Contrary to popular belief, "Ivy League school" isn't a generic term used to describe a college with killer rankings or a low acceptance rate. The Ivy League is an actual group of eight northeastern private research universities that are largely considered to be among the best colleges in the world.
But which U.S. colleges are official Ivy League schools and why do they attract international students from all over the world? We'll give you the lowdown on these elite institutes of higher education, why they're globally renowned for academic excellence, and where the term "Ivy League" came from in the first place. We'll also explore each school (in no particular order), their history, and what they're like.
What makes a school an Ivy League?
Ivy League schools are most commonly known for their rich histories, rigorous admissions processes, and academic excellence. But they're far from the only schools that boast these characteristics.
After all, schools like Stanford University, MIT, The University of Chicago, and The University of California-Berkeley all have the characteristics mentioned above. Yet you'll find none of them on the list of America's eight Ivy League colleges.
So what does it mean to be Ivy League? It wasn't a reputation for large endowments, financial aid provisions, or even university rankings that brought the eight schools together. Ironically, the original unifying factor between America's most elite colleges was sports! The Ivy League is actually an athletics conference, sort of like the Big Ten Conference or the Southeastern Conference.
It just so happens that all of the eight schools in the conference are incredibly prestigious academically, a theme that has overshadowed their sports alliance over the years. The eight Ivy League colleges all also have rich histories, seven of which date back to before the American Revolution.
The Ivy League's origin story
The term "Ivy League schools" traces its roots back to a 1933 article in the New York Herald Tribune. Throughout his report, sportswriter Stanley Woodward described the schools as "Ivy colleges." The nickname began to catch on, though the official Ivy League Agreement wouldn't be formalized until the 1950s.
Woodward's choice of words was likely inspired by the "Ivy Day" tradition that many Northeastern American universities have upheld for hundreds of years. Each year, students unveil a class ivy stone and plant a literal sprig of ivy on the college grounds.
The idea is to symbolize that after being properly nurtured, the ivy is ready to grow with the same enthusiasm as graduating students. Such traditions also likely go a long way toward explaining why the walls of universities in states like Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey are often covered in ivy.
A dive into the Ivies: Ivy League universities of the U.S.
Each of America's eight Ivy League universities has several things in common, including stellar graduation rates and consistent rankings among the best U.S. colleges. While these private universities can be notoriously selective, a degree from any of them is usually enough to shoot any job application to the top of the pile.
Let's explore each member of the Ivy League, its history, and what it offers in terms of education.
Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Did you know that Harvard University, America's oldest college, was founded over 100 years before the United States itself? Harvard traces its roots back to 1636 when it became the first college ever founded in the American colonies.
Harvard consistently tops the rankings as the best school in the nation and boasts an alumni list filled with Nobel prize winners, movie stars, and multiple U.S. presidents. With a total student population of over 25,000 and 13 distinct undergraduate and graduate schools, Harvard is an exceptional place to earn a college degree in pretty much anything.
Yale University
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Founded in 1701, Yale is home to over 12,000 students, including a large number of international students from nearly 120 different countries. Yale's undergraduate students can expect a well-rounded liberal arts and sciences education, plus excellent research and international study opportunities.
The university also rocks an endowment of over $14 billion, a pretty clear sign that it's popular among its fans! Whether you want to study English, engineering, or anything in between, Yale has you covered with a comprehensive selection of programs for every interest.
Princeton University
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Founded in 1746, Princeton sprawls along a picturesque 600-acre New Jersey campus. With a total student body of around 8,000, Princeton offers an impressive 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio and the chance to learn from a staff that includes over 30 Nobel Prize winners.
The university offers a strong liberal arts education with an emphasis on creativity, collaboration, and innovation. If you're lucky enough to score enrollment, you may also qualify for a killer financial aid package that covers up to 100% of tuition and other costs.
Columbia University
Location: New York City, New York
Since its founding in 1754, Columbia has become a world-renowned research university with a billion-dollar annual research budget. With a student body of over 8,000 undergraduates and 21,000 graduate students, Columbia offers cutting-edge higher education in the heart of New York City.
With over 350 programs of study to choose from, Columbia offers degrees in pretty much every specialty in the book, not to mention exceptional research opportunities. Columbia's healthcare students participate in breakthrough medical research, while the university's Technology Ventures program churns out over 400 new inventions each year.
Brown University
Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Founded in 1764, Brown is a private Ivy League institution famous for its open curriculum. While most universities require undergraduate students to complete a pre-set core curriculum, Brown allows each student to focus on the classes that interest them the most.
With around 6,700 undergraduate students and 3,100 graduate students, Brown offers over 80 bachelor's degrees and 84 doctoral and master's degree programs. Each student gets a world-class education that's produced 635 Fulbright Scholars and counting.
Dartmouth University
Location: Hanover, New Hampshire
Dartmouth College offers a more intimate setting with a student body of more than 4,000 undergraduate students and over 2,000 graduate students. The private liberal arts university offers a solid collection of over 60 majors to choose from, a 7:1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio, and average class sizes of less than 20 students.
With more than 75 research centers and institutes, Dartmouth is a great place to pursue anything from business and engineering to arts and humanities. Students enjoy a gorgeous 269-acre campus and plenty of opportunities to get involved with student clubs and organizations.
University of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Founded in 1740 by none other than Benjamin Franklin, the University of Pennsylvania (aka Penn or UPenn) has gone on to become one of the top research universities in the United States. Penn is home to a diverse student body of over 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students, almost all of whom graduated in the top 10% of their high school classes in 2022.
Penn doesn't mess around when it comes to research, with 182 research centers and institutes, and an annual research budget of $1.47 billion. While Penn offers plenty of different fields of study, its world-class medical schools are particularly well-renowned.
Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, New York
While Cornell is a private research university, some of its colleges receive state funding, creating a unique Ivy League/Public Ivy vibe. The university is all about public engagement and also partners with the State University of New York to further its mission.
With a total of around 25,000 students, Cornell has you covered with 80 undergraduate majors and over 100 graduate programs. You can also choose from a range of interdisciplinary majors or dual-degree programs.
Beyond academics: Ivy League athletics
Although the "Ivy League" is technically an athletic conference, Ivy League universities ironically do not award athletics scholarships. While almost all of them award financial aid based on academic merit, at some point they collectively decided that sports should only be one part of the overall college experience.
That hasn't kept Ivy League teams like the Harvard Crimson and Princeton Tigers from recruiting plenty of incredible athletes. But every Ivy League athlete you'll see on the field likely impressed the college admissions board with an ACT score higher than the average field goal.
Discover the most prestigious universities with College Rover
The elite set of Northeast American schools we covered here have earned a global reputation for academic excellence. But they're far from the only places to get an exceptional college education in the United States.
Sure, it's nice to have a degree from a famous higher education institution. But in the long run, the important thing is finding the best college for your unique goals, needs, and preferences.
That's why College Rover offers easy-to-use research tools designed to help you find schools that fit your unique preferences. Whether you've got your eye on an Ivy League institution or prefer to find a great state or specialty school, we've got everything you need to research your options all in one handy place.
College Rover gets the majority of its data directly from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). The DOE publishing schedule "lags" the most current data which some colleges post on their official websites. This may cause there to be a difference in the data you see on College Rover and an individual college website. College Rover's website is updated as the DOE data becomes available and is configured for the College Rover website.
