When someone is asked to name any university in the United States, the most well-known ones will most often come to mind, and they fall into the Ivy League Universities category: Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, Brown University, Cornell University. These are the schools that local and international students aspire to get into and unsurprisingly, they are also the top and most difficult universities in the United States to enter. On top of that, they are also the universities in the United States that have produced the most Rhodes Scholarship winners.
However, in addition to these top private schools, the United States has many excellent public universities as well. With the aim to provide similar collegiate experience as the Ivy League schools, “Public Ivy” is a term coined by Yale University admissions officer Richard Moll. In 2001, A list of the updated Public Ivies is last updated in 2011 and it consists of:
College of William and Mary, Penn State Parker, New York State Binghamton, Rutgers University, University of Connecticut, University of Maryland, University of Virginia, University of Delaware, Indiana University Bloomington, Miami University, Ohio State University of Columbus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Arizona, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, San Diego , University of California, Davis, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of California, Irvine, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Washington, Seattle, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Texas Austin campus.
Why should you apply to Public Ivy League Schools?
These public universities have high teaching standards, strong scientific research projects, and lower tuition fees than private schools, which are the important considerations to factor into during the university application decision-making process.
Cost of tuition fees
The cost of public Ivy League schools is much lower than the cost for attending a private Ivy League or private top-tier school. The average tuition fees cost about $14,000/year for in-state students, whereas the average cost for a private Ivy school carries the price tag of $45,000/year.
However, for out-of-state students, public Ivy Schools can get expensive. Known for its low-cost but high-quality education, Georgia Tech costs about $31,000/year, whereas University of Michigan costs about $52,000/year.
Acceptance rate
Why should students be deprived of good quality education and facilities just because they are not the cream of the top? There are many outstanding students who are not selected for private Ivy League schools because of their exclusiveness and yet there are so many entrepreneurs, researchers and leaders who are not from the private Ivy League schools.
Private Ivy League Harvard and Stanford has an acceptance rate of 5% and 4% respectively. On the other hand, the most selective public Ivy League school has an acceptance rate of 12% from UCLA and the least selective Ivy League school comes from UC Santa Barbara at 32%.
Many are athletically involved
Public Ivy League schools have some of the top sports team in the United States and some of them give out athletics scholarships, which is in contrast to private Ivy League schools and many other top private schools. A few of these public Ivy League schools are in the Big Ten, which is one of the premier intercollegiate athletic conferences in the country.
The Big Ten consists of University of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, Rutgers University-New Brunswick and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
For anyone who would like to pursue quality academia and sports culture, public Ivy League schools are a good choice.
There are many schools in the United States, whether it is the top famous Ivy League schools or the public Ivy League, students should consider their actual situation, interests and future employment opportunity when applying, and choose the one that suits them.
