Tulane is a private university located in New Orleans. The Big Easy is a huge part of the campus culture, which is vibrant, community-oriented, and electric with creativity and entrepreneurial energy. Nestled in beautiful Uptown, Tulane students have the opportunity to be on a true college campus while getting the best of one of America’s most dynamic (and fun) cities.
The University of California, Berkeley is an iconic public university and part of the impressive University of California system. It’s regularly cited as the #1 public university in the world. They can also boast over 100 Nobel laureates, 19 Pulitzer Prizes, and over 200 Olympic medals.
Stanford University was founded with a societal purpose. From the beginning, the school was designed for the common good. Today, it is regarded as one of the best universities in the world. Rooted in the San Francisco Bay Area, Stanford is surrounded by innovation, thought leadership, and technological advancement. Not only is it in the mix of all that — it is a foundational part of it.
Dartmouth is an Ivy League university nestled in idyllic Hanover, New Hampshire. It’s a great school for the outdoorsy type who wants a superior academic experience with a little bit of classic collegiate shenanigans. Dartmouth is known, along with offering an exceptional education, for providing students with a lively social experience that includes a strong Greek life.
Cornell is an Ivy League university in the city of Ithaca in upstate New York that is both exceptional and unique in its exceptionalism. That may sound redundant, but Cornell is a top-tier university that is distinctly different. They offer all the majors and programs you expect to see at a top university, but then there’s the stuff that Cornell does better than anyone else. For some of the majors we’ll focus on in this post, Cornell is the only university of its caliber that offers that major.
The University of Chicago is one of the most well-respected and well-resourced research universities in the world. They have produced more than 90 Nobel Prize winners, and are famous for pushing fields forward in both the sciences and the humanities. The university, which we (and many, many others) call UChicago, is ranked #12 by U.S. News & World Report Best College ranking, and it is rarely cited alongside the Ivy League.
Wesleyan University is a dynamic liberal arts university in Middletown, CT founded in 1831. It calls 316-acres home on a historic New England campus that is the absolute epitome of a small college experience. Wesleyan is home to 3,000 undergraduate students and a small undergraduate population from over 60 countries.
Brown is the innovative Ivy — that is, the most innovative member of the vaunted Ivy League. The Open Curriculum is actually an open curriculum, which is worth underlining because most self-described open curriculums are just sorta, kinda open. At Brown, it’s really anything goes as long as you are pointed in a clear direction, are collaborative, community-oriented, and also totally brilliant. The campus is home to 6,500 of this type of student, alongside 1,429 faculty. Students have nearly 2,500 courses to choose from, and more than 80 programs (or what other schools tend to call majors).
Duke is a prestigious university in Durham, North Carolina with 6,500 undergraduates and almost 17,000 students overall. Despite being a larger educational institution, Duke offers a hands-on and intimate learning experience with an 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Students in both undergraduate colleges, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences and Pratt School of Engineering, are supported in trying new things, taking calculated risks, and pushing boundaries. “We look for students,” the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions says, “who operate at the intersection of imagination and impact.”
The University of Pennsylvania, or Penn, is one of the most famous universities in the world and a member of the vaunted Ivy League. It is also the only Ivy League college with a business school that has a full undergraduate program. Across the university there are over 10,500 undergraduate students, and more than 90 undergraduate majors across 4 schools. From the largest to the smallest, the undergraduate colleges are The College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, The Wharton School, and the School of Nursing.
The University of Southern California (USC) is a leading private research university – emphasis on private, as some students assume USC is part of the University of California system. It’s not, it’s a private institution with exceptional resources in one of the most exciting cities in the world. USC is at “today’s global epicenter” of “creativity, diversity and innovation.” Los Angeles isn’t just sunny. It’s also a business, innovation, financial, and of course entertainment global hub. There are 21,000 undergraduate students and a total student population of 47,000.
Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts is a small liberal-arts college focused on preparing students to service their local and global communities as purpose-forward professionals. Amherst (the town) is a large town of 38,000, and is only 90 minutes from Boston. The town has just about anything you’d need, though, from outstanding food to cultural experiences like the Emily Dickinson Museum. The school itself, though, is home to just under 2,000 students from all 50 states plus D.C. and Puerto Rico and 70 countries — offering an intimate experience with a global perspective. The open curriculum offers flexibility, while an exceptional faculty and outstanding courses encourages depth and the building of true expertise. Amherst also has a strong global impact that goes beyond the diversity of the student body. 45% of students take part in a study abroad experience as part of their Amherst educational journey.
Hamilton is a small liberal arts college in Clinton, New York. The college is home to about 2,000 undergraduate students, and does not have a graduate program — so it’s entirely undergraduate-focused in a rural hilltop setting that invites exploration and creativity. The motto of the school is “Know Thyself,” and they take it very seriously.
Columbia University is a member of the iconic Ivy League, and one of the best-known universities globally. Based on the island of Manhattan in New York City, it has the unique characteristic of being a traditionally laid-out university in the middle of a fast-moving urban center. Step off campus, and taxis are whizzing by. Step onto campus, and you’re immediately surrounded by grand classical architecture. We’d call it calming, which it is most days, but Columbia is also known for being deeply social-justice motivated and students aren’t shy about making their opinions known. Sometimes, it gets quite lively. It’s a community, though, through thick-and-thin, and many members of our team at TKG are proud to call Columbia our alma mater.
UCLA is a public land grant university in Los Angeles, California…hence the name University of California, Los Angeles. The school is a powerhouse of a university, and is home to more than 33,000 undergraduate students and nearly 50,000 students total. Students at UCLA are idealistic, and feel a sense of purpose. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves in life, but also in their college experience. The campus itself is a huge community within Los Angeles, and students have access to everything they could ever want — including over 125 majors to choose from. The acceptance rate is about 9%.
Tufts is a school outside Boston. Not just a school, though, it’s a leading research university that pairs a serious academic powerhouse with a close and supportive community. The Tufts motto is Pax et Lux, or “Peace and Light,” which can sound pretty lighthearted or even angelic, but what it really speaks to is the bringing of peace and light into the serious world of world-class academics. Tufts does serious stuff, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Northwestern is a top 10 university in the United States in Evanston, Illinois. Evanston is frequently named one of the best college towns in the country, with beaches along Lake Michigan, abundant arts and culture resources, and easy access to Chicago. Northwestern offers a big university experience and a small college environment all in one. There are six undergraduate schools, Arts & Sciences, Communication, Education & Social Policy, Engineering, Journalism & Marketing, and Music, and more than 100 majors and minors to choose from. The university is known for offering amazing research opportunities, and outstanding study abroad programs. But it is also a world-class institution for music education, so you have the best in STEM, the humanities, and the arts all in one place. This brings together diverse minds that don’t like to be put in a box, and students are encouraged to take a personalized journey.
Bowdoin is a small liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. Brunswick is a town of 20,000, a 30-minute drive from the closest commercial airport in Portland, Maine, and offers a small-town experience — but still accessible. So, you have urban, rural, and coastal. It’s a pretty awesome combo, but it’s not the place for those who want a big city experience. However, Bowdoin offers a lot that big cities, and big schools, don’t. It offers exploration in a supportive, tight-knit community. The place defines the experience, and the experience defines the place. They expect a lot from students, and only accept outstanding applicants, but they also offer support every step of the way. This includes supporting students in pushing them out of their comfort zones! One of the reasons that they can offer this amazing support is because the college is completely undergraduate and has under 2,000 students.