What Is the Ivy League?

Q: Is Stanford Ivy League? Is Duke? Is Penn State?

No, Stanford University, Duke University, and The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) are not part of the Ivy League. That said, it's common for people to assume similarly prestigious and highly selective schools like these belong to the Ivy League. This often happens because many mistakenly conflate prestige and selectivity with the Ivy League. The truth is that there are dozens of colleges around the U.S. that are comparable in academic reputation to the Ivy League, without actually being in the Ivy League. Other examples of schools often thought to belong to the Ivy League include Northwestern University, MIT, the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, and Georgetown University.

Q: What's the easiest Ivy League school to get into?

While all Ivy League schools are incredibly difficult to get into, Cornell University would likely be considered the easiest since it has the highest acceptance rate of all Ivies. As of fall 2024, Cornell's acceptance rate for first-year applicants was 8.4%. Most other Ivies have acceptance rates of around 3-6%. Nevertheless, Cornell is still an extremely selective school. An 8.4% acceptance rate means fewer than 1 in 10 applicants are admitted.

Q: Are there any Ivy League schools in California?

No, there are no Ivy League schools in California. All eight Ivy League schools are based in the Northeast in states like Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. That said, California is home to many prestigious and highly competitive schools, such as Stanford University, Pomona College, the California Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California, and the University of California system.

Q: How can you get into Ivy League schools?

To get into an Ivy League school, most students need to submit an extremely impressive application with perfect or near-perfect grades, top standardized test scores (if required), a well-written personal statement, and compelling letters of recommendation. Extracurriculars, hobbies, awards, and honors are also valuable, as these demonstrate your commitment to education. Note that even if you meet all these guidelines, you're not guaranteed admission into an Ivy. These days, Ivy League schools receive tens of thousands of applications for a limited number of spots, meaning admissions officers often have to reject many qualified applicants.

Updated on June 3, 2025

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Learn about how the Ivy League was formed, how much Ivy League tuition costs, and how selective these schools are.

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The Ivy League comprises eight of the most renowned private universities in the U.S.
Originally an athletic conference, the term “Ivy League” now signifies prestige and selectivity.
All Ivy League schools are highly competitive, with acceptance rates of less than 10%.
Though expensive, Ivy League schools often provide generous financial aid packages.

Ivy League schools are considered the best, if not the hardest, schools to get into in the country. They’re immediately recognized by almost all employers as some of the most prestigious universities you can graduate from.

While that sounds daunting, getting into these schools is achievable, and if you’re worried about finances, most of them cover tuition — if not your entire education — if your family makes under a certain amount of money per year. To maximize your chances of getting into the Ivy League, enlist a college counselor who uses data-backed best practices to help you optimize your work on academics, extracurriculars, and essays.

What Are the Ivy League Schools?

The Ivy League is made up of eight private schools in the Northeast:

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

View the following map of the Ivy League schools to see where each college is located and the year it was founded.

The Ivy League schools vary in size, with each institution enrolling between 4,400 and 16,000 undergraduates.

Dartmouth is the smallest Ivy, with a total enrollment of about 6,700 students. Meanwhile, Columbia and Harvard enroll the most students, each with over 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

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A Brief History of the Ivy League

The Ivy League started out as an athletic conference consisting of eight private colleges. But these days, the Ivy League refers to much more than just college athletics.

The schools in the Ivy League boast centuries of history, tradition, and prestige. Located in the Northeast, all but one of the Ivies predates the American Revolution. Harvard was established in 1636, making it the oldest institution of higher education in the U.S.

The term “Ivy League,” however, didn’t appear until almost three centuries later.

In 1933, sports writer Stanley Woodward wrote about the football season at the “ivy colleges,” and the name quickly caught on. The athletic conference officially began two decades later in 1954.

Now, most people associate the term “Ivy League” with extremely competitive, renowned universities and use it as a benchmark for measuring high-quality education.

What Are the Ivy League Acceptance Rates?

Gaining admission into an Ivy League school isn’t easy, but it’s still achievable.

For example, Harvard — the most-selective Ivy — admitted just 3.6% of its more than 54,000 applicants for the class of 2028.

Ivy League Acceptance Rates
School	Undergraduate Acceptance Rate (Class of 2028)
Brown University	5.4%
Columbia University	3.9%
Cornell University	8.4%
Dartmouth College	5.4%
Harvard University	3.6%
Princeton University	4.6%
University of Pennsylvania	5.4%
Yale University	3.9%

Source: University data

Ivy League acceptance rates are all extremely low, hovering between around 9% and 3.5% as of fall 2024. This means that fewer than 1 in 10 undergraduate applicants — and at some Ivies, fewer than 1 in 20 — gets accepted.

If pursuing an Ivy League education is your dream, don’t let these low admission rates deter you. Begin planning early with a college counselor — ideally, at the end of middle school or beginning of high school — to better help set you up for success. College admissions counselors often help students see much higher acceptance rates than the averages for many Ivy League schools.

You may have to take lots of AP or dual credit courses, become a leader within extracurriculars, score high on standardized tests, and get a near perfect GPA — but if you’re driven, you have a chance.

What Are the Ivy League Rankings and Reputation?

The Ivy League schools consistently rank among the top 20 national universities on lists by Forbes and U.S. News & World Report. They also rank highly on many BestColleges lists.

Because of their esteemed academic reputations, Ivies boast large endowments in the form of donations and assets. Colleges use these endowments to build facilities, hire prestigious faculty members, and support students through grants and scholarships.

Harvard held endowments totaling $53.2 billion at the end of the 2024 fiscal year, which ranked as the largest endowment in U.S. higher education.

Yale, Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania also have large endowments — each above $20 billion in 2024.

The benefits of attending an Ivy League institution can continue well after graduation, as the Ivies enjoy a long history of strong alumni networks. At Princeton, for example, the first president of the Alumni Association was former U.S. President James Madison, who graduated in 1771.

Some of today’s most notable Ivy League alums include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama, and dozens of Nobel laureates.

How Much Does Ivy League Tuition Cost?

In 2025-26, the cost of an Ivy League education will exceed $64,000 in tuition and fees at every school. Harvard is the least expensive option, while Brown’s annual tuition and fees stands at over $74,000 for the academic year.

Fortunately, the Ivies provide generous financial aid packages to many students, thanks to the schools’ large endowments.

Ivy League Tuition and Financial Aid
School	Tuition and Fees (2025-26)	Tuition-Free if Family Makes …
Brown University	$74,650	$125,000 or less per year
Columbia University	$71,170	$150,000 or less per year
Cornell University	$72,270	$75,000 or less per year
Dartmouth College	$71,525	$125,000 or less per year; free education for under $65,000 per year
Harvard University	$64,796	$200,000 or less per year; free education for $100,000 or less per year
Princeton University	$65,498	19.57%
University of Pennsylvania	$71,236	$200,000 or less per year; free tuition, fees, housing, dining, and more for $75,000 or less per year
Yale University	$70,075	Free education for less than $75,000 per year

Source: University data

At Brown and Dartmouth, for example, students whose families make $125,000 or less a year receive free tuition.

Harvard and Princeton offer the most generous packages of the Ivies, providing an entirely free education for students whose families make less than $100,000 per year.

As a result of these hefty aid packages, few Ivy League students pay the full listed price for tuition and fees. At Yale, for instance, the average need-based scholarship is over $50,000 per year.

All Ivy League schools admit students on a need-blind basis, meaning they do not consider an applicant’s ability to pay during the admissions process.

How Does the Ivy League Compare With Other Colleges?

Ivy League schools may have prestige and history, but they aren’t the only exemplary universities in the U.S.

Schools like Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of Chicago often outrank Ivies in terms of academics on some lists. However, since they aren’t in the same athletic conference, they technically aren’t Ivy League schools.

The so-called “little Ivies,” which include Amherst College, Bowdoin College, and Wesleyan University, are known for their selectivity and academic rigor. However, they emphasize a liberal arts education and boast smaller undergraduate enrollments than the eight Ivy League members.

And then there are elite public institutions, like:

University of California, Berkeley
University of Michigan
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
University of Virginia

These schools, dubbed the “public Ivies,” offer a high-quality education at far cheaper public university tuition rates.

Is the Ivy League Still Relevant Today?

While it’s true that many political and corporate leaders attended Ivy League schools as undergraduates and graduate students, an Ivy League education is far from the only route to professional advancement.

Of the 2023 Fortune 100 CEOs, only 11.8% attended an Ivy League school as an undergraduate, according to an analysis by a Dartmouth business school professor. While an Ivy League education can certainly help, it doesn’t guarantee career success.

The Ivy League includes some of the most prestigious colleges in the country, but dozens of other schools offer similarly rigorous academic programs, strong traditions, and extensive alumni networks.

Additionally, although attending an Ivy can provide many benefits, it might not necessarily be the best fit for you. Take time to explore your options and research colleges that interest you. You never know what you’ll uncover!

Frequently Asked Questions About the Ivy League

How many Ivy League schools are there?

There are eight Ivy League schools: Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.

All Ivy League schools are private and located in the Northeast. They also hold big endowments, boast strong alumni networks, and have extremely low acceptance rates. Ivy League schools are known for their academic excellence, research, and accomplished faculty.