Georgetown University

Georgetown University

Georgetown University is a private institution that was founded in 1789. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 7,636, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 104 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Georgetown University's ranking in the 2015 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 21. Its tuition and fees are $46,744 (2014-15).

Georgetown University is situated overlooking the Potomac River just a few minutes from downtown Washington. There are numerous traditional residence halls, and freshmen and sophomores are required to live on campus. Other students choose to live in the townhouses and apartments surrounding campus. Student organizations on campus include religious groups, media outlets and student government. The Georgetown Hoyas are part of the NCAA’s Division I and are well known for their dominant men’s basketball team, which maintains a fierce rivalry with Syracuse University and plays most home games at the Verizon Center, also home to the Washington Wizards. The popular chant "hoya saxa," a mix of ancient Greek and Latin that means "what rocks," gained prominence in 1920 and – contrary to popular belief – has nothing to do with Georgetown’s mascot, Jack the Bulldog.

Georgetown comprises several undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, including the highly ranked Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business, Law Center, School of Medicine, School of Nursing and Health Studies and McCourt School of Public Policy. Georgetown’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service also offers well-regarded graduate programs. The neighborhood of Georgetown surrounding the university’s campus houses high-end shopping, restaurants and bars. Notable alumni include former U.S. President Bill Clinton, actor Bradley Cooper, journalist Maria Shriver and Hall of Fame basketball player Patrick Ewing. The famous "Exorcist steps" used in the 1973 horror film "The Exorcist" are located just below Georgetown’s campus.

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Duke University

Duke University

Duke University is “all about academic excellence complemented by highly competitive Division I sports and an enriching array of extracurricular activities,” making the university “an exciting, challenging, and enjoyable place to be.” Undergraduates choose Duke because they “are passionate about a wide range of things, including academics, sports, community service, research, and fun.” And because the school seems equally committed to accommodating all of those pursuits; as one student puts it, “Duke is for the Ivy League candidate who is a little bit more laid-back about school and overachieving (but just a bit) and a lot more into the party scene.”

 Duke University is a private institution that was founded in 1838. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 6,646, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 8,709 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Duke University's ranking in the 2015 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 8. Its tuition and fees are $47,488 (2014-15).   Durham, North Carolina, which surrounds Duke's campus, offers a variety of activities including shopping, dining and entertainment. 

Its "Bull City" nickname comes from the Blackwell Tobacco Company's Bull Durham Tobacco. Students at Duke are required to live on campus for their first three years, and freshmen live together on the East Campus. The Duke Blue Devils maintain a fierce rivalry with the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill Tar Heels and are best known for their outstanding men's basketball program, one of the top five winningest college basketball programs in the country. Approximately 30 percent of the student body is affiliated with Greek life, which encompasses more than 30 fraternities and sororities. 

Duke University is divided into 10 schools and colleges, many of which serve both undergraduate and graduate students. Its graduate programs include the highly ranked Fuqua School of Business, Pratt School of Engineering, School of Law, School of Medicine, Sanford School of Public Policy and School of Nursing. Duke also offers graduate programs through its well-respected Divinity School and Nicholas School of the Environment. Duke's most esteemed undergraduate scholarship, the Robertson Scholars Program, provides approximately 18 students from each class with a monetary reward and the opportunity to study for a semester at UNC-Chapel Hill

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University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania is a private institution that was founded in 1740. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 9,712, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 302 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. University of Pennsylvania's ranking in the 2015 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 8. Its tuition and fees are $47,668 (2014-15).

The University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia, was founded by Benjamin Franklin. The Penn Quakers have more than 25 NCAA Division I sports that compete in the Ivy League, and are noted for successful basketball and lacrosse teams. Penn offers housing in more than 10 College Houses, but many students live in the numerous off-campus apartments and houses available. More than 25 percent of the student body is involved in Greek life, which encompasses about 45 fraternities and sororities. 

The school also offers a number of clubs and organizations, ranging from performance groups like the Latin and Ballroom dance club to student publications such as the Penn Political Review. Penn works closely with the West Philadelphia area through community service and advocacy groups.Penn has 12 schools: Four offer undergraduate and graduate studies and eight offer only graduate studies. Penn's highly ranked graduate programs include its Wharton School, School of Education, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Law School and School of Medicine. 

Penn's other notable graduate programs include its Design School and School of Dental Medicine. Penn, though secular, has a strong religious life with its Hillel for Jewish students, Penn Newman Catholic Center and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. More than 2,000 students each year participate in international study programs offered in more than 70 countries around the world. Notable Penn alumni include former U.S. President William Henry Harrison, poet William Carlos Williams and businessman Donald Trump.

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Massachusetts Institute

Massachusetts Institute

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private institution that was founded in 1861. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 4,528, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 168 acres. It utilizes a 4-1-4-based academic calendar. Massachusetts Institute of Technology's ranking in the 2015 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 7. Its tuition and fees are $45,016 (2014-15).

MIT is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, across the Charles River from downtown Boston. Only freshmen students are required to live on campus, but about 70 percent of students choose to remain on campus during their four years. MIT offers housing in one of the coolest dorms in the country, commonly called "The Sponge," designed by architect Steven Holl. The MIT Engineers boast more than 30 NCAA Division III teams, and their mascot is a beaver, which MIT chose because of its "remarkable engineering and mechanical skill and its habits of industry." Each class designs a unique ring called the "Brass Rat" that is revealed during sophomore year, a tradition that dates back to 1929.

MIT focuses on scientific and technological research and is divided into five schools and one college. Among its graduate schools are the highly ranked School of Engineering and Sloan School of Management, in addition to strong programs in economics, psychology, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, physics and mathematics. Research expenditures at MIT have typically exceeded $650 million each year, with funding coming from government agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense. The "Independent Activities Program," a four-week term between fall and spring semesters in January, offers special courses, lectures, competitions and projects. Distinguished alumni include Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke.

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Dartmouth College

 Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private Ivy League research university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States.It was founded in 1769.Dartmouth College was established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, a Congregational minister. After a long period of financial and political struggles, Dartmouth emerge in the early 20th century from relative obscurity.

Dartmouth College's ranking in the 2015 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 11. Its tuition and fees are $48,108 (2014-15).

Dartmouth College is situated in the rural town of Hanover, New Hampshire, located in the Upper Valley along the Connecticut River in New England. Its 269-acre campus is centered on a 5-acre "Green", a former field of pine trees cleared in 1771.Dartmouth is the largest private landowner of the town of Hanover, and its total landholdings and facilities are worth an estimated $434 million. In addition to its campus in Hanover, Dartmouth owns 4,500 acres of Mount Moosilauke in the White Mountains and a 27,000-acre tract of land in northern New Hampshire known as the Second College Grant.

Dartmouth College is comprised of the undergraduate arts and sciences and engineering departments and four graduate programs, which include the highly ranked Tuck School of Business, Thayer School of Engineering and Geisel School of Medicine.

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