<p>Is there a website or other source that can offer a side-by-side comparison of the Ivies? I'm talking everything from enrollment to cost to majors to core v. open to school spirit to student stereotypes. </p>
<p>What about ranking them hardest to easiest to get into?<br>
Cut-throat or supportive atmosphere?
Strongest departments. </p>
<p>I have Fiske, I have Barrons, I have CC. All fine, but not a side-by-side source. </p>
<p>Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Search for it on CC threads. There have been many along this theme.</p>
<p>GETTING IN
Hardest: Harvard, Yale, Princeton (shocker)
Damn hard: Columbia, Penn, Brown, Dartmouth
Hard: Cornell</p>
<p>SCHOOL SPIRIT
Uber <3: Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth
Mega <3: Harvard, Penn, Brown
<3: Columbia, Cornell</p>
<p>STRONGEST DEPARTMENTS
Well, they're all great at liberal arts, a mixed bag in the sciences, and (with the exception of Cornell), mediocre at engineering. And Penn is obviously #1 in undergrad business, even if only by default.</p>
<p>I guess you could say in terms of econ there are the "top-5" type superstars (Harvard, Princeton), the "top-10" type superstars (Columbia, Penn, Yale), and the "top 20-30" (Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell). Though I would be the first to caution you that for an undergrad, they are all going to be equally well-regarded.</p>
<p>In which subject do you want to major? Cornell is very difficult admission in Arts and Sciences and Engineering, in terms of SAT.</p>
<p>urban feel - Harvard, Columbia, Penn, Yale
small city/town - Cornell, Brown, Princeton?
rural - Dartmouth</p>
<p>My question in the OP is not about (my son) selecting or applying to an Ivy. (Well maybe [barely maybe!] just one of them as a super reach.) </p>
<p>My question is just about finding a way to distinguish them in my own mind. To me, they're all the same. They're all Ivies. Can't tell them apart. </p>
<p>Of course I understand they can't be clones of each other. They've got to have their own "personalities." But, since son's not obsessesed with getting into one, we won't invest a lot of time in knowing them intimately. I'm just trying gather an snap shot so I can know which is large, which is small. Which goes Greek, which is jocky. Which is business, which is humanities. </p>
<p>Basic, at-a-glance generalities and stereotypes. Thanks.</p>
<p>Try this website College Navigator. You can compare up to four schools at a time side-by-side. Enter the name of the school, click "show results" down below, when the college comes up you will see an "add to favorites" button. Add the 8 Ivies to you favorites and view 4 at a time. When you see the "expand all" tab, click on it.</p>
<p>College</a> Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics</p>
<p>collegehelp I would say Cornell is a rural campus.</p>
<p>Ithaca is actually a small city (pop about 30,000) with a pedestrian mall, restaurants, bakeries, professional theater, movie theaters, and so on. On the downhill side of Cornell there is the city of Ithaca. On the uphill side near Cayuga Heights there is a nice shopping plaza.</p>
<p>Ivy</a> League - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>
<p>Doesn't really delve into the "personalities" of the schools, but has lots of other comparative data.</p>
<p>princetonreview.com does some side by side comparisons...</p>
<p>To OP, the Ivy League is an Athletic conference. Harvard and Dartmouth and Brown are very different schools. They are all unique. Go deeper. Look at Duke or Georgetown or Stanford or Rice. Look at Tufts and William & Mary and Emory. Look at Amherst, Swarthmore, Davidson or Pomona. The Ivy League is at the top of academia, but they are not alone. There are about 50 schools that are peers with regards to quality of students and education. Figure out what you are looking for in a school and go from there.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>thats the problem, swish, people don't know what they want. they're just brainwashed by prestige.</p>
<p>They are quite different in size, core requirements, reputation of quality of undergraduate education, rural v. urban, core v. open, and a lot of other tangible criteria before you even look at 'personality', to which I guess I prefer the word 'culture'. These schools are not the same at all. They just belong to the same Ivy football conference, so there is no reason to compare them any more than you would compare any other sub-set of top 20 schools to each other.</p>
<p>Ivy in lay terms is just a euphemism for 'top school.' So while all ivies are still top schools, not all top schools are ivies. It makes more sense to do a side-by-side of top 10 schools. Or what makes even more sense, is to do a side-by-side of top schools that fit some criteria that your child is sure of. Using the "overlap" feature in Fiske and others can help. </p>
<p>I don't know of anyone who does an annual side by side like you are suggesting, that is objective like US News (not endorsing that, saying they really are objective, just that they try), but you can do it yourself on some chart paper at home. Most of that stuff is easily looked up. Admit rates are published here on the boards often, so that can do for the hardest to easiest, except that some of the numbers are a little deceptive due to legacy, athlete, etc. Cut-throat to supportive is more of a fuzzy concept and depends on your kid too, but general perception is not hard to get a bead on. Strongest depts are a little tougher and somewhat word of mouth. Sometimes it correlates with grad school reputation. US News does print 'best schools for engineering' etc.</p>
<p>
[quote]
To OP, the Ivy League is an Athletic conference. Harvard and Dartmouth and Brown are very different schools. They are all unique. Go deeper. Look at Duke or Georgetown or Stanford or Rice. Look at Tufts and William & Mary and Emory. Look at Amherst, Swarthmore, Davidson or Pomona. The Ivy League is at the top of academia, but they are not alone. There are about 50 schools that are peers with regards to quality of students and education. Figure out what you are looking for in a school and go from there.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>We are looking at everything. Really, we are. But my OP wasn't even about finding a school for my kid. It's just a question to help me compartmentalize the 8 schools in my pea brain. And I get it now. The schools are as different as apples and oranges. </p>
<p>
[quote]
thats the problem, swish, people don't know what they want. they're just brainwashed by prestige.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>If this generalization is directed at me, let me assure you that I am NOT obsessed with prestige. In fact, if you go back a few months and search these forums, you'll see that I have participated in at least one heated debate on the value of an Ivy degree. I do NOT believe it leads to a life that is any more prosperous, magical or happier than a degree from another fine institution.</p>
<p>And FTR, even tho my son has an outside shot at getting in to one of the "lesser" Ivies, he probably won't be applying. Why? Because he hasn't found one that seems to fit him. We value fit over prestige. Please don't call me brainwashed.</p>
<p>DougBetsy-
What is your son looking for in a college? In what does he want to major? You mentioned humanities. Is that his interest? Johns Hopkins is a great school and close to home. U Maryland College Park is a fine public flagship university with good academics and school spirit....low cost, close to home. Georgetown is known for humanities and social sciences. Excellent school spirit.</p>
<p>What is he looking for?</p>
<p>I happen to think highly of Cornell, if you are still considering a "lesser" Ivy.</p>
<p>Thanks for your interest, collegehelp. Son is just a junior, so weve got some time before he has to pick hard and fast criteria. I didnt intend for this to turn into a suggestion thread, but since youve asked, Ill share what hes articulated in the way of likes and dislikes </p>
<p>Not crazy about urban locations (but will still look at JHU and Loyola MD, maybe a DC school, too)
Seeks less than 12,000 enrollment (rules out UMCP)
Leaning toward Psychology as a path to FBI profiler (but hasnt ruled out medicine, either)
Possible minors would be French, Music (percussion), or Govt
Seems like the type that would go Greek and be active in intramural sports</p>
<p>4.0 w, 3.6 uw
All honors and APs
No SATs yet
Several sports and ECs, but not an overload
1 or 2 leadership positions
Some writing, academic, and performing arts awards</p>
<p>In no particular order, his long list of reaches, matches and safeties includes </p>
<p>Colgate University
Johns Hopkins
Georgetown
College of William & Mary
University of Virginia
Bucknell University
Lafayette College
Gettysburg College (toured and liked it)
Franklin and Marshall College
University of Richmond
Elon College
Wake Forest
Dickinson College
St. Marys College of Maryland
Salisbury University
University of Delaware
Loyola College of Maryland
Washington College </p>
<p>Thanks again for your interest.</p>
<p>So</a> You Want To Be A FBI Profiler?</p>
<p>Florida Inst of Tech, CUNY John Jay, and Tiffin have programs in forensic psych but they are not necessarily the best fit for your son.</p>
<p>Georgetown has a good program in Govt/Poly Sci.</p>
<p>he sounds like an outstanding kid. I am sure he'll do fine wherever he goes.</p>
<p>We have gotton off topic which is: A side by side comparison of the Ivies.</p>
<p>Dartmouth: The smallest of the Ivies. Greatest orientation towards outdoor activities. Traditionaly the most conservative but this may no longer apply. Has the most powerful greek system. Unique summer term system to enable most students to study abroad. Typical famous Alumni: Hank Paulson.</p>
<p>Harvard: Richest of the Ivies ( unless their endowment shrinks any more). Has the greatest name recognition. Top rated programs in many areas. One of two ivies to use residential house system. Has suprisingly powerful sports program with suprisingly apathetic fans. Despite it's allure, Harvard students have the reputation of being among the least happy in the Ivy League. Typical famous alumni: JFK</p>
<p>Yale: A gothic citadel of tradition with the post pervasive residential house system. Very liberal with active gay student population. Location in dingy but charming post industrial city. Least preprofessional of the ivies with great tolerance for finding academic center. Also one of the arsiest of the Ivies. Typical famous alumni: Meryl Streep</p>
<p>Columbia: The most intelectual ivy. The city location gives Columbia one of the loosest social cultures. The weak sister of the Ivy league in sports. Most significant core curricuum in the Ivies and very proud of it's literay and activist traditions. The home of the "dressed in black" beat poet hanging out at the coffee shop. Typical famous Alumni: Obama</p>
<p>Brown: The Happy Ivy. Open curriculum and generous grading options make Brown students the least stressed of the Ivies. Reported to be the ivy league refuge of Hippies and drug use. Quaint New England campus with quaint tidy city around it and conveniant town areas. Many think Brown has the best looking girls in the Ivy league. Typical famous Alum: Ira Glass (npr's this American Life)</p>
<p>Princeton: The aristocrat of the Ivy league. Clung to it's mantle of class exclusitivity longer than any other ivy. Suburban campus is very architecturaly unified and safe. Strong undergrad focus with emphasis on senior paper. The focus on the senior paper gives Princeton the weakest study abroad operation in the Ivies. Old World traditions still live on in Princetons eating clubs. Typical famous Alumni: F. Scott Fitzgerald</p>
<p>U Penn: Most preprofessional of the Ivies. When the rest of the Ivy league was shunning the idea of undergrad business degrees the Wharton school made a name for itself and forever after defined U Penn. This has given Penn a get a degree to get a job vibe that still defines it. It's urban location is a good blend of traditional campus and city life. Typical famous alum: Donald and Ivanka Trump.</p>
<p>Cornell; The working mans ivy. Cornell admitted minorities and women from the day it opened setting it's tone as the most egalitarian of the Ivies. Long known as a bastion of practical skills such as engineering and agriculture. Cornell has the greatest breadth of studies in the Ivy league if not the land. A sprawling campus high on a hill above a small upstate new york city gives Cornell much of its character. Typical famous alumni: Christopher Reeves, Keith Olbermann.</p>
<p>Thanks, Sherman. That's the most insightful info I've come across.</p>