Universities in United States

🇺🇸Cambridge, Massachusetts · Est. 1861

MIT is consistently ranked among the world's top universities for engineering, computer science, physics, and economics. Admission is highly selective and need-blind for all applicants, including international students. MIT uses its own application portal rather than the Common App.

🇺🇸Cambridge, Massachusetts · Est. 1636

The oldest higher education institution in the United States, Harvard is known for its liberal arts undergraduate program, Harvard Business School, Harvard Law, and Harvard Medical School. Admission is need-blind for U.S. applicants and need-aware (still generous) for international students.

🇺🇸Stanford, California · Est. 1885

Stanford sits at the heart of Silicon Valley and is a top destination for computer science, engineering, and business. The Graduate School of Business and School of Engineering are among the most competitive in the world.

🇺🇸Pasadena, California · Est. 1891

Caltech is a small, intensely research-focused institute with about 1,000 undergraduates. It has produced more Nobel laureates per capita than any other university and operates NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

🇺🇸Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · Est. 1740

Penn houses the Wharton School (the first collegiate business school in the U.S.), strong undergraduate programs across four schools, and a tradition of interdisciplinary study via dual-degree programs.

🇺🇸Berkeley, California · Est. 1868

The flagship of the University of California system and top public university in the world. Berkeley is a research powerhouse across CS, engineering, business (Haas), and the sciences. International applicants apply via the UC Application, not the Common App.

🇺🇸Ithaca, New York · Est. 1865

The largest Ivy with seven undergraduate colleges, Cornell offers programs from hotel management and agriculture to engineering and architecture. Three of its colleges are statutory (publicly funded for New York residents).

🇺🇸New York, New York · Est. 1754

Located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, Columbia has the famous Core Curriculum and strong programs in journalism, international affairs, and engineering. It also operates the affiliated Barnard College.

🇺🇸Chicago, Illinois · Est. 1890

UChicago is famous for rigorous intellectualism, the Core Curriculum, and producing more Nobel laureates in Economics than any other university. The Booth School of Business is a top-five MBA program globally.

🇺🇸Princeton, New Jersey · Est. 1746

Princeton emphasizes undergraduate education at the highest level and offers full need-based financial aid to all admitted students, including internationals. Known for mathematics, physics, public and international affairs (SPIA), and the senior thesis tradition.

🇺🇸New Haven, Connecticut · Est. 1701

A founding Ivy with an undergraduate residential college system, Yale is strong across humanities, social sciences, drama, and law. Yale Law School is consistently ranked first in the U.S.

🇺🇸New York, New York · Est. 1831

NYU has campuses in Manhattan, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai, plus study-away sites worldwide. Famous for the Stern School of Business, the Tisch School of the Arts (drama, film), and the Tandon School of Engineering.

🇺🇸Los Angeles, California · Est. 1919

UCLA is the most-applied-to university in the United States. Strong across the arts, film (TFT), engineering (Samueli), medicine (Geffen), and the social sciences. Located in Westwood, Los Angeles.

🇺🇸Ann Arbor, Michigan · Est. 1817

Michigan is one of the original Public Ivies, with top programs in engineering, business (Ross), public policy (Ford), and information science. Famous for school spirit and a 100,000+ seat football stadium.

🇺🇸Evanston, Illinois · Est. 1851

Northwestern is known for journalism (Medill), engineering, theatre (one of the top BFA programs), and the Kellogg School of Management for MBAs. Located on Lake Michigan in suburban Chicago.

🇺🇸Durham, North Carolina · Est. 1838

Duke combines top-tier academics in the Research Triangle of North Carolina with Division I sports. Strong in engineering (Pratt), economics, public policy (Sanford), and medicine (Fuqua MBA is also highly ranked).

🇺🇸Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania · Est. 1900

CMU is the top computer science school in the United States and a leader in robotics, AI, drama (its School of Drama is among the most selective in the world), and design. Cross-disciplinary programs blend technology and the arts.

🇺🇸Providence, Rhode Island · Est. 1764

Brown is known for the Open Curriculum: students design their own course of study with no distribution requirements. Strong in humanities, computer science, and the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME).

🇺🇸Atlanta, Georgia · Est. 1885

A public research institute in Atlanta with top-ranked engineering and computer science programs. Georgia Tech's Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) is the most affordable accredited CS master's in the United States.

🇺🇸Hanover, New Hampshire · Est. 1769

The smallest Ivy, Dartmouth focuses on undergraduate teaching with a quarter-based "D-Plan" calendar. Tuck School of Business is among the top MBA programs. Strong outdoor culture in the New Hampshire woods.