Harvard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is at the top, or close to it, in most university rankings. It is the oldest university in the United States, dating back to 1636. The school has about 2,100 faculty members, 44 of whom have won Nobel Prizes. Harvard has 21,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students, from around the world, studying in 10 faculties, including its top ranked law, medicine and business schools. Undergraduate tuition is roughly $39,000 per year. Eight presidents have graduated from Harvard, including Barack Obama, FDR and JFK.
MIT, also in Cambridge, is one of the top universities in the world, with a heavy focus on scientific and technological research. The school received more than $700 million in research expenditures in 2009 from federal agencies like the Department of Health, Energy and Defense. The school has about 4,000 undergraduate students in 30 departments, spanning five schools, including its highly ranked schools of Engineering and Business. Undergraduate tuition fees are about $40,000 per year. Famous alumni include: Richard Feynman, Buzz Aldrin and Benjamin Netanyahu.
Founded in 1209, Cambridge is often listed as the top university in England. It has more than 18,000 students in over 150 departments, schools and faculties such as Medicine, Physics, Economics, Politics and Engineering. Cambridge places a heavy emphasis on research, which has been a important part of the university for hundreds of years. Famous researchers include William Harvey, Newton, Charles Darwin and Watson and Crick -- for the discovery of DNA. The university received more than $400 million dollars for research in 2009. Undergraduate tuition fees, for an overseas student, are about $16,000 per year.
Oxford is the oldest university in The U.K., dating back to the 11th century. It often second, only to Cambridge in The U.K., and usually at the top of university rankings worldwide. Oxford has about 20,000 students studying in four areas; humanities,social sciences, medicine and math and life sciences. Oxford is especially well known for its medical research, and its many awards attest to this. Famous alumni include: Adam Smith, Aldous Huxley, Oscar Wilde and Dr. Seuss. Tuition fees, for overseas students, are about $19,000 per year.