I find it sad that the humanities have declined so much, particularly at a school like Duke. This is one of the advantages of Top X schools that students from less prestigious schools don’t necessarily have as easily…and that is getting the benefit of the doubt about the rigor of the degree and a host of connections that might more easily connect into more desireable/highly rejective fields. For instance, English majors who get jobs straight out of college for nationally known periodicals, or who want to go into some form of consulting, etc. Although it’s definitely possible for humanities majors at non-Top X schools to make transitions into various professions (and they do!), I do think that Top X schools can make those transitions easier.
I think it’s so ironic that many students interested in STEM fields are gunning for Top X schools when they would have pretty comparable results from many less-rejective schools, but in fields where a Top X name would be advantageous to help grease some wheels, those fields are decreasing in popularity at those schools.
For those interested in reading additional thoughts on the humanities, these two threads may be of interest.