Have you ever come across the phrase ivy league schools and wondered why they are called that. Or wondering how many schools are part of the ivy league. Well, Ivy League colleges started as an association of eight athletic colleges that were very good in their league competitions. the popularity of the schools grew due to how good the college teams were.
Not only were their performance good, but because of their popularity their academic and student performance increased. The popularity obviously made getting admission to these schools more competitive. Consequently, more students now want to been in these Ivy League schools because of the reputation.
What are Ivy League schools?
The Ivy League schools consist of 8 eight elite schools in the US. Now, the Ivy League schools are regarded as the most prestigious colleges when it comes to United States. You may find the college fees to be much higher but interestingly, these institutions have some of the most generous financial aid packages, so your admission may not be influenced by your financial background.
It is no news that Alumnus of these Ivy league schools get job offers faster and gives them a career boost because of the Although the schools have been ranked over the years, these rankings don’t mean that one institution is better than another. Each school has different strengths, and all of the schools on this list are great institutions. Being an alumnus of any of them opens doors for you in your career.
List of Ivy League Schools
- Harvard University
Located at Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, Harvard is the oldest higher institution of learning in the United States of America. It was established in 1636 and was initially named Harvard College after its founding patron, John Harvard. The school is noted to be among one of the most prestigious Ivy League universities, especially when it comes to its law faculty.
- Yale University
The institution is one of the most prestigious in the United States of America, as well as the third oldest. Yale was founded in 1701 and has been a big name in the academic world since then. The school is dedicated to expanding and sharing knowledge, inspiring innovation, and preserving cultural and scientific information for future generations.
- University of Pennsylvania
Better known as the Quakers, UPenn, or simply Penn, this tertiary institution of learning was established in 1740 by one of the most famous individuals in America’s history, Benjamin Franklin. The University of Pennsylvania was built solely on the concept of innovation. Everything that is new and holds promise to change the world can be found at UPenn.
- Princeton University
Princeton is a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey USA. The institution was chartered in 1746, but it moved to Princeton in 1756. The school has state-of-the-art facilities that every student has access to.
- Cornell University
Andrew Dickson White and Ezra Cornell founded Cornell University in 1865. Historically, the institution was established to make acquiring classical and scientific knowledge easy for anyone searching. The school is located at Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
- Brown University
Located at Providence, Rhode Island, United States, Brown University is a private Ivy League research institution established in 1764, making it number seven in the list of oldest higher institutions in the USA. It was originally known as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
- Dartmouth College
Dartmouth is very famous for its four leading graduate schools: the Geisel School of Medicine, the School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, the Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business.
Nicknamed the Big Green, this Ivy college is privately owned and was founded by Eleazar Wheelock in 1769. It was initially focused on teaching Christian theology and the English culture but has metamorphosed to include other fields of studies in its curriculum. The school is located at Hanover, New Hampshire, United States
- Columbia University
Columbia University was founded in 1754 and was initially known as King’s College. The schhol is a distinguished learning institution mostly known for its role as a research centre. As one of the top Ivy League schools, it is renowned for its academic standards, with an admission rate of around 6.1%.
Why are they called Ivy League schools?
There are several theories about why the schools are called ivy league but the most official is how their sportsmen performed during the league games somewhere in the 1950s. Another story regarding the origin of the term is that most schools are known for cultivating the ivy plant, a type of climbing vine distinguishable by its evergreen leaves and woody stems.
The term’s first known use dates back to 1933 when Stanley Woodward (1895-1965) wrote about the football season. He was quoted as saying the following in his column for the New York Tribune on the 14th of October, 1933: saying;
A proportion of our eastern ivy colleges are meeting little fellows another Saturday before plunging into the strife and the turmoil.
Although there are only eight original Ivy League schools, the association of the term to academic excellence has made it such that some schools are now considered as ivy league colleges too. such schools are MIT and Stanford University.