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FEATURE: A Guide to Ivy League Colleges (Pt. 1)


By Ibne Tamim

NAME: Harvard University 

FOUNDED: September 8, 1636

LOCATION: Cambridge, Massachusetts

ACCEPTANCE RATE: 4.6%

AVERAGE SAT/ACT SCORE: 1440-1550 SAT, 32-35 ACT

ACADEMICS: Harvard features a set of general education requirements that all freshmen in the college must complete in addition to the courses for their major. The general education requirements at Harvard are designed to expose students to broader ranges of subject material and enhance their understanding of the world outside the school’s hallowed halls. The school’s considerable resources allow for undergraduate research and a great degree of freedom to pursue academic interests, opportunities that Harvard students are sure to take advantage of.

The professors at Harvard represent a diverse mix of different cultures and are very friendly and welcoming. Based on ratings provided by students, between 77-90% of the student body describe the nature and teaching style of their professors to be helpful for students.

SCHOLARSHIPS: The net price for basic student expenses is almost $18,030 per year. At least 73% of students receive financial support.  After adding tuition, in-state and out-state students face the same annual cost of $51,925 per year. This is broken down into several categories of expenses, such as housing, meal plans and school supplies. 

Housing: $10,927 per year 

Meal plan: $6,755 per year 

Books: $1,000 per year 

There are several scholarships meant to pay these expenses. An example would be the Horatio Alger state scholarships. The amount given would be almost $10,000 with the application requirement of writing an essay and a minimum GPA of 2.0.

TOP 5 MAJORS:

  1. Economics 
  2. Computer science 
  3. Political science and government 
  4. History 
  5. Social science research methods

 

FUN FACTS:

  1. It was named after the College’s first benefactor, the young minister John Harvard of Charlestown, who upon his death in 1638 left his library and half his estate to the institution.
  2. Harvard holds real estate totaling 5,457 acres of land, the size of over 4000 football fields!
  3. There are 79 libraries, the main and largest one is known as the Widener Memorial Library. It houses about 3.5 million works in over 100 languages, and 92 kilometers of shelves across ten levels.

NAME: Yale University 

FOUNDED: October 9, 1701

LOCATION: Private University in New Haven, Connecticut 

ACCEPTANCE RATE:6.1%

AVERAGE SAT/ACT SCORE: 1470-1560 SAT, 33-35 ACT

ACADEMICS: All undergraduates attend Yale College, the liberal arts college within the university. Yale has loose general education requirements, although they are less stringent than those at Columbia or Princeton. Yale is celebrated for its exemplary English and creative arts programs, which consistently place near or at the top of national rankings. Writing is an important part of the Yale undergraduate curriculum, with over a hundred introductory writing courses to choose from featuring a broad range of topics.

SCHOLARSHIPS: All financial aid awards are granted based on need. Yale provides 2 tools called, “The quick cost estimator” and “The net price calculator.” These tools were designed for future students to estimate the cost of their tuition, and can help financially prepare for future educational expenses and determine whether or not they need financial aid. 

Statistics regarding Yale scholarships and financial aid state that 

  • 64% of undergrads students receive financial aid
  • Families with less than $65,000 annual income contribute $0. 
  • The average Yale need-based scholarship is $51,500.
  • 86% of students graduate debt-free. 

 

TOP 5 MAJORS:

  1. Economics 
  2. History 
  3. Political science and government 
  4. Cellular biology 
  5. English 

FUN FACTS:

  1. Yale University is named after Elihu Yale, “the most overrated philanthropist in history,” instead of main philanthropist Jeremiah Dummer because Dummer College would have been a bad name.
  2. In 2004, during the Harvard/Yale Annual American football game, Yale students tricked Harvard supporters to hold up placards, that, when raised, spelled out “WE SUCK”.
  3. Yale has a rare book and manuscript library with “windows” of translucent marble to prevent the books from being exposed to direct sunlight.


NAME: Princeton University 

FOUNDED: January 18, 1746

LOCATION: Private university in Princeton, New Jersey 

ACCEPTANCE RATE: 5.8%

AVERAGE SAT/ACT SCORE: 1460-1570 SAT, 33-35 ACT

ACADEMICS:  Princeton University emphasizes undergraduate education as its top priority. Princeton offers two degrees, either A.B. for liberal arts students or B.S.E. for students of engineering and applied science. Both programs feature general education requirements, as well as a focus on independent research. The required courses provide Princeton students with a diverse and thorough liberal arts education, a hallmark of the university’s undergraduate experience.

SCHOLARSHIPS: Princeton financial aid is awarded solely based on need; there are no merit scholarships. They consider an applicant’s talents and achievements only in relation to admission. Academic and athletic merits are not considered when awarding aid. Need is determined through a careful review of each family’s individual financial circumstances. Personal attention is given to every admitted student’s aid application, taking into account special circumstances and professional judgment in determining aid awards.

TOP 5 MAJORS:

  1. Computer Hardware Engineering 
  2. Economics 
  3. Public Policy Analysis 
  4. History 
  5. Political science and government  

FUN FACTS: 

  1. Nassau Hall, home to the Office of the President and other senior administrators, served as the nation’s capital for four months and eight days in 1783, when it played host to meetings of the Continental Congress.
  2. The use of the word “campus” (Latin for “field”), to mean the grounds of a college, originated at Princeton.
  3. The Princeton University Chapel is the third-largest university chapel in the world.


NAME: Columbia University 

FOUNDED: May 25, 1754

LOCATION: New York City, New York

ACCEPTANCE RATE: 5%

AVERAGE SAT/ACT SCORE: 1480-1560 SAT, 33-35 ACT

ACADEMICS: The undergraduate experience at Columbia is defined by the Core Curriculum, a set of classes all students in the liberal arts college (Columbia College) are required to take. Students in the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science are also required to take some core classes, although the requirements are less stringent. The Core Curriculum features a heavy emphasis on reading and writing, especially of classical literature; detractors of Homer beware!

SCHOLARSHIPS: All financial aid awards are granted based on need. There are no academic, athletic,  or talent-based institutional scholarships. They evaluate each family’s ability to pay based on the information provided to them in the financial aid application.

TOP 5 MAJORS:

  1. Social sciences 
  2. Engineering 
  3. Biological and biomedical sciences 
  4. Computer and information science 
  5. Mathematics and statistics 

FUN FACTS: 

  1. Columbia was the first school in the US to grant the M.D. degree.
  2. Columbia has the second most Nobel Prize-winning affiliates in the country (the first being Harvard).
  3. The Columbia University Orchestra, founded in 1896, is the oldest continually operating university orchestra in the US.
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