The NEW Ivies: 10 Schools To Keep Your Eye On (PHOTOS)

In college resource site Unigo's "10 For '10" school rankings, more than 31,000 students from participating colleges voted in a variety of categories, grading their schools in each one on a scale of 1 to 10 and sharing their candid thoughts about their campus experiences. Here at HuffPost College, we'll be relaying that information by rolling out one list per day for the next ten days.

We'll begin at the Ivy League. The hallowed Northeastern enclave of schools has dominated rankings of best colleges for, well, as long as colleges have been ranked. But beyond the Ivy-clad hype, there exist many schools among America's 2,500 of similar caliber -- and Unigo set out to find which ones rival Harvard and Princeton as the country's best institutions of higher learning.

Unigo's New Ivies list was compiled looking at data from four categories, including education quality, campus intellectualism, professor accessibility and whether or not a voter considered their school a "near Ivy."

Click through to see the winners: A mix of non-Ivy League schools where students reported a great education, intellectual classmates, real attention from their professors and a strong sense that they were every bit as good as an Ivy League institution.

What do you think? Are you convinced? Do these schools qualify as near-Ivies? Which school would you nominate? Weigh in below.

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Carnegie Mellon University

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The students at Carnegie Mellon, in Pittsburgh, PA, don’t beat around the bush: “Here is CMU's big selling point: the academics. They are great.” The approximately 6,000 undergrads at this Pittsburgh, PA school won’t stop raving about their “brilliant” professors who go out of their way to “know who you are,” and the “truly intellectual environment” this creates. There’s something else it also creates: “A workload that is not to be taken lightly.” “We’re forced into late night work/study sessions every other day,” said one. As a result, the rumor that “Carnegie Mellon is where fun goes to die” might just be accurate. As one sophomore confessed, “In general, the students are awkward.” But at least they get to be awkward together. “Everyone is awkward, everyone is a geek, everyone is driven, everyone is a work-a-holic. It’s great,” a senior said. “Everyone has a few quirks, and you don’t really need to hide them … we’re all just slightly not normal.” “But we’re also the campus tomorrow’s leaders are going to come from,” countered a sophomore. With recent alums as diverse as Andy Warhol, the founder of Juicy Couture, the CEO of Xerox and the actor Zachary Quinto, that’s not hard to believe. As a final student proclaimed: “Carnegie Mellon … it’s a place where you walk in smart, you walk out smarter, and you learn all you can.”

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The students at Carnegie Mellon, in Pittsburgh, PA, don’t beat around the bush: “Here is CMU's big selling point: the academics. They are great.” The approximately 6,000 undergrads at this Pittsburgh, PA school won’t stop raving about their “brilliant” professors who go out of their way to “know who you are,” and the “truly intellectual environment” this creates. There’s something else it also creates: “A workload that is not to be taken lightly.” “We’re forced into late night work/study sessions every other day,” said one. As a result, the rumor that “Carnegie Mellon is where fun goes to die” might just be accurate. As one sophomore confessed, “In general, the students are awkward.” But at least they get to be awkward together. “Everyone is awkward, everyone is a geek, everyone is driven, everyone is a work-a-holic. It’s great,” a senior said. “Everyone has a few quirks, and you don’t really need to hide them … we’re all just slightly not normal.” “But we’re also the campus tomorrow’s leaders are going to come from,” countered a sophomore. With recent alums as diverse as Andy Warhol, the founder of Juicy Couture, the CEO of Xerox and the actor Zachary Quinto, that’s not hard to believe. As a final student proclaimed: “Carnegie Mellon … it’s a place where you walk in smart, you walk out smarter, and you learn all you can.”

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Comments

[JJ77]

03:28 PM on 09/20/2010

It is absolutely absurd to call Duke, Hopkins, NU and WashU “near ivies.” Each of these schools consistently ranks above Brown and Cornell!

[Aaron Morse]

03:13 PM on 09/10/2010

The Northwestern article is very misleading. NU does have an elite athletic department. In fact, it's one of the top 50 in the country according to the most recent 'Director's Cup" standings. On top of that, the football team is experiencing unprecedented success under head coach Pat Fitzgerald. Anyone who thinks NU is bad at sports is sadly mistaken. GO CATS!

[kaymoh114]

01:42 PM on 09/09/2010

So basically they just took half of the schools from Newsweeks "New Ivy League" schools they published in 2006.

[Tacking it Easy]

10:50 AM on 09/03/2010

It all depends on what program you are studying and where.

[Schlagamuffin]

10:11 PM on 08/27/2010

collage is 4 tha liberal el8s

[Jaladeno]

02:38 PM on 08/30/2010

Actually, a collage is for people who do scrapbooking in their leisure time.

[KristiFree]

06:23 PM on 08/27/2010

Please. Give me a break. For all you who are so disillusioned by either your alma mater or the bravado of these aforementioned 10 schools, the Ivies are Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Cornell, UPenn, Columbia and Dartmouth. If anything, Dartmouth should be stripped of its title, as it's really not up to par with the others. Dartmouth should probably be the 11th on this list, in fact: a list of "wannabes," that are, NO doubt about it, fantastic institutions of higher learning... but not Ivies. Not at all.

[Bruce Forbes]

07:17 PM on 08/28/2010

I agree....except that I always felt that Brown was the armpit of the Ivies. Thirty years ago I received my B.S. from UPenn, and Brown was considered the "Ivy Armpit". A few years after that I received a graduate degree from Princeton, and again, the same perception. I lived near Dartmouth for years, and would attend basketball games there. What I noticed was how non-diverse the student body was...very, very, very white.

[nhcrawf]

03:58 PM on 09/01/2010

I think that you're conflating "Ivy League" with being, or even being above "fantastic institutions of higher learning." There isn't necessarily a correlation between the two. Bush Graduated from the big two, Yale and Harvard. I rest my case.

OK, actually, I don't. A lot of our most notorious idiots graduated from Ivy League schools. Bill O'Reilley, Bill Kristol (whom Harvard awarded a Ph.D.), Joe Lieberman, Clarence Thomas, Bill Frist, and others. But, they have graduated some extremely intelligent people. No doubt about it. But, the quality of an institution rests on the students and how much a college is able to imbibe their students with a sense of critical analysis and open mindedness. These institutions aren't "wannabies," they're colleges that have attempted to create the best possible environment of learning, and have been attributed (rightly or wrongly), with the perceived quality that we expect from the best schools in the country (usually characterized incorrectly as necessarily being the Ivy League).

That's my response to the implication of your statement. On the surface, however, you are correct. Seeing as the Ivy League is nothing more than a sports conference, those are irrefutably the ONLY Ivy League schools.

[cowpunkrva]

07:37 AM on 10/22/2010

idiot = people you disagree with politically?

[Black Guy at Cornell]

10:15 PM on 08/26/2010

There are no new Ivies. There are 8 - Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, Penn. That's it. Those eight. No more. "Ivy League" actually refers to IV League; which - if you remember your Roman numerals - refers back to the time when there were four Ivy League schools (Harvard, Princeton, William and Mary, someone else).

Again, all of those schools are great and stuff, but you can't beat an Ivy League degree. Plus, if you actually go out and meet people, the networking will prove invaluable for you later in life. That's really what Ivies are for - networking.

[pinkiewing]

11:17 PM on 08/26/2010

Not really. That whole "Roman Numeral" mythology is commonly known as just a self perpetuating old wives tale. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League

Also, you can gain much better access to various networks depending on what the school specializes in. For instance, MIT and or CalTech for engineering/sciences. Williams for top tier Law/Med/Grad School, etc.

Not to downplay ivies, but their not infallible or unchallenged in their achievements in regards to these other excellent schools...

[Matt Gallagher]

12:16 PM on 10/11/2010

Cornell is no more an Ivy than the University of South Florida (circa 1990). Cornell was founded in the 1850s. You named seven Ivies and Cornell. William and Mary is correct and you were searching for the other original Ivy which is Rutgers.

[cowpunkrva]

07:56 AM on 10/22/2010

Actually, Cornell is the best Ivy in engineering, though MIT and Cal Tech are better, and Georgia Tech and Michigan are just as good.

[DrSnuggles]

02:31 PM on 08/26/2010

Hey, it's not news that 'Ivy League' doesn't mean much anymore besides 'old'.

John Hopkins and Duke for example are some of the most respected universities in the world; above and beyond there US ranking (for example Johns Hopkins is peer reviewed at #10 in the world but given the US New and World Report rank of #14 in the US).

Most people can't even list all the Ivy league schools anymore, and of the ones that come readily to mind only Harvard and Princeton are still maintaining the esteem that they used to have. I'm looking at you Yale, alumni giving will only hold you up in rank for so long.

[andys0391]

02:02 AM on 08/26/2010

Why is everything college related put into a list..?

[Jaladeno]

02:40 PM on 08/30/2010

I'll give you ten reasons. Number 1: blah, blah, blah...

[mrsfeild]

05:48 PM on 08/30/2010

I was thinking the same question and your answer is HILARIOUS! Thank you.

[Mike169]

04:53 PM on 09/07/2010

1. Why not make up a list
of reasons you really get pissed
2. Send it of to HuffPo
on your cd gizmo
3. Til someone says cease and desist.

[veritas88]

10:19 PM on 08/25/2010

Yea, Hopkins! (Class of '09)

[Brenda Johnston]

06:23 PM on 08/25/2010

I just started my masters at Carnegie Mellon University and I completely agree with this article. I received my undergrad at a state school and while it was a good education, I now see what a truly GREAT education is and it's worth every penny. The professors at CMU are among the leaders in their fields both nationally and internationally. They really care about the students and helping us make the most of our academic and post-graduation careers. The staff are 110% behind us and if we have an idea, they will do everything possible to help us make it a reality. I've never felt so supported. Career Centers in other schools help you build your resume, at CMU it's their job to make sure you have a job upon graduation and they do everything possible to make your dreams a reality. Don't get me wrong, they're not holding our hands, they're giving us the tools to be successful in every way possible. I love it here!

[PeterMelzer]

06:02 PM on 08/25/2010

I got around to sift the Dept. of Education data listing graduate debt on federal loans by institution more thoroughly and added the figures to my top ten universities that deliver most bang for the buck (http://brainmindinst.blogspot.com/2010/07/value-of-education-economically.html). Nine of the ten are public schools. The median graduate debt ranges from $12,000.- (Brigham Young) to 25,000.- (UVa). In comparison, graduates from some renowned private not-for-profit universities and colleges may owe less than $10,000.-, e.g. Williams College, Harvard University, and Princeton University, whereas graduates from others owe more than $30,000.-, e.g. University of Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt University, and Emory University. The debt may be low for some private not-for-profit institutions, because their students qualify less for federal loans and may receive more institutional financial aid. By contrast, greater debt means higher cost.

[silencedogooder]

02:25 PM on 08/25/2010

"...UVA take their work extremely seriously, and tend to be dedicated to their studies. “Academics come first here at the University.” “Don’t be surprised if you graduated high school with above a 4.0, and get B’s and the occasional C’s here.” ha. that's code for coaster school, and that's certainly its reputation.

[topguide]

11:51 AM on 08/25/2010

All of these were world class institutions decades ago. This is not news. The author must be having a slow news day

[Kalie]

11:25 AM on 08/25/2010

The value of Washington U is not lost on me.... but Im from Illinois.