<p>That is correct. For the first half of the 1900’s Columbia and Chicago generally alternated at #1, and Harvard was usually third. Most early Nobels and inventions came out of Columbia and Chicago, as both schools still have (arguably) the most Nobels of any institution in the world. Yale and Princeton did not really rise until the second half of the century. Princeton became uber desirable in the 70’s as people were leaving cities. Standford really did not really hit the scene until the last quarter of the century with the rise of computer technology.</p>