<p>^I agree wholeheartedly–Duke is as good as the LOWER Ivies–but, as I said, it is not HPYSM, and it kills people from Duke that it is not. Just be Duke, and stop trying to convince others that it is “as good” as HPYSM–it’s not. And Duke is not in a location that enhances academic, cultural, and social life. And Duke does have a strong Greek system that segregates the student body. And Duke is in NC. And Duke has a great basketball tradition (despite playing the most pathetic game of basketball in the NCAA tournament in recent memory). And Duke has a beautiful campus. And Duke has a great medical center. And Duke has a race-relations problem and longstanding town-gown problem. And that problem is improving. And Duke is preprofessional more than intellectual. These are facts, along with the fact that Duke cannot compete with HPYSM in terms of academic quality and prestige. Yes, Duke does compete with the lower-Ivies. I never disagreed with that. </p>
<p>Yes, I would rather be at Duke than Dartmouth (my class at Duke was, ironically, full of Dartmouth-rejects and wannabes). Yes, I was much happier at Georgetown than at Duke. Yes, my roommate at Duke didn’t get in to Georgetown. All facts. Sorry if they upset you. Deal with it, and don’t be so insecure about your great university.</p>