Your Pathway to Ivy League Universities

What is Ivy league?

Ivy League colleges are often viewed as the gold standard of colleges in the USA and worldwide. 

8 Members of Ivy League

The eight members are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Yale University. Ivy League has connotations of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and social elitism.

Location of Ivy League

  • Brown University – Providence, rhode Island
  • Columbia University – New York city, New York
  • Cornell University – Ithaca, New York
  • Dartmount College –  Hanover, New Hampshire
  • Harvard University – Cambridge , Massachusetts.
  • Princeton University – Princeton, New Jersey
  • University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Yale University – New Haven, Connecticut

How to Decide Which Ivy League School Is Right for You

Many of the Ivy League schools are extremely similar. They’re private schools of similar sizes with excellent academic reputations. In addition, they are all located in the same region of the US, they all have large endowments, and they all tend to offer generous financial aid

Four factors to keep in mind as you research the Ivy League:

  • Setting

One of the biggest differences between Ivy League schools is their settings.-urban, suburban or rural.

The urban Ivy League schools include Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania. However, they’re all in cities of very different types and sizes.

In terms of urban environments, Columbia is in New York City—the most densely populated city in the US—while UPenn is situated in Philadelphia, another large city.

By contrast, Brown is in the small city of Providence, Rhode Island, offering a much more subdued environment. Similarly, Harvard is in a college town called Cambridge, which is located just outside of Boston. And Yale is located in New Haven, Connecticut, which has a population of just 130,000 compared with the roughly 8.4 million people in NYC.

Princeton is the only Ivy League school in a suburban setting. It’s more self-contained and the surrounding area is quieter than those of other Ivies. 

Cornell and Dartmouth offer students a rural environment, where students are surrounded by nature and there’s not much going on in the town unrelated to the college.

  • Academic Programs, Majors and Requirements

While all Ivy League schools are strong in the humanities, social sciences, and STEM, each offers different programs, general education requirements, majors, and concentrations.

Cornell is the only Ivy to offer a business management program with a focus on hospitality through its School of Hotel Administration. Meanwhile, Penn is home to one of the most prestigious business schools in the US and offers a number of undergraduate business majors that aren’t available at other Ivies. 

Lastly, Columbia has extensive general education requirements in its Core Curriculum, whereas Brown has very few.

compare the majors and course offerings at the different Ivies to ensure that you’ll be able to pursue your academic interests.

  • Size

The size of the school is a factor to consider as well. While most Ivy League schools are a similar size, there are some differences to be aware of. If you’re deciding between Cornell and Dartmouth, for instance, keep in mind that Cornell’s undergraduate enrollment is about three times the size of Dartmouth’s. While some students prefer a larger, more vibrant atmosphere, others would enjoy a smaller, more tight-knit community.

  • Campus Culture

Different Ivy League schools have different reputations in regard to the types of students they attract and admit. Princeton students are often viewed as more preppy, for example, whereas Brown students are perceived as more progressive

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