<p>I'm planning to apply to both the UK and the US this coming year for university. I was wondering which UK universities are just as good as the Ivy League in general?</p>
<p>The standard answer from a US point of view would be Oxford, Cambridge, and the London School of Economics. But that is based more on how famous they are rather than how “good” they are. How good any particular school is depends on what you are looking for.</p>
<p>Very few universities in the UK can match the Ivy League (or other top US universities) where quality is concerned. Top UK universities have very good faculties, talented students and strong curricula, but they lack the resources to provide undergrads with the same time of experience as top US universities. The only notalbe exceptions are Cambridge and Oxford, both of which are very wealthy. For example, Imperial, LSE and UCL, arguably the top 3 UK universities after OxBridge, each has an endowment of $100 million. For universities of their size and stature, there is very little they can do to enhance the academic experience of their students. Top universities in the US typically have endowments that tower over $2 billion. Universities like Columbia, Cornell and Penn have endowments in the $5-$8 billion range while HYP have endowments in the $16-$32 billion range. </p>
<p>That being said, a couple of UK universities have strong global reputations that can rival those of some Ivies, specifically Imperial in Engineering and the Sciences, LSE in Economics and Political Science and UCL in several fields. To varying degrees, Bristol, Edinburgh (used to be third in the UK back in the 17th, 18th, 19th and first half of the 20th centuries), St Andrews (thanks to a certain power couple) and Warwick (excellent Economics department) also have reasonable reputations, but nothing close to the likes of Columbia, Cornell or Penn or HYP.</p>
<p>Why do people compare UK and US universities by the size of their respective endowments? It has always been my understanding that the majority of US endowments go towards providing financial aid. British students until very recently did not pay any fees at all, and nowadays most students take out loans to cover their fees. Consequently UK universities have not spent decades building up massive endowments because they have never needed to. </p>
<p>After a certain point endowments stop increasing the quality of education and serve only to increase the comfort of students and faculty. Gyms and pretty buildings, well maintained parks and sporting equipment do not have any effect on the education one receives. I can’t think of anything the Ivy’s have (which is necessary for a top quality education) that Oxbridge or the big London universities do not have also.</p>
<p>You need to rephrase your question. One applies for a single subject of study in the UK, so the more useful question would be “Which UK universities are as strong as the Ivies in X?” </p>
<p>For archaeology, for example, Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, and Liverpool are as strong (indeed, quite a bit stronger) than any of the Ivies. </p>
<p>For marine biology, you have awesome programs like Southampton, Plymouth, and Wales-Bangor showing up.</p>
<p>For Near/Middle Eastern studies, SOAS is easily as good or better than the Ivies.</p>
<p>What do you plan to study?</p>
<p>thanks for the response everybody. I am interested in either majoring in Physics or Economics (haven’t decided yet).</p>
<p>Also i am quite surprised that only Oxbridge and LSE were comparable to the Ivy League as i expected a lot more UK universities to be just as good…</p>
<p>Oxford and Cambridge</p>
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<p>Do not let your understanding stand in the way of knolwledge and facts. Here’s a slight insight on why the reference about Harvard was relevant. Tuition income rarely covers the operating expense of any university. Support from public and private sources is immensely important. </p>
<p>In 2011, Harvard’s total operating revenue was $3.8 billion, with $1.2 billion coming from the endowment. The budget for financial aid was around 166 million. </p>
<p>Obviously 166 million is hardly the “majority” of 1.2 billion or 3.8 billion!</p>
<p>However, most (and all of the highly regarded ones) UK universities are public, meaning they get significant government funding. That also reduces the need for a large endowment.</p>
<p>All of the highly regarded publics in the US get (got?) significant funding too. They still have very large endowments.</p>
<p>That is true Fickle, but even public universities in the US, who receive hundreds of millions of dollars in state appropriations annually, have much larger endowments. Cal (Berkeley) has an endowment of $3 billion. UVa and Texas A&M have endowments in the $4-$5 billion range. Texas-Austin and Michigan-Ann Arbor have endowments in the $7.5-$8 billion range. </p>
<p>Most of the revenues generated from endowments are used for infrastructure development and maintenance, as well as faculty appointments.</p>