America's Greatest Universities

• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Harvard University
• Chapter 2 Stanford University
• Chapter 3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Chapter 4 University of California, Berkeley
• Chapter 5 Columbia University
• Chapter 6 University of Chicago
• Chapter 7 Yale University
• Chapter 8 Princeton University
• Chapter 9 University of Pennsylvania
• Chapter 10 California Institute of Technology
• Chapter 11 University of Michigan
• Chapter 12 University of Texas at Austin
• Chapter 13 Johns Hopkins University
• Chapter 14 Northwestern University
• Chapter 15 University of California, Los Angeles
• Chapter 16 University of Washington
• Chapter 17 Cornell University
• Chapter 18 University of Southern California
• Chapter 19 University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Chapter 20 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Chapter 21 Duke University
• Chapter 22 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Chapter 23 University of California, San Diego
• Chapter 24 University of Minnesota
• Chapter 25 University of Maryland, College Park
• Afterword

What makes a university "great"? The question itself is a loaded one, freighted with centuries of tradition, aspiration, and no small amount of marketing. For generations of students and their families, the answer has been central to the American dream—the idea that a college education is the key to a better life. This book is an exploration of that question, a journey through twenty-five of the institutions most commonly thought of as the best in America. These are the universities that top the rankings, that produce Nobel laureates and presidents, and that hold a certain mystique in the public imagination. But what truly sets them apart? Is it the ivy-covered walls and the centuries of history? The cutting-edge laboratories and the billion-dollar endowments? The brilliant faculty and the even more brilliant students they attract?

The story of American higher education is a long and fascinating one, beginning with the founding of Harvard in 1636, an institution created to train clergy for a "church in the wilderness." From these religious beginnings, American colleges and universities have evolved into a diverse and complex ecosystem, encompassing everything from small liberal arts colleges to massive public research universities. This evolution has been shaped by a host of forces: the Morrill Act of 1862, which established the land-grant universities and democratized access to higher education; the G.I. Bill, which sent a generation of veterans to college after World War II and transformed the demographics of the student body; and the Cold War, which fueled a massive expansion of scientific research and graduate education.

The idea of ranking these institutions is a relatively new phenomenon, but one that has come to exert an enormous influence on the choices of students and the priorities of universities themselves. The most well-known of these rankings, the U.S. News & World Report "Best Colleges" list, first appeared in 1983 and has since become a powerful force in the world of higher education. The rise of these rankings reflects a broader societal shift, a growing desire for quantifiable measures of quality and a belief that complex institutions can be reduced to a single, authoritative number.

But how, exactly, do you measure the quality of a university? The answer, it turns out, is far from simple. The various ranking systems employ a wide range of methodologies, each with its own set of priorities and biases. U.S. News & World Report, for example, has historically placed a heavy emphasis on factors like institutional reputation, as measured by surveys of university administrators, and student selectivity, as measured by metrics like acceptance rates and standardized test scores. This approach has been criticized for rewarding exclusivity and for being a better measure of a university's brand than its educational quality. In recent years, U.S. News has made changes to its methodology, placing a greater emphasis on student outcomes like graduation and retention rates and social mobility.

Other ranking systems take a different approach. The Forbes "Top Colleges" list, for example, is built around a return-on-investment framework, focusing on metrics like alumni salary, student debt, and graduation rates. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings, on the other hand, place a strong emphasis on research and international outlook, making it a valuable resource for students interested in graduate school or an academic career.

The very act of ranking universities is a controversial one, and it is important to approach these lists with a healthy dose of skepticism. Critics argue that rankings can be easily manipulated, that they often fail to capture the nuances of institutional quality, and that they can create a perverse set of incentives for universities, encouraging them to chase higher rankings at the expense of their educational mission. There is also the question of what, exactly, is being measured. Is it the quality of the teaching? The impact of the research? The success of the graduates? The answer, of course, is all of the above, and more.

This book does not seek to create a new ranking or to declare one university "better" than another. Rather, it is an attempt to understand what makes these twenty-five institutions so highly regarded, to explore their histories, their strengths, and their unique characters. Some of these are members of the Ivy League, a term that originally referred to an athletic conference but has since become synonymous with academic excellence and social prestige. Others are so-called "Public Ivies," a term coined in 1985 to describe public universities that offer an Ivy League-quality education at a fraction of the cost. Still others are world-renowned for their programs in science and technology, or for their vibrant and diverse student bodies.

What they all have in common is a commitment to excellence, a culture of innovation, and a profound impact on the world. They are places where new knowledge is created, where future leaders are educated, and where the great challenges of our time are addressed. They are also, it should be said, places of great privilege. The students who attend these universities are, for the most part, drawn from the upper echelons of society, and the advantages they receive are considerable. This is a reality that cannot be ignored, and it is a topic that we will explore in the chapters that follow.

The universities profiled in this book are not the only great institutions of higher learning in America, of course. There are thousands of colleges and universities in the United States, and many of them offer an excellent education. But the twenty-five schools we have chosen to focus on are, by any measure, among the most influential and important. They are the universities that set the standard for others, that shape the direction of research and scholarship, and that play a vital role in the life of our nation.

In the chapters that follow, we will take a closer look at each of these institutions, exploring their histories, their academic programs, their campus cultures, and their contributions to the world. We will meet the people who have shaped these universities—the visionary presidents, the brilliant faculty, the ambitious students—and we will explore the ideas that have been born within their walls. We will also examine the challenges and controversies that these universities have faced, from debates over free speech and academic freedom to struggles over diversity and inclusion.

Our goal is not to provide a comprehensive history of each university, but rather to offer a series of portraits, each one capturing a different facet of what it means to be a "great" American university. We hope that this book will be a valuable resource for students and parents who are navigating the complex and often overwhelming process of choosing a college. We also hope that it will be of interest to anyone who is curious about the role of higher education in American society.

The American university is a unique and remarkable institution, a place of both tradition and innovation, of intellectual rigor and creative ferment. It is a place where the past is preserved and the future is invented. The twenty-five universities profiled in this book are among the finest examples of this institution, and we are excited to share their stories with you.

To speak of Harvard is to speak of the very origins of higher education in America. It is the oldest institution of its kind in the United States, a fact that permeates its culture and contributes to its enduring mystique. Established in 1636 by a vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the school was initially a modest affair, a single-master institution with just nine students. Its founding was a forward-looking act by the Puritan settlers, who, having established their "city upon a hill," sought to ensure a literate ministry for future generations. The fear was of leaving "an illiterate Ministry to the Churches, when our present Ministers shall lie in the Dust." Thus, with an initial investment of £400, the foundation was laid for what would become a global academic powerhouse.

The university's name honors its first major benefactor, a young Charlestown minister named John Harvard. Upon his death from tuberculosis in 1638, at the age of 30, Harvard bequeathed half of his estate—some £779—and his entire library of roughly 400 books to the fledgling college. This was a considerable sum at the time, roughly equivalent to the annual tax revenue of the entire Massachusetts Bay Colony. In recognition of this foundational gift, the General Court ordered in 1639 that the school "shalbee called Harvard Colledge." Of John Harvard's original collection, sadly, only a single volume survived a fire that destroyed the first Harvard Hall in 1764: a copy of John Downame's The Christian Warfare against the Devill World and Flesh.

The early curriculum was classical, based on the English model familiar to many of the Puritan leaders who had themselves been educated at the University of Cambridge. The primary purpose was the training of Congregational ministers, and the institution's "Rules and Precepts" of 1646 made this explicit. Students were to "be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the maine end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life." This religious orientation was also reflected in the university's early motto, In Christi Gloriam ("For the glory of Christ"), and later, Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae ("Truth for Christ and the Church"). The modern, more succinct motto, Veritas (Latin for "truth"), was officially adopted in the 19th century after being rediscovered in early university records. The three books on the Harvard shield, with the bottom one face down, were meant to symbolize the limits of human reason and the need for divine revelation.

Governance of the young college was formalized with the Charter of 1650, which established the President and Fellows of Harvard College, also known as the Harvard Corporation. This seven-member board, consisting of the president, five fellows, and a treasurer, remains Harvard's executive governing body and is the oldest corporation in the Western Hemisphere. The charter granted the Corporation the authority to manage the college's finances, act as a legal entity, and create bylaws, with the approval of a second governing body, the Board of Overseers. This two-tiered structure of governance continues to this day.

While its initial mission was sectarian, Harvard gradually secularized over the 18th century. The Age of Enlightenment brought new ideas to the fore, and the curriculum began to broaden beyond its classical and theological roots. By the time of the American Revolution, Harvard faculty and students were largely supportive of the Patriot cause, and eight alumni were signatories to the Declaration of Independence. The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 officially recognized Harvard as a university, a change reflected in the establishment of the Medical Institution of Harvard University in 1782, the third-oldest medical school in the United States.

The 19th century saw Harvard transform into a modern research university under the influential presidency of Charles W. Eliot, who served from 1869 to 1909. Eliot introduced the elective system, which allowed students a greater degree of choice in their studies, and he oversaw a massive expansion of the university's graduate and professional schools. This era saw the establishment of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the rise to prominence of Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. The university became a national institution, attracting students and faculty from across the country and, increasingly, from around the world.

Today, Harvard University is a sprawling institution composed of Harvard College, the undergraduate school, and ten graduate and professional schools, in addition to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. These schools operate with a significant degree of autonomy, each with its own faculty, admissions process, and curriculum. They are spread across campuses in Cambridge and the Allston and Longwood areas of Boston. The university employs over 2,000 faculty members and has thousands more academic appointments in its affiliated teaching hospitals.

Harvard College remains the heart of the university, offering a liberal arts and sciences education to its undergraduate students. The curriculum is designed to provide a broad intellectual foundation, with requirements in areas such as aesthetics and culture, ethics and civics, histories, societies, individuals, and science and technology in society. In recent years, the college has moved away from the long-standing Core Curriculum to a more flexible Program in General Education.

The university's graduate and professional schools are among the most prestigious in the world. Harvard Medical School, located in Boston's Longwood Medical Area, is renowned for its research and clinical training. Its faculty and alumni have been responsible for a host of medical breakthroughs, including the introduction of the smallpox vaccine to America, the development of the first successful chemotherapy for childhood leukemia, and the first successful human kidney transplant. Seventeen researchers have shared in eleven Nobel Prizes for work conducted while at the medical school.

Harvard Law School, the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States, has educated a remarkable number of influential figures, including numerous Supreme Court justices and national leaders. Its vast library is the largest academic law library in the world. The school has been at the center of legal education for centuries, though it has also faced criticism for its highly competitive and, at times, politically charged atmosphere.

Harvard Business School is famous for pioneering the case study method of teaching, a pedagogical approach that has been adopted by business schools worldwide. This method uses real-life business situations to teach students critical thinking, decision-making, and leadership skills. Students are expected to read and analyze a case, discuss it in small groups, and then debate their proposed solutions in class. The goal is not to find a single "right" answer but to understand how different individuals can use the same information to arrive at varied, yet valid, conclusions.

The university's wealth is legendary. As of fiscal year 2025, Harvard's endowment, the largest academic endowment in the world, was valued at $56.9 billion. Managed by the Harvard Management Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the university, the endowment is composed of approximately 14,765 individual funds, the majority of which are restricted by donors for specific purposes. The annual payout from the endowment is a critical source of revenue, funding over a third of the university's operating budget. In fiscal year 2025, the endowment distributed $2.5 billion, which supported a vast range of activities, including financial aid, faculty salaries, and research initiatives. This immense financial resource gives Harvard a degree of stability and independence that few other institutions can match.

This wealth has enabled Harvard to implement one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country. Adhering to a policy of need-blind admissions, the university accepts students regardless of their ability to pay. For admitted undergraduates, Harvard meets 100% of demonstrated financial need. Starting in the 2025-26 academic year, students from families with annual incomes of $100,000 or less will attend for free, with all expenses, including tuition, housing, food, and fees, fully covered. For families with incomes up to $200,000, tuition is free. Over half of Harvard undergraduates receive need-based scholarships.

Despite its prestige and resources, Harvard has not been without its share of controversies. In recent years, the university has been a focal point for debates on issues of free speech, campus culture, and diversity. The university's response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent campus protests drew widespread criticism and led to a congressional hearing in which then-President Claudine Gay's testimony was widely panned. Gay later resigned amid accusations of plagiarism and mounting political pressure. In March 2026, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the university, alleging that it had violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from discrimination and harassment.

Like many of America's oldest institutions, Harvard has also had to confront a difficult history with slavery and racism. A 2022 university report, "Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery," detailed the institution's extensive entanglements with the slave trade. The report revealed that between the university's founding in 1636 and the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1783, Harvard leaders, faculty, and staff enslaved more than 70 people. Enslaved individuals worked on campus, caring for students and serving university presidents. The university also benefited financially from the slave economy, receiving substantial donations from slave traders and from individuals whose fortunes were built on slave labor. Furthermore, the report documented the role of prominent Harvard professors in promoting "race science" and eugenics in the 19th and 20th centuries. In response to these findings, the Harvard Corporation pledged $100 million to a fund to address these historical injustices.

Harvard's student body has become considerably more diverse in recent decades, a stark contrast to its origins as an institution for the sons of the New England elite. Women were not fully integrated into Harvard College until 1977, with the merger of Harvard and Radcliffe College, which had been founded in 1879 as the "Harvard Annex" for women. Today, the undergraduate population is nearly evenly split between men and women, and a majority of students identify as people of color. The university also enrolls a significant number of international students, further contributing to the cosmopolitan nature of the campus.

Campus life at Harvard is a vibrant and often intense experience. The majority of undergraduates live on campus, initially in dormitories in and around the historic Harvard Yard, and then for their final three years in one of twelve residential "Houses." This House system, modeled on the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, is a central feature of the undergraduate experience. Each House has its own dining hall, common rooms, and library, as well as a master and a team of resident tutors. The Houses foster a sense of community and serve as the center of social life for many students.

Extracurricular activities are a cornerstone of the Harvard experience, with hundreds of student organizations catering to a vast array of interests. From the celebrated Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest collegiate theatrical organization in the country, to The Harvard Lampoon, the satirical magazine that has launched the careers of many notable comedians, the opportunities for student involvement are seemingly endless. The Harvard Crimson, the daily student newspaper, provides a training ground for aspiring journalists and is a significant voice on campus. Athletics also play a role in campus life, with Harvard competing in the NCAA Division I Ivy League. The annual football game against Yale, known simply as "The Game," is a tradition that dates back to 1875.

Admission to Harvard is, as one might expect, extraordinarily competitive. The university receives tens of thousands of applications for a limited number of spots in its freshman class, and the acceptance rate is consistently in the low single digits. The admissions process is holistic, taking into account academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, personal essays, and letters of recommendation. While standardized test scores have long been a component of the application, the university has adopted a more flexible approach in recent years, making them optional for a period before reinstating the requirement. The process has been the subject of intense scrutiny and legal challenges, most notably in a Supreme Court case that ended the practice of race-conscious admissions.

For all its history and tradition, Harvard continues to evolve. The university is a leading center of research in fields ranging from artificial intelligence and bioengineering to climate science and global health. It continues to produce a disproportionate share of the nation's leaders in politics, business, and the arts and sciences. The names of its alumni resonate throughout American history and culture, from presidents like John Adams and John F. Kennedy to figures like W.E.B. Du Bois, the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard, and Mark Zuckerberg, who famously launched Facebook from his Harvard dorm room.

To walk through Harvard Yard is to be surrounded by centuries of American history. The red-brick Georgian and Federal-style buildings, the statue of John Harvard (which, in a classic piece of campus lore, is not actually a depiction of John Harvard and is inscribed with three inaccuracies), and the throngs of students rushing to and from class all contribute to an atmosphere of intellectual energy and historical weight. It is a place that is deeply conscious of its past, yet constantly striving to shape the future. The university's story is, in many ways, the story of America's intellectual and cultural development, a narrative of both remarkable achievement and profound challenges.