What Is an Ivy League School?

What terms come to mind when you hear “Ivy League”? Do you think about academics? Sports or enormous cost? Just what is an Ivy League school?

The Ivy League actually refers to an NCAA Division I sports conference comprised of eight schools located in the New England area.

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Along with their competitive sports programs, the Ivy League schools are also known for their academic excellence. Students wishing to get into one of these prestigious schools must have excellent grades and work hard through the admissions process. While each of the schools has very low admissions rates, Harvard is the “toughest” Ivy to get into with only a 5.6% acceptance rate. On the other hand, the “easiest” Ivy League to get into would be Cornell with just over a 15% acceptance rate.

The eight Ivy League schools are:

Brown University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Harvard University
Princeton University
The University of Pennsylvania
Yale University

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Below is a list of Ivy League schools and a bit of information about each one:

Brown University

Ranked #17 overall at College Factual
Founded in 1764 in Providence, Rhode Island
Just under 10,000 students
Students typically have a SAT score of 1510 or ACT score of 32

Columbia University

One of the oldest Ivy League schools (formed in 1754 as King’s College)
Located in New York City, New York
Student population of over 27,000 students
Average SAT score of 1510 and ACT of 33
6.6% acceptance rate
College Factual ranks Columbia at #27 in the nation

Cornell University

Located in Ithaca, New York
Student population of about 23,000 students
Ranks #11 in the nation and #1 in New York according to College Factual
Average SAT and ACT scores are 1480 and 32 respectively

Dartmouth College

Ranks high at College Factual coming in at #12 in the nation and #1 in New Hampshire
Average SAT and ACT scores for students entering Dartmouth are 1490 and 32 respectively
Located in the small city of Hanover, New Hampshire

Harvard University

Best ranking of all Massachusetts colleges and coming in #2 in the nation
Very prestigious school where only the best students can attend
One of the most selective universities in the country with a low acceptance rate of just 5.6%
Average SAT score is 1530 and the average ACT score is 34

Princeton University

Ranked top school in New Jersey and #19 nationwide according to College Factual
While not quite as selective as Harvard, students aspiring to be accepted to Princeton must have a high SAT score of 1520 or ACT score of 34 to compete

The University of Pennsylvania

Located in the heart of historic Philadelphia
Takes the top spot in best Pennsylvania colleges and comes in at #4 nationwide
Acceptance rate is higher than most Ivy League schools coming in at just over 10%
Average SAT and ACT scores for students accepted is 1510 and 32 respectively

Yale University

Notable for a number of reasons — College Factual ranks it #6 in the country for best colleges
One of the oldest schools in the country having been founded in 1701
Located in New Haven Connecticut
Very selective when it comes to accepting students
Only accepted about 6.7% of the applicants in the entering class of 2016
Average SAT score of 1540 and average ACT score of 33

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