Mike Nudelman/Business Insider
Even though the Ivy League is an athletics conference, the eight member schools are better known as academic and intellectual powerhouses that attract some of the best student talent in the world.
While all of these schools will rank high on any list of the best universities, we decided to look internally, and see which academic institution is the best in the Ivy League.
We examined the Ivies based on six overall qualities — each judged on several specific rankings — and then combined the six lists into a final overall ranking. The six qualities we used were Academics, Affordability, Campus, Job Prospects, Student Body, and Student Life. We've included how each school placed on these lists below.
One thing is for certain — Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are in a league of their own. Combined, the three schools only ranked in the bottom half of any of our categories once, and there was a massive difference in points between our top three spots and the rest of our final list.
Here are all eight Ivy League schools, from worst to best:
#8 Brown University — Providence, Rhode Island
#4 Student Body
#5 Student Life
#6 Academics
#6 Affordability (tie)
#7 Job Prospects
#8 Campus
Students at Brown are among the most attractive in the Ivy League and they love their university — they rate their professors highly and many give back to the school. However, Brown's small endowment and low ranked facilities earned the bottom spot on our Campus list, and the school also placed low on our ranking of Job Prospects.
#7 Dartmouth College — Hanover, New Hampshire
#3 Affordability
#4 Job Prospects
#7 Academics (tie)
#7 Campus
#7 Student Body
#7 Student Life
Although Hanover may not be many people's first choice to spend four years, Dartmouth has a stunning campus and a great social life — dominated by the school's Greek scene. The school is fairly homogeneous though and ranked towards the bottom of our Student Body list, getting low marks for diversity and international students, as well as Academics.
#6 Columbia University — New York, New York
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#1 Academics
#5 Campus
#6 Job Prospects
#6 Student Body
#8 Affordability
#8 Student Life
Columbia took the top spot on Academics ranking, boosted by a high percentage of classes with less than 20 students and their well-regarded Core Curriculum program. However, while the school's New York City location makes it a great choice for students who want a traditional campus and all the benefits of a busy city, Columbia lacks a strong on-campus social scene and scored last on our Student Life list, as well as Affordability.
