Your error is to think the prestige is going down or up. It's not.

What do you mean Duke ascending? I went in the 90s and it was ranked 3-5 in USNWR while I was there. I am not a huge Rah Rah Duke person but among that list, Duke was usually ranked higher. But who cares, they are all great schools. No one is going to hire a Duke v. UChicago grad just based on the name of the undergrad. All of those schools buy the same ticket.

Who said they were declining in prestige? Last time I checked, both Chicago and Columbia are consistently ranked higher than Vanderbilt in USNWR and Duke in global rankings. That isn’t to say that Duke and Vanderbilt are “bad” or inherently worse, but as acceptance rates dwindle and applications climb at all schools, you can’t argue they’re losing prestige.

Anonymous wrote:What are you talking about. Come back when Columbia or U Chicago don't have single digit acceptance rates or expect near perfect candidates.

Chicago and Columbia get >50K applications for a class of 2-3K? How is that descending in prestige?

Anonymous wrote:What are you talking about. Come back when Columbia or U Chicago don't have single digit acceptance rates or expect near perfect candidates.

That has a lot to do with test optional. Penn's applicant number has reduced like 20% this year due to test reinstated.

Anonymous wrote:What are you talking about. Come back when Columbia or U Chicago don't have single digit acceptance rates or expect near perfect candidates.

+1

Yeah. It's the weather, stupid.

You only go to uni once. Duke or Vandy weather for the win every damn time.

Vanderbilt is only popular for pre-med?

Duke seems like a happy, well-balanced campus. And if jobs might not be guaranteed in the future, why not spend these four years building connections and enjoying yourself?

Chicago: grind, bad weather, regional stagnation (especially in the MAGAmind)
Columbia: protest culture ruining experience, the joyful experience of BOTH antisemitic and anti-islamic focus on campus. Current-Administration antiprotest authoritarian threats against the university, NY being cold and gritty.
Vanderbilt and Duke: rising southern population, improving science and finance-based rather than old-South economies in the South, greater southern educational success than in the past, increasing selectivity, better weather during the 9 months students are actually in school, sports culture, continuity of classic college experience appeals to some even as it loses appeal on many other campuses (e.g., lots of fraternities (yay) vs lots of fraternities (boo).

Anonymous wrote:One looks for introverts and one looks for extroverts.

Certain kids want a quintessential college experience complete with sports!

That’s right. Despite what DCUM boards will tell you, sports do A LOT for universities. Vanderbilt is a great case study in this. Awful sports for many (most) years. Finally they’ve invested in them. With that, comes more eyeballs. The school has leaned into it with better branding, uniforms, apparel, and all of the things that put eyes on their logo. Incredibly smart. Duke has had great basketball for years, and been great in some other smaller market sports, too. But, they picked it up in football the last few years and have leaned into that opportunity, too.

Anonymous wrote:Couldn't be just about a protest, weather or basketball, could it? The protest was shortlived, and the weather and basketball were always there, so why they suddenly more popular now?

Chicago used to be a central hub for railroads, industrial manufacturing, and trade. The region has declined significantly.

The marketing materials we received from Chicago include comic drawings. The brand identity has changed from an academic behemoth to something else.

One looks for introverts and one looks for extroverts.

Certain kids want a quintessential college experience complete with sports!

What are you talking about. Come back when Columbia or U Chicago don't have single digit acceptance rates or expect near perfect candidates.

Couldn't be just about a protest, weather or basketball, could it? The protest was shortlived, and the weather and basketball were always there, so why they suddenly more popular now?