You often hear the term “Ivy League School” mentioned in movies and everyday conversation. For many teenagers, their dream is to be accepted into an Ivy League school. But what does this term actually mean? Which schools are in the Ivy League? In this article we’ll cover everything you need to know, from which schools are in the Ivy League to where the term originated.
What does Ivy League School Mean?
The term “Ivy League” refers to a group of 8 universities in the northeast of the United States. These schools are known for being prestigious and academically rigorous. These universities used to all compete with each other in athletics, and their league was named the “Ivy League”. Nowadays, the term is often used to describe a certain lifestyle of academic excellence and prestige.
Why are they called Ivy League Schools?
The term came from the ivy that grows on many of the buildings of these prestigious schools. The Ivy League schools are all historic, so they have old brick buildings where ivy has begun to grow throughout the decades. When these schools formed an athletic league, this term was given to them in the 1950s, as the ivy on the buildings was a visual characteristic they all had in common.
What are the Ivy League Schools?
The eight Ivy League schools are Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Brown University, Dartmouth College, Cornell University, and University of Pennsylvania.
Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Founded: 1636
Enrollment Size: About 7,000 undergraduate students
Tuition Cost: Around $59,000 per year
Notable Alumni: Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy, Mark Zuckerberg, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Bill Gates, Natalie Portman
Yale University
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Founded: 1701
Enrollment Size: About 6,500 undergraduate students
Tuition Cost: Around $64,000 per year
Notable Alumni: George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Meryl Streep, Anderson Cooper, Sonia Sotomayor, Fareed Zakaria
Princeton University
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Founded: 1746
Enrollment Size: About 5,500 undergraduate students
Tuition Cost: Around $62,000 per year
Notable Alumni: Michelle Obama, Jeff Bezos, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Alan Turing, Elena Kagan
Columbia University
Location: New York City, New York
Founded: 1754
Enrollment Size: About 8,000 undergraduate students
Tuition Cost: Around $68,000 per year
Notable Alumni: Barack Obama, Warren Buffett, Jake Gyllenhaal, Amanda Peet, Alexander Hamilton
University of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Founded: 1740
Enrollment Size: About 10,000 undergraduate students
Tuition Cost: Around $66,000 per year
Notable Alumni: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, John Legend, Tory Burch, Noam Chomsky
Brown University
Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Founded: 1764
Enrollment Size: About 7,600 undergraduate students
Tuition Cost: Around $68,000 per year
Notable Alumni: Emma Watson, John Krasinski, Ted Turner, Julie Bowen, Janet Yellen
Dartmouth College
Location: Hanover, New Hampshire
Founded: 1769
Enrollment Size: About 4,500 undergraduate students
Tuition Cost: Around $67,000 per year
Notable Alumni: Mindy Kaling, Robert Frost, Shonda Rhimes, Nelson Rockefeller, Laura Ingraham
Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, New York
Founded: 1865
Enrollment Size: About 15,000 undergraduate students
Tuition Cost: Around $65,000 per year
Notable Alumni: Ruth Bader Ginsburg (attended), Bill Nye, Anthony Fauci, E. B. White, Christopher Reeve
Which Ivy League School is the Easiest to Get Into?
Cornell University is often considered the easiest Ivy League school to get into because it has the highest acceptance rate. However, it is still very hard compared to most colleges. Cornell only accepts around 8% of applicants. All Ivy League schools are very competitive, so it’s important to find a school that fits your goals and interests, not just the one with the highest acceptance rate.
Which Ivy League School is the Hardest to Get Into?
Harvard is typically considered the hardest Ivy League school to get into. Harvard’s acceptance rate is around 4%, which is usually the lowest among the Ivy League schools. Other Ivy League schools like Columbia and Princeton are also extremely competitive, but Harvard is typically the most selective.
How to Get Accepted Into an Ivy League School
Getting into an Ivy League school required strong grades, test scores, and an outstanding application. First, you need to have a high GPA and take challenging courses like honors or AP classes. You also need very high test scores in the ACT of SAT. Most students accepted into IVy League schools get over a 1500 on the SAT or above a 32 on the ACT.
Strong grades and test scores aren’t enough to guarantee an acceptance letter. The schools also want to see that you are involved in activities you care about, such as sports, music, clubs, volunteering, or starting your own projects. Your application essays should tell your story clearly and show who you are as a person. Strong letters of recommendation from teachers are also important. Even with all of this, acceptance rates are very low, so it’s important to stay positive and apply to several schools.
Are the Ivy League Schools the Best Universities?
While Ivy League schools are great and rank very highly in the lists of best schools, there are plenty of schools that rank just as high but are not in the Ivy League. For example, US News ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology as the 2nd best university in 2025, but it is not an Ivy League school. Stanford ranked 4th and it is not in the Ivy League either. At the end of the day, rankings don’t determine which schools are the best for you, just simply which rank highest overall. There are many more factors you should take into consideration when figuring out what school is the best fit for you. When you’re a seniors about to graduate high school should think about what your passions and interests truly are, and then look at what schools are able to provide to help them accomplish their goals.