caliber of students who actually attend it - the students aren't as strong as the HYP students but are as strong as the rest. Sometimes when people write "Ivies" they forget that within the Ivy League there is a wide variety of strengths among the school.</p>
<p>Duke's peer schools (based on cross-admit data, strenght of students, etc.) are Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and Penn. These are schools most similar to it in terms of prestige/quality. But it is still behind HYPSM, but slightly above all other schools. I'm not sure how this general trend differs between different regions, for example how a National Merit Scholar in New Jersey would choose between the schools compared to a National Merit Scholar in Alabama.</p>
<p>In my area of California, Duke is definitely considered a good school. The best in the south without a doubt. I think most people however would think it is not as prestigious as Columbia and Dartmouth, but definitely below HYP.</p>
<p>I'm in Western NY, and people (especially teachers and administrators) were pretty impressed when they found out I'm going to Duke. Before I visited schools, though, Dartmouth was my first choice. I got a shocking number of responses along the lines of, "Dartmouth...? Is that a good school?" Hardly anybody knew where it was, either (although I get a lot people asking what state Duke's in, everybody knows it's in the South). Then again, at a get-together a few days ago, one of my mom's friends asked about Duke's ranking, and was pretty surprised when he heard that it was tied with Stanford and MIT last year. Here, HYPS are more prestigious than Duke, but Dartmouth, Brown, and Cornell are less. People in my class are only familiar with Brown because it's our valedictorian's dream school.</p>
<p>Interesting article about the Princeton myth. I'm kinda amazed it even grew legs since Princeton was originally affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, not the Methodist Church....hence ORANGE as one of the school colors. (I have three great grandfathers who were Princeton grads and Presbyterian ministers...including one from the class of 1776.) </p>
<p>As far as prestige and rankings go, imho it is best to consider the academic program not the school as a whole. There are programs at some state schools and non-Ivy privates that are more highly regarded and will open more doors than those same programs at Ivys. For example, Duke's BME degree can't be beat. Another extreme example is University of Houston and Cornell University fighting over the top ranking in Hotel Management year after year. Go figure that one out. ;)</p>
<p>in terms of prestige, i'm from nyc, and duke is considered way up there. people are generally impressed when they hear i go to duke. granted, for many people here, it's no HYP, but is more closely linked to stanford and penn (although in my circle, penn is HUGE). with people i went to hs with and grew up with, while stanford is a school to add to a list of applications if you don't get into your ED school, it's almost always not anyone's first choice, and a lot of people would rather stick to the east coast (since why the hell not? we've got amazing schools). that's why seeing "HYPS" all over these boards baffles me, since growing up and applying to colleges, that was never the case.</p>
<p>And coming from the Bay Area, it was always Stanford, *then *HYP, which having now left CA is clearly strange. But I do often wonder if there may be some disproportionate CA representation on CC.</p>
<p>sometimes i wonder that too.
my best friend from duke is from the bay area, and while she personally didn't want stanford (massive family ties to berkeley) always mentions how stanford was like THE dream for everyone growing up (the same way for my peers it was HYP)</p>
<p>I live in Texas and most people down here think Duke is AMAZING in terms of academics and just being a really really good school.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at Duke. In his graduating class last year (small private school), one student was rejected by Duke, but accepted by Yale. I think admission standards depend on which part of the country you are from, your strengths, diversity, etc. In the Midwest, Duke is highly regarded academically. It has a reputation for accepting well-rounded students.</p>
<p>I'm from Iowa and most people know who know about Duke Basketball, know nothing about it's academic reputation. I didn't either until my son started the college application process and I looked up the various schools admit stats. </p>
<p>According to one Survey I saw, Duke is ranked 8th best school in the nation. Dang, that's good. And my kid has a shot.</p>
<p>In Texas, below HYP, but on a par or better with all other Ivies.</p>