<p>I'm just afraid that I won't get into HYPSM considering how competitive it is...but I would like to know other universities that command similar respect, same academic opportunities, social life, "prestige factor", relatively high endowment, etc. </p>
<p>I'm looking for around 6 other universities. Thanks.</p>
<p>Look at the six schools ranked below them on us news</p>
<p>Chicago, Columbia, Penn, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore</p>
<p>No, there are no other schools that command the same respect as HYPSM, there’s a reason we use that acronym. However, there are a plethora of other very well respected schools out there.</p>
<p>^ That comment is certainly up to debate. In certain fields like I-Banking HYPSM may carry the day but in general there are many other schools that are as good.</p>
<p>Chicago. Brown. Duke!! USC, maybe?</p>
<p>If you’re looking for a school that captures the imaginations & inflames the egos of a comparable number of misguided high schoolers, then no, no other university haunts CC’s collective consciousness nearly as persistently, sorry.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for a school that would facilitate your transition to the workforce, there are plenty.</p>
<p>^But…Alexandre, RML, and I thought a number of people on CC here aren’t high schoolers. I thought they were grown ups.</p>
<p>Among private research universities, I would have to say Caltech, Chicago and Columbia are the three that most closely match HYPSM. Not far behind, you have Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern and Penn.</p>
<p>Among public universities, only Cal comes close, while Michigan, UCLA, UNC and UVa are not far behind. </p>
<p>Among LACs Amherst, Swarthmore and Williams come close, while a dozen or so more LACs are not far behind.</p>
<p>There is a great institution for any top student out there, the trick is recognizing it and getting in.</p>
<p>^Thanks a lot Alex. I really appreciate your inputs. I was told by my friends in my high school that you were one of the few reliable resources of CC.</p>
<p>If I pictured universities in terms of…say being ranked by its overall strength, would you say this is accurate?</p>
<p>A Model University</p>
<p>Harvard</p>
<p>Yale
Stanford
Princeton</p>
<h2>MIT</h2>
<p>Caltech
Columbia
Chicago</p>
<p>Penn
Duke
Dartmouth</p>
<p>Brown</p>
<p>Northwestern
Cornell
Johns Hopkins</p>
<p>You were using the term “not far behind” so I thought this in my head.</p>
<p>^ I’d bump Caltech to HYPSM’s level for those interested in something similar to MIT, and to some extent, Stanford, Princeton and Harvard. Please take note that I’m talking about academic quality, student and faculty quality and prestige factor only. The social scene/life at Caltech maybe similar to MIT’s, but remotely similar to the rest of the top 5. </p>
<p>If you’re interested in a business degree, then Wharton is up there with HYPSM too. Or, maybe even perceived to be more prestigious than some of the top 5. Example, Wharton is slightly better than Sloan, Yale and Stanford for IBanking/Finance. </p>
<p>But as a whole, I’d say, Columbia, Duke, Dartmouth, Penn, Brown and Northwestern are the next bunch of schools to HYPSMC when you’re looking for something similar in social life, student & faculty caliber, and prestige factor for undergraduate education.</p>
<p>Thanks RML. I just came back after talking to my head counselor. He says something similar to what you said.
He says.</p>
<p>6 Big-Elites: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, and Caltech
6 Small-Elites: Columbia, Penn, Duke, Dartmouth, Chicago, and Brown
2 Public-Elite: Berkeley and Cornell(Half-private/half-public?)</p>
<p>It’s similar to the list I’ve seen here. What do you think? Also, he doesn’t consider Northwestern a part of the 2nd group…he seems to insinuate Northwestern isn’t as top.</p>
<p>He also doesn’t have too much of a high opinion on Vanderbilt, Emory, WUSTL, and Tufts. He says they’re good, but not as good as the 2nd group which are more close to being like HYPSM.</p>
<p>CaptnJack, your list in post #10 is completely legitimate, but only includes private research universities, and segregates them unecessarily. Where it really matters, there is no difference in terms of overall quality between all the schools on your list between Penn and Johns Hopkins. I would also add Cal to Caltech, Chicago Columbia and Michigan to the group that includes Cornell and Northwestern.</p>
<p>LACs are too different to compare them to research universities, but Amherst, Swarthmore and Williams are as good as they come and there are a dozen others (including Bowdoin, Carleton, Claremont McKenna, Haverford, Weselyan etc…) that are also excellent.</p>
<p>By the way, Cornell is not public. A couple of its colleges are state-funded, but the university is private.</p>
<p>I would say Cornell is a little more prestigious than Northwestern RML. Also, Chicago and Columbia are not superior to Penn and Duke Alexandre. All 4 of these schools are of roughly equal quality. Dartmouth and Duke are far superior to Columbia when it comes to Rhodes and Marshall Scholar production for instance.</p>
<p>I graduated from an elite boarding school, a top 10 UG and will be attending a T14 school so I’ve been surrounded by prestige mongerers my whole life. In addition, I have lived abroad in over 4 countries so I have an international outlook on American institutional prestige.</p>
<p>Here is the most agreed upon top 15 university list among those “in the know” in rough order of institutional prestige:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Harvard</p></li>
<li><p>Yale</p></li>
<li><p>Stanford</p></li>
<li><p>MIT</p></li>
<li><p>Princeton</p></li>
<li><p>Caltech</p></li>
<li><p>Columbia</p></li>
<li><p>Duke</p></li>
<li><p>Penn</p></li>
<li><p>Dartmouth</p></li>
<li><p>University of Chicago</p></li>
<li><p>Brown</p></li>
<li><p>Cornell</p></li>
<li><p>Northwestern</p></li>
<li><p>Johns Hopkins</p></li>
</ol>
<p>UCB lacks selectivity and undergraduate resources while Georgetown lacks highly rated faculty/departments. Those are the next 2 picks that are commonly heard of.</p>
<p>Also, Alexandre clearly has a Blue and Maize agenda. No one considers Michigan a top 15 elite at the undergraduate level. A Michigan JD or MD? Incredibly well regarded! A Michigan BA or BS? A dime a dozen to be honest…</p>
<p>^Hmm…you kinda sound like a certain lesdiablesbles…</p>
<p>CaptnJack, I think you are too well-versed in CC to be a New Member. Is this your alternate account by any chance…</p>
<p>He’s probably a ■■■■■. Only a ■■■■■ tries to compare certain members of a forum to another and claims he is “new” to the site. By asking what schools are considered below HYPSM, the OP clearly wants to start a heated debate:)</p>
<p>No lol I’m really not new. I’ve been checking out a lot of threads on this topic. Not to be a boasting type, but I have photographic memory. So I like to recognize patterns in daily life and show it around. I like to point out things and watch other people scratching their heads to try to comprehend what’s going on. :)</p>
<p>vengasso, why be so defensive?</p>
<p>Oh, yeah. I’m sorry; I - unintentionally - left out Cornell. It should be in the next group after HYSPMC.</p>