25 New Ivies 

Newsweek

The nation’s elite colleges these days include more than Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Why? It’s the tough competition for all the top students. That means a range of schools are getting fresh bragging rights.

You could call it a classic case of supply meeting demand. A generation ago, elite schools were a clearly defined group: the eight schools in the Ivy League, along with such academic powerhouses as Stanford, the University of Chicago, MIT and Caltech. Smaller liberal-arts colleges—like Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Wesleyan—were the destinations of choice for top students who preferred a more intimate campus. But in the past few decades, the number of college-bound students has skyrocketed, and so has the number of world-class schools. The demand for an excellent education has created an ever-expanding supply of big and small campuses that provide great academics and first-rate faculties. 

The bottom line: that one “perfect” school need not break a student’s heart. The colleges on the following list—the “New Ivies”—are beneficiaries of the boom in top students. We selected them based on admissions statistics as wellas interviews with administrators, faculty, students and alumni. In some cases, admissions directors have also provided examples of “overlap” schools—rivals for applicants to the colleges on our list.

New York University 
New York, N.Y. 
NYU is not for the timid. In the heart of Greenwich Village, there is no traditional campus. The urban experience is apparently appealing: this past season, there were a record 34,944 applications. The previous record? The year before. They’re attracted by strong programs in NYU’s eight colleges. 

Arts and Sciences is the largest (the most popular majors are politics, journalism and English). The Tisch School of Performing Arts, with about 700 freshmen, is one of the hottest arts schools in the country. Although living in Manhattan is obviously key, NYU also promotes study abroad. Two years ago the school opened a site in Ghana; the newest addition is Shanghai. NYU is setting up broad curriculum programs at each of its sites so that students from all majors can participate. And back in the big city, there’s no chance to get bored: NYU offers more than 2,500 courses and 25 different majors.