What are the differences between the Ivy Leagues?

gadad
Sat, 03 Jul 2010 15:55:09 +0000

They’re only lumped together, as tk21769 stated, due to their history in athletics.



That’s like saying that the 13 American colonies only made one another’s acquaintances for the purpose of fighting the British. Seven Ivies (all except Cornell) were seven of the nine American universities that were in operation during the colonial era. When Yale was founded in 1701, it was founded by scholars from Harvard - there was no other source in the Western hemisphere for college-educated faculty and administrators (W&M was only five years old). When each of the others were founded, the older Ivies played key roles in furnishing the talent. The seven communicated, collaborated, produced and traded talent for centuries before they decided to form an athletic conference (in fact, the name “Ivy League” was in use for the schools long before the founding of the conference). With the antiquity comes large endowments and long-standing reputations which have attracted top scholars and students for hundreds of years. The eight schools have a variety of sizes, curricular strengths and cultures, but the world-class students and star faculty are the unifying elements that keep them connected. Willie Sutton robbed banks because that’s where the money was. Similarly, students seek out the Ivies because that’s where the talent is.