<p>In terms of academic reputation</p>
<p>Harvard/ Yale / Princeton/ Columbia Most selective less than 10% admit rate</p>
<p>Dartmouth/ Brown</p>
<p>Upenn/ Cornell :: Largest and easiest to get into.</p>
<p>What about in terms of Computer Science and Engineering</p>
<p>Cornel - Columbia - UPenn - Harvard - Dartmouth - Yale - Princeton - Brown</p>
<p>In my opinion. So really overall, you guys may be correct, but its irrelevant considering the ranking depends on the major or interest. </p>
<p>I'm sure for english and liberal arts, Brown and Dartmouth would probably be on the top</p>
<p>If we are talking about politics Harvard and Yale would be on the top.</p>
<p>I don't want to offend anyone who firmly believes in these rankings because it makes me seem like I'm bitter for getting rejected. I'm not. I would of loved to go to Harvard Engineering over Cornell Engineering just because of the prestige of the name (Basically I'm a hypocrite). but still, we should try to understand that rankings are based on different contexts. Sometimes overall rankings do not truly give the proper prestige for certain universities. It is this ignorance (among all of us) that sometimes ruins the reputation of a university without means</p>
<p>webgoudarzi, </p>
<p>i have been trying to get an answer to this question - which of the ivies is best suited for a solid liberal arts education? I suspected that Dartmouth with its smaller size would be right up there, but I saw a Newsweek article that stated that Princeton was the #1 for a liberal arts education. Would you rate Dartmouth above Princeton? Where would UPenn fall for a LA education?</p>
<p>Yale
Princeton
Harvard
Columbia
Brown
Penn
Dartmouth
Cornell</p>
<p>Tops for liberal arts:</p>
<p>That's a combination of best academics and best organizational structure. </p>
<p>First on academics: I always refer to a study [The Rise of American Research Universities} which took the National Research Council rankings and adjust them to excl reputational ranking (lagging indicators) and re-index for size (to eliminate the bias towards bigger schools). The results were:</p>
<p>Stanford
Princeton
Chicago/Yale/Harvard
Columbia
Penn/Duke
....
Cornell
...
...
Brown
...
Dartmouth</p>
<p>For org structure, here are the models:</p>
<p>Traditional Lib Arts: undergrad focus, ugrads are the largest % of students on campus, etc. ===== Dartmouth, Brown</p>
<p>Super Elite Lib Arts schools w/in Research Schools: EXTREMELY well endowed (funds, faculty, facilities) schools combined with large research organizations ===== Princeton, Yale; Harvard is between this group and the next group [and is the 3rd biggest Ivy]</p>
<p>Big Research Schools: Undergrad Lib Arts programs contained within HUGE research and professional education organizations ==== Columbia (the biggest Ivy), Penn (2nd biggest Ivy), Cornell (4th biggest Ivy)</p>
<p>All are great for liberal arts. Each has particular strengths you should be aware of (though in EVERY area, each of these schools has great offerings):</p>
<p>Yale - arts, humanities, biological sciences
Princeton - sciences, engineering, philosophy, math
Penn - languages, economics and other social sciences, area studies, #1 undergrad rankings in business and nursing
Columbia - the Core, arts, political science & international relations
Harvard - economics, sciences, social sciences, international study
Cornell - engineering, hotel management, agriculture, life sciences
Brown - arts, humanities, anthropology, English
Dartmouth - international study, social sciences</p>
<p>I'm a CS student and here's my thought:</p>
<p>Cornell
Princeton<br>
Columbia
UPenn
etc.</p>
<p>I don't understand what's so great about Yale. Their math/science departments suck compare to Harvard and Princeton's and even Cornell and Columbia's, and that's a huge subject matter. Yale's only good in the humanities, so what's the use of that?</p>
<p>Anyway, my ranking:</p>
<ol>
<li>Princeton</li>
<li>Harvard</li>
<li>Columbia</li>
<li>UPenn</li>
<li>Yale</li>
<li>Cornell</li>
<li>Dartmouth</li>
<li>Brown</li>
</ol>
<p>1.Harvard
2.Harvard
3.Harvard
4.Harvard
5.Harvard
6.Yale
7.Yale
8.Yale</p>
<p>but seriously:</p>
<p>1.Harvard
2.Yale
3.Princeton
4.Brown
5.Dartmouth
6.Cornell
7.Columbia
8.Upenn</p>
<p>I hate when I hear the phrase "easiest to get into." These are Ivies, damnit. A better phrase would be "less impossibly difficult to get into" ;)</p>
<p>Anyway The Right Answer is:</p>
<ol>
<li>Harvard/Yale/Princeton</li>
<li>Columbia/Penn</li>
<li>Brown/Dartmouth/Cornell</li>
</ol>
<p>That is The Right Answer and universal.</p>
<p>As for which ones I personally would actually want to go to:</p>
<ol>
<li>Penn</li>
<li>Yale</li>
<li>Harvard</li>
<li>Columbia</li>
<li>Brown</li>
<li>Dartmouth</li>
<li>Princeton</li>
<li>Cornell</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>Harvard, Princeton</li>
<li>Yale</li>
<li>Columbia, Brown</li>
<li>Penn, Dartmouth</li>
<li>Cornell</li>
</ol>
<p>where would you put duke in this mix?</p>
<p>I think ilovebagels put it really well when he/she said:
[quote]
As for which ones I personally would actually want to go to
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It's ridiculous to think that one ivy will get you ahead of another just by its name. When an interviewer sees two applicants, and one graduated from Cornell and another from HYP, the interviewer won't automatically reject the Cornellian; rather, the interviewer will look at personal qualifications to differentiate between the applicants. What matters more than these rankings is where you want to go to, and where you fit in better, because that will actually facilitate your attainment of those superior personal experiences and qualifications that will set you apart in that future interview.</p>
<p>Also, just because Yale isn't great in the sciences doesn't mean it's useless (I loled after reading "humanities, so what's the use of that?"). Some of the most influential people in the world are Yalies, and its non-science departments are some of the strongest and best known in the world, not to mention the wonderful social atmosphere of the campus (as seen in, i.e., the residential colleges) that makes for a rich undergrad experience. MIT sucks at anything not related to science--which is a huge subject matter--so are you saying MIT sucks? Anyway, this is probably useless because if you are closed-minded enough to think that Yale sucks because its sciences suck, then you're probably not very reasonable to begin with.</p>
<p>Duke would be at the bottom of the list if you threw it in the Ivy mix.</p>
<p>In 2006, the NY Times published a survey-based analysis of choices made by students accepted to 2 or more of the Ivies (and some select others). The result was a grid that is very interesting. It doesn't speak to the quality of the education, or to the prestige. It shows which schools people choose, given a choice. Many factors, including special programs, particular majors,cost, financial aid, etc. can play into this, and the data are getting a little old. However, it is really interesting information.</p>
<p>By studying the differences between the schools, it is possible to "rank" them. I am sure different people would have minor differences in interpretation, but this is the way I read the table. I have made some knife-edge cuts, and bracketed the groups of schools where the difference is very small. If you look at the actual data, Harvard really stands out at the top:</p>
<p>Harvard
Yale
[MIT
Stanford
Princeton]
Brown
Columbia
[Dartmouth
Penn]
Cornell
[Duke
Georgetown]
Virginia
Northwestern
Berkeley
[UCLA
Tufts]</p>
<p>Here is the grid: [The</a> New York Times > Week in Review > Image > Collegiate Matchups: Predicting Student Choices<a href="may%20require%20free%20registration">/url</a></p>
<p>and the article discussing the rankings: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/weekinreview/17leonhardt.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/weekinreview/17leonhardt.htm](<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2006/09/17/weekinreview/20060917_LEONHARDT_CHART.html%5DThe">http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2006/09/17/weekinreview/20060917_LEONHARDT_CHART.html)</a> (may require free registration)</p>
<p>Foldedpaper said: </p>
<p>"MIT sucks at anything not related to science"</p>
<p>Since when was this true?</p>
<p>MIT has a world renown programs in Political Science, Economics, and Bussiness/Management.</p>
<p>Its English Humanities departments are no less excellent either, consisting of a world renown staff that has won numerous awards of high distingiushment in their field. And yes, this includes the Pulitzer Prize, quite possibly the highest distingiushment given to writers (Noam Chomsky anyone?). </p>
<p>MIT also has a cutting edge Comparitive Media Studies program. For those of you who may not know what this is exactly, it is:</p>
<p>"Comparative Media Studies represents a new paradigm in media scholarship, one which merges together the best conceptual models from a range of different disciplines to address issues of media content, context, and change. It is comparative in multiple senses -- comparative across media, across historical periods, across national borders, and across disciplinary perspectives."</p>
<p>Furthermore, I know two professors who turned down job offers from Yale and Harvard because they were more attracted to the higher rigour and respect that undergrad students give to Prof's at MIT (Note: I am not saying this statement is true, but just that it was one of THEIR major reasons of choosing MIT instead). </p>
<p>And, MIT's students are no slouches when it comes to Humanities either. With a median verbal score only 10 points lower than Harvard students, it's students are excellent writers and students of humanities (I know SAT scores are not 100% comprehensive, but it is a simple number to refer to in this case).</p>
<p>It is kind of like when a SUPER AMAZINGLY hot girl also happens to be smart too. When guys talk about her, they highlight and focus not on her smarts, but her incredibly awesome and smoking hot bod. While the girl is smart, it is not what she'd be known for among guys (sad, yes).</p>
<p>It is kind of like MIT's excellence in the Math/sciences, which is quite absurd and off the charts. So, when people talk about MIT, they highlight its excellence in the Math/Sciences rather than English/Humanities.</p>
<p>So, no, MIT does not SUCK at anything not related to Science. Quite the opposite.</p>
<p>My opinion...
1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Princeton
4. UPenn
5. Columbia
6. Dartmouth
7. Brown
8. Cornell</p>
<p>I would like to echo foldedpaper's sentiment in saying that I am brilliant.</p>
<p>"Duke would be at the bottom of the list if you threw it in the Ivy mix."</p>
<p>Um, not quite. Duke completely dominates the ivies when it comes to school spirit, with its amazing sports teams and all. No one in the sports world really cares about Harvard vs. Yale football, but millions tune in to root for/against the Blue Devils, in say, NCAA March Madness.</p>
<p>Not only that, but Duke has leading programs in many fields, some of which surpass Ivies. In Duke you get the academic rigour of say, an Ivy, and the School Spirit of say, UMich and their Wolverines. Hard to beat that awesomeness.</p>
<p>Duke is worse than HYP, as good as the middle Ivies(Columbia, Penn, Dartmouth) and better than Brown/Cornell.</p>