However, the university also offers highly rated programs in the humanities and social sciences, with popular majors including public health and international studies. Moreover, undergraduates praise the school's financial aid offering. News data, the mean aid package totals $47,492, and the college's alumni earn an average starting salary of $62,700. The University of Illinois Chicago is ranked #36 among the top universities in the US by QS World University Rankings and ranks #8 among the list of best value schools by Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.
UIC Global offers international students 80+ undergraduate and more than 100 graduate degree programs in disciplines including engineering, education, public health, architecture, health science, and social science. Located in Upper Manhattan, Columbia can be an excellent choice for students looking for a top-ranked university in an urban environment. Columbia is one of the largest of the Ivies, and it has a close relationship with neighboringBarnard College, one of the nation's top women's colleges.
Columbia admissions are among the most selective in the country, and straight "A"s and near perfect SAT scores are not always enough to get an acceptance letter. Many graduate programs are also highly selective, and the university is home to an excellent medical school, law school, business school, engineering school, and numerous other programs. The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group. The eight institutions are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University. The term Ivy League also has connotations of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and social elitism.
In addition, Ivy League schools are often viewed by the public as some of the most prestigious universities worldwide and are often ranked amongst the best universities in the United States and worldwide. All of the Ivy League's institutions place within the top 15 of the U.S. News & World Report college and university rankings; with five placing in the top six. The second most selective and arguably the most prestigious university in the country, Harvard University has been around for longer than the United States has been a country.
Since its founding in 1636, the school has grown into a world center for research supported by a $40 billion endowment. The selectivity of Harvard admissions is topped only by Stanford University with its 4% acceptance rate. With a rich history dating to 1764, Brown University is the second smallest of the Ivies, and the school has more of an undergraduate focus than universities such as Harvard and Yale. The university's urban campus sits adjacent to the Rhode Island School of Design , one of the nation's top art schools, and students can easily cross-register between the two institutions. The Brown admissions process can be a bit daunting with the school's single-digit acceptance rate. Ivy League schools happen to be ranked among the best institutions for higher learning in the world for various reasons unique to each university.
Though most think what determines an Ivy League is its prestige, it actually began as the athletic conference the schools belonged to. Each institution has rigorous admissions and an excellent graduation rate, and each one would be an excellent choice. However, we always recommend researching which school and its programs best fit with your individual education plan before applying. Some of the world's most prestigious institutions for higher learning are on the list of the U.S. list of Ivy League schools.
These private institutions are known for their highly selective admissions process, rigorous academic programs, and their habit of graduating future leaders. Although Cornell University has the highest acceptance rates of all Ivy League schools, this does not mean that it's an easy school to get into. To be a competitive applicant for any of these eight prestigious institutions, you cannot slack off when it comes to your applications.
Start planning your acceptance strategies early, which means studying hard at school and planning ahead for your standardized tests. If you have not been involved in an extracurricular activity since childhood, plan to seriously commit to an activity as early as you can. Choose something you love to do as this will be evident in your application components.
Most importantly, do not choose to go to an Ivy League school for appearances. Choose a program you actually want to attend and graduate from, rather than a program that will look good on your CV. Prestige and social status do not necessarily translate into better educational fit for you. Choose happiness and invest in your education in a school you truly want to attend. Penn students develop the intellectual connections they need to thrive in an ever-changing and complex world. Working with faculty across a flexible curriculum spanning 4 undergraduate and 12 graduate schools, students develop adaptable, well-rounded minds.
The physical proximity of the university's resources make thinking and learning between departments and disciplines a part of everyday life at Penn. From innovative dual degree programs that defy traditional academic boundaries to rigorous grounding in the liberal arts and sciences, Penn is fueled by an open and endless exchange of ideas. Each Ivy League college has its own unique accomplishments that make it important. All carry a certain reputation with them, and each school has programs that excel primarily in the medical and law fields, making them some of the most sought-after schools in the world.
Their admissions process is very selective, which helps the schools ensure that they only accept the best and brightest. Many famous people have graduated from Ivy League schools, including recent presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. This prestige leads many to believe that these colleges are only for the wealthy and elite. Often, companies look for Ivy League graduates as potential employees, usually preferred by law firms, medical facilities, and large corporations. It has long been coveted to have earned a degree from an Ivy League school. Today, there are other competitors that some claim to be just as good as their Ivy counterparts.
Some of these well-known schools include Duke University, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Vanderbilt, and Georgetown University, to name a few. The Ivy League schools are still excellent in both academia and in sports, and they have left a legacy of higher education with an exceptional track record and reputation to go along with them. Another university in Illinois, Northwestern holds the No. 9 spot on the list of best national universities. As a bonus, Northwestern students have plenty of opportunities to take courses overseas.
Ivy League schools like Harvard and Yale are all top rated, but rankings are just one part of your US university research process. Explore prestigious colleges with reputations for strong programs, research and innovation, diversity, and support systems, and that are welcoming to international students. Penn is one of the larger Ivy League schools, and it has a roughly equal population of undergraduate and graduate students.
Its campus in West Philadelphia is just a short walk to Center City. Penn's Wharton School is one of thetop business schoolsin the country, and the university is also home to one of the nation's top medical schools. If you look a UPenn admissions statistics, you'll see that the school's relatively large undergraduate population doesn't make it any less selective than other Ivy League schools. Founded in 1701, Yale University is home to not only the top-ranked law school but the highly regarded Yale School of Drama as well. Other unique programs offered at Yale include the Betty and Whitney MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies where students are educated on international affairs, cultures, and societies around the world.
Yale also offers 12 professional schools including schools of law, medicine, management, art, and nursing. Yale was also the first institution in the country to award doctoral degrees to students. It is easy to say "plan ahead", but there is a lot of advantage in knowing what school and program you would like to attend in the future. If you are certain about which school you want to enroll in, it might be wise to apply through the Early Action/Early Decision program. This way, your deadline for application is earlier, but so is your response date. To utilize this opportunity, you must research your school of choice and determine whether you are a good fit for the program to which you're applying.
Early Action programs give you an early answer as to where you stand in the admissions process. According to most recent data, Cornell's acceptance rates for their early decision program is 22.7%! All eight are in the top 20 for number of sports offered for both men and women among Division I schools. Unlike most Division I athletic conferences, the Ivy League prohibits the granting of athletic scholarships; all scholarships awarded are need-based .
In addition, the Ivies have a rigid policy against redshirting, even for medical reasons; an athlete loses a year of eligibility for every year enrolled at an Ivy institution. Additionally, the Ivies prohibit graduate students from participating in intercollegiate athletics, even if they have remaining athletic eligibility. The only exception to the ban on graduate students is that seniors graduating in 2021 are being allowed to play at their current institutions as graduate students in 2021–22. This was a one-time-only response to the Ivies shutting down most intercollegiate athletics in 2020–21 due to COVID-19.
Ivy League teams' non-league games are often against the members of the Patriot League, which have similar academic standards and athletic scholarship policies . These colleges are known for being selective in their admissions; since the year 2000, the acceptance rates at each of the universities is said to have varied from 6 to 16 percent. In fact, in the most recent academic year, seven of the eight Ivy League schools reported record-high applications; seven also reported record-low acceptance rates. At the undergraduate level, the school offers joint degree programs that allow college students to earn a business or management degree plus a second degree in either nursing, engineering, or liberal arts disciplines. To this day, Wharton offers the most extensive list of joint MBA programs. Dartmouth College Known for being the smallest Ivy League with a student enrolment of about 6,400, Dartmouth is renowned for its excellence in liberal arts, medicine and international relations.
With an acceptance rate of 11%, Dartmouth is relatively an easier school to get into, although the university is reputed for its undergraduate courses, and not so much for its graduate programmes. Holding the No. 6 spot on US News & World Report's list of national universities, Stanford actually ranks ahead of several of the Ivies. So, it's no surprise that this institution is unofficially referred to as the Ivy of the West. Along with exceptional academic programs, the school offers small class sizes — almost 70 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students — and the opportunity to work closely with faculty.
Students are encouraged to participate in professors' research efforts and seek out mentorship opportunities while earning their degrees. Ivy League schools have a reputation for being elite institutions, with high selectivity during the admissions process. Harvard University is currently the most selective university in the country. Out of 57,435 applications received for the Class of 2025, Harvard admitted only 3.4 percent of applicants.
While the admissions process is extremely selective, it is not impossible for first-generation students to earn a spot in these world-class schools. For example, 16 percent of Yale's Class of 2025 are the first member of their family to attend university. However, the Ivy Leagues have recently come under fire for their admissions processes, which critics say favors legacy students to the detriment of minority students.
The institution was founded in 1746, making it the fourth oldest university in the United States. It is a medium-sized institution with around 5,000 undergraduate enrollments, and like Harvard, has an extremely competitive acceptance rate of only 5%. Some of its most popular degrees include computer engineering, public policy analysis, and economics. It is rated #2 of the best colleges in America to study political science and public policy analysis.
SAT grades range from 1440 to 1570 and ACT grades range between 32 and 35. This was the case not only at Barnard College and Radcliffe College, which are adjacent to Columbia and Harvard, but at more distant institutions as well. The movie Animal House includes a satiric version of the formerly common visits by Dartmouth men to Massachusetts to meet Smith and Mount Holyoke women, a drive of more than two hours. The University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1740 by Benjamin Franklin - the famous diplomat, author, inventor, and scientist.
There are over 21,000 students at Penn, including 4,500 international students. In the past two decades, Penn has been home to 8 MacArthur Award recipients, 4 National Medal of Science recipients, 4 Nobel Prize recipients, and 2 Pulitzer Prize recipients. The University of Pennsylvania is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in the US and in the world. Each year US News & World Report ranks Penn in the top 10 of their national Best Colleges rankings.
The 2016 Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked Penn #18 among all universities worldwide. Penn's business school, Wharton, is the oldest school of business in the US and has been ranked #1 by Business Week, Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times magazines. Although lesser known as a liberal arts college, Williams is one of the best non-Ivy colleges in the nation, with majors ranging from economics to political science, government, and history. Additionally, Williams offers courses in the style of the tutorial system employed by Oxford and Cambridge. Consisting of a professor and two or three students, these tutorials allow undergraduates to learn in an intimate, personalized atmosphere.
During their free time, Williams students enjoy plenty of outdoor activities in Western Massachusetts, such as hiking, canoeing, and cross-country skiing. MIT ties with Columbia for the No. 3 spot on the list of national universities, ranking just behind Princeton and Harvard. Along with world-class research facilities featuring the latest technologies, MIT students enjoy access to the Independent Activities Program, a month-long January term featuring special courses and projects. While the university's engineering school is its largest in terms of enrollment, MIT also earns high marks for non-tech programs such as political science and economics. Cornell's hillside location in Ithaca, New York, gives it stunning views of Cayuga Lake.
The university has one of the top engineering schools and top hotel management programs in the country. It also has the largest undergraduate population of all the Ivy League schools. Cornell University admissions may appear slightly less selective than the other Ivies, but don't be fooled. You're still going to need an exceptional academic record, high standardized test scores, and impressive extracurricular activities to be admitted. As the only Ivy League founded in part by Benjamin Franklin, University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1740. Another distinguishing item that sets U Penn apart from the other Ivy Leagues is that it has the highest international student enrollment with students hailing from more than 100 countries.
There is a mix of liberal arts curriculum as well as professional education from students to choose from. The top-ranked schools include the Wharton Schools, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the Perelman School of Medicine. The professional graduate schools include the Weitzman School of Design and the School of Dental Medicine. All these programs have engaging state of the art facilities and laboratories in which students learn alongside renowned faculty members. They take the time to get to know applicants and select those who they think will take advantage of Columbia's community and offer a meaningful contribution to the community. Columbia offers generous financial aid programs to qualified students.
The process of applying to US universities is not only complex, but also highly competitive, with acceptance rates to top universities like Harvard, now under 4%. Crimson's unique approach lifts students above the global applicant pool addressing every aspect of the application with equal intensity. Book a free consultation to learn how Crimson can help you get into your dream Ivy League.
What Are The Ivy League Schools The Ivy League schools are highly selective, with all schools reporting acceptance rates at or below approximately 10% at all of the universities. For the class of 2025, six of the eight schools reported acceptance rates below 6%. Admitted students come from around the world, although those from the Northeastern United States make up a significant proportion of students. The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States.
