Stanford University

Stanford University



Stanford University is a private institution that was founded in 1885. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 6,602, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 8,180 acres. It utilizes a quarter-based academic calendar. Stanford University's ranking in the 2011 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 5.


Stanford University’s pristine campus is located in California’s Bay Area, about 30 miles from San Francisco. Stanford offers a wide range of student organizations, including the Stanford Pre-Business Association and Stanford Solar Car Project, which designs, builds, and races a solar car every two years. The Stanford Cardinals are well known for the traditional "Big Game" against Cal, an annual football competition that awards the Stanford Axe—a sought-after trophy—to the victor. Stanford also has successful programs in tennis and golf. Only freshman are required to live on campus, but students are guaranteed housing for all four years and most choose to remain on campus. Greek life at Stanford represents approximately 10 percent of the student body.


Three of Stanford University’s seven schools offer undergraduate and graduate coursework, and the remaining four serve as purely graduate schools. Graduate programs include the highly ranked School of Education, School of Engineering, Law School, School of Medicine, and the top-ranked Graduate School of Business. The Woods Institute for the Environment oversees collaboration between environmental research, teaching, and outreach. Stanford has a number of well-known theatrical and musical groups, including the Ram’s Head Theatrical Society and the Mendicants, an all-male a capella group. Notable Stanford alumni include former U.S. President Herbert Hoover, famed NFL quarterback John Elway, actress Sigourney Weaver, and golfer Tiger Woods, who began his professional career at Stanford.

Columbia University

Columbia University



Columbia University is a private institution that was founded in 1754. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 7,743, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 36 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Columbia University's ranking in the 2011 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 4.


Columbia University, located in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights neighborhood in New York City, offers a wide range of student activities. The Columbia Lions field more than 25 NCAA Division I teams in the Ivy League. More than 90 percent of students live in on-campus housing, ranging from traditional residence halls to university-owned brownstones. Many of the brownstones are populated by the more than 25 Greek fraternity and sorority chapters on campus, whose membership includes about 10 percent of the student body. Organizations such as Urban New York, which gives out free tickets to city events, foster student interaction with life in the Big Apple.


Columbia is comprised of three undergraduate schools—Columbia College, The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and the School of General Studies—as well as a number of graduate and professional schools. Columbia’s graduate programs include the highly ranked Business School, Teachers College, SEAS, Law School, College of Physicians and Surgeons, School of International and Public Affairs, School of the Arts, and Mailman School of Public Health. The university also has a well-regarded College of Dental Medicine and Graduate School of Journalism. Columbia is affiliated with Barnard College for women, the Union Theological Seminary, and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Distinguished alumni include John Jay, founding father and first Supreme Court Justice; President Barack Obama; songwriting team Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II; and actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. Columbia also administers the Pulitzer Prizes.

Yale University

Yale University



Yale University is a private institution that was founded in 1701. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,275, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 315 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Yale University's ranking in the 2011 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 3.


Yale University, located in New Haven, Conn., is known for its excellent drama and music programs, which reach outside the classroom with student organizations such as the Yale Whiffenpoofs, a famous a capella group, and the Yale Dramatic Association. The Yale Bulldogs compete in the Ivy League and are well known for their rivalry with Harvard. Students are assigned to live in one of 12 residential colleges during their time at Yale. Each college has a master and dean who live in the college and eat with students in the dining halls. Cultural houses provide a space for students to build a sense of cultural identity on campus.


Yale is comprised of the College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and 13 professional schools. Included in the professional schools are the top ranked Law School and highly ranked School of Management, School of Medicine , School of Art, and School of Nursing. The School of Drama, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and Divinity School are also well-regarded graduate programs. The "Yale Record" is the oldest college humor magazine in the nation. Dwight Hall is an independent umbrella organization that fosters student service and activism in the local New Haven community. Yale is well known for its secret societies, the most famous of which are the Skull and Bone Society, which boasts members such as George W. Bush and John Kerry, and the Scroll and Key Society. Distinguished Yale alumni include actress Meryl Streep, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, and actor Edward Norton.

Columbia University

Columbia University



Columbia University is a private institution that was founded in 1754. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 7,743, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 36 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Columbia University's ranking in the 2011 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 4.


Columbia University, located in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights neighborhood in New York City, offers a wide range of student activities. The Columbia Lions field more than 25 NCAA Division I teams in the Ivy League. More than 90 percent of students live in on-campus housing, ranging from traditional residence halls to university-owned brownstones. Many of the brownstones are populated by the more than 25 Greek fraternity and sorority chapters on campus, whose membership includes about 10 percent of the student body. Organizations such as Urban New York, which gives out free tickets to city events, foster student interaction with life in the Big Apple.


Columbia is comprised of three undergraduate schools—Columbia College, The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and the School of General Studies—as well as a number of graduate and professional schools. Columbia’s graduate programs include the highly ranked Business School, Teachers College, SEAS, Law School, College of Physicians and Surgeons, School of International and Public Affairs, School of the Arts, and Mailman School of Public Health. The university also has a well-regarded College of Dental Medicine and Graduate School of Journalism. Columbia is affiliated with Barnard College for women, the Union Theological Seminary, and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Distinguished alumni include John Jay, founding father and first Supreme Court Justice; President Barack Obama; songwriting team Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II; and actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. Columbia also administers the Pulitzer Prizes.

Princeton University

Princeton University



Princeton University is a private institution that was founded in 1746. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,113, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 500 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Princeton University's ranking in the 2011 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 2.


Princeton, the fourth-oldest college in the United States, is located in the quiet town of Princeton, N.J. Within the walls of its historic ivy-covered campus, Princeton offers a number of events, activities, and organizations. The Princeton Tigers, members of the Ivy League, are well known for their consistently strong men’s and women’s lacrosse teams. Students live in one of six residential colleges that provide a residential community as well as dining services but have the option to join one of the 12 eating clubs for their junior and senior years. The eating clubs serve as social and dining organizations for the students who join them. Princeton’s unofficial motto, "In the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations," speaks to the university’s commitment to community service.


Princeton includes highly ranked graduate programs through the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Princeton, along with Harvard and the University of Virginia, eliminated its early decision program in 2006 in an attempt to create a more equal opportunity admissions process for applicants of all socioeconomic backgrounds. One unique aspect of Princeton’s academic program is that all undergraduate students are required to write a senior thesis. Notable alumni include U.S. President Woodrow Wilson; John Forbes Nash, subject of the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind; model/actress Brooke Shields; and First Lady Michelle Obama. According to Princeton legend, if a student exits campus through FitzRandolph Gate prior to graduation, he or she may be cursed never to graduate.

Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private institution that was founded in 1636. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 6,655 and its setting is urban. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Harvard University's ranking in the 2011 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 1.

Harvard is located in Cambridge, Mass., just outside of Boston. Harvard’s extensive library system houses the oldest collection in the United States and the largest private collection in the world. There is more to the school than endless stacks, though: Harvard’s athletic teams compete in the Ivy League, and every football season ends with "The Game," an annual matchup between storied rivals Harvard and Yale. At Harvard, on—campus residential housing is an integral part of student life. Freshmen live around the Harvard Yard at the center of campus, after which they are placed in one of 12 undergraduate houses for their remaining three years. Although they are no longer recognized by the university as official student groups, the eight all-male "final clubs" serve as social organizations for some undergraduate students; Harvard also has five female clubs.

In addition to the College, Harvard is comprised of 13 other schools and institutes, including the top-ranked Business School and Medical School and the highly ranked Graduate Education School, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Law School, and John F. Kennedy School of Government. Eight U.S. presidents graduated from Harvard College, including Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Barack Obama. Other notable alumni include Henry David Thoreau, Helen Keller, Yo-Yo Ma, and Tommy Lee Jones. In 1977, Harvard signed an agreement with sister institute Radcliffe College, uniting them in an educational partnership serving male and female students, although they did not officially merge until 1999. Harvard also has the largest endowment of any school in the world.