<p>Phuriku and Happyman2:</p>
<p>Both of your arguments are getting to be ridiculous. Phuriku, you argue that Chicago students are “more passionate” than Duke students, and I have no idea how you can quantify or assert that. For someone with a history of making good analytical posts in the past, this borders on ludicrous. Happyman2, I’m not sure what McKinsey’s “diversity leaders” program tells us, as it seems as if plenty of great schools (like Princeton and Stanford) are left off the list.</p>
<p>Before people try to draw any more fine distinctions, Duke and UChicago are peers, and fit is the biggest factor to consider. Your opportunities will be roughly the same from either school, but the experience may vary quite a bit. That’s pretty much all there is to say.</p>
<p>One final note, Phuriku, why the heck are you so bullish about UChicago being a “HYPSM” level school in 5 years? How come UChicago has a better shot at this than, as others have said, Columbia, or maybe Penn? In 5 years, will UChicago’s endowment and fundraising match the tippy top schools, and will the school enjoy all of the resources and allure that the very top schools enjoy? Perhaps in admissions selectivity, in 5 years, UChicago might be closer, but there are a lot of other areas where UChicago will trail Stanford, Yale, etc. by quite a lot in 5 years. </p>
<p>Again, maybe I’m missing something. If other very ambitious schools with very comparable reputations (like Columbia) have fallen short, I have no idea why UChicago is going to close the gap in 5 years.</p>