<p>The following schools have a chance of rising
Stanford - Still seen as somewhat less than Harvard, Stanford should reach parity in the next few decades.
Emory, Vandy- It’s possible both will rise to the level of Duke.
USC - It’s an overrated school, but has made headway recently.
OSU, Florida State, U Wisconsin, UCI, UCSB, UCR - all state schools that have a good chance of becoming more prestigious.</p>
<p>Your point? The longevity of this thread attests to its interest among posters. Do you presume that longevity equates to decrepitude? Other than the relentless boosterism of SparkEye7, whom one can enjoy and wink at, many of the current opinions remain fresh. It is interesting, for example, to see how USC is knocked about on this thread – some saying it is “second rate,” others implying it could be at the level of Duke in a few years. The fact is that USC has a 20% or so acceptance rate, heading lower over the next few years directly into the 15% territory of Duke or the other super-elites. One of the verities of this board is that acceptance rate = quality/desireability.</p>
<p>“It is interesting, for example, to see how USC is knocked about on this thread – some saying it is “second rate,” others implying it could be at the level of Duke in a few years.”</p>
<p>I doubt it since Duke will be at Princeton’s level by that time. LOL</p>
Princeton was ranked 1st four times and 2nd twice in the last six years. So you are predicting that Duke and Penn will move pass Yale and Stanford and rival Princeton and Harvard for the top spot?</p>
I was referring more to general reputation amongst Americans and not really USNWR. Its very unlikely that Princeton will fall below #2 on those rankings.</p>
<p>Many schools are getting “hotter” when viewed in isolation. Duke and Penn are not special in that regard. They all have more applicants than before; people affiliate with them seem to suffer from tunnel vision, without realizing other schools have similar trajectory. Relatively speaking, Vandy and UChicago made the biggest leap in selectivity in recent years.</p>
<p>Chicago is the only school that I would describe as “hot” among the elite. Their applicant pool has been growing by 15% most years since 2006 or 2007. Michigan had a 20% increase in applicants two years ago, but it cooled to 6% growth in applicants last year. Early indications point to another 15%+ growth in applicants this year. Michigan could be getting hot too, but that would be mere speculation. Most elite schools experience a 0%-5% increase in applicants annually. None of those schools can be described as “hot”. Naturally, these things are cyclical. A university can be hot one year and not the next. But every once in a while, a university will have several “hot” years in a row. Than being said, Chicago and Michigan have been established, top ranked universities for over a century, and I would hardly call them “schools on the rise”.</p>
<p>Everything is relative. Let’s look at the “evolution” for the Ivies Plus MIT/Stanford. The average growth for all schools has been close to 45 percent over the past 5 years --not annual growth, that is! Applications grew from just above 200,000 to very close to 300,000 applications. That is an increase of close to 10,000 applications per school.</p>
<p>From Class of 2011 to Class of 2016
Change Change in Volume Applications in %
50.13% Brown
49.08% Columbia
23.99% Cornell
62.61% Dartmouth
49.36% Harvard
37.45% Penn
40.76% Princeton
49.41% Yale
53.37% Stanford
45.31% MIT
44.68% Total </p>
<p>In a similar period Chicago went from around 10,000 to 25,000. Harvard increased by 11,000 and Stanford by close to 13,000. </p>
<p>The factors behind increases are numerous, but one has to consider changes in the application (from silly uncommon to common,) maintaining the non restrictive early applications that are close to throw-away for many highly competitive students (and explain that Chicago accepts more EA students than they … have spots.,) and most above everything the reaction to easier admission rates and the USNews “revamping” of the submitted data by Chicago to bolt upwards. And then there is the little fact of a Junior Senator from Illinois making it to the Casa Blanca! </p>
<p>Lastly, percentages of growth are directly related to the starting numbers. In the case of Chicago, the image of the no-fun school and the dramatically unfriendly application resulted in a massive under-application. With the departure of O’ Neill, that has now be corrected. </p>
<p>It’s undeniable that Chicago has become a lot more popular with applicants, but it is hardly unique in terms of “hotness.” After all, Chicago and hotness are not to be used liberally in a sentence. It is a frigid place! :)</p>
<p>I don’t know if anyone’s mentioned it, but Elon University in North Carolina is becoming very popular, especially among New England folk! It offers you the southern vibe but still has a very good reputation. It was mentioned in Kiplinger’s Best Valued Private Universities for '12-'13. US News & World Report calls it “#1 up-and-coming university in the south”. Princeton Review says it’s “#1 in study abroad” and it’s MBA program “#2 best administered program”. It used to be a small college no one knew about and now over 75% of students are from New England. It’s good if you want to study communication. Only drawback is that it’s pretty rural (but it’s closest to Greensboro and Chapel Hill)</p>