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In the South, UVirginia and UNorth Carolina were considered Ivy League peers 20-30 yrs ago. As they have grown in size they have lost that small school feel that the elites have. Also, as more people have immigrated from Northeast/Midwest they have brought a broader, national vision of other schools which has diluted the mystique of said schools. No one would compare them to Princeton,Dartmouth, or Georgetown anymore.</p>
<p>The trade off is that their graduate programs have become more attractive nationally.
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<p>Probably a similar trade-off as with what happened with Berkeley -- the sense of these schools changes as the ranking systems were applied nationally and focused on things that didn't favor larger, state institutions.</p>