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<p>I have a large pool of empirical evidence that implies the exact opposite of this. In D’s large public school, there are not 2 people who have ever heard of NU or U Chicago, yet virtually EVERY college-bound senior added at least one Ivy application as a Reach. Everyone has heard of Yale and Harvard, so they get MANY applications from kids who just want to say they applied.</p>
<p>As in most forms of marketing, brand recognition trumps all.</p>