<p>I'm from Maryland, and people from the DC area love Duke. I know alot of people applying (myself included).</p>
<p>I'm from northern VA and when people hear I got into Duke they're generally impressed..but not as impressed as they'd be if I said i got into HYP. My mom constantly reminds me that now I'll never know if I could've gotten into one of the top Ivies...it's not a welcome reminder but I'm pretty happy with my decision to apply early. :)</p>
<p>i'd rather go to duke over harvard or yale any day. that's why i Ed-ed to Duke</p>
<p>US News and World Report has done a lot to increase Duke's visibility. Most people, however, still see Duke as a top second-tier university. The lacrosse scandal - with the subsequent drop in EA applications and I assume RD applications - will probably keep Duke at that tier for awhile. Being in Durham isn't a big help either.</p>
<p>Who are "most people"? Second tier? I beg to differ. Second tier generally refers to schools not in the top 50.</p>
<p>It depends on how big your tiers are. If the first tier is the top three schools in the country, then sure, Duke is second tier. Along with Stanford and Penn.</p>
<p>The drop in ED applications is largely due to schools moving to EA, a more popular option. As has been pointed out (elsewhere?), all schools that have either always been EA (Harvard) or are still ED (Duke, Penn?) have seen such drops as a bunch of schools transitioned from ED to EA (Princeton, Yale).</p>
<p>It turns out that there was only a small drop in Regular Decision applications, and that it's the second highest number of applications in their history.
I believe the primary architect of (gothic architecture) West Campus was an African-American, Julian Abele, from Philadelphia.</p>
<p>Average response from my classmates... "Your going into Duke? Isn't that, like, a school for smart people?</p>
<p>Yes, I guess it depends what kind of tiers we're talking about here</p>
<p>"If the first tier is the top three schools in the country, then sure, Duke is second tier. Along with Stanford and Penn."</p>
<p>LOL. You'd be surprised how many people throughout the country consider Duke closer to Wake Forest or Emory than to Stanford or Penn. Don't get me wrong -- Duke is an amazing school (and IMO is closer to mid-tier Ivies in terms of overall prestige). But don't get carried away here...</p>
<p>this is my "tier" guide
1. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Caltech, Stanford
2. Duke, Dartmouth, Columbia, Penn, Brown
3. Wustl, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Cornell, Berkeley, etc.</p>
<p>^I would agree with that tier.</p>
<p>Since RD apps only dropped 3%, I would say that Duke will be staying in the top ten at least. Since the overall acceptance rate will probably be around 20-25%.</p>
<p>Berkeley below Brown/Penn/Dartmouth? You must be joking. I rank Berkeley even with Duke in that 2nd tier of yours.</p>
<p>Yeah your username is also Goldenbear so you're not biased or anything.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if I'd put the top 50 schools in the top tier, as bandmom suggests. </p>
<p>And I'm also not sure if it is possible to put a public school in the second tier whether it be Berkeley, UVA, UMich, etc... Don't get me wrong though, those three examples are GREAT schools.</p>
<p>"I'm not sure if I'd put the top 50 schools in the top tier, as bandmom suggests."</p>
<p>I believe that is how the US News and World Report ranking lists schools as First tier, 2nd tier, etc. That's all.</p>
<p>people from FL love it and definitely see it better than many ivies.
also duke engineering is probably better than most of ivies (except cornell)</p>
<p>btw, stop with that ranking and tiers. they're silly</p>
<p>South By Far</p>
<p>Im from the midwest and everyone thinks Duke is a state school with a good basketball team.. It was surprised to see how selective it really is-- obviously it has a ways to go academically before it can be compared to the Ivys.</p>
<p>I don't know if it's academics Duke needs to work on, or reputation, to get ranked with the Ivies. Duke has fine academics and quite frankly I don't think it matters that it's not as "prestigious" as an Ivy.
I personally am sick and tired of the entitlement and self-love that characterizes places like Harvard and I hope Duke keeps its ambitious, hardworking, underdog ethic.</p>
<p>Bandmom is right about the tiers. </p>
<p>Unofficial tiering aside, why is so important for some that schools outside the HYPS group be regarded as equal? All that concern is just wasted effort. Pick the very best school you can afford for your degree program...and make good grades. That will always translate to success in the job market or grad school admissions.</p>