Duke University is a private institution that was founded in 1838. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 6,626, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 8,709 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Duke University's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 8. Its tuition and fees are $49,341 (2015-16).
Durham, North Carolina, which surrounds Duke's campus, offers a variety of activities including shopping, dining and entertainment. Its "Bull City" nickname comes from the Blackwell Tobacco Company's Bull Durham Tobacco. Students at Duke are required to live on campus for their first three years, and freshmen live together on the East Campus. The Duke Blue Devils maintain a fierce rivalry with the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill Tar Heels and are best known for their outstanding men's basketball program, one of the top five winningest college basketball programs in the country. Approximately 30 percent of the student body is affiliated with Greek life, which encompasses more than 30 fraternities and sororities.
Duke University is divided into 10 schools and colleges, many of which serve both undergraduate and graduate students. Its graduate programs include the highly ranked Fuqua School of Business, Pratt School of Engineering, School of Law, School of Medicine, Sanford School of Public Policy and School of Nursing. Duke also offers graduate programs through its well-respected Divinity School and Nicholas School of the Environment. Duke's most esteemed undergraduate scholarship, the Robertson Scholars Program, provides approximately 18 students from each class with a monetary reward and the opportunity to study for a semester at UNC-Chapel Hill. Notable alumni include Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; NBA player Carlos Boozer; and former U.S. Congressman and three-time presidential candidate Ron Paul.
Duke University offers a unique and compelling combination of academic achievement, engagement with society, and athletic accomplishment at the highest levels. A private comprehensive teaching and research university, Duke traces its roots to 1838, officially becoming Duke University in 1924. In addition to liberal arts and engineering education at the undergraduate level, Duke offers graduate and professional study in arts and sciences, business, divinity, engineering, the environment, law, public policy, medicine, and nursing. At the same time, Duke is an intimate setting, with 6,800 undergraduates and an additional 6,000 graduate and professional students. Duke is a global university with students and faculty from nearly every country. We encourage students to go abroad to study, perform service and conduct research. About half of Duke's graduating class spends at least a semester in another country - one of the highest percentages of any of the nation's top private research universities. We offer instruction in 25 foreign languages. One of our most popular programs is DukeEngage, which supports undergraduates who want to pursue an immersive service experience in the U.S. or abroad. Duke is characterized by innovation, entrepreneurship, energy and ambition. Duke students have an unusually wide range of opportunities available to them and freedom in choosing the academic path that best meets their needs. Duke students are encouraged to make a difference, to experiment with ideas and organizations and they are challenged to become engaged with society's problems and solutions. Our students spend four years on one of the most beautiful campuses in America -- soaring Gothic buildings, modern teaching and research facilities, lush botanical gardens, and accessible athletics and recreational spaces. Duke's home of Durham is a historic tobacco and textile hub that has emerged as the heart of North Carolina's hi-tech Research Triangle, and is consistently recognized as one of the most desirable and vibrant places to live in the country. Durham's arts, culture, recreation and restaurants have earned a national following, and the region provides numerous opportunities for post-graduate employment. Duke students exhibit legendary passion and enthusiasm. Duke's athletic program is regularly ranked among the nation's strongest and most competitive, with some of the country's most talented scholar-athletes and dedicated fans: the Cameron Crazies. A member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Duke has thirteen men's varsity teams and thirteen women's varsity teams as well as numerous intramural, recreational, and club sports. Duke consistently leads the ACC in Academic Honor Roll students and is a top producer of Academic All Americans. The residential experience is an important component of a Duke education. About 85 percent of all undergraduates live on campus. First-year students live together on East Campus, where about a quarter of them participate in FOCUS, a living/learning program organized around academic themes, which gives them immediate access to faculty mentoring and a smaller community of students they get to know well. Duke is one of a small number of schools committed to a need-blind admission policy, which means we admit undergraduates without consideration of a family's ability to pay tuition and other college costs and meet 100 percent of a student's demonstrated financial need for four years. About 54 percent of our undergraduates receive some sort of financial assistance, including need-based aid, merit or athletic scholarships. With the rigorous academics, the plethora of social and artistic activities, the immersive service and cultural opportunities and the occasional basketball game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, the most important things students need to bring with them to Duke are energy and intellectual curiosity.
Stanford University is a private institution that was founded in 1885. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 7,019, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 8,180 acres. It utilizes a quarter-based academic calendar. Stanford University's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 4. Its tuition and fees are $46,320 (2015-16).
Stanford University’s pristine campus is located in California’s Bay Area, about 30 miles from San Francisco. Stanford offers a wide range of student organizations, including the Stanford Pre-Business Association and Stanford Solar Car Project, which designs, builds and races a solar car every two years. The Stanford Cardinals are well known for the traditional "Big Game" against Cal, an annual football competition that awards the Stanford Axe—a sought-after trophy—to the victor. Stanford also has successful programs in tennis and golf. Only freshman are required to live on campus, but students are guaranteed housing for all four years and most choose to remain on campus. Greek life at Stanford represents approximately 10 percent of the student body.
Four of Stanford University’s seven schools offer undergraduate and graduate coursework, and the remaining three serve as purely graduate schools. Graduate programs include the highly ranked School of Education, School of Engineering, Law School, School of Medicine and the top-ranked Graduate School of Business. The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment oversees collaboration between environmental research, teaching and outreach. Stanford has a number of well-known theatrical and musical groups, including the Ram’s Head Theatrical Society and the Mendicants, an all-male a cappella group. Notable Stanford alumni include former U.S. President Herbert Hoover, famed NFL quarterback John Elway, actress Sigourney Weaver and golfer Tiger Woods, who began his professional career at Stanford.
In 1885, Jane and Leland Stanford established Stanford University in memory of their son, Leland Junior. Their intent was to establish a "University of high degree" that would "qualify students for personal success and direct usefulness in life and promote the public welfare by exercising an influence on behalf of humanity and civilization." Today, Stanford is a research university where teaching, learning and research are all integral to the university's mission. Stanford values close interaction between undergraduates and faculty. Student participation in research is strongly supported and, in 2013-14, Stanford allocated about $5.6 million to support 986 projects. Stanford's entrepreneurial character draws from its Western location, the legacy of its founders and its proximity to Silicon Valley. Stanford emphasizes multidisciplinary approaches to teaching and research, and academic excellence crosses disciplines, ranging from humanities to social sciences to engineering and the sciences. Current faculty members have earned 21 Nobel Prizes and 4 Pulitzer Prizes. Students, distinguished by initiative, love of learning and commitment to public service, are talented in many areas, including academics, art, music and athletics. Stanford's athletic teams, called the Cardinal, have won the Director's Cup as the best program nationwide 20 years in a row. Stanford's extraordinary campus is located in a dynamic and diverse area between San Francisco and San Jose in Northern California. The campus is considered among the most beautiful and most environmentally sustainable anywhere. The Bing Overseas Studies Program has offerings in Australia, Barcelona, Beijing, Berlin, Cape Town, Florence, Istanbul, Kyoto, Madrid, Oxford, Paris and Santiago. Other Stanford programs take students to the Hopkins Marine Laboratory on Monterey Bay, New York City and to Washington D.C. The arts are emphasized on the Stanford campus, and a new arts district is taking shape. It includes the new Bing Concert Hall, the McMurtry Building for Art and Art History and the Anderson Collection at Stanford University. There are about 650 organized student groups at Stanford. The student newspaper is the Stanford Daily. The Associated Students of Stanford University is the representative government for Stanford students. There are about 44 recognized religious organizations. Stanford offers seven cultural centers: Asian American Activities Center, Black Community Services Center, El Centro Chicano, LGBT Community Resource Center, Native American Cultural Center, Women's Center and the Markaz: Resource Center for Engagement with the Cultures and Peoples of the Muslim World.
University of Chicago is a private institution that was founded in 1890. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,681, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 217 acres. It utilizes a quarter-based academic calendar. University of Chicago's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 4. Its tuition and fees are $50,193 (2015-16).
The University of Chicago, situated in Chicago’s Hyde Park community, offers a rich campus life in a big-city setting. The Chicago Maroons have more than 15 NCAA Division III teams, which compete in the University Athletic Association, and have strong basketball and wrestling programs. At Chicago, freshmen are required to live on campus, and more than 50 percent of students choose to remain on campus, while others live in off-campus apartments and houses. On-campus students are placed in "houses" within their dorm, which serve as tight-knit communities and provide academic and social support. Chicago offers more than 400 student organizations.
The University of Chicago is comprised of the College and a number of graduate and professional schools. Its postgraduate offerings include the highly ranked Booth School of Business, Law School, Pritzker School of Medicine, Harris School of Public Policy Studies and Department of Geophysical Sciences, as well as a top-ranked graduate program in economics and a well-regarded Divinity School. Since 1987, the school has hosted the four-day long "University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt," now a venerable university tradition. Famous alumni include former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics recipient Milton Friedman, civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and author Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
The University of Chicago is universally recognized for its devotion to open and rigorous inquiry. The strength of our intellectual traditions, intense critical analysis, and free and lively debate draws from our engaged scholars who continually seek creative solutions to complex problems. Our College graduates have made discoveries in every field of academic study; they are ambitious thinkers who are unafraid to take on the most pressing questions of our time. Their accomplishments have established the University's legacy as one of the world's finest academic institutions. The University of Chicago is affiliated with 89 Nobel Prize winners, over 260 Guggenheim Fellows, 32 MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellows, and 24 Pulitzer Prize winners. UChicago is also renowned for the unparalleled resources it provides its undergraduate students. Our 217-acre campus contains six libraries with over 11 million print volumes; over 150 research centers and institutes, including the new Institute for Molecular Engineering and the Institute of Politics; world-class theaters, museums, and art centers; and three of the nation's top professional schools in law, business, and medicine. Rooted in Hyde Park, a neighborhood home to both our campus (certified as a botanical garden) and over 60 percent of the private homes of our faculty, UChicago offers a true campus-based community within the context of a major American city. Our students engage the city of Chicago and its many neighborhoods through groundbreaking research and scholarship, unparalleled internship opportunities, and a commitment to community service. Just as Chicago is a global city, the University of Chicago remains a truly international university: we offer over 45 faculty-led study abroad programs in over 20 countries, including those in conjunction with our centers in Beijing, Delhi, and Paris. UChicago maintains a student-faculty ratio of 6:1, ensuring that every classroom experience exemplifies our commitment to close interactions between students and faculty in small, discussion-style seminars. Our famous Core curriculum - courses in eight subject areas that all students, regardless of their major, are required to take - provides students with a common vocabulary and a well-balanced academic experience, while allowing them the flexibility to explore their own particular interests within those eight subject areas. The Office of Career Advancement helps students translate what they are studying in our classrooms to their future careers. Career Advancement counsels students through individual meetings and larger pre-professional programs, the UChicago Careers In programs. There are eight different UChicago Careers In programs that cover sectors ranging from business and law to health professions and journalism, arts, and media. Additionally, Career Advancement connects students with over 1000 Metcalf internship opportunities - paid internships across a range of industries that are only available to UChicago students. Students also enjoy a highly successful Division III sports program; a small but active Greek life community; over thirty-five student theatrical productions a year; a rich music scene; and extraordinary opportunities in politics, music, theater, commerce, and neighborhood life in the city of Chicago. The University's Financial Aid program is extraordinary thanks to the new No Barriers program. No Barriers is a comprehensive plan to increase access to college, support students as they receive an empowering education, and prepare them for lifelong professional success. Families who apply for financial aid do not have to pay a college application fee to UChicago. UChicago's need-based financial aid involves no loans and is awarded as grants, which do not need to be repaid.
Columbia University is a private institution that was founded in 1754. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 6,170, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 36 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Columbia University's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 4. Its tuition and fees are $51,008 (2014-15).
Columbia University, located in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights neighborhood in New York City, offers a wide range of student activities. The Columbia Lions field more than 25 NCAA Division I teams in the Ivy League. More than 90 percent of students live in on-campus housing, ranging from traditional residence halls to university-owned brownstones. Many of the brownstones are populated by the more than 25 Greek fraternity and sorority chapters on campus, whose membership includes about 10 percent of the student body. Organizations such as Urban New York, which gives out free tickets to city events, foster student interaction with life in the Big Apple.
Columbia is comprised of three undergraduate schools—Columbia College, The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the School of General Studies—as well as a number of graduate and professional schools. Columbia’s graduate programs include the highly ranked Business School, Teachers College, SEAS, Law School, College of Physicians and Surgeons, School of International and Public Affairs, School of the Arts and Mailman School of Public Health. The university also has a well-regarded College of Dental Medicine and Graduate School of Journalism. Columbia is affiliated with Barnard College for women, the Union Theological Seminary and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Distinguished alumni include John Jay, founding father and first Supreme Court Justice; President Barack Obama; songwriting team Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II; and actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. Columbia also administers the Pulitzer Prizes.
Founded in 1754, Columbia University in the City of New York encompasses more than a dozen graduate and professional schools and the over 6,000 undergraduates studying in Columbia College and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. The renowned Core Curriculum unites all Columbia undergraduates by providing a common foundation in literature, philosophy, science, art, history and music, and caps classes at 22 students to afford close interaction with Columbia's renowned faculty. Columbia Engineering is one of the oldest engineering schools in the U.S., developing future engineering leaders through its unique educational approach which includes a first-year hands-on design course; close student-to-faculty interaction with extensive undergraduate research opportunities starting as early as the first year; a broad-based core curriculum, liberal arts minors and interdisciplinary courses; programs and projects that foster entrepreneurship and socially-responsible innovation; and trailblazing internship and civic engagement programs in New York City and around the world. Students choose among over 100 majors and concentrations and thousands of research, internship and job opportunities. Located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, Columbia not only offers access to all of New York City, the ultimate classroom, but also guaranteed four-year housing within a traditional campus surrounded by a residential neighborhood lined with bookstores, cafes and parks. Called "the quintessential great urban university," Columbia is diverse in every way: students come from 50 states and over 90 foreign countries; over half of undergraduates are students of color, and over 500 student organizations are offered, including 31 Division I Ivy League athletic teams and dozens of community service organizations, performance groups, political clubs and publications. As the birthplace of FM radio, the fields of genetics and anthropology, the nation's oldest literary magazine and first Black student advocacy group on a multi-racial campus, Columbia has carried on a tradition of both social and scientific innovation for over 250 years. Notable Columbians include Barack Obama, Isaac Asimov, Madeline Albright, Langston Hughes, Jack Kerouac, Julia Stiles, and many more spanning every professional field. Columbia offers extensive need-based financial aid and meets the full need of every student admitted as a first-year with grants instead of loans. Parents with calculated incomes below $60,000 and with typical assets are not expected to contribute any income or assets to tuition, room, board and mandatory fees and families with calculated incomes between $60,000 and $100,000 and with typical assets have a significantly reduced contribution. To support students pursuing study abroad, research, internships and community service opportunities, Columbia offers the opportunity to apply for additional funding and exemptions from academic year and summer work expectations. A commitment to diversity of every kind is a longstanding Columbia hallmark. We believe cost should not be a barrier to pursuing your educational dreams.
Yale University is a private institution that was founded in 1701. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,477, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 343 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Yale University's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 3. Its tuition and fees are $47,600 (2015-16).
Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut, is known for its excellent drama and music programs, which reach outside the classroom with student organizations such as the Yale Whiffenpoofs, a famous a cappella group, and the Yale Dramatic Association. The Yale Bulldogs compete in the Ivy League and are well known for their rivalry with Harvard. Students are assigned to live in one of 12 residential colleges during their time at Yale. Each college has a master and dean who live in the college and eat with students in the dining halls. Cultural houses provide a space for students to build a sense of cultural identity on campus.
Yale is made up of the College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and 13 professional schools. Included in the professional schools are the top ranked Law School and highly ranked School of Management, School of Medicine , School of Art and School of Nursing. The School of Drama, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Divinity School are also well-regarded graduate programs. The Yale Record is the oldest college humor magazine in the nation. Dwight Hall is an independent umbrella organization that fosters student service and activism in the local New Haven community. Yale is well known for its secret societies, the most famous of which are the Skull and Bone Society, which boasts members such as George W. Bush and John Kerry, and the Scroll and Key Society. Distinguished Yale alumni include actress Meryl Streep, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward and actor Edward Norton.
Yale is both a small college and a large research university. The College is surrounded by thirteen distinguished graduate and professional schools, and its students partake in the intellectual stimulation and excitement of a major international center of learning. The faculty is known for its special devotion to undergraduate teaching. Many of Yale's most distinguished senior professors teach introductory courses as well as advanced seminars to undergraduates. Faculty members are accessible to students and take a great deal of interest in working closely with undergraduates. Yale's curriculum allows students to achieve both breadth and specialization across several disciplines. In addition to probing a major field in depth, students are expected to explore three important areas of knowledge - the humanities and arts, social sciences, and natural sciences. While exploring several subject areas, students are also expected to sharpen their writing, quantitative, and foreign language skills. Yale's unique residential college system organizes the student body into twelve small communities where students live, eat, socialize, and pursue academic and extracurricular activities. Before arriving as a freshman each student is randomly assigned to one of the colleges, giving students a built-in community from the moment they arrive. Most Yale students become convinced that their residential college is the best residential college. Each college is home to a microcosm of our undergraduate student body as a whole, and allows students to have the cohesiveness and intimacy of a small school while still enjoying the vibrancy and resources of a world-class university. Yale students are actively involved in the New Haven community, benefiting from and enhancing the city's many cultural, recreational, and political opportunities. New Haven boasts diverse and abundant resources in the arts. There is a vibrant cultural and artistic life in the city, a myriad of opportunities both academic and social, and a remarkable choice of places to eat. New Haven is part of a Yale education: the experience of contemporary urban life broadens students' perspectives and helps prepare them for life after college. Yale students have a long tradition of intense involvement with extracurricular activity. There are more than 500 active organizations on campus, ranging from the Undergraduate Math Society to the Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project, and including 50 performance groups and 60 cultural associations. This enormous range of opportunities endows Yale College with a palpable energy and spirit of commitment. But perhaps the first thing that students notice about their college is the caliber of their fellow students. There are extraordinary artists, student government leaders, star athletes, passionate activists, award-winning poets, prize-winning scientists, and people who are just simply "well-rounded." Because Yale students come from such a wide range of ethnic, religious, cultural, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds, there is a remarkable exchange of ideas. Yale is a major research university that focuses primarily on undergraduate education and encourages students to become leaders of their generation in whatever they wish to pursue.
Princeton, the fourth-oldest college in the United States, is located in the quiet town of Princeton, New Jersey. Within the walls of its historic ivy-covered campus, Princeton offers a number of events, activities and organizations. The Princeton Tigers, members of the Ivy League, are well known for their consistently strong men's and women's lacrosse teams. Students live in one of six residential colleges that provide a residential community as well as dining services but have the option to join one of more than 10 eating clubs for their junior and senior years. The eating clubs serve as social and dining organizations for the students who join them. Princeton's unofficial motto, "In the Nation's Service and in the Service of All Nations," speaks to the university's commitment to community service.
Princeton includes highly ranked graduate programs through the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. One unique aspect of Princeton's academic program is that all undergraduate students are required to write a senior thesis. Notable alumni include U.S. President Woodrow Wilson; John Forbes Nash, subject of the 2001 film "A Beautiful Mind"; model/actress Brooke Shields; and first lady Michelle Obama. According to Princeton legend, if a student exits campus through FitzRandolph Gate prior to graduation, he or she may be cursed never to graduate.
Princeton University is unique in combining the strengths of a major research university with the qualities of an outstanding liberal arts college. Whether through independent study, student-initiated seminars, or lectures in emerging fields such as neuroscience, Princeton students have the flexibility to shape dynamic academic programs that prepare them for leadership and lives of service. Through its groundbreaking financial aid program, Princeton ensures that all qualified students who are accepted can afford to attend the University. Chartered in 1746, Princeton is renowned for its commitment to undergraduate teaching. Its faculty are known throughout the world and it is not unusual for students to learn from Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and MacArthur fellows. Students benefit from small class sizes and one-on-one advising with faculty, particularly while doing independent work such as the senior thesis. All intellectual endeavors of Princeton's 5,320 degree-seeking undergraduate students are supported by a range of first-rate academic resources, such as libraries, laboratories, and even an art museum. The academic options at Princeton give students flexibility in pursuing their intellectual interests while working toward either the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Students also may choose from among 47 interdisciplinary programs, creating combinations of academic interests. For example, a student might major in physics while also earning a certificate in Latin American studies. The University is located in the town of Princeton, which has a diverse population of 30,000 residents and is situated between New York City and Philadelphia, with rail service to both cities. Princeton is a residential university that provides a welcoming environment, advising services, cultural and educational events, intramural sports, and more. As a residential community, Princeton provides housing for all four years. Princeton's six residential colleges offer settings where students quickly can become involved in campus activities. Students can participate in more than 300 student-run organizations, the arts, civic engagement, student government, religious groups, and athletics.
