Hmmmmm. Maybe using free tuition to lure the best of the best away from top schools actually works, despite what everyone was predicting, and that actually, and very quickly, does affect perceptions, which then become reality. How long before other schools react, or will NYU be #1 in a year or two????
All I heard two years ago was how their match list sucked compared to "real" T10s, and they'll never really be able to compete with them. Two short years later, although "nobody" cares about rankings, they are now higher ranked than all but one.
I'm just hoping maybe now I'll have a shot to get into Penn next year!