The Ivy League schools are often treated as a ranking, but the name describes an athletic conference of eight universities, not an academic category. This page lists the eight Ivy League schools with their location, founding date and size, then gives the latest admission numbers, testing rules, early application plans and costs for each.
What Are the Eight Ivy League Schools?
| University | Location | Founded | Undergraduates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown University | Providence, Rhode Island | 1764 | About 7,200 |
| Columbia University | New York, New York | 1754, as King’s College | 9,285, including General Studies (6,872 in Columbia College and Engineering) |
| Cornell University | Ithaca, New York | 1865 | 16,138 |
| Dartmouth College | Hanover, New Hampshire | 1769 | 4,715 |
| Harvard University | Cambridge, Massachusetts | 1636 | 6,738 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Dates to 1740 | 11,236 |
| Princeton University | Princeton, New Jersey | 1746, as the College of New Jersey | About 5,760 |
| Yale University | New Haven, Connecticut | 1701, as the Collegiate School | 6,667 |
Harvard is the oldest, founded in 1636, and Cornell the youngest, founded in 1865. Cornell is also the largest, with 16,138 undergraduates in fall 2025, and Dartmouth the smallest, with 4,715. Seven are universities; Dartmouth keeps the name college. For admission rates over time, see our guide to Ivy League acceptance rates.
Why Are They Called the Ivy League?
According to the league’s own history, the sportswriter Stanley Woodward used the phrase “Ivy colleges” in October 1933, and an Associated Press writer, Alan Gould, first used “Ivy League” on February 8, 1935 (Ivy League history timeline). The first Ivy Group Agreement, signed in 1945, covered only football. In February 1954 the presidents extended it to all intercollegiate sports, which the league treats as its official founding, and the first year of league competition was 1956-57.
Today the Ivy League competes in NCAA Division I and sponsors 34 sports, which it describes as the highest number of any NCAA conference (Ivy League). Ivy schools do not offer athletic or academic scholarships (Ivy League); our guide to Ivy League athletic scholarships explains how recruited athletes are funded.
Which Ivy League School Is the Hardest to Get Into?
For the Class of 2030, Princeton had the lowest admission rate among the Ivies that released numbers, followed closely by Columbia and Yale. Harvard did not release its Class of 2030 figures on Ivy Day for a second year and says it publishes admissions data in October or November (Harvard), and Cornell announced how many students it admitted but not how many applied.
| University | Applicants | Admitted | Admission rate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton | 46,618 | 1,892 | 4.1% | Princeton Profile |
| Columbia | 61,031 | 2,581 | 4.2% | Columbia |
| Yale | 54,919 | 2,328 | 4.2% | Yale News |
| Brown | 47,937 | 2,564 | 5.3% | Brown University |
| Dartmouth | 28,863 | 1,687 | 5.8% | Dartmouth |
| Penn | 61,264 | 3,575 | 5.8% | The Daily Pennsylvanian |
| Cornell | Not disclosed | 5,776 | Not disclosed | Cornell Chronicle |
| Harvard | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | The Harvard Crimson |
For the class that entered in fall 2025, the most recent year with full figures for every school, Harvard admitted 2,003 of 47,893 applicants, about 4.2%, and Cornell 6,077 of 72,523, about 8.4%, according to their Common Data Sets (Harvard CDS; Cornell CDS). Our analysis of the easiest Ivy League school to get into looks at what the rates hide, and Ivy Day 2026 results covers the March release.
What Are the Ivy League Testing Policies and Deadlines?
Six require scores from students applying in fall 2026: Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn and Yale. Columbia remains test-optional for the 2026-27 cycle and will require scores from 2027-28, and Princeton remains test-optional for students entering in fall 2027 and will require scores for fall 2028. Yale no longer accepts AP or IB scores in place of the SAT or ACT, while Dartmouth accepts AP, IB, A-Level or national exam results from students outside the United States. Score ranges for each school are in our guide to Ivy League SAT requirements.
| University | Early plan and deadline | Regular deadline | Testing for fall 2026 applicants | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown | ED, November 1 | January 5 | Required | Brown |
| Columbia | ED, November 1 | January 1 | Test-optional for 2026-27; required from 2027-28 | Columbia |
| Cornell | ED, November 1 | January 2 | Required | Cornell |
| Dartmouth | ED, November 1 | January 1 | Required | Dartmouth; deadline |
| Harvard | REA, November 1 | January 1 | Required | Harvard |
| Penn | ED, November 1 | January 5 | Required | Penn |
| Princeton | SCEA, November 1 | January 1 | Test-optional for fall 2027 entry; required for fall 2028 | Princeton |
| Yale | SCEA, November 1 | January 2 | Required | Yale |
Which Ivy League Schools Have Early Decision or Early Action?
Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth and Penn use binding Early Decision. Harvard uses Restrictive Early Action and Princeton and Yale use Single Choice Early Action, which are non-binding but limit early applications to other private colleges. Every early deadline is November 1. How much the early round helps is in our analysis of Early Decision vs Regular Decision acceptance rates, and decision timing in when Ivy League decisions come out.
What Does Each Ivy League School Charge for 2026-27?
| University | Tuition, 2026-27 | Total cost of attendance, 2026-27 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown | $74,568 | $99,994 | Brown |
| Columbia (College and Engineering) | $72,800 | $99,774 | Columbia |
| Cornell (endowed colleges) | $73,946 | $99,734 | Cornell; Cornell Chronicle |
| Dartmouth | $71,697 | $98,427 | Dartmouth |
| Harvard | $62,226 | $95,134 to $100,134 | Harvard |
| Penn | $65,670 | $99,082 | Penn |
| Princeton | $68,140 | $94,624 | Princeton |
| Yale | $72,500 | Not stated as a total | Yale |
The sticker price is close to $100,000 a year at most Ivies, but all eight say they meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, and admission is need-blind for US applicants at every one of them. Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton and Yale are need-blind for international applicants as well, while Columbia, Cornell and Penn consider financial need for most international applicants (Harvard; Princeton; Cornell). What families actually pay depends on income and assets; our guide to Ivy League cost and net price works through examples.
Are the Ivy League Schools the Best Universities in the US?
Not as a group. Stanford, MIT, Duke, the University of Chicago, Caltech and others are as selective as the Ivies and are not in the league, which is defined by athletics. The eight also differ widely from one another, from Dartmouth with about 4,700 undergraduates to Cornell with more than 16,000, including state-supported contract colleges. For comparisons beyond the league, see Ivy League vs Stanford, MIT and Duke and the New Ivies.
How Can a Student Get Into an Ivy League School?
With admission rates between about 4% and 8%, nearly every applicant to the Ivies has top grades in the hardest courses available, so the decision turns on what else the application shows. Oriel Admissions advises families to treat the eight as distinct choices rather than one target: the curricula, sizes and early plans differ, and an early application belongs at the one school that fits best. Our Ivy League feeder schools guide shows where admitted students come from.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Ivy League Schools
Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University and Yale University.
The league says the phrase Ivy colleges appeared in 1933 and Ivy League in an Associated Press story in 1935. The athletic league was formally founded in 1954, when the Ivy Group Agreement was extended to all sports.
For the Class of 2030, Princeton admitted about 4.1% of applicants, and Columbia and Yale about 4.2%, computed from university figures. Harvard did not release Class of 2030 figures on Ivy Day.
By admission rate, Cornell, which admitted about 8.4% of applicants for the class that entered in fall 2025. It is also the largest Ivy, with more than 16,000 undergraduates.
All eight are need-blind for US applicants and say they meet 100% of demonstrated need. Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton and Yale are also need-blind for international applicants.
No. The Ivy League is an athletic conference of eight northeastern universities. Stanford, MIT, Duke and the University of Chicago are just as selective but belong to other conferences or none.
Harvard, founded in 1636. Yale followed in 1701 and Penn dates its founding to 1740, while Cornell, founded in 1865, is the youngest of the eight.
For a student with a clear first choice, often yes. Oriel Admissions advises using the early round at the one Ivy that fits best, since five use binding Early Decision and three restrict other early applications.
Sources: Ivy League history timeline, Ivy League history, Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell Chronicle, Dartmouth, The Harvard Crimson, The Daily Pennsylvanian, Princeton Profile, Yale News, Harvard Common Data Set 2025-2026, Cornell Common Data Set, Yale standardized testing, Dartmouth financial aid, cost of attendance 2026-2027, Cornell Chronicle, 2026-27 tuition, Harvard, how aid works, Princeton, international students, Cornell international financial aid, Harvard admissions data release, Ivy League, scholarships, Princeton standardized testing, Columbia testing, Harvard cost of attendance, Penn cost of attendance, Brown cost
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