<p>I'm a rising senior and I really love Duke. I love the academics, the school spirit, and the ability for kids to have a social life at such a prestigious university. I don't know much the non HYPC ivies, but I'm thinking about applying to one that's similar to Duke.</p>
<p>Duke has the most in common with Dartmouth, Penn, and Princeton in the Ivy League with regards to aesthetics, campus culture, student interests, and school spirit.</p>
<p>I would say Penn. Those were my top 2 and have a huge overlap in applicants for a reason. They both have a more pre professional student body than some, have strong school spirit, good social scenes, urban campuses (although Duke less so for sure), sizable but not overwhelming Greek scene, and similarly prestigious academic programs and strengths. Duke obviously has a higher profile athletic program but Penn is pretty good for the Ivy league.</p>
<p>I find this a disappointing question. The unstated assumption behind it is that OP wants to only consider attending “a prestigious university” and is willing to consider the advice of complete strangers.</p>
<p>Three criteria are listed: academics, school spirit and social life. I will leave aside the fact that these criteria are ridiculously broad (what academic program interests you? how do you define a good social life? etc.).</p>
<p>I would argue that Duke share more common traits with many flagship publics than any of the Ivies in relation to these areas. If you have not put any further thought into the college selection process, I would suggest that you save money and go to your in-state flagship.</p>
<p>Since you are a rising senior, you should spend a good deal of time this summer researching a broad spectrum of schools. Understand what is most important to you. After you have done this, you will be able to ask much better questions: Since I like Duke’s Poli Sci department and would like a professor like Dr. Franklin, which other universities would have similar offerings? Or, Duke’s fraternities being housed in dorms on campus enhances the weekend social atmosphere - what other schools have a similar housing plan?</p>
<p>For your 3 listed criteria I would look at:
Duke
Stanford
Vanderbilt
Notre Dame
Northwestern
UVA
Michigan
Cal-B
UCLA</p>
<p>I would say penn is pretty similar.</p>
<p>In what way is Penn similar?</p>
<p>Read BlueDogs post</p>