Ranking the Ivy League Schools Academically

1) Harvard

2) Princeton

3) Yale

4) Cornell

5) Columbia

6) Brown

7) U Penn

6) Dartmouth

I think it depends on the discipline, as Cornell and Dartmouth (IMHO) are stronger engineering schools than the other Ivies.

dartmouth? please. cornell-princeton-penn

You are clearly wrong by any objective measures. Tier #11a) Harvard1b) Princeton3) YaleTier #24) Columbia5) U PennTier #36a)Brown6b)Darmouth6c)Cornell

IVy runner wrote:

1) Harvard

2) Princeton

3) Yale

4) Cornell

5) Columbia

6) Brown

7) U Penn

6) Dartmouth

this is tricky - the schools are very different in character and size.

UPenn and Cornell have 21,000 students, Dartmouth has 6000. How you try to compare those, I have no idea.

You would clearly have to have an undergrad ranking and then a graduate ranking.

I am biased sure, as a Dartmouth alumnus, but to me undergrad education is all about teaching, and Dartmouth and Princeton are consistently ranked the best undergrad teaching institutions in the country.

I never had a t/a, class size was small, and never had a bad teacher. Smoke that, Harvard. (not in the top 10)

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/undergraduate-teaching

Dartmouth is definitely last in teaching race tactics-at least for Glenn Randall.

How do the Ivy League schools rank in terms of party schools?

Go Buffs!

harvard/princeton

yale

columbia

upenn/cornell/dartmouth

brown

Aghast wrote:

You are clearly wrong by any objective measures.

Tier #1

1a) Harvard

1b) Princeton

3) Yale

Tier #2

4) Columbia

5) U Penn

Tier #3

6a)Brown

6b)Darmouth

6c)Cornell

In my social experience it is 4 tiered system. Ths is not academically based because there is no objective way to do it. All rankings are social competitions or based on some random stats. More closely related to where people actually THINK is the best place to go. These rankings are what people think of when they say the best:

Tier #1

1) Harvard

2) Yale

3) Princeton

Tier #2

4) Columbia

Tier #3

5)Brown

6)Dartmouth

Tier #4

7) UPenn

8) Cornell

I went to Georgetown. I base some of my judgements on the fact that I got into UPenn and Cornell but none of the other ivies.

Yale has the worst location!

That's a poor criterion. Who is accepted is almost a crap shoot.

At the undergraduate level, Dartmouth deserves to be ranked higher. Above Cornell, Penn and Brown, certainly.

you guys should explain why you put near the bottom the school ranked best in the country for teaching.

One of you is just talking about mass perception, which is probably the right answer.

The reflections about size, discipline, and subjectivity are valid. Speaking of subjective bias, I'll rile up the board: although only a Little Ivy, Williams bosses these pretenders !

For reputation:

Tier 1

1. Harvard

2. Yale

3. Princeton

Tier 2

4. Columbia

Tier 3

5. UPenn

6. Dartmouth

Tier 4

7. Brown

8. Cornell

For undergrad education:

1. Princeton

2. Harvard

3. Yale

4. Columbia

5. Dartmouth

6. UPenn

7. Brown

8. Cornell

fdfddf wrote:

In my social experience it is 4 tiered system. Ths is not academically based because there is no objective way to do it. All rankings are social competitions or based on some random stats. More closely related to where people actually THINK is the best place to go. These rankings are what people think of when they say the best:

Tier #1

1) Harvard

2) Yale

3) Princeton

Tier #2

4) Columbia

Tier #3

5)Brown

6)Dartmouth

Tier #4

7) UPenn

8) Cornell

This is exactly correct. I didn't go to any of them for undergrad but did go to an ivy league professional school. I had classmates from all of these schools, and this was the clear pecking order. It was pretty much universally understood that the only reason anyone went to Penn or Cornell for undergrad was because they didn't get in to any other ivy, with Cornell being the absolute last choice. Wharton's the obvious exception to that rule.

go green wrote:

I am biased sure, as a Dartmouth alumnus, but to me undergrad education is all about teaching, and Dartmouth and Princeton are consistently ranked the best undergrad teaching institutions in the country.

. . .

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/undergraduate-teaching

Is that really how you interpret those rankings?

Oh, well. Congratulations to Dartmouth and Princeton for edging out Miami of Ohio and U. of Maryland -- Baltimore County.

1. Harvard

2. Princeton

3. Yale

4. Columbia

5. Dartmouth

6. UPenn

7. Brown

8. Cornell

Best undergrad teaching: Princeton and Dartmouth, by far.

This is a great list. However, this is more the pecking order of these schools' admitted students, which is distinct from their academics (and prestige). Brown is very popular because of its liberal, fun reputation. But, it is a little weak as an academic institution, with terrible undergrad grade inflation (3.68 average gpa) and a pretty poor set of graduate/professional schools which may it a little less respected academically. As for UPenn, it isn't really up to par with HYP (or Columbia or Dartmouth) for undergrad academics, but it is a bit more prestigious than Brown and Cornell at least (in part because of the reputation of its Medical, Business, and Law schools). But to reiterate, agree completely with this list as a ranking of difficulty of admission (and so academic quality of student body).

i agree that there are 2 lists -- the pecking order list and the actual education list.

the pecking order list has HYP firmly at the top with penn/columbia/dartmouth tier 2 and brown/cornell the 3rd tier.

in terms of education, that's a lot trickier because they are so different and have such different strengths. for example, cornell has the best hotel management school but it also has a state school component to it so, overall, it is relatively weak. harvard has the best name but it has so many big lecture hall classes taught by grad students who don't give a crap. the quality of the grad schools has no bearing on the undergrad education (you can't be serious that you think cornell's med school, which is in manhattan, has any bearing on the undergrad program in upstate ny). i think princeton and dartmouth likely have the best pure education, followed by columbia/penn/yale and then harvard with brown and cornell at the bottom, which is a pretty high bottom.