Duke is the rare school that's equally serious about academics and athletics—and doesn't apologize for either. The basketball culture is legendary (Cameron Crazies, enough said), but walk past the gym and you'll find one of the top research universities in the world, with powerhouse programs in public policy, engineering, medicine, and the humanities.
The campus is drop-dead gorgeous: Gothic architecture, towering trees, and the Duke Chapel rising above it all. Durham has transformed from a sleepy tobacco town into one of the South's most exciting small cities, with a food scene that keeps getting national attention and a startup culture fueled by the Research Triangle. Students here are ambitious and social—the Greek scene is big, but there's plenty of life outside it.
Duke's Bass Connections and DukeEngage programs stand out for giving undergrads real-world research and service experiences, often with significant travel components. With an acceptance rate around 5%, Duke is looking for students who have the whole package: intellectual firepower, genuine interests outside the classroom, and the kind of energy that makes a campus better. Oh, and it helps if you can tolerate people asking you about basketball.