<p>Well, actually, they do have single defining characteristics. The thing is, the rankings deal with things all schools have and therefore leave out of consideration what sets schools apart from one another. The main thing that Brown and Wesleyan have in common is that they manage to avoid getting anything major wrong. They are not too big or too dominated by Greek life. They are also not applied to as a matter of course by those shooting for HYP. Only half the people Dartmouth accepts actually decide to go there. It is pretty hard to craft a freshman class the way Princeton does with those yield stats. As great as HYP are, they are probably too competitive; not to get in, but once you are there. You had better be Daniel Craig and/or the Buddha not to burn out. Another school off the HYP radar sceeen, but offering the classic college experience (no cast of thousands) is the University of Richmond.</p>