<p>So I know how everybody raves about the ivy league as the elite schools, but what exactly sets each one apart? What would make one person apply to one but not the other? How is every ivy league school special? It just seems like people categorize them together too much? Anybody can help me with this question??</p>
<p>Thanks,
Michael</p>
<p>your intended major, size, location, fit, etc. Remember Ivy League is technically the name of the athletic conference. Your question is like asking whats the differece between the ACC schools? There are plenty of differences</p>
<p>If it weren’t for the Ivy athletic conference brand, there would be no more reason to lump Dartmouth and Columbia together than to lump, say, Colgate and Johns Hopkins together. All 8 are in the Northeast, 7 of the 8 started as colonial colleges (Cornell being the exception), and all 8 are very selective. Aside from these similarities, they differ in size, setting (urban v. rural), relative focus on undergraduates, architectural style, specific academic strengths, pre-professional v. liberal arts options, etc.</p>
<p>Well, since they are lumped together, for whatever reason, I think it’s a good question. Maybe someone wouldn’t mind answering it.</p>
<p>We did. It depends on “your intended major, size, location, fit, etc.” and tk said, "they differ in size, setting (urban v. rural), relative focus on undergraduates, architectural style, specific academic strengths, pre-professional v. liberal arts options, etc. "</p>
<p>maybe the OP is asking in terms of campus culture/overall vibe, something they wouldn’t neccesarily be able to find online without asking?</p>
<p>Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are usually lumped together because of perceived “prestige” and the size of their endowments relative to other schools. Princeton and Dartmouth are often compared for their perceived emphasis on undergraduate teaching, while Harvard and Yale are well regarded for their graduate programs. Cornell and UPenn are generally considered the easiest Ivies to gain admission to, although the Wharton School’s low acceptance rate seems to contradict this perception.</p>
<p>The ivy league schools are just like any other colleges out there, only they serve as some of the most stringent and difficult when it comes time for admissions.</p>
<p>People apply to different Ivy League schools for a number of reasons. For example, one might apply to Harvard over Brown simply because of the differences in campus life. The ivy league schools are just like any other group of schools, only that they have quite a formidable reputation behind them, more so than lesser tier universities.</p>
<p>They’re only lumped together, as tk21769 stated, due to their history in athletics. The term ivy league no longer refers to athletics alone but now encompasses the definition that is so common today. When we hear the phrase “ivy league schools”, we immediately think of selective and academic elitism.</p>
<p>So just because these colleges are grouped together does not mean that they should be thought of as a single entity. Consider all of the ivy league schools for what they are: separate colleges. Research and see which one would fit you the best, just like you would with any other college.</p>
<p>Cheers.</p>
<p>The 8 Ivy League schools tend to be among the more selective Universities</p>
<p>**Class of 2014 Lowest Acceptance Rates of Major Universities<a href=“ranked%20in%20order%20of%20selectivity”>/B</a></p>
<p>6.9% - Harvard
7.2% - Stanford
7.5% - Yale
8.2% - Princeton
9.2% - Columbia
9.3% - Brown
9.7% - MIT
11.5% - Dartmouth
14.2% - Penn
14.8% - Duke
15.0% - CalTech
16.3% - Vanderbilt
18.4% - Univ. of Chicago
18.4% - Cornell</p>
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</p>
<p>That’s like saying that the 13 American colonies only made one another’s acquaintances for the purpose of fighting the British. Seven Ivies (all except Cornell) were seven of the nine American universities that were in operation during the colonial era. When Yale was founded in 1701, it was founded by scholars from Harvard - there was no other source in the Western hemisphere for college-educated faculty and administrators (W&M was only five years old). When each of the others were founded, the older Ivies played key roles in furnishing the talent. The seven communicated, collaborated, produced and traded talent for centuries before they decided to form an athletic conference (in fact, the name “Ivy League” was in use for the schools long before the founding of the conference). With the antiquity comes large endowments and long-standing reputations which have attracted top scholars and students for hundreds of years. The eight schools have a variety of sizes, curricular strengths and cultures, but the world-class students and star faculty are the unifying elements that keep them connected. Willie Sutton robbed banks because that’s where the money was. Similarly, students seek out the Ivies because that’s where the talent is.</p>
<p>Among the 8 Ivies there are differences in academic structure. Cornell and Penn have relatively more pre-professional programs (finance and nursing at Penn; agriculture, architecture, and hotel management at Cornell). The others focused more exclusively on liberal arts, sciences, and engineering. </p>
<p>Columbia has a Core Curriculum (with specific general education requirements for all undergraduates). Brown has an Open Curriculum (with near total freedom to choose courses) and allows students to take any course on a pass/fail basis. Most of the others have conventional distribution requirements.</p>
<p>Princeton is the only Ivy without a medical school; it does not have law or business schools either. Brown has a med school but does not have business or law schools. Dartmouth has medical and business schools but does not have a law school. The other 5 Ivies all have medicine, business, and law schools. With these differences in mind, and the size differences among their divisions, it might be said that Princeton, Brown, and Dartmouth are relatively “undergraduate focused” (though all 8 schools offer small average class sizes and strong undergraduate arts and science programs.)</p>
<p>Yes, there are historical ties that predate the athletic conference (as I intimated above). However, in some important respects (such as the Core curriculum and urban location) Columbia has more in common with Chicago than with Dartmouth or Brown. Penn and Cornell, in their variety of pre-professional programs, are more similar to Northwestern than to Princeton. So I think the Ivy brand can create an impression that these schools are more alike than they really are, although it is a convenient shorthand for some of the best national universities in the Northeast</p>
<p>
The Fiske Guide spends about 4 pages on each school. The Insider’s Guide spends about 3 pages on each. Princeton Review spends about 2 pages on each school and is available online. You get the picture. </p>
<p>CC is good for specific questions, but it should not replace basic research. </p>
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Additionally, none of the Ivies offers merit aid.</p>