<p>completely disagree with david05. I live in the east coast (mid atlantic and up). Duke hardly ever beats U Penn, and Columbia among parentss, guidance counselors,and students themselves. UChicago? Maybe or maybe not. Depending on which area you are talking about. </p>
<p>You need to modify your statement. Duke may outperform the other schools you mentioned in terms of mind share way below Mason Dixon line. But NOT in NJ/NY/MA/PA - which happens to have the highest concentration of high performing HS students gunning for top schools in the nation.</p>