The Harvard University Bell Tower steeple on a clear day.
There are eight Ivy League universities: Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Brown and Dartmouth. The first four on the list constituted the original "Four League," marked by the Roman Numeral "IV." "IV" spoken, soon became mistaken for a reference to the ivy that grows on many New England schools. Ivy league schools are known for their academic and athletic excellence.
Harvard
Harvard was founded in 1638 as the first institution of higher learning in what would become the United States. Since 2010, Harvard can name 44 Nobel laureates as past and present faculty members. The university is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Princeton
Chartered in 1746, Princeton is located in Princeton, New Jersey and is the fourth-oldest university in the United States. In the 2009-2010 academic year, the undergraduate and graduate student body equalled about 7,000 students, enjoying roughly a 7-1 student to teacher ratio. Princeton is one of the most prestigious research universities in the country and has 34 academic departments.
Columbia
Columbia has the largest student body of the Ivy League Schools, as the 2009-2010 academic year ushered in 27,606 students. Columbia University was the first university in New York State, and is the fifth oldest university in the country, after Princeton. Columbia posits itself at the center of global and academic concerns, aptly located in Upper Manhattan.
Yale
Yale University was founded in 1701 in Saybrook, Connecticut and would later become the first planned campus, located in New Haven, Connecticut, the country's first planned city. Yale College, the university's undergraduate sector, teaches over 2,000 courses from 65 departments and programs. Yale is renowned for having the first graduate school in North America: the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania, often referred to as "Penn," was founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1750 as the first institution of higher learning, whose main aim was not to educate clergy, but to prepare new generations for business and public service. This Philadelphia university has an undergraduate college and 12 graduate schools.
Cornell
Cornell University was founded in 1865, but has been called "the first American university," because of its commitment to diversity in both its student body and academics. Boasting a "heritage of egalitarian excellence," Cornell has 70 undergraduate departments and 93 fields of graduate study. Cornell is situated in Ithaca, New York.
Brown
Brown University is located in Providence, Rhode Island, and is home to an undergraduate college, graduate schools and medical and engineering schools. Its student body numbers just over 8,000 people. It was founded in 1764 as the seventh institution of higher learning in the United States. Students come from all 50 states and over 100 countries.
Dartmouth
Dartmouth was founded in 1769 by a Congregational minister and is located in Hanover, New Hampshire. In the 2009-2010 academic year, Dartmouth enrolled just over 4,000 undergraduate students and 1,700 graduate students. It has the United States' first engineering school, as well as its fourth medical school.
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