<p>A friend just told me about this site, and I had to respond to this thread. I am a student at Vandy who TURNED DOWN both Duke as well as Harvard. Yes, Duke is an amazing school, but at 18 I was not ready to retire myself to Durham. When I visited(as a recipient of one of the much-desired “likely letters”) I could feel the stress on the campus-it was truly palpable. As for H-yuck! It was soooo depressing there, and my tour guide told me “you don’t look like you would go to Harvard”…(I happen to love fashion and model part-time, but I assure everyone that I was more than capable of being a student at H…) My advice-make sure you/your kids visit, talk to current students and alumni, etc. Bottom line: find a school you love, not a name you are in love with.</p>