<p>Okay, so I've come across many people and when I ask them about <top college=""> they get different responses. A lot will respond, "you mean Ivy League?" Others will simply point to the top 50 on the US News, top 30, top 20, or simply just the top 10. And, of course, the higher-ranked LACs.</top></p>
<p>What colleges are you referring to when you say "top college"? What earns the colleges the title "top college"?</p>
<p>no set/written rules but basic formula for a top school is:
low acceptance rate+high prestige</p>
<p>HYPSM done.</p>
<p>agree ^ high prestige and top 10.</p>
<p>I disagree. I regard Tier 1 colleges as top schools – the ones that require high 1900s and up, or the top 75 on USNews. There are a lot of schools out there, and I can definitely say that there are many decent and pretty comparable colleges to the Top 10 and the Ivies. </p>
<p>However, as I am sure you know, the majority of CC thinks their world is going to end if they don’t get into anything aside from the Ivies and MAYBE, if they absolutely have to, the top 20s… So you’re not going to find a great variety of answers here, or the true, general consensus.</p>
<p>About top 20 USNWR universities, top 10 USNWR LACs, Oxbridge, plus maybe some really famous international places that I’m forgetting (Tsinghua?).</p>
<p>Tsinhua, Peking, Indian Institute of Technology, London School of Economics, etc^</p>
<p>High # of NAS/NAE members affiliated
High research budget + output
High 75th %ile test scores</p>
<p>Actually, there is a rather simple formula.</p>
<p>(Ivy League - Cornell) + SM = “Top Colleges”</p>
<p>lol people who are saying just HYPSM are top colleges are way off base I think… I would say top 30 or so are the best among the nation (in other words “top colleges”)</p>
<p>yea I hav to agree with alam1
and see there r so many cornell haters out there >o<</p>
<h1>1. Johns Hopkins University.</h1>
<h1>2. Another option is T30. Definitely have to include Georgetown, Berkeley, and UMichigan (each are highly underrated)…</h1>
<h1>3. Top 50 is actually a pretty good start.</h1>
<p><and see=“” there=“” r=“” so=“” many=“” cornell=“” haters=“” out=“”> Well, Ivy is supposed to be super hard to get in right? But Cornell’s admissions rates are so high up compared to others… Except that it’s not even high and it’s freakin’ hard as hell to get into. But it doesn’t matter.</and></p>
<p>A significant number of the alums go on to accomplish great (or terrible) things in life.</p>
<p>“Ivy is supposed to be super hard to get in right?” hmm yea it’s super hard to get into because it’s in a football league…</p>
<p>but yea, i’d say that top 30 -> the top
30-50 -> amazing
50-100 -> awesome</p>
<p>^ While the term “Ivy League” initially started as a reference to a sports conference, it now is an all-encompassing term to describe the academic prestige of 8 top universities in America. There really isn’t any term which describes all 8 schools, so “Ivy League” will just have to do.</p>
<p>Top colleges are those that produce success. Hence, in my mind, top colleges are those that allow freedom to explore and find a satisfying path in life, which, through their education and networks, create a large amount of opportunities.</p>
<p>The USN&WR list of “Top Colleges” does not list HYPSM + SM. I wonder why?</p>
<p>^If you could englighten us with a link…</p>
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<p>This is the harsh reality. Though I’d add Caltech too…</p>