Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a prestigious university located near Boston, Massachusetts, in Cambridge. MIT focuses on studies of science and technology, and its engineering school is consistently rated among the top in the United States. MIT spent over $700 million on research in 2009, and counts the Department of Defense among its sources of funding. Most MIT undergraduates---which numbered 4,232 in 2009---live on campus and can walk from there to downtown Boston attractions. Students paid nearly $40,000 in tuition and fees in 2010, and an MIT student gets an average scholarship of approximately $25,000 per year. In addition to the rigorous studies in top programs of biology, economics and psychology, MIT students also participate in 33 NCAA Division III athletic teams, over 400 student clubs and 50 intramural and club athletic teams.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139
617-253-3400
web.mit.edu
Stanford University, a private school with a campus often cited as the most beautiful in the country, is located in a suburb in the Bay Area of California, 30 miles from San Francisco. Stanford has seven schools, and the School of Engineering joins the Schools of Education, Medicine, Business and the Law School as top national programs. The 6,602 undergraduates paid just over $39,000 in tuition and fees for the 2010--2011 academic year, and only 8% of applicants were accepted from the 2009 pool. Students at Stanford participate in Division I athletics, and 10 percent are involved in fraternities and sororities.
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305
650-723-2091
stanford.edu
The University of California at Berkeley, known as Cal, is a public school with an enrollment of over 25,000 undergraduates. It is located by the San Francisco Bay in an urban, politically liberal setting. Twenty-two percent of the applicants in 2009 were accepted, and tuition and fees range from $10,868 for in-state students and $33,747 for non-resident students. The School of Engineering is one of the top programs in the United States, while the Schools of Business, Education and Public Health are others with national reputations. Outside of academics in Cal's 14 schools, students participate in Division I athletics in the Pacific 10 conference, join over 700 student organizations and live in 55 Greek houses.
University of California at Berkeley
110 Sproul Hall Berkeley, CA 94720
510-642-3175
berkeley.edu
California Institute of Technology, or Caltech, is a small private school, which had an undergraduate enrollment of 951 in 2009. The school is located 11 miles from Los Angeles, in Pasadena, California, and its 2009 endowment topped one billion dollars. Student tuition and fees were just over $36,000 for the 2010--2011 academic year. Fifteen percent of students who apply are accepted into one of eight student houses, and go on to participate in cutting-edge research funded by such groups as NASA. When not participating in the top-ranked engineering program or one of the other prestigious programs, which include biology, chemistry and physics, students participate in Division III athletics as the Caltech Beavers.
California Institute of Technology
1200 E. California Boulevard Pasadena, CA 91125
626-395-6341
caltech.edu