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I’ll just give the disclaimer that they’re alll top notch schools obviously.
I was watching a sitcom recently and one the characters mentioned they went to the worst Ivy League school. They then name dropped Cornell.
I’m not sure if I’d agree, but they’re definitely in a less desirable location than the others. Brown is also often ranked the lowest by US News and World Report. However, it’s a lovely campus and Providence is a nice little city (close to Boston too).
I went to Columbia for grad school so I’m a little bias in this discussion. However, they’re usual regarded as fourth outside of the Harvard, Princeton, Yale trinity.
I’d love to get the insight of some people who have been to some or all of the campuses. However, if you’ve just studied them or just feel like giving your two cents then that could be interesting too.
Reputation? Brown or Dartmouth. Difficulty of gaining admittance? Penn or Cornell. For undergrad only, Cornell. Including grad, Penn.
Dartmouth and Brown are probably less prestigious and globally renowned than Penn and Cornell, and have few elite graduate programs of note. But they're harder to get into undergrad.
But, keep in mind, the "worst" Ivy is still one of the best schools on the planet. Penn and Cornell are super-elite and probably Top 20 on the planet.
The top Ivies by prestige/global rep. are probably Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, more or less in that order. In terms of % admitted, the ranking is Harvard-Columbia-Princeton-Yale.
Disclosure: I have undergrad/grad degrees from two Ivies listed in the "top four".
Is Columbia really up there with HYP? I agree that Penn and Cornell were considered the easiest to get into for undergrad.
In terms of % admitted, Columbia has the second lowest admittance rates in the U.S. Only Harvard has lower rates. SATs at C are the same or higher than Y or P.
I think, yes, Columbia is generally considered up there with HYP. Stanford too, though not Ivy.
Though, if I had to rank the top four, I would put Harvard first, and Columbia last. And HYP will always be something of a "holy trinity" in that they're the oldest.
If my kid was admitted to every school for undergrad, and asked my advice, I would say Harvard, without question.
Wonder if some applied a value added model how they would roll out? If there were some way to evaluate student knowledge and ability going in vs coming out what would it look like? Would it be HYP or would we find that given the raw material they started with, it was XYZ-state, small-LAC, ABC-state?
I have no idea but if we could separate the students out and look only at the school....
I would concur that Brown is probably considered at the bottom, just above Cornell with the pecking order from the top being Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Penn and then Dartmouth. Although I would say it's less clear about #2 -#5 as they could be interchangeable given the degree in question.
Ranks numbers come and go. I can recall about 20 years ago when Columbia was very unpopular among the Ivy league schools for prospective Ivy freshman. And Harvard and Princeton have flip flopped on the US News list over the past few years. for the number one spot. It also depends on the program. If you are interested in theater, then obviously its Yale. Cornell for engineering and don't forget that there is a free public section and agricultural college. Dartmouth is better for liberal arts. Theoretical math and physics would be Princeton.
In my personal opinion, the ugliest Ivy campus and dorms can be found in Columbia. Aside from the historical aspect, Columbia has an ugly campus and even some of the CUNY schools in the area look aesthetically nicer. Columbia is also expanding their campus on more property in Morningside Heights. The interior of some of the older buildings from the 1930s are pretty dilapidated and the new research buildings are just your basic modern highrise.
Cornell has a very nice looking new campus on Roosevelt Island. I think that Princeton and Yale have beautiful main campuses. The only Ivy that I have not visited is Dartmouth.
Brown is the only Ivy without a major graduate program and graduate funding. The others all have a lot of money invested in graduate studies and research. Brown still has a bit of a progressive/hippy methodology in terms of their approach to student learning.
Ranks numbers come and go. I can recall about 20 years ago when Columbia was very unpopular among the Ivy league schools for prospective Ivy freshman. And Harvard and Princeton have flip flopped on the US News list over the past few years. for the number one spot. It also depends on the program. If you are interested in theater, then obviously its Yale. Cornell for engineering and don't forget that there is a free public section and agricultural college. Dartmouth is better for liberal arts. Theoretical math and physics would be Princeton.
In my personal opinion, the ugliest Ivy campus and dorms can be found in Columbia. Aside from the historical aspect, Columbia has an ugly campus and even some of the CUNY schools in the area look aesthetically nicer. Columbia is also expanding their campus on more property in Morningside Heights. The interior of some of the older buildings from the 1930s are pretty dilapidated and the new research buildings are just your basic modern highrise.
Cornell has a very nice looking new campus on Roosevelt Island. I think that Princeton and Yale have beautiful main campuses. The only Ivy that I have not visited is Dartmouth.
Brown is the only Ivy without a major graduate program and graduate funding. The others all have a lot of money invested in graduate studies and research. Brown still has a bit of a progressive/hippy methodology in terms of their approach to student learning.
Columbia's expansion is in Manhattanville, NOT in Morningside Heights. There's literally no space to expand to in Morningside Heights.
President Trump went to the University of Pennsylvania. Trump, a billionaire, hired his children. Now as President, the Trump name and brand has only grown.
If we're all perfectly honest who cares what school you've gone to, if you have wealthy parents and/or the right family name.
I'd take Brown over Cornell any day. I'd take Dartmouth over both.
For undergrad, I would take Cornell over Dartmouth, which I would take over Brown. Disclosure: I know plenty of people who went to all three schools undergrad.
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