I just wanted to know what the specialty of each of the ivy league schools are? i know all them are top of every section but among them, which is better, say international relations, business, law, and medicine or something. And which ones focus on undergrad the most/vice versa with grad schools?
I’d say Dartmouth and Princeton are known for undergrad focus.
Penn for business
I don’t know about IR
Do you mean pre law and pre med? Or the schools’ med and law schools?
Most of the “specialty” areas of the Ivy League schools are on the graduate level - all of them are great well-rounded places for undergraduates in virtually any field. There are a couple of exceptions - Penn has Wharton and is well-known for undergraduate business, and Cornell has a great undergraduate program in its business school too, but none of the others have undergrad business majors. Cornell has a lot of majors that the others don’t due to its state partnerships - such as programs in agriculture. Penn has undergraduate nursing, which the others don’t. Columbia, Cornell, and Penn probably have the best reputations in engineering.
All of the Ivies except Princeton have medical schools and all 7 of them are excellent. (Brown, Penn, Columbia, and Harvard, and maybe Cornell are probably better known for medicine than the other 2, but they are all really good.) Five of the Ivies (Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, and Penn) offer law schools and all 5 are consistently in the top 14 law schools in the country. All of the Ivies except Princeton and Brown offer graduate business education and they all have top-ranked MBA programs - in the top 15-20 (Harvard and Penn get the most attention for their business schools but Columbia and Yale are really at the same level).
Harvard’s Kennedy School, Columbia’s SIPA and Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson school are well known in international relations.
I have heard, second-hand, that Princeton and Brown have a stronger undergraduate focus than the other Ivies, and that Columbia has a stronger graduate focus (I was a graduate student at Columbia, and from my perspective it seems true, but I don’t know how the undergrads feel about it).
Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth - > more undergrad focused
Harvard, Yale, Columbia -> more grad focused
Penn, Cornell -> in the middle?
They have different personalities too. And forgive me but I’m going to note some of the downsides of some of the schools. Most of the time you only hear the upside. It’s helpful to have a more balanced view, IMO.
In addition to what was said above, Dartmouth also has engineering undergrad and a Native American specialty, because it started out as a school for local Native Americans. Also it’s notorious frat culture (suggest google for that, but it is severe enough that after the Rolling Stone article about it, applications dropped 14% the following year). Also skiing. Serious skiing. And being in a gorgeous small town, relatively more isolated than the others, which may partly explain the frat culture. Very adorable New Englandy with white clapboard buildings. A warm, small-town feel. But after a few years, the size of the town can for some people feel a little small, unless that outdoor life suits you.
Brown is known for being looser in terms of requirements (esp compared with Columbia’s core for example) because of its open curriculum. It has serious sciences and computer science, clearly, but it’s perceived as being more open to trying things out. You know, fairly or not, this is how it’s often thought about. I mean, you can try things out at all of the other Ivies too, but Brown is often perceived as the more experimental of the bunch. It’s located in an arty town that many people find wonderful for how liberal it is, but if you’re conservative, this may be an issue.
Columbia has its core. If you’re into it, then you’re into it. If you’re not, you’re not. And its graduates are sometimes stereotyped unfairly for starting in an idealistic major and panicking about finding a job and going into economics and Wall Street by the end. This is of course a stereotype and the vast majority don’t do this, but maybe this stereotype adds a little color to the mix, even if you know that it’s an exaggeration. I mean: partly it’s positive because it notes the City’s world-class work options. For NYC, the “dream jobs” are its local industries. Columbia also offers great film and writing, anthro, sciences etc. Being in NYC “everyone” comes to the campus to speak. Plus the City is part of your education, with some of the world’s best museums; art; theater; food; film; fashion; international relations; social justice initiatives; publishing; Wall Street; internships; Silicon Alley; a deep, rich history; and traveling the world via subway . . . .
Cornell has such a huge offering and a number of different colleges to choose from. You can either go to the college and choose a major like other undergrads at most schools. Or you can pick and choose specialties as a major from Day 1 such as: computer-human interface or viticulture; or labor relations; and other truly unique and interesting focuses. Regardless of the major you’re accepted into you can take classes at the other schools. It’s also known for being remote and gorgeous, but they also run buses daily to NYC that you can reserve a seat on. And they have grad schools in NYC (medicine) and are building another (applied integrated sciences on a new campus on Roosevelt Island with Technion. Some programs are running for that school but in another site. I think Google may have lent space for that.) Ithaca is a nice town with great food and gorgeous scenery. Down-to-earth intellectual people. Great outdoor opportunities.
Princeton has many top fields. Everyone knows that and there are so many things that are great about the school that it’s worth mentioning perhaps some things that people may not really like about it in terms of personality. Some people love the town and say that it’s “cute”. Others find it a overly precious and boring after about five minutes. Also there seems to be a greater amount of competition on Keeping Up Appearances, sort of keep-up-with-the-Joneses style. And some claim that it’s relatively conservative compared with other Ivies. Just some people’s opinions and I don’t necessarily agree with them. IMO the town is adorable and has more of a staid suburban feel compared with the towns of the other Ivies, and the Princeton architecture is lovely. Clearly the school has its ardent fans and has much to offer. Easy train travel to up to NYC and Boston or down to Philly or Washington DC.
Yale has a pretty campus in a town that’s struggled for decades and Yale’s relationship with New Haven could use some work, IMHO. New Haven has its own unique and interesting history, including for example the Amistad, it’s manufacturing history, etc. It’s offerings are amazing and the colleges are attractive–they look old even if a great many of them were built in the 1930s and were given architecture that was “aged” to look hundreds of years old with cracked windows that were then “repaired.” Brickwork that intentionally built to look “repaired”. The campus area has nice personality and Yale is proud of things, beyond top academics, that are sort of cute: like First American Pizza and First American Hamburger in New Haven. The Yale Bowl and the Harvard-Yale game. That sort of thing. It’s on the commuter line to NYC so it’s possible to get into the City and out in one day. And it’s on Amtrak line so you can easily get from Boston to DC and elsewhere. They have great theater that develops, often, shows that then go to Broadway.
UPenn and Harvard I’m not as familiar with.
Architecture is another field in which Cornell excels.
Although several other Ivies have strong graduate programs in architecture, Cornell has one of the country’s most respected undergraduate programs (for students who want a B.Arch. pre-professional degree rather than a BA/BS with a major in architecture).
The Ivies have various areas of excellence related to extracurricular interests, too. For example, Yale has a world-famous a cappella group (the Whiffenpoofs). Harvard has its Lampoon humor magazine and one of the most famous college newspapers (the Crimson). Penn has the Kelly Writers House (http://writing.upenn.edu/wh/about/). Dartmouth has an excellent woodworking workshop (https://hop.dartmouth.edu/Online/woodworking). Etc.
Penn - The Palestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULi42N9Epw8
https://vimeo.com/116397187
Dartmouth Skiway http://skiway.dartmouth.edu/
Columbia - Seinfeld diner http://www.tomsrestaurant.net/
In the two undergraduate, major-specific programs evaluated by USNWR, Ivy colleges appear as follows:
Rank / College
Engineering (category specific, bachelor’s only schools not included)
- Cornell
- Princeton
- Columbia
- Penn
- Harvard
- Yale
- Brown
- Dartmouth
Business
- Penn
- Cornell
Penn is known for being extremely pre-professional, interdisciplinary, and social (It’s nickname is the Social Ivy, after all). It’s also known for being urban. At the undergrad level, it’s one of the top 10 universities in the US and so anything you study there will be top notch. Academically, at the undergraduate level, it is best known for the Wharton School; Economics, US History and Literature among its other humanities/social science offerings; it’s nursing school (usually ranked #1); and increasingly, it’s engineering school as well. It has a student to faculty ratio of 6:1 and nearly an equal number of undergraduate and graduate students on campus which ensures that undergrads don’t get lost in the mix. 95% of classes in the College are taught by full faculty members and nearly 80% of classes have 25 students or fewer.
Those aren’t unfair characterizations or unimportant statistics by any means- though your experience at Penn will depend mostly on what you choose to do there. It can be more or less pre-professional depending on if you are in Nursing or the College, for example, as Penn Nurses are specifically prepared to enter the nursing profession and students in the College have a traditional liberal arts education (though each have access to the other’s resources and classes via the One University Policy). It can be more or less interdisciplinary depending on if you limit the number of ways you engage with Penn’s One University Policy and the different intra-school interdisciplinary offerings. You can be more or less social for sure-- that is easily calibrated to your own personal preferences. And realistically you can limit your engagement with Philly if you want but that would be a shame because Philly is an incredible place to spend four years (or more!).
My best suggestion is to visit. All of the ivies are great but stereotypes can only take you so far. Growing up, few people thought I would be the kind of person to fall in love with Penn (or any university in a city) and they were extremely wrong. I happily chose Penn over a bunch of other incredible universities and haven’t looked back since!
I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about Penn that extend beyond its reputation if you’re interested in what the actual student experience is like! Good luck with the college process 
Cornell has the nation’s top hotel management program. And top labor relations program.
I would suggest that the OP do some research perhaps by reading some of the good college guide books (ex. Fiske, Princeton Review, Insiders Guide) to get a better sense of each of the colleges. And I would suggest the OP expand his/her horizons past the Ivy League.
Here is a word association for each school. While some of these are facts many are stereotypes, but still they do give an insight into the school culture & environment --stereotypes exist for a reason. Tidbits just my opinion.
Harvard – Biggest/most prestigious name , mix of pre-professionalism and intellectualism, grade inflation, social life leaves a lot to be desired, final clubs, urban campus
Yale – more intellectual than pre-professional, gorgeous architecture, not so good location,good undergrad focus, quite liberal, decent but not great social life
Princeton – amazing undergrad focus and quality, gorgeous campus, sleepy and upscale location, quite WASPy and preppy, boring social life
Penn – more preprofessional than intellectual, the social Ivy, diverse and fun social life, urban but well-defined campus, fast-paced, intense, west -philly is not great, campus has some pretty parts and some not so pretty ones
Columbia – combo of pre-professional and intellectual, quite liberal, small campus, campus life overshadowed by New York, amazing opportunities for social life and jobs offered through New York, intense, competitive, common core
Dartmouth – very fratty, wild social life, less diverse student body, great undergrad focus, small community
Brown --very flexible curriculum, very liberal, grade inflation, good undergrad focus
Cornell – biggest student body, rural campus, good social life, quite fratty, quite preprofessional, beautiful campus, competitive, intense.
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@Penn95 - I went to U. of Penn at the graduate level, so my perspective is different than an undergrads. Your post raises the question, though: why do you say “west philly is not great”?
Maybe it’s because I did my undergrad at U. of Chicago, which is in an even sleepier area (in Hyde Park, Chicago), but West Philly seemed to have almost everything a university needs - bars, coffee shops, late night eateries, pharmacies close by, cheap student housing, music venues, etc.
Admittedly, crime isn’t great in West Philly but, for those executing common sense, it seemed like a good place to me.
Also, for me, Penn can be summarized even more succinctly, and here goes:
Penn – More pre-professional, in Philly, always hustling (socially, career-wise, etc.)!
@Cue7 i would say that what Philly is not great because there is crime and it is a poor area. That said I think the actual Penn campus is very safe and rather nice with many bars and restaurants on campus and also Penn is expanding west and West Philly is slowly getting gentrified. Yale and Columbia have a similar issue in that they border with not-so-great neighborhoods but all three schools have been very successful in taking measures to address this.
Have you spent much time in West Philly (west of 40th st)? There are, and have been for some time, million dollar homes and (more recently) excellent restaurants, coffee shops, etc. Further, the area itself has tremendous diverse offerings - great middle eastern restaurants, Ethiopian food, international grocery stores, etc. It’s also a very family friendly area - lots of large parks and the like. Yes, the area has been changing more recently (generally for the better, with controversial engagement from U. of Penn), but it’s been this way for 15 years or so.
True, there are significant pockets of poverty, and, like much of Philly, it’s block to block - one block could be great, another spotty. Crime also tends to be a block to block issue.
I’m just wary of the way some UPenn students describe west Philly (or hyde park/south side of Chicago for UofC students) - the fact that it is poorer from where many students come from is used as a knock against livability at the university.
West Philly certainly isn’t Evanston or Georgetown, but I urge you to take care in how you present it. (I note this thread is trying to craft succinct descriptions of top schools, but describing west Philly in a few words is tough - and the words you chose may not be accurate.)
(The way schools have “take measures” to “address” their surrounding neighborhoods is problematic to say too, but outside the bounds of this thread - there have literally been books written about what Chicago, Penn, Hopkins, Yale, etc have done in this arena.)
Oh man-- nobody get me started on how much i LOVE west philly. The thing is, Penn is barely in west philly. University City is basically a college town unto itself. But if you ACTUALLY get out a little bit beyond U-City there are wonders to behold! Tampopo! Honest Tom’s! Lil Pop Shop! MARIGOLD KITCHEN!!! Clark Park <3 The architecture of those homes is SO charming. It was a trolley cart suburb for Philadelphia’s elite for it’s first hundred years and it still bears the beautiful buildings to reflect it. I just love it out there so much. The amazing Ethiopian food at Abyssinia! The trendy bars that would make even the most staunch brooklynites jealous! The coffee shops? Tiny, little, baby coffee shops like Earth Cup. The brunch! SO MUCH BRUNCH! West Philly is a special, special, special place! And honestly very safe if you use standard street smarts. I felt safer in w. philly with Penn Police patrolling into the west 40s than I ever have harlem, crown heights, bed stuy. etc.
The areas of west philly that are genuinely experiencing crime and hardship don’t start until about the W. 50s and realistically even the most adventurous Penn students don’t venture beyond 44th or 48th street. But even in the areas that are 10 and 20 blocks from where students usually hang out there is so much amazing Philly to explore and some cautious exploration is to be encouraged! And then to penn’s north is just drexel which is safe and to the east is the river and Center City which is pretty much as safe as any other major city.
Point is, i love west philly.
@Cue7 yes i have ventured beyond 40th street and I have liked it quite a bit, have been to many wonderful restaurants there. I actually used to walk a lot there because i was regularly volunteering at a place called Books Through Bars in West Philly. I personally have not ventured beyond 50th street, which I guess is where the more real poverty and crime starts. Yes West Philly definitely has character, and yeah you are right, reducing it to the characterization “not great” is rather unfair and sweeping. I guess a more accurate description wold have been that West Philly is not an upscale neighborhood where you can wander around at any time of the day and be very safe to the same extent that you would be at the town of Princeton or at Cambridge in Boston.
I agree that many of the measures Penn, Columbia, Yale, Chicago have taken with regards to their surrounding areas are questionable.
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I have a question about Penn…are nerds welcome? I know it’s a more social school, but can the more academic type fit in?
@karlovsky Definitely. Penn is known as a more social school, but remember it is social by ivy league/top school standards. There are still many nerdy/less outgoing people who do just fine and find their place on campus and in the penn community. Also many people that are social are also quite nerdy, one doesn’t rule out the other.
What do people mean when they call Penn the social ivy? Is it about the relative amount of time Penn students have available for socializing? Or something about the nature of the social life itself?