Ivy League Schools

Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, famously offers its Open Curriculum that helps each student to fully customize their own college education. Students can choose from over 80 specializations, helping them to learn more about everything from business to cognitive science (with things like CS and Econ being very popular). 

In particular, prospective medical students may be particularly attracted to Brown because they can complete one eight-year BS/MD program that confers both an undergraduate degree as well as a medical degree. 

One particularly useful fact: according to Brown, 100 percent of its faculty teach undergraduate students.

Students interested in research may be drawn to Brown because its library has over 250 special collections (and has worked on research around things like Arctic sea ice and removal of space debris). And just about everyone else is likely to enjoy the social scene of the college because they have a whopping 500 different clubs and other organizations to join.

Columbia University has become one of the most famous institutions in New York thanks to it being the oldest college in the state. Plus, its Upper West Side location makes it a solid choice for students who either already live in New York or who dream of moving there. 

Students attending Columbia have access to major resources, including a network of nine different centers around the world. The campus provides 22 different libraries for students who are hoping to dive into various topics, and with more than 200 research labs, centers, and other institutes at their disposal, Columbia students often emerge as some of the sharpest academic minds in the country. In particular, its programs in Political Science, Computer Science, and Econ are well-respected and highly popular.

Columbia has an interesting (and perhaps complex) history with student advocacy: Columbia had the first Black student advocacy group on a multiracial campus, and it had the first college gay rights advocacy group, but it has also encountered some controversy over its handling of student protests concerning the Israel-Hamas conflict

Located in scenic Ithaca, New York, Cornell University provides very thorough academic training, proving that this youngest of the Ivies is just as rigorous and prestigious as the rest of the League.

It does so through eight colleges, each of which admit their own students. Within those colleges, and in pursuit of its motto (essentially: “any person…any study”) Cornell offers more than 100 special fields of study for students to choose from, allowing students to find the perfect professors to help nurture their passions. For example, many would-be business leaders sharpen their entrepreneurial skills at the SC Johnson College of Business, and some of the most accomplished doctors in the world learned to hone their craft at the Weill Cornell Medical College. 

Fun fact: Cornell is also the only “elite” university in the US that offers a four-year program in hotel administration.

In particular, and more so than other Ivy League colleges, Cornell emphasizes making contributions across fields of knowledge in ways that prioritize public engagement and promote well being. (Which is probably a part of why Cornell is well known for its various environmental initiatives.)

Hanover, New Hampshire, may seem like an unassuming place, but it’s the home to Dartmouth College, which is an institution that has managed to change the world several times over. For instance, this college is famous for being the birthplace of the computer programming language BASIC, and the school created the very first graduate program focused entirely on management. 

From programming to business leadership, there are more than 50 different research centers to choose from, and over 60 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students enrolled. The seven-to-one student-to-faculty ratio is difficult to beat anywhere else, allowing you to get the most from your education.

In particular, Dartmouth’s 4 10-week terms per year allow for greater flexibility than most if not all other Ivy League schools, enabling students to pursue opportunities like internships or travel.

Useful side note: Dartmouth has made it fairly clear that it would love to have more activists and community-builders as part of its student body.

Harvard University likely needs no introduction. The oldest institute of higher education in America, this college has been around since 1636. To state the obvious, this university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is more than just a pretty campus and a famous name: The school provides more than 100 research centers on its campus and has 13 different institutes and schools for its students to choose from.

Many of these schools are among the most well-regarded in the nation, including the famous Harvard Medical School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government. (Which is probably why Political Science and Government, Econ, and Evolutionary Bio are among the school’s most popular majors.)

The private collections in Harvard’s libraries are the envy of researchers the world over, and the institution also provides abundant social opportunities for students to choose from. This includes more than 400 organizations that help you find like-minded students focused on athletics, hobbies, academics, and everything in between.

One really nice fact: Harvard is also a need-blind 

Princeton University (located in, of course, Princeton, New Jersey) is one of the most rigorous places in the world to study. One reason Princeton’s students learn so much is because of the breathtaking four-to-one student-to-faculty ratio. This allows students to find mentors more easily and locate the advisors they need. Princeton University has five colleges and schools, but interestingly, that means Princeton University doesn’t have a law school, medical school, or business school.

 students may pursue either a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) or the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.), choosing from among 37 concentrations (computer science offers both A.B. and B.S.E.) and over 50 minors and interdepartmental certificate programs. The university also has over 100,000 works spread across various collections in the Princeton University Art Museum, allowing students to get up close and personal with culturally relevant historical, artistic, and social artifacts from throughout the centuries.

One really nice fact: Princeton is also a need-blind school, and has done away with loans, meaning for students/families under certain income brackets, the school covers most or all of tuition, fees, room and board.

In Philadelphia, few things connect you to America’s unique history as much as the University of Pennsylvania. Benjamin Franklin himself helped create this school, but don’t expect an institution that seems old-fashioned or out-of-date. In fact, this institution is filled with specialized colleges on the cutting edge of research, technology, and innovation. This includes the famous Wharton School as well as the highly-pedigreed Perelman School of Medicine and School of Engineering and Applied Science. The school also offers several highly renowned (and highly competitive) specialized/dual degree programs, such as the Huntsman Program or the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology. 

On top of being an amazing place to learn about your field of study, the University of Pennsylvania is also a wonderful place to learn about other people. Over a tenth of the student body is composed of international students, and all students have the opportunity to study abroad and travel to any one of fifty different countries around the world. 

One really nice fact: Like most of the other Ivies, UPenn is also a need-blind school, meaning for students/families under certain income brackets, the school covers most or all of tuition, fees, room and board.

Yale University located in New Haven, Connecticut, made history by becoming the first college to offer doctoral degrees. Additionally, the Yale School of Public Health was the first college to offer a master’s degree in public health in the entirety of the United States.

There are 14 constituent schools that make up the university, such as the (original) undergraduate college, Yale Law, and the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Students will find the arts and drama programs to be just as competitive and rigorous as fields such as biomedical science. Ultimately, Yale is at the forefront of many discoveries each year responsible for changing life as we know it for the better (which is part of the school’s stated mission).

Yale's University Library is the third-largest university collection in the United States, with over 15 million volumes.

One really nice fact: Like most of the other Ivies, Yale is also a need-blind school, meaning for students/families under certain income brackets, the school covers most or all of tuition, fees, room and board. About 50% of students receive some financial aid, and around 15% are expected to have zero parental contribution.